Corporate Governance
Governance Documents
Committee Composition
| Audit Committee | Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee | Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee | Risk Committee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nandita Bakhshi | Audit Committee | Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee | ||
| Seth Goldman | Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee | |||
| Chelsea A. Grayson | Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee | Risk Committee | ||
| Colleen Jay | Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee | Risk Committee | ||
| C. James Koch | Risk Committee | |||
| Raymond J. Lane | Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee | |||
| Joshua M. Murray | Audit Committee | |||
| Kathy N. Waller | Audit Committee | Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee |
Board of Directors
Ethan Brown is the founder of Beyond Meat and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since our inception in 2009. He also serves as a manager of the Planet Partnership, LLC, our joint venture with PepsiCo, Inc., and served as our Secretary from our inception to September 2018. Mr. Brown began his career with a focus on clean energy and the environment, including serving as an energy analyst for the National Governors’ Center for Best Practices. He then joined Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDP), a hydrogen fuel-cell company, being promoted from an entry-level manager to reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer before leaving to found Beyond Meat.
Mr. Brown also created and opened a center for fuel reformation and has held several industry positions, including Vice Chairman of the Board at The National Hydrogen Association and Secretary of the United States Fuel Cell Council. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, was honored as part of Inc.’s Best Led Companies 2021, The Bloomberg 50 for 2019, Newsweek’s Top Innovators of 2019, and, along with Beyond Meat, is the recipient of the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade, Champion of the Earth (2018). Mr. Brown holds an MBA from Columbia University, an MPP with a focus on Environment from the University of Maryland and a BA in History and Government from Connecticut College. We believe Mr. Brown’s strategic vision for our company and his expertise in technology and business operations make him qualified to serve on our board of directors.
Seth Goldman joined Beyond Meat as a member of our board of directors in February 2013. Mr. Goldman served as Executive Chair of Beyond Meat from October 2015 through February 2020. Mr. Goldman is the Co-Founder of Eat the Change and has served as CEO of Eat the Change since March 2020. He is also a co-founder of PLNT Burger, a quick-serve restaurant concept. Mr. Goldman was the TeaEO Emeritus and Innovation Catalyst for The Coca-Cola Company’s Venturing & Emerging Brands, a part-time position he held from November 2015 through December 2019. Mr. Goldman co-founded Honest Tea Inc., a bottled organic tea company, in February 1998, which was later sold to The Coca-Cola Company, and previously served as Honest Tea’s President and TeaEO until 2015.
In 2022, Mr. Goldman was named Person of the Year by BevNet Magazine, and in 2015 he was named the #1 Disruptor by Beverage World and Beverage Executive of the Year by Beverage Industry magazine. He has also been recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and by the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame. In 2018, Partnership for a Healthier America recognized Mr. Goldman with its Visionary CEO award. Mr. Goldman is the co-chair of the Yale School of Management’s Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and, since January 2008, has served on the advisory board of Bethesda Green, a local sustainability non-profit he co-founded. He also served on the board of Ripple Foods, a dairy-free plant-based milk company, from November 2015 to October 2020, the advisory board of the American Beverage Association from 2013 to 2019 and the Yale School of Management from July 2013 to March 2020. Mr. Goldman has demonstrated his commitment to boardroom excellence by becoming NACD Directorship Certified and as a NACD Board Leadership Fellow by the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Mr. Goldman has a BA degree in Government from Harvard College and a Masters of Private & Public Management degree from Yale School of Management and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. We believe that Mr. Goldman is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience working at fast-growing brands in the food and beverage industry, his experience founding and building an entrepreneurial company and his knowledge of sustainable business practices.
Nandita Bakhshi has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2024. Ms. Bakhshi served as Special Advisor to, and a current Board Member of, BMO Financial Group since February 2023. Ms. Bakhshi served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West from March 2016 to February 2023 and was co-Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA Inc. from March 2016 to February 2023. Ms. Bakhshi also served on the Board of Directors of Bank of the West and BNP Paribas USA from March 2017 to February 2023, during which she was also a member of the Risk Committee and Compensation/HR Committee of Bank of the West and BNP Paribas USA. Ms. Bakhshi was Head of US Consumer Bank and Group Head of Direct Channels at TD Bank from March 2009 to February 2016, Head of Products and Payments at Washington Mutual from March 2006 to September 2008 and Head of Mobile Commerce at First Data from March 2004 to March 2005.
Ms. Bakhshi has served on the Board of Directors of Grameen America, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that provides microloans to underserved women to start or expand businesses, since March 2020 and currently serves on its Audit Committee. Ms. Bakhshi served on the Board of Directors of the Whitaker Peace and Development Foundation from March 2020 to February 2023 and is a Board Member Emeritus of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.
