16 FoodTech Recruiters Fueling Innovation in the Sector
Discover the industry’s best food tech recruiters, each recognized for their expertise in placing exceptional talent that sparks transformation in the sector. ↓
The FoodTech sector is evolving rapidly, with innovation driving significant change across food production, sustainability, and consumer experiences. Behind this transformation are the expert recruiters who connect leading companies with the talent shaping the future of food. From alternative proteins to food robotics, these recruiters specialize in sourcing high-level professionals who are pivotal to advancing the foodtech industry.
Below is an updated and ranked list of 16 FoodTech recruiters fueling innovation, each recognized for their exceptional ability to place top talent in emerging foodtech companies, and for their invaluable contribution to the industry’s growth.
- Josh Wand
- Cherie Shepard
- Noga Golan
- Julie Curtis
- Mike Rubino
- Simon Leich
- Pia Voltz
- Bert Miller
- Sevada Baghdyan
- Jon Leafstedt
- Cameron Smith
- Kelly Kinnard
- Teresa Romanovsky
- Willis Toh
- Brendan Andersen
- Kevin Coggins
Below we provide more detailed profiles of each recruiter.
Josh Wand
Nationality: American
Josh Wand is a pioneering recruiter in the food and consumer products space, known for building ForceBrands into the leading talent hub for food, beverage, and consumer brand companies. He founded ForceBrands in 2007 with a belief that people are a company’s greatest asset, launching specialized divisions like FoodForce and BevForce to connect emerging foodtech brands with top talent.
Josh’s background as a former spirits industry entrepreneur (he ran a rum brand) shaped his “people-first” recruiting philosophy and helped him identify a market need for high-quality, niche recruitment in the food industry. Under his leadership, ForceBrands has placed executives in fast-growing foodtech startups and global CPG firms alike, and the firm has expanded to include job boards, board placement services, and even a private investment community.
Cherie Shepard
Nationality: American
Cherie Shepard is a seasoned executive recruiter who directs the Food & Beverage practice at Direct Recruiters, Inc. (DRI) in the United States. She has spent years building DRI’s network across the food processing, CPG, ingredients, and equipment sectors, recruiting everyone from food scientists and plant managers to C-suite leaders for manufacturing and distribution companies.
Cherie is known for her consultative style and responsiveness – she often serves as an extended talent acquisition arm for mid-market food companies that lack internal recruiting bandwidth. Under her leadership, DRI’s food industry team has earned a reputation for speed and quality, reflected in the firm’s high placement success rate and repeat engagements. Cherie frequently shares her expertise via industry webinars and contributes to DRI’s blog on topics like hiring for food safety roles and the impact of automation on food industry jobs.
- LinkedIn: Cherie Shepard
Noga Golan
Nationality: Israeli
Noga Golan is an executive recruiter and investor who founded Food Impact Partners in 2023 to focus on mission-driven foodtech talent. With an MBA from Stanford, she previously worked in venture capital and identified a pressing need for specialized recruiting in alternative proteins and food innovation.
At Food Impact Partners, Noga leads a boutique search firm that places senior leaders in plant-based foods, fermentation, cultivated meat, sustainable agriculture, and other foodtech sectors across the globe. She emphasizes a no-nonsense, results-driven approach to executive search, leveraging deep industry networks to find “needle in a haystack” candidates for high-impact foodtech companies.
- LinkedIn: Noga Golan
- X (Twitter): @Noga_Golan
Julie Curtis
Nationality: American
Julie Curtis is an executive recruiter with decades of experience in the food industry, now serving as President of Curtis Food Recruiters – a boutique firm she founded in 2006. Julie’s career began in food procurement and category management with Kraft Foods, SuperValu, and Nash Finch, where she eventually became Head of Talent Acquisition.
Transitioning to search, she has spent the past 20+ years placing mid- to senior-level professionals across food manufacturing, grocery retail, and foodservice companies. Her philosophy is to match people to the right job by deeply understanding a company’s culture, leadership style, and needs. Based in Minnesota, Julie is also a passionate mentor for women in food business – she’s active in industry associations and has been recognized as an “Enterprising Woman of the Year” for her leadership and support of other women entrepreneurs.
- LinkedIn: Julie Curtis
Mike Rubino
Nationality: American
Talent strategy is not just about hiring, it’s about building teams that can scale with the business.
Mike Rubino is a highly accomplished talent acquisition leader who has led recruiting for cutting-edge tech companies, including roles as Head of Talent at Amazon’s Alexa group, Neuralink, and most recently Head of Talent at Chef Robotics (a food robotics startup). With 15 years of recruiting experience, Mike is known for blending big-tech rigor with startup agility.
At Chef Robotics, he built out the engineering and operations teams that developed AI-driven kitchen automation solutions, hiring top-tier robotics engineers and product managers in an intensely competitive market. Mike’s talent strategy emphasizes employer branding and process efficiency – skills he honed at Amazon – as well as a deep understanding of what high-growth startups need in their first talent hires. He is active on social media and recruiting forums, often sharing insights on scaling teams at deep-tech and foodtech ventures.
