Copenhagen, Denmark-based Unibio announced on 17 May that it has appointed David Henstrom to the position of CEO, effective June 2021.
The decision comes as the company’s current CEO – and member of the company’s founding family – Henrik Busch-Larsen announced he is stepping down from his role to “pursue other business interests,” the company said.
Henstrom joins Unibio from Cargill, where he served most recently as the vice president and managing director for growth ventures and commercial excellence at the salt group. During his time at Cargill, Henstrom lead the formation of a joint venture with PURIS Proteins.
The appointment of Henstrom, according to Unibio, will help the company “drive its next stage of growth.”
“We have arrived at a natural point in Unibio’s development where a range of different skills are needed to take the company to the next stage,” Busch-Larsen said. “David has an incredible track record that complements Unibio’s future development areas very well and I am excited to see where he will take Unibio in the coming years.”
Busch-Larsen will continue to serve as one of Unibio's board members and will remain a major shareholder.
“Henrik has been the driving force behind Unibio for more than a decade, and we owe him an immense debt of gratitude; we simply would not be here without him. I am delighted that Henrik will continue to stay involved with the company,” Unibio Board Chair Jan Boeg Hansen said. “I would also like to welcome David to the team. He has an exemplary track record of driving highly specialized food and nutrition businesses across Cargill’s portfolio worldwide, and his skills and experience will be invaluable as we continue the global roll out of mass production of Uniprotein, our leading sustainable protein.”
The new CEO comes on the heels of the company signing a partnership agreement with Stafilies, the holding company of Protelux, to continue a collaboration on the company’s Uniprotein product. Through that partnership, the company hopes to increase its production of Uniprotein – produced via Unibio’s U-Loop brand that converts methane into high-quality protein – to its full 20,000 metric ton capacity.
Photo courtesy of Unibio