Ms. Bakhshi holds a Master of Arts in international relations from Jadavpur University and a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Calcutta. We believe that Ms. Bakhshi is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her diversified financial industry background and leadership experience.
Chelsea A. Grayson has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2024. Ms. Grayson served as an Executive-in-Residence at Wunderkind (formerly BounceX), a global performance marketing solution powered by AI, data, and identity, from March 2020 to January 2024. From November 2022 to July 2023, Ms. Grayson served as CEO of Spark Networks SE (OTC: LOVLY; formerly NASDAQ: LOV), an American-German dating company with a portfolio of brands (including Zoosk, Elite Singles, Silver Singles, Christian Mingle and JDate/JSwipe), and from August 2020 to July 2023, as a member of its board of directors. From October 2018 to June 2019, Ms. Grayson served as CEO, and from October 2017 to December 2019, as a member of the board of directors, of True Religion, Inc. (formerly NASDAQ: TRLG), a global denim and streetwear company based in Los Angeles. From December 2014 to December 2017, Ms. Grayson was at American Apparel Inc. (formerly NYSE: APP), a global vertically integrated apparel manufacturer, retailer and wholesaler based in Los Angeles, where she first joined as General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice President, and then served as CEO and as a member of the board of directors. Prior to American Apparel, she was a partner in the M&A/Corporate Governance practice groups at Loeb & Loeb LLP and Jones Day.
Ms. Grayson has served on the board of directors of Xponential Fitness (NYSE: XPOF), a leading franchisor of boutique fitness and wellness brands (including Rumble Boxing, Stretch Lab, Club Pilates, Yoga Six, CycleBar and Lindora) since October 2021, where she currently chairs the Nominating Corporate Governance Committee and is a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. Among other past board positions, Ms. Grayson was a member of the board of directors of Goodness Growth Holdings Inc. (CSE: GDNS) from February 2019 to May 2023; Morphe Cosmetics (Forma Brands) from September 2022 to May 2023; iHerb from June 2021 to June 2022; Precision Surfacing Solutions (Lapmaster Group Holdings) from April 2021 to October 2022; LoudPack from December 2020 to March 2022; Sugarfina from January 2019 to December 2020; and Delta Dental from January 2017 to December 2019. Ms. Grayson has been a member of the UCLA Board of Visitors in the English Department since January 2018 and is a Board Leadership Fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Ms. Grayson received her Juris Doctor degree, Order of the Coif, from Loyola Law School, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Business/Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. We believe that Ms. Grayson is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive leadership, corporate governance and public company experience.
Colleen Jay has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2022. Ms. Jay retired from The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) in October 2017 after 32 years of service, most recently as Global Division President from 2015. Ms. Jay joined The Procter & Gamble Company in 1985 where she managed top brand portfolios and large multi-billion-dollar businesses across multiple categories and geographies, including successfully leading a complex transition and divestiture of several businesses and leading operational units in the United States, Canada, China, and multiple global businesses from Switzerland during the course of her extensive career. From 2010 to 2012, Ms. Jay served as President, Global Female Beauty. From 2012 to 2015, Ms. Jay served as President, Global Retail Hair Care and Color.
Ms. Jay has been a member of the board of directors of Treasury Wine Estates (ASX: TWE) since April 2018, and currently serves on its Human Resources Committee and Wine Operations and Sustainability Committee and was previously on its Audit and Risk Committee. Ms. Jay has been a member of the board of directors of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: COO) since April 2016 and currently serves as Chair of its Organization and Compensation Committee and as a member of its Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. Ms. Jay has also worked closely with Catalyst, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to improving workplace inclusion for women. She received a BBA degree in Business from Wilfrid Laurier University. We believe that Ms. Jay is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive experience working in the consumer products industry at a leading public company and her global public board of directors’ experience.
Jim Koch has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2023. Mr. Koch currently serves as Chairman of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE: SAM), which he founded in 1984. Until January 2001, Mr. Koch also served as its Chief Executive Officer. Prior to starting The Boston Beer Company, Inc., he worked as a consultant for an international consulting firm with a focus on manufacturing.
Mr. Koch holds a BA degree in Government from Harvard College, an MBA degree from Harvard Business School and a JD degree from Harvard Law School. We believe that Mr. Koch is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience founding and building a public craft brewing company, and skills in strategy, brand development and industry leadership.
Raymond J. Lane has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2015. Mr. Lane has been a Managing Partner at GreatPoint Ventures, a venture capital firm, since March 2015. Mr. Lane has served as a Partner Emeritus and Advisor of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers LLC, a venture capital firm, since April 2013 and was a Managing Partner of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers LLC from September 2000 to April 2013. Mr. Lane has served on the board of directors of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE: HPE) from November 2015 to the present and is currently a member of its Technology Committee. In addition, Mr. Lane previously served as executive Chairman of Hewlett-Packard Company from September 2011 to April 2013 and as non-executive Chairman of Hewlett-Packard Company from November 2010 to September 2011.
