Milling & Baking News - December 14, 2021 - 32

TUES | 12 14 2021
People
Longtime General Mills veteran
John Church to retire
MINNEAPOLIS - John Church, who played a
key role in the integration of the operations
of General Mills, Inc. and The Pillsbury
Co., plans to retire next month after
more than 30 years with General Mills.
Mr. Church, chief transformation and
enterprise services officer at General
Mills, currently leads large-scale transformation
efforts associated with the company's
" Accelerate " strategy, with additional
accountabilities for its sustainability
and global impact, security and shared
services functions. Prior to his current
role, he was chief supply chain officer for
13 years, leading procurement, logistics,
manufacturing, engineering and human
safety. Accountability for corporate social
responsibility, security and global shared
services were added to the
role in 2017.
" While he spent much
of his career leading our
supply chain efforts, John's
significant contributions
are evident throughout our
organization, " said Jeff Harmening,
chairman and chief
executive officer of General
Mills. " His true legacy is the
innumerable employees he's
managed and mentored, many into senior
leaders themselves. John is the embodiment
of servant leadership. He leads by creating
a compelling vision, fostering a team-first
culture and guiding with great humility. "
During his tenure, Mr. Church led the
integration of the Pillsbury and General
Mills manufacturing logistics networks
20 years ago. More recently, he oversaw
the divestiture of the company's European
Yoplait business. He is the lead director
for the supervisory board of Cereal
Partners Worldwide, General Mills' joint
venture with Nestle. He also
is the executive sponsor
for the company's Hispanic
Employee Network.
Mr. Church joined GenChurch
eral
Mills in 1988 as a product
developer and led the
launch of several new products,
including Multi-Grain
Cheerios and Trix shapes.
He will retire from the company
on Jan. 31, 2022. MBN
Benson Hill builds out management
team with three new hires
ST. LOUIS - Food technology company
Benson Hill, Inc. has expanded its
senior leadership team with the hires of
Andres Martin, Trent Collins and Ratna
Mukherjea, PhD.
Mr. Martin joins the company as executive
vice president and general manager,
International. In his new role he will focus
on expanding the company's customer base
and introducing Benson Hill's proprietary,
non-GMO soybeans portfolio to markets
outside the United States. He has more than
25 years of experience in supply chain
operations and agribusiness, most recently
as president of Bunge North America and as
head of grains and oilseeds at Bunge.
" Benson Hill's integrated business
model and focus on more nutritious and
sustainable food and ingredient options
have great appeal for human food, animal
feed and aquaculture markets globally, "
he said. " For instance, a considerable portion
of the demand in the growing meat
alternative market comes from outside
32
MILLING & BAKING NEWS
of the United States, including Europe
and Asia. As Benson Hill's momentum in
the US continues to grow, I'm excited to
position the company to penetrate global
markets and capitalize on near-term and
long-term growth opportunities. "
Mr. Collins was named senior vice
president of ingredient operations. Before
joining Benson Hill he worked at ADM
for 28 years, most recently as global
director of proteins technology. He will
report to Bruce Bennett, also a former
ADM employee who joined Benson Hill
this year as president of the ingredients
business.
" We believe Benson Hill's proprietary,
non-GMO soybean ingredients portfolio
and future innovations in yellow pea
are unlike anything available through
the traditional commodity system, " Mr.
Collins said. " For food companies, these
ingredients check all the boxes, including
reduced processing steps, an improved
sustainability profile, and the quality
attributes consumers are looking for. My
team works to ensure operational excellence
and efficiency at Benson Hill's facilities,
including the recently-acquired soybean
crushing facility in Seymour, Ind.,
which are critical to our integrated model
and ability to scale and commercialize our
innovative ingredients. "
Dr. Mukherjea joins Benson Hill as senior
director of food innovation. She has done
research for more than 20 years in academia
and the food industry, most recently
at International Flavors & Fragrances.
" Benson Hill's innovation platform is
designed to continuously iterate our portfolio
to better align with the nutritional and
sensory preferences of the consumer that
are critical for the plant-based protein and
other markets, " Dr. Mukherjea said. " The
through-line in all of this is data insights.
Predictive modeling enables my team to
link food science outcomes like higher protein,
taste and texture back to the genomics
of the seed. This is ground-breaking to
identify high-quality characteristics and
develop ingredients that are better from the
beginning compared to traditional undifferentiated
commodity ingredients. " MBN
bakingbusiness.com
GENERAL MILLS
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - December 14, 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - December 14, 2021
