REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. — Steve Turner has joined Impossible Foods in the newly created role of chief experience officer. He will be responsible for building brand awareness and will report to Patrick O. Brown, MD, PhD, founder and chief executive officer.
Mr. Turner is the founder of Sublime, a strategic creative consulting firm, and has consulted for such businesses as Adidas, Apeel, Bird, Lulelemon, Samsung, Nike and more. During an 11-year tenure at Apple, Mr. Turner advanced to global executive creative director for the media arts lab and worked alongside Steve Jobs to help launch such technologies as iPod+iTunes, Mac, iPhone, Apple TV and Apple Music.
“Steve Turner was the best of an exceptionally talented group of all-star candidates to take Impossible to the next level of brand love and recognition,” Dr. Brown said. “Steve stood out for his unusually broad range of experiences across technology, entertainment, sports and health industries, in both the United States and Europe. I’m positive he will help transform Impossible Foods into the world’s most beloved brand.”
Mr. Turner’s arrival at Impossible Foods coincides with a period of expansion for the maker of the plant-based burger. The company recently introduced its first national advertising campaign and is planning a new global headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area. Last year Impossible Foods doubled its headcount, and it plans to hire hundreds more employees through 2021. The company has raised approximately $1.5 billion since its founding a decade ago and is reportedly preparing for a public listing that would value the company at about $10 billion or more. Impossible Foods is exploring an initial public offering or a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, according to Reuters.
