Cloud Biology Company Expands Expertise in Food and Ingredients, Positions for Further Growth
ST. LOUIS, MO—February 15, 2018—Benson Hill , a crop improvement company dedicated to unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants, today announced that Michael Wainscott has joined the organization as Chief Financial Officer. Wainscott brings a record of strategic and operational finance leadership for organizations undergoing significant growth, with special focus on the food ingredient industry where he worked extensively in portfolio and supply chain management.
“From my years in the industry, it was abundantly clear that we severely under-utilize the abundance of nature in our food system. The power of Benson Hill’s crop design technology, coupled with their empowerment business model, create product differentiation opportunities for the food industry that were previously out of reach. I want to be part of that new day to address unmet consumer demand.”
-Michael Wainscott, Chief Financial Officer
Wainscott joins Benson Hill during a time of extensive growth, as the company’s recently launched Edit, powered by CropOS™, genome editing system gains interest as an efficient product development engine fully accessible to partners across the agri-food value chain. The computational platform and novel genome editing nucleases of Edit enable partners to tap natural genetic diversity as a powerful source of product differentiation to improve the health and sustainability of crops.
Wainscott’s extensive business acumen in the food and ingredient industries further positions Benson Hill to excel as a technical and commercial asset to its partners. Most recently, Wainscott co-founded and served as Chief Financial Officer for Technology Crops International, a company providing the specialty food, nutraceutical and other industries with non-commodity agricultural products to meet their raw material needs. Prior to that, he served as CFO for Kings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Foods, plc.
“Food companies experience enormous pressure to offer new products but with simpler ingredients, and the traditional agricultural supply chain simply has not met their needs,” said Matt Crisp, CEO of Benson Hill. “Increasing the scope of crops we use, and tapping the natural genetic diversity that exists within a crop to enhance its nutrient-density and sustainability, can build more diverse product portfolios, stronger supply chains and a more robust food system. We are thrilled to have Mike’s passion and expertise on our team.”
Kincannon & Reed, a leading executive search firm focused on the food, agribusiness, and biosciences sectors, assisted the Benson Hill management in recruitment of Michael Wainscott.
About Benson Hill —Benson Hill empowers innovators with a revolutionary crop design platform to develop healthier and more sustainable crops. Our CropOS™ platform combines machine learning and big data with genome editing and plant biology to drastically accelerate and simplify the product development process. More information can be found online at www.bensonhill.com. Follow us on Twitter at @bensonhillinc.
Media Contact
Benson Hill :
Natalie DiNicola
(314) 422-7735
ndinicola@bensonhill.com