- LinkedIn: Mike Rubino
- X (Twitter): @startup2titain
Simon Leich
Nationality: British
Simon Leich is the founder and CEO of CS Partners, a London-based executive search firm dedicated to the agrifood-tech and life sciences sectors. Since establishing CS Partners in 2014, Simon has become a thought leader in sustainable food recruitment, publishing industry reports like the first-ever Agri-FoodTech Salary Survey.
He brings over a decade of experience in executive search, leveraging a vast network across alternative proteins, AgTech, and food science to connect high-impact startups with top-tier talent. Simon’s firm has placed leaders at companies such as Clara Foods, MycoTechnology, Provivi, and Zymergen, reflecting its focus on cutting-edge food innovation. Under his guidance, CS Partners has grown into a transatlantic recruiting partner and is recognized for its data-driven approach and deep industry expertise.
- LinkedIn: Simon Leich
Pia Voltz
Nationality: German
Pia Voltz is a leading recruiter in the alternative protein sector and the founder of Tälist, a Berlin-based talent solutions firm dedicated to sustainable foodtech and alt-protein companies. After a career as an industrial psychologist and project manager in executive search (working with both SMEs and large corporations), Pia launched Tälist in 2022 to focus on high-impact food and climate ventures.
She brings 9+ years of experience in headhunting, assessment, and employer branding, and even founded the nonprofit CellAg Germany to help grow the cellular agriculture ecosystem. Pia and her international team help startups worldwide hire critical roles – from food scientists and bioprocess engineers to growth and operations leaders – ensuring these mission-driven companies get the talent they need to scale. An advocate for effective altruism, Pia frequently writes about how AI and new tools can improve recruiting for good causes and has been featured on podcasts discussing careers in alt-proteins.
- LinkedIn: Pia Voltz
Bert Miller
Nationality: American
Bert Miller is a veteran executive recruiter in the food and beverage world and the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Protis Global. Since starting Protis in 1995, Bert has built it into an award-winning retained search firm known for placing top leadership at many of the world’s best-known food and CPG brands.
He is a recognized expert on talent retention and recruitment, often credited with transforming how consumer goods companies approach hiring in fast-changing categories (like plant-based foods and cannabis). Over his 35+ year career, Bert has spearheaded digital transformation in the recruiting industry and identified winning talent trends early – he now hosts the Beyond the Bottom Line podcast where he interviews CEOs on building legendary teams.
Under his guidance, Protis Global (and its affiliate Ace Talent Curators) has consistently ranked among Forbes’ best executive recruiting firms.
- LinkedIn: Bert Miller
Sevada Baghdyan
Nationality: Armenian
Sevada Baghdyan is an executive search partner at Boyden who bridges the worlds of foodtech entrepreneurship and recruiting. Formerly the co-founder and CEO of Menu Group, a food delivery startup operating in four countries, Sevada transitioned into executive search in 2019 and now leads searches in Armenia and Georgia.
His unique background gives him valuable insight into what innovative foodtech companies need in their leaders. At Boyden, Sevada specializes in placing C-level and board executives across e-commerce, food retail, and agtech sectors, leveraging a decade of CEO experience and a track record of hundreds of successful searches. He is a prominent voice in the Caucasus foodtech scene – featured in Georgia Today, he speaks frequently on leadership, market trends, and the talent needed to drive the future of food.
- LinkedIn: Sevada Baghdyan
- X (Twitter): @sevadabaghdyan
Jon Leafstedt
Nationality: American
Jon Leafstedt is a veteran headhunter and managing partner at Kincannon & Reed, the world’s largest executive search firm specializing in food and agriculture. With a background in ag-biotech leadership (he previously led two venture-backed biotech companies), Jon has spent over 15 years placing C-suite and board leaders at organizations “that feed the world”.
He has led more than 200 executive searches across agribusiness, crop science, food ingredient, and alt-protein companies during his tenure at Kincannon & Reed. Jon is passionate about aligning talent with purpose – he often writes and speaks on how innovative leadership can drive sustainable agriculture and foodtech advancements. Clients value his deep sector expertise and hands-on approach; as one client noted, he connects with business owners “in their own language” and quickly grasps the challenges future executives will face.
- LinkedIn: Jon Leafstedt
Cameron Smith
Nationality: American
Cameron Smith is a prominent executive recruiter in the consumer and food retail sector, best known for founding Cameron Smith & Associates (CSA) in 1994. Based near Walmart’s headquarters in Arkansas, Cameron built CSA into the nation’s leading recruitment firm for consumer packaged goods, retail, and vendor communities – for more than 25 years his team has “devoted every day to finding and placing the best talent” in the industry.
Cameron’s specialty is understanding corporate culture and needs at a granular level; CSA dives deep into each client’s organization to ensure candidate fit beyond just the résumé. Over his career, he has personally placed hundreds of executives and managers into major food companies (from Fortune 500 manufacturers to fast-growing snack startups) and the retail chains they supply. Cameron is highly respected in Bentonville’s supplier community – he’s been featured in Forbes and local business journals for his impact on job growth, and he actively mentors young professionals entering the field.
