Kincannon & Reed Lands Chief Commercial Officer for Calyxt
March 23, 2017 – Executive search firm Kincannon & Reed has placed Manoj Sahoo as chief commercial officer of Calyxt Inc. Mr. Sahoo will work closely as part of Calyxt’s executive team to build a commercial partnership network, execute a go-to-market plan for the company’s products and ensure Calyxt’s integrated commercial success moving forward.
Mr. Sahoo joins the company from Cargill, where he spent seven years in a variety of key commercial enterprise roles. Most recently, he served as assistant vice president, food ingredients and bio-industrial enterprise, where he was responsible for revenues over $1 billion in the fermentation space, leading the commercial enterprise team to triple its earnings from bio-based products, and managed relationships with large institutional customers. His prior roles at Cargill include serving as business development director, starches and sweeteners North America, as an investment team member with the Emerging Business Accelerator, a group structured along corporate venture capital groups to invest in white space opportunities for Cargill.
Over the years, Mr. Sahoo has also served on the boards of both Calysta Inc. and Rivertop Renewables as a Cargill representative. He was responsible for leading Cargill’s equity investments in the industrial biotechnology space, including co-investment in real assets with institutional financial investors to build a $600 million commercial-scale aquaculture nutrition plant.
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“Manoj’s extensive professional background in driving revenue and building relationships during his 20 years of experience makes him the perfect choice to be on the forefront of building Calyxt’s commercialization infrastructure as we prepare to launch our products,” said Calyxt CEO Federico Tripodi. “Manoj is highly respected in his field and has an impressive record in business development and commercial enterprise.”
“I am thrilled to be joining Calyxt as the company enters an important growth phase and prepares to launch its first commercial product in the near future,” said Mr. Sahoo. “The ag and food industries are at crossroads with consumers demanding more healthy and sustainable alternatives. Calyxt’s innovative technology and the management team’s passion for developing healthier foods for consumers will play a pivotal role in transforming the ag and food value chain.”
Calyxt is a fast-growing, consumer-oriented agricultural company that utilizes its innovative, patented TALEN technology to develop crop products with healthier characteristics for consumers – while while helping farmers and the food & agriculture industries reduce their environmental footprints in the context of climate change.
Kincannon & Reed focuses exclusively on the food, agribusiness, and life sciences sectors and serves clients from its offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The firm recently placed Lucas Lentsch as chief executive officer of the Midwest Dairy Association, a non-profit organization which manages dairy farmer checkoff funds in a 10-state region.
Global Growth Mode
Kincannon & Reed began the year by expanding in Brazil with the addition Ricardo Casiuch as managing director. He serves clients in the crop inputs sector. His background includes executive positions in agribusiness and biotechnology for Brazilian, American, Canadian, and Italian multinational companies.
Just recently, the firm added Lisa Johnson as managing director in Chicago. Ms. Johnson is a member of the firm’s food and ingredients team. She leads recruiting and succession assignments for the firm’s clients seeking general managers, presidents, and CEOs, as well as senior functional executives in marketing, sales, finance, business development, and R&D.
Kincannon & Reed also recently expanded into Latin America with the addition of Juan Pablo Buc Calderon as a managing director covering Chile and Peru. Within the region, he serves the firm’s agribusiness and food clients throughout Latin America. Mr. Buc Calderon worked extensively in Chilean agriculture, occupying key executive positions in recognized companies in the fruit export sector and agribusiness.
A few months back, Kincannon & Reed appointed Alan Temple as a managing director serving clients in the produce and food sectors. His background includes a two decade long career with B&W Quality Growers, Inc., a producer and distributor of branded and wholesale leafy greens with international distribution. The firm also named Phillip Osborne as a managing director in Australia / New Zealand. His background includes CEO and CFO positions in the FMCG, beverage, food and food ingredients, and agribusiness sectors.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
