UAE – Next Gen Foods, one of Asia’s leading food startups, has named former Tesla and Impossible Foods executive Rachel Konrad as its first independent board member.
Konrad has more than a decade of experience in working with mission-driven and disruptive companies on Earth.
Animal-free proteins champion Impossible Foods and electric vehicle company Tesla are some of the next-generation companies where Konrad has held c-suite positions.
She joins NextGen Foods from Impossible Foods where she served as the Chief Communications Officer
From 2011-2016, she was head of communications and marketing at the global car group Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Before that, she was Director of Communications at Tesla in both the United States and Europe.
She began her career as a reporter and editor for online, wire and print publications, including The Associated Press, CNET and Detroit Free Press.
At Asia’s leading food startup, Konrad is expected to help steer the company towards achieving its goal of making the global food system sustainable by making delicious, nutritious meat from plants.
Founded in 2020, Next Gen has already cut a name for itself in the alternative proteins market with its first product TiNDLE plant-based chicken.
TiNDLE debuted earlier this year and is now served in more than 100 restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and the UAE.
“We can’t solve our planet’s climate and extinction crises without radical changes to the food system — including a rapid shift away from animal agriculture,” said Konrad.
“Next Gen Foods’ leadership team stands out for its passion and ambition to develop food that represents a categorical upgrade from Old Meat — and the company’s first product is an absolute blast to cook.”
Konrad joins Next Gen Foods’ existing board members, including Timo Recker (Co-Founder & Chairman), Andre Menezes (Co-Founder & CEO), Rohit Bhattacharya (CFO), Eddy Ho (Director of Enterprise Development, Temasek), and Meng Xiong Kuok (Founder & Managing Partner, K3 Ventures).
“We were looking for a board member and mentor who has been through hypergrowth scaleup and is passionate about making the global food system sustainable,” said Next Gen Foods’ Co-Founder and CEO Andre Menezes.
“Rachel will help us accelerate our expansion to every major market globally — with our flagship product and many others to follow. And I know we’ll all have a ton of fun together.”
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