Marcella Butler, Impossible Foods
Marcella Butler has been named chief people officer of Impossible Foods.
 

REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. — Marcella Butler has been named chief people officer of Impossible Foods, the maker of the plant-based Impossible Burger. In her new role, she will be responsible for recruiting and retention as the company expands its distribution footprint to thousands of restaurants nationwide and overseas in the coming quarters.

Previously, Ms. Butler was head of human resources at software company Opower, now part of Oracle. From 2007 to 2010, she was director in people operations at Google, and from 2010 to 2012 she led Google’s mergers and acquisitions integration team. Prior to Google, Ms. Butler was chief operating officer and chief compliance officer of Pershing Square Capital Management. She began her career in 1991 as senior engagement manager in the financial services practice at McKinsey & Co.

Patrick Brown, Impossible Foods
Patrick Brown, founder and c.e.o. of Impossible Foods

“Marcella brings to our people team a strong business perspective gained in organizations ranging from start-ups to major multinationals, in roles from finance and operations to H.R. leadership,” said Patrick O. Brown, founder and chief executive officer of Impossible Foods. “She’s an ultra-long-distance athlete with the confidence and discipline to go the distance as Impossible Foods grows rapidly.”

Ms. Butler is the latest to join the leadership team at Impossible Foods, which earlier this year added a chief science officer and named a new senior vice-president of supply chain and manufacturing. In August, the Redwood City-based company announced the closing of a $75 million investment led by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek. Other investors included Open Philanthropy Project, Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and Horizon Ventures.

The company’s Impossible Burger is made with plant-based ingredients, including soy leghemoglobin, a protein that carries the iron-containing molecule heme, which occurs naturally in animals and plants and delivers a beefy flavor without cholesterol, hormones or antibiotics. Other key ingredients in the Impossible Burger are water, wheat protein, coconut oil and potato protein plus natural flavors and micronutrients. The Impossible Burger uses about 75% less water and 95% less land than conventional ground beef from cows and generates about 87% fewer greenhouse gases.