Prior to joining Kleiner Perkins, Mr. Lane was President and Chief Operating Officer and a director of Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL), a software company. Mr. Lane serves on the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, including as Chairman of the Board from July 2009 to July 2015. He also serves on the board of directors of Special Olympics International. Mr. Lane holds a BS degree in Mathematics and an honorary PhD in Science from West Virginia University. We believe that Mr. Lane is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in working with entrepreneurial companies and his experience on other public company boards of directors.
Joshua M. Murray has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2024. Mr. Murray is currently Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy at Orca Bio, a privately held biotechnology company developing allogeneic cell therapies in blood, immune and genetic diseases, and has served in this position since April 2021. Prior to joining Orca Bio, Mr. Murray held various positions at Goldman Sachs & Co. from July 2006 to April 2021, most recently as a Managing Director and Head of West Coast Healthcare Capital Markets, where he advised a wide array of biotechnology and life sciences companies.
Mr. Murray has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Corcept Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CORT) since June 2021 and currently serves on its Audit Committee.
Mr. Murray received a Bachelor of Arts degree, with University Honors, in History and Economics from Harvard College. We believe that Mr. Murray is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his experience in corporate finance and as a director of a public company.
Kathy N. Waller has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2018. Ms. Waller retired from The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) in March 2019 after more than 30 years of service, most recently as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and President, Enabling Services prior to her retirement. Ms. Waller joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1987 as a senior accountant in the Accounting Research Department and served in a number of accounting and finance roles of increasing responsibility. From July 2004 to August 2009, Ms. Waller served as Chief of Internal Audit. In December 2005, she was elected Vice President of The Coca-Cola Company, and in August 2009, she was elected Controller. In August 2013, she became Vice President, Finance and Controller, assuming additional responsibilities for corporate treasury, corporate tax and finance capabilities, and served in that position until April 2014, when she was appointed Chief Financial Officer and elected Executive Vice President. Ms. Waller assumed expanded responsibility for The Coca-Cola Company’s strategic governance areas when she was also appointed to serve as President, Enabling Services, on May 1, 2017.
Ms. Waller has been a member of the board of directors of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) since July 2015, and currently serves on its Audit, Corporate Governance and Personnel and Compensation Committees. Ms. Waller has been a member of the board of directors of CGI Inc. (NYSE: GIB) since December 2018 and currently serves on its Audit and Risk Management Committee. Previously she served on the board of directors of Cadence Bank, Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V and Monster Beverage Corporation. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Trustees of Spelman College and The Woodruff Arts Center. In February 2022, Ms. Waller was appointed Executive Director of the Atlanta Committee for Progress, a public/private partnership between the city’s top business, civic and academic leaders, and the Mayor of Atlanta. She received a BA degree in History from the University of Rochester and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester. We believe Ms. Waller is qualified to serve on our board of directors because she has more than 30 years of experience in accounting and finance at a major public company and experience on other public company boards of directors.
Management
Ethan Brown is the founder of Beyond Meat and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since our inception in 2009. He also serves as a manager of the Planet Partnership, LLC, our joint venture with PepsiCo, Inc., and served as our Secretary from our inception to September 2018. Mr. Brown began his career with a focus on clean energy and the environment, including serving as an energy analyst for the National Governors’ Center for Best Practices. He then joined Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDP), a hydrogen fuel-cell company, being promoted from an entry-level manager to reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer before leaving to found Beyond Meat. Mr. Brown also created and opened a center for fuel reformation and has held several industry positions, including Vice Chairman of the Board at The National Hydrogen Association and Secretary of the United States Fuel Cell Council. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, was honored as part of Inc.’s Best Led Companies 2021, The Bloomberg 50 for 2019, Newsweek’s Top Innovators of 2019, and, along with Beyond Meat, is the recipient of the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade, Champion of the Earth (2018). Mr. Brown holds an MBA from Columbia University, an MPP with a focus on Environment from the University of Maryland and a BA in History and Government from Connecticut College.
