AppHarvest Hires Impossible Foods’ David Lee as President
AppHarvest, the leading AgTech company building some of the country’s largest indoor farms and combining conventional agriculture techniques with cutting-edge technology to grow affordable, nutritious fruits and vegetables at scale, has appointed David Lee president, reporting to Founder and CEO Jonathan Webb effective Jan. 25.
In this newly created role, Lee will develop strategy and engage in operations management, leading the sales, marketing and finance functions as AppHarvest continues to grow as a sustainable fresh foods company.
Lee will join AppHarvest from Impossible Foods where he has served as chief financial officer since December 2015. He is credited with significant growth accomplishments at Impossible Foods including securing more than $1.3 billion in funding to accelerate manufacturing, product development and distribution into key national grocery, restaurant and hospitality venues; and to expand in international markets. Additionally, Lee served as chief operating officer of Impossible Foods from 2015 to 2019, during a period of significant transformation for the company. Lee has served on the board of directors of AppHarvest since August 2020 and will continue to serve in that role after the closing of the previously announced business combination of AppHarvest with Novus Capital Corporation.
“David Lee brings decades of experience across retail and consumer industries driving business transformation and optimizing organizational effectiveness from Del Monte to Zynga to Impossible Foods,” said AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb. “His skillset will help us build AppHarvest into an iconic brand and sustainable foods company that disrupts traditional agriculture to deliver responsibly grown American products with social impact,” Webb said.
“AppHarvest offers a unique solution to building a more resilient and responsible food system. I have seen firsthand that when given sustainable options, consumers will be the market force that helps address climate change and food supply issues, ensuring success of companies that are putting the planet first, and I am eager to invest my time in a mission-driven company with so much potential to grow.”
In January, AppHarvest expects to begin the first harvest from its flagship farm – a 60-acre facility growing tomatoes – in Morehead, Ky. The company has two additional facilities under construction – a similar 60-plus acre facility outside Richmond, KY and a 15-acre facility to grow leafy greens in Berea, KY. AppHarvest also is planning for more facilities across Kentucky and Central Appalachia, with nine potential projects in the pipeline through 2025.
AppHarvest grows produce using 100 percent recycled rainwater and zero chemical pesticides. Its indoor farms are designed to use 90 percent less water with yields that are up to 30 times higher compared to traditional open-field agriculture on the same amount of land. Its location in Appalachia allows it to deliver a strong social impact by building a diversified economy in economically distressed areas of the country, while enabling its products to reach about 70 percent of the US population within a single day’s drive. As a result, AppHarvest expects to deliver fresher fruits and vegetables, ripened on the vine for peak flavor and nutrition and an 80 percent reduction in diesel consumption required for transportation as compared to produce shipped from Mexico and the Southwest of the U.S.
Lee holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA from Harvard.