Beta Hatch taps veteran operations expert Phil Kassel as COO, Adds Former Cargill Animal Health Head Chuck Warta to Board of Directors
CASHMERE, WA - April 6, 2023
Beta Hatch, a cleantech startup converting food waste into sustainable protein, today announced two key additions to its team to support its expansion strategy fueled by their current Series B fundraise. Following early years of scaling and completion of key R&D milestones, including the 2021 publication of the mealworm genome, its flagship mealworm hatchery is now the largest facility of its kind in North America. Opened officially in 2022, the new facility secured the company’s place among the major players of the emerging insect protein industry. Veteran operations expert, Phil Kassel, has joined as Chief Operating Officer. At the same time, they welcome Chuck Warta, formerly President of Cargill Health and Nutrition and President of Cargill Premix and Nutrition to their board.
Kassel brings over 20 years of experience, serving companies including ConAgra, Perdue, and Rembrandt Enterprises. Phil has led these organizations in building continuous improvement programs, management operating systems & championed best practices across both food processing and animal production. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside such a talented team at Beta Hatch and to bring my skills, experience, and passion for organizational & operational excellence to build a more sustainable food system”.
As a startup disrupting both food waste and ag inputs, day-to-day operations can sometimes take a backseat to the exciting technology development required for scale. While Beta Hatch’s team already boasts PhDs in entomology, genetics and engineering, “bringing on a COO with Phil’s expertise and experience at this stage will allow us to translate our innovations directly to efficiencies on the production floor. We know how important operational execution is to the success of our business, which is laser focused on hitting profitability as soon as possible”, said Virginia Emery, Founder & CEO, of her decision to make this hire now.
Beta Hatch has also added Chuck Warta, former Cargill Vice President and current Operating Partner at Lewis & Clark AgriFood to its arsenal of experts at the board level. “I’m very excited to be helping Beta Hatch reach its commercial potential of transforming food waste into high value protein and meaningfully reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the process”, said Chuck. Emery added, “We are grateful to have his expert guidance and have already started putting his insights into practice. I’m thrilled to welcome these industry leaders to our team”.