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Ivy Farm and Ole & Steen announce new recruits

07-Nov-2023 - Last updated on 07-Nov-2023 at 09:49 GMT

Ole & Steen and Ivy Farm feature in our latest senior appointment round-up. Credit: Getty/Hispanolistic

While Ole & Steen is looking for a new group CEO, it has also announced the new appointment of Graham Hollingshead as its UK MD. Meanwhile, Dr Harsh Amin has joined cultivated meat start-up Ivy Farm as its chief scientific officer.

Ivy Farm has hired Dr Harsh Amin as its new chief scientific officer in a move which the cultivated meat company says will ‘strengthen its R&D strategy and scale-up plans’.

The lab grown meat sector is facing a number of challenges, including the need to scale-up production whilst maintaining strident quality standards. With more than 15 years of experience in the biotechnology and biopharma industries, Dr Amin's background in stem cell biology, tissue engineering and cell culture media development puts him in good stead, to help navigate these hurdles and propel Ivy Farm towards successful commercialisation.

Previous to joining Ivy Farm, Dr Amin was a postdoctoral fellow at Imperial College London where he investigated cartilage and bone regeneration. This followed a PhD in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at UCL, where he graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy and was made a Dorothy Hodgkin fellow.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Amin said he was thrilled to be joining at such a “pivotal time” in the company’s journey.

“Cultivating meat is a complex scientific process, and looking at the overall landscape within this industry, Ivy Farm has already done a terrific job in addressing critical challenges,” he added. “With the experience I’ve gained over the years in the adjacent biotech and biopharma industries, I look forward to helping the team finish the job - scale-up, and ultimately, make the product commercially viable so we can bring a sustainable real meat option to consumers.”

Meanwhile, Danish bakery café chain Ole & Steen has announced a new UK managing director.

Previously caravan operations director, Graham Hollinshead will be stepping up as MD, replacing interim lead Tim Selby who also serves as the brand’s operations director.

Since opening its first UK bakery seven years ago, Ole & Steen has been focused on expanding into new communities in and around London. Under the new leadership of Hollinshead, the company says it is keen to continue on this journey of growth.

At the same, Ole & Steen has announced it is on the look-out for a group CEO, as Jason Cotta’s steps aside.

This follows several other recent appointments this year, including Stuart Cockburn as its new UK operations director; Beth Clarke as its new head of people; and David Campbell as its board chairman.

Prior to joining the company back in 2019, Cotta served a nine-year-stint at Costa Coffee where held several roles including group managing director.

The decision to seek a new group CEO has been made jointly by Cotta and the board of directors, who agreed a candidate with “a different profile will be better suited” to Ole & Steen’s future strategic needs.

"Ole & Steen has been through an intense growth journey over the past five years, where the company has doubled in size and successfully established itself firmly in both Denmark and internationally in London and New York,” said Campbell.

“Going forward, the strategic focus will be on improving operating results across markets and continuing the work to build a leading bakery chain that delivers Danish quality baked goods to customers in Denmark and internationally.”

Campbell added that Cotta has been key in the company’s development so far and expressed thanks for his valuable contribution.

In the interim, as the company seeks its new group CEO, Jesper Mark Dixen, current group chief commercial officer, will take on the role.