ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US — Food technology company Benson Hill, Inc. has expanded its senior leadership team with the hires of Andres Martin, Trent Collins and Ratna Mukherjea, PhD.

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,” Martin said. “For instance, a considerable portion of the demand in the growing meat alternative market comes from outside 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.”

Collins has been named senior vice president of ingredient operations. Prior to joining Benson Hill, he was with ADM for 28 years, most recently as global director of proteins technology. He will report to Bruce Bennett, another longtime former ADM employee who joined Benson Hill earlier 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,” 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, Indiana, which are critical to our integrated model and ability to scale and commercialize our innovative ingredients.”

Mukherjea joins Benson Hill as senior director of food innovation. She has more than 20 years of experience in clinical and translational research at academic institutions and in 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,” 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.”