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Ethan Brown (businessman)

For other people named Ethan Brown, see Ethan Brown (disambiguation).
Ethan Brown
Brown in 2021
Born
Ethan Walden Brown

1971 (age 52–53)
NationalityAmerican
Education
Occupation(s)Businessperson, environmentalist
Known forCEO and founder of Beyond Meat
SpouseTracy Brown
Children2

Ethan Walden Brown (born 1971) is an American executive who is the founder, president and CEO of Beyond Meat.[1] Before founding Beyond Meat, Brown worked on alternative energy and electricity grid restructuring at the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices before joining fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems.[2]

Early life and education

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Brown grew up in and near Washington, D.C.,[3] and also spent time during his childhood on his family's farm in Maryland.[4] He is a graduate of George School (Newtown, PA).

Brown holds an undergraduate degree from Connecticut College, a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, a school founded by his father Dr. Peter G. Brown, and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School in 2008.[5]

Career

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Early career

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Brown served as Vice Chairman of the Board at the National Hydrogen Association and Secretary of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council.[6]

Beyond Meat

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Further information: Beyond Meat

In 2009, Brown visited a research center at the University of Missouri that was looking for additional uses for soybeans, a major Missouri resource. There, he met researchers Fu-hung Hsieh and Harold Huff,[7] who were working on technology to replicate the texture of meat using plant proteins. Brown acquired the technology license for the process,[8] and founded Beyond Meat in 2009.[9] On May 2, 2019, Brown rang the opening bell at Nasdaq when Beyond Meat went public under the symbol BYND.[10] Brown is also a director of The PLANeT Partnership, Beyond Meat's joint venture with PepsiCo.[11][12]

Awards and recognition

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In 2014, Brown was listed on Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business 1000.[13] In 2017, Brown was named an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow.[14] In 2018, Brown was selected as one of the UNEP's Champions of the Earth in the category of science and innovation for his "work towards reducing our dependence on animal-based foods."[15] In 2019, Brown was listed on Bloomberg Media's 50 Most Influential ranking.[16] Brown was also named that year to Well+Good's "2020 Changemakers" list.[17]

Personal life

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Brown is married to Tracy Brown,[18] has two children,[8] and lives in Southern California.[3] He became a vegetarian in high school[19] and is now vegan.[20] Brown is also an environmentalist.[21]

References

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  1. ^ Bhattacharji, Alex (2020-04-29). "Imagining a World of Meatless Eating". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  2. ^ Moore, McKenna (2020-11-24). "Why Beyond Meat's CEO chose to fight climate change by going into business". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  3. ^ a b Bessette, Chanelle (2014-01-31). "10 Questions: Ethan Brown, CEO, Beyond Meat". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  4. ^ Patel, Nilay (2020-12-22). "The business of meatless meat". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  5. ^ Villar, Carlos. "Food Tech's Ethan Brown '08 Tackles Sustainability, One Plant-Based Burger at a Time". Ideas & Insights. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  6. ^ Sacred, Jean-Francois (2019-05-02). "Ethan Brown, le "Canada Dry" du burger séduit Wall Street". L'Echo (in French). Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  7. ^ Bronner, Stephen J. (2018-01-22). "With $72 Million in Funding, the Entrepreneur Behind Beyond Meat Pursues Innovation Over Profit". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  8. ^ a b Carroll, Chris (2020-01-17). "Growing Beyond Meat". University of Maryland. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  9. ^ Ohanesian, Liz (2019-05-29). "Beyond Burger: The New 'Meat' in Town". KCET. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  10. ^ Darmiento, Laurence (2020-01-08). "Ethan Brown went vegan but missed fast food. So he started a revolution". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ "Ethan Brown | Management | Beyond Meat, Inc". investors.beyondmeat.com.
  12. ^ Lucas, Amelia (2021-01-26). "Beyond Meat shares soar 26% as company teams up with PepsiCo to make plant-based snacks and drinks". CNBC.
  13. ^ Staff, Fast Company (2014-01-29). "Most Creative People In Business 1000: The Complete List". Fast Company.
  14. ^ "Ethan Brown". AGLN - Aspen Global Leadership Network.
  15. ^ "Tackling the world's most urgent problem: meat". UN Environment Programme. September 26, 2018.
  16. ^ "Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat CEO and Fake Meat's Real Winner". Bloomberg Businessweek. December 4, 2019.
  17. ^ "These are the 27 most influential people in wellness". Well+Good. 2019-12-23.
  18. ^ Fitzgerald, Maggie (2020-09-29). "Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Beyond Meat, United Airlines, JPMorgan, Penn National Gaming and more". CNBC.
  19. ^ Gelles, David (2021-08-27). "The 'Hedonistic Altruism' of Plant-Based Meat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  20. ^ Park, Alice (2019-06-06). "Why We Don't Need Animals to Keep Enjoying Meat". Time. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  21. ^ Stoll, John D. (2020-09-25). "Beyond Meat's Pitch for More Customers: It's Not Just Good for the Planet, It's Also Good for You". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-28.