(Reuters) -Plant-based meat maker Beyond Meat Inc on Friday named Amazon.com Inc veteran Phil Hardin as its chief financial officer, replacing Mark Nelson who retired in May.
Hardin spent 15 years at Amazon and has held several roles in finance, most recently as vice president, finance for Amazon advertising. He will join Beyond Meat in July.
The appointment comes at a time the plant-based food market heats up, with many companies planning a stock market listing, including Beyond Meat’s main rival Impossible Foods.
Oat milk maker Oatly Group AB raised over a billion dollars when it went public in May, highlighting investor interest in the plant-based food space.
Beyond Meat’s stock, which rose about 90% between its IPO in May 2019 and end of last year, is up 14.5% so far in 2021.
Nelson, who played a key role in Beyond Meat’s blockbuster public listing, was pulled into a controversy after being named in a fraud claims lawsuit filed by Don Lee Farms, a former Beyond Meat supplier.
Beyond Meat on Friday also named Deanna Jurgens as its chief growth officer and Margaret Trask as its chief people officer.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
