Hazel Technologies names Parker Booth as new CEO

Parker Booth is the new CEO of Chicago-based Hazel Technologies, company Chairman Matthew Walker announced in a news release.

Booth replaces co-founder Aidan Mouat, who had been CEO since 2015, according to Mouat’s LinkedIn profile. Mouat remains in an advisory capacity for the company, the release said.

Booth was elevated from his previous position as Hazel’s chief operating officer, where he had served since 2019, the release said.

Walker also announced Jeff Leshuk as Hazel’s new chief revenue officer, reporting to Booth. Together, Booth and Leshuk possess a deep level of experience growing and scaling businesses across the fresh produce, postharvest packaging and agtech industries, Walker said in the release.

“We are confident in Parker’s leadership,” Walker, a managing director at S2G Ventures, said in the release. “Under his vision and guidance, he can help move Hazel beyond the start-up phase to one that’s rooted in real global expansion, adoption, and execution. The path Parker is plotting for Hazel is an exciting one; we’re all looking forward to seeing it come to life over the next few years."

Kevin Murphy, Hazel Technologies board member and former CEO and president of Driscoll’s, praised Booth’s experience in the industry.

“Parker has a long history in the produce business from various perspectives — container shipping, shelf-life extension and value-added products with companies of varying sizes,” Murphy said in the release. “This deep experience has been instrumental in his success as the COO and will be invaluable as he takes on the CEO role at Hazel. It all adds up to Parker being the right leader to build on Hazel’s success and shepherd the company through this next phase of international expansion.”

As COO at Hazel Technologies, Booth oversaw its international market expansion, which included the development of critical production and distribution partnerships, according to the release.

In 2022, Booth led the IP acquisition of a complementary technology that has since become instrumental in revenue growth in the North America, Latin America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa regions for Hazel Technologies, the release said.

Booth said Hazel Technologies still has tremendous growth potential.

“In eight years, a breakthrough idea hatched at Northwestern University has become an impactful sustainability solution for many of the world’s biggest food companies,” Booth said in the release. “And while it’s easy to marvel at Hazel’s success to date, the company has only scratched the surface of its opportunities globally. We have a strong, experienced senior leadership team to help lead Hazel to even greater heights. We at Hazel are motivated by our collective desire to help reduce food waste in the global supply chains, and this makes it an exciting time at Hazel.”

Working with 15 different crop varieties and over 400 of the world’s largest food producers, Hazel Technologies' products will have protected nearly 5 billion pounds of fresh produce by the end of 2023, preventing more than 400 million pounds from going to waste, the company said.