Lubi Kutua has served as the company's Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since October 2022. Mr. Kutua served as Vice President, FP&A and Investor Relations from January 2019 to October 2022. Before joining Beyond Meat, Mr. Kutua served as Vice President, Equity Research, with a focus on the packaged foods and agribusiness sectors, at Jefferies, LLC from August 2015 to January 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Kutua served as Associate-Analyst, Equity Research, also focusing on packaged foods and agribusiness, and at KeyBanc Capital Markets. He began his career in financial services at Goldman Sachs, most recently serving as Associate, Divisional Management Reporting. Mr. Kutua received his BA in Mathematics and Physics from Hamilton College, and his MBA from The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
Dariush Ajami, PhD, joined Beyond Meat in June 2015. Since July 2018, Dr. Ajami has been Chief Innovation Officer of Beyond Meat. He served as Director of Chemistry from June 2015 to August 2016, Director of Research from August 2016 to August 2017 and Vice President of Innovation from August 2017 to July 2018. Prior to joining Beyond Meat, Dr. Ajami was an Assistant Professor of Molecular Assembly at The Scripps Research Institute and Skaggs Institute of Chemical Biology from July 2008 to June 2015, where he worked on the fundamentals of molecular assembly, natural products and their applications in therapeutic development. Dr. Ajami has a BS degree in Chemistry from Isfahan University, Iran, an MS degree in Organic Chemistry from the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran, and a PhD degree in Organic Chemistry from Technical University of Brunswick (Technische Universität Braunschweig), Germany.
Teri L. Witteman joined Beyond Meat as General Counsel and Secretary in May 2019, and has served as Chief Legal Officer since April 2021. Prior to joining Beyond Meat, Ms. Witteman was a partner with Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP from April 2016 to May 2019, specializing in the areas of SEC compliance, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Musick Peeler, Ms. Witteman was an attorney with Anglin Flewelling Rasmussen Campbell & Trytten LLP from September 2004 to April 2016, having started her career with Latham & Watkins LLP in Los Angeles, where she focused on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. From December 2012 to September 2018, Ms. Witteman served as Secretary of Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM), a national coffee roaster, wholesaler and distributor of coffee, tea and culinary products. Ms. Witteman received her Juris Doctor degree, Order of the Coif, from UCLA School of Law, and her BA degree in Economics, with honors and distinction, from the University of California, Berkeley.
Jonathan Nelson has served as the company’s Chief Operations Officer since January 2024. Prior to that, Mr. Nelson served as Senior Vice President, Operations from October 2022 to January 2024, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Operations from December 2021 to October 2022, and Vice President, NA Manufacturing Operations from May 2021 to November 2021, assuming additional responsibilities on an interim basis pending the search for a chief operating officer from August 2021 to December 2021. Prior to joining the company, from March 2021 to May 2021, Mr. Nelson served as Chief Executive Officer of JP Nelson Consulting, a private consulting firm. From January 2012 to January 2021, Mr. Nelson served in various roles with SunOpta, Inc. (NASDAQ: STKL), a global company focused on plant-based foods and beverages, fruit-based foods and beverages, and organic ingredient sourcing and production, including as Vice President, Operations - Ingredients from January 2012 to March 2016, and Vice President, Operations - Plant Based Food and Beverage from March 2016 to January 2021. Mr. Nelson received his BS in Paper Science and Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and his MBA from the University of Mary.
Akerho “AK” Oghoghomeh joined Beyond Meat as Senior Vice President, Global Marketing in February 2023 and has served as Chief Marketing Officer since January 2024. Before joining Beyond Meat, Mr. Oghoghomeh served as Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing at Red Bull from 2021 to February 2023. Prior to that Mr. Oghoghomeh served as Head of Recruitment Marketing – West Zone for Amazon, an eCommerce company from 2019 to 2021. Prior to that Mr. Oghoghomeh served as Vice President, Marketing – Commercial Brands for Campaign Monitor, a provider of email marketing software, from 2018 to 2020. Prior to that Mr. Oghoghomeh served in various other roles at Red Bull, including Director, Brand Marketing from 2017 to 2018, Senior Brand Manager from 2015 to 2017 and Brand Manager from 2012 to 2015 and various roles at Conagra Brand including Associate Brand Manager, Sweet Snacks from 2011 to 2012, Associate Brand Manager, Digital Shopper Marketing from 2010 to 2011 and Assistant Brand Manager, Media Strategy from 2009 to 2010. Mr. Oghoghomeh received his BS in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University, and his MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.
Drew Lufkin joined Beyond Meat as Senior Vice President, Sales in April 2024. Before joining Beyond Meat, Mr. Lufkin served as Vice President of Sales – Retail/Foodservice at Heartland Food Products Group, a global leader in the consumer-packaged goods industry producing low-calorie sweeteners, coffee, creamers, adult nutrition and liquid water enhancers, from 2017 to 2024. Prior to that, Mr. Lufkin served as Vice President - Sales and Marketing from 2016 to 2017 and Division Vice President – Sales and Marketing from 2012 to 2016 at Kruger Products USA, a leading manufacturer and distributor of tissue and paper towel products. Prior to that, Mr. Lufkin served in various roles at Crossmark Sales & Marketing from 2004 to 2012, most recently as Division Manager. Mr. Lufkin received his BS in Business Administration from Babson College.