- LinkedIn: Cameron Smith
Kelly Kinnard
Nationality: American
Kelly Kinnard leads talent acquisition for Khosla Ventures’ portfolio and is widely regarded as one of the top talent partners in venture capital. As Operating Partner at Khosla, she advises over 500 startups (including many foodtech and agtech disruptors) on executive hiring and has personally helped recruit dozens of CXOs for high-growth companies.
Kelly brings a rich recruiting pedigree: prior to Khosla she was the Global Talent Partner at Battery Ventures, and earlier an in-house executive recruiter at Oracle, where she placed 50+ senior leaders to drive the company’s cloud initiatives. Her approach blends deep industry insight with rigorous search processes, honed from years at top retained firms Riviera Partners and SPMB working with venture-backed startups.
- LinkedIn: Kelly Kinnard
- X (Twitter): @Kelly_Kinnard
Teresa Romanovsky
Nationality: Australian
Teresa Romanovsky is an Australian recruitment executive who launched Careers for Purpose in 2021, the country’s first agency dedicated to mission-driven industries like alternative proteins. With over 20 years in recruiting across ICT, construction, and logistics, Teresa pivoted to sustainable industries to align her work with her passion for environmental impact.
She now consults and recruits for plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated meat startups, helping them scale teams as the alt-protein sector matures in Australia. Teresa is frank about the challenges – she notes many early-stage alt-protein firms still hire via referrals until they secure funding and reach growth phase – but she’s positioning CFP to be the go-to talent partner as the industry “explodes” in coming years.
Beyond her day-to-day search work, Teresa is a vocal advocate for building an ecosystem of skilled professionals to drive the future of food in Australia, frequently speaking at alt-protein networking events and mentoring career switchers into the field.
- LinkedIn: Teresa Romanovsky
Willis Toh
Nationality: Singaporean
Willis Toh leads the Food & Nutrition practice at Kerry Consulting and is a key executive recruiter in the Asia-Pacific foodtech scene. Based in Singapore, Willis advises foodtech startups, ingredient companies, and big F&B players on strategic hires across APAC, drawing on 15+ years of experience in executive search.
He and his team recently co-authored the Food Tech Talent Requirements APAC 2024 report in partnership with Nurasa (Temasek’s foodtech unit), providing insights into hiring trends and skill needs in the region. Willis has a deep network in alternative proteins, novel ingredients, and agritech, and has successfully placed senior leaders in roles ranging from R&D and food safety to regional general management for both MNCs and startups.
- LinkedIn: Willis Toh
Brendan Andersen
Nationality: American
Brendan Andersen is the founder of Climate People, a recruiting firm devoted to placing top talent in climate tech sectors including sustainable food and agtech. With 20+ years in tech recruiting, Brendan pivoted in 2020 to focus on climate impact and quickly became a leading recruiter for climate and foodtech startups.
He and his team have since connected dozens of software engineers, scientists, and product leaders with companies in alternative proteins, vertical farming, and food waste reduction. Brendan’s approach is rooted in purpose – he views talent placement as a lever to “reverse the harmful effects of climate change” and mobilize more professionals to solve climate challenges. An active On Deck Climate fellow and commentator, Brendan frequently shares hiring insights for mission-driven companies and advocates for transferable tech skills to be applied in food system innovation.
- LinkedIn: Brendan Andersen
Kevin Coggins
Nationality: American
Kevin Coggins is a principal recruiter who heads the AgTech/FoodTech practice at Arris Partners, a boutique executive search firm recognized among the top 100 globally in private equity recruiting. Kevin has a strong track record of working with early-stage agrifood startups – “from great idea to commercial success”, as he describes it – by finding the right technical and commercial leaders to fuel their growth.
He specializes in placing directors and VPs in areas like crop gene editing, biologicals, regulatory affairs, and go-to-market, expertly balancing the unique demands of science-driven companies in fast-paced environments. Clients rave about Kevin’s results: one HR leader at a foodtech company said “working with Kevin has been a joy… I’ve never felt that way about any recruiter”.
Based in North Carolina, Kevin has become a go-to recruiter for AgTech ventures and their venture capital backers, valued for his extensive network of top performers and his ability to deliver “perfect match” candidates within days for critical roles.
- LinkedIn: Kevin Coggins
Sum Up
These influential recruiters have made a lasting impact on the FoodTech sector by sourcing top talent, advancing digital solutions, and spearheading innovation in emerging food technology markets. However, working directly with these experts can often be difficult due to their high demand or premium fees.
An effective alternative is partnering with EchoGlobal. With our deep industry expertise and vast global network, we connect you with the perfect FoodTech professionals to drive your business forward.
Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top professionals. However, if you believe a correction or addition is needed, feel free to reach out. We’ll gladly review and update the page.
Lou Reverchuk