Call him a disruptor in the food industry.
David Lee will be president of Morehead, Ky.-based AppHarvest, after serving as chief financial officer of plant-based innovator Impossible Foods.
At AppHarvest, an ag-tech company building indoor farms, Lee will report to founder and CEO Jonathan Webb starting Jan. 25, according to a news release.
In this newly created role, Lee will develop strategy and manage operations, leading the sales, marketing and finance departments.
“… I am eager to invest my time in a mission-driven company with so much potential to grow,” Lee said in the release.
Lee is credited with growing Impossible Foods, including securing more than $1.3 billion to speed up manufacturing, product development and distribution into key national grocery, restaurant and hospitality venues; and to expand in international markets.
He was chief operating officer of Impossible Foods from 2015 to 2019, during a period of significant transformation for the company.
He joined the AppHarvest board of directors in August and will continue that role after the closing of the previously announced business combination of AppHarvest with Novus Capital Corp.
Lee holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.
In January, AppHarvest expects to begin the first tomato harvest from a 60-acre facility. Two more facilities are under construction: a similar 60-plus acre facility outside Richmond, Ky., and a 15-acre facility for leafy greens in Berea, Ky. Nine more projects are in the pipeline.
