Tom Beecher Appointed CFO At Kate Farms
-- Savvy Leader and Two-Time CEO Joins the Leader in Plant-Based Medical Nutrition --
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Oct. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Kate Farms Chief Executive Officer Brett Matthews announced today the appointment of Tom Beecher to Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at Kate Farms, the leader in nutritionally advanced plant-based medical formulas.
Beecher comes to Kate Farms after ten years at Cartera Commerce, where he was the Chief Executive Officer and President and led the successful sale of the company to Ebates/Rakuten in 2017, continuing to lead the company until 2019. Previously Beecher held a number of leadership roles at Imagitas which he joined immediately after graduating from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar. Hired as a Product Manager in 1996, he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in 2001 and became the CEO in 2005 after leading the sale of the company to Pitney Bowes. He started his career at Bain & Company in 1989, moving to product management at Fleet Bank in 1992.
"I've joined the Kate Farms team for three simple reasons: mission, model and Matthews," said Beecher. "Knowing that my work each day helps to take care of people who really need our product is gratifying, as is the opportunity to disrupt a $3 billion industry that's effectively a duopoly with a product better for patients and the planet. Working with Brett again is the icing on the cake."
Beecher joins a talented bench of leaders including Chairman and CEO Brett Matthews who started his career in 1988 as a brand assistant in the healthcare division of Procter & Gamble after graduating from Dartmouth College. In 1990 he became the Vice President of On Target Media (now Patient Point) specializing in point of care marketing and patient education. In 1992 he co-founded Imagitas with his wife Ginger Salazar and led the company for 14 years, driving the unique private/public partnership model to breakaway growth. Matthews sold Imagitas to Pitney Bowes in 2005, and spent a decade in philanthropy, board service and investing. He joined Kate Farms in 2014, leading its recapitalization while crafting the new strategy that took the struggling brand out of retail channels and pivoted to medical nutrition distribution. As a result, Kate Farms has seen a doubling of sales each year.
Also on board at Kate Farms is John Hommeyer, the Chief Operating Officer. After graduating from Dartmouth, Hommeyer joined Procter & Gamble in brand management in 1988 where he honed his marketing and general management skills for more than a decade. He then jumped into start-ups, disrupting a number of large industries, most notably travel. As CMO of Hotwire.com, Hommeyer drove runaway growth and established a brand that remains a leader today. He then joined The Clorox Company as Vice President and General Manager and was responsible for driving double-digit growth of the Clorox franchise and leading the successful acquisition of Burt's Bees. In 2013 Hommeyer co-founded and served as CEO of life sciences company MicroNature which now has its groundbreaking natural food safety technology in regulatory trials.
ABOUT KATE FARMS
Kate Farms was founded in 2012 by parents determined to save their daughter's life after a diagnosis of failure to thrive and is the #1 recommended plant-based formula. Kate Farms offers medical formulas for children and adults, to be used as sole source or supplemental nutrition, for oral or tube feeding. They are available nationally and eligible for insurance coverage with Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance. Kate Farms formulas are made for tolerance with easily digested organic pea protein, fiber, and phytonutrients, and without common allergens or artificial sweeteners or flavors. Kate Farms can be accessed in more than 600 US hospitals, including the top children's hospitals; availability is increasing daily. Visit www.katefarms.com.
For more information, visit katefarms.com and follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
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Errin Cecil-Smith
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SOURCE Kate Farms
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