BOSTON — Michael Leonard has been named chief executive officer of Motif FoodWorks, a Boston-based food technology company. He will succeed Jonathan McIntyre, who will transition to an advisory role with the company.

Dr. Leonard has been chief technology officer at Motif since 2019. Prior to Motif he was vice president of whitespace and springboard R&D at Kraft Heinz Co. Earlier, he spent more than seven years at PepsiCo, Inc. in a variety of roles, including vice president of global snacks R&D process technology. He also has worked at Solae, LLC and International Flavors & Fragrances.

He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Roanoke College, a master’s degree in business administration from MIT Sloan School of Management and a doctorate in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“Motif has developed unique approaches to analyzing, discovering, and designing both plant-based ingredients and foods to better address unmet customer needs and tastes,” Dr. Leonard said. “I look forward to leading this business as we strengthen our position in the market and deepen our organizational focus on commercialization, technology development, and growth. The entire team at Motif thanks Jon for his outstanding leadership and contributions over the past three and a half years, and for his continued support of the company as we enter this new phase.”