Dan Cosgrove stepped into chief administrative officer and general counsel role in early May.
Ag tech company Benson Hill, Inc. recently appointed Dan Cosgrove as chief administrative officer and general counsel, according to a company press release. Cosgrove will oversee Benson Hill’s business development, compliance, and legal matter operations.
Prior to Benson Hill, Cosgrove acted as the chief executive officer of Growers Edge. He has also held leadership positions at Corteva Agriscience, including global lead for corporate development and licensing, vice president of business development, chief patent counsel and various roles within Corteva’s internal legal team.
In his new role, Cosgrove will leverage his industry knowledge to manage all government affairs and administrative functions at Benson Hill, including driving strategic initiatives and supporting the company’s transition to an asset-light business model.
“We are thrilled to welcome such a respected and accomplished agriculture leader to our executive leadership team,” Benson Hill chief executive officer Deanie Elsner said in the release. “While business development anchors Dan’s impressive skillset, his global intellectual property and licensing expertise will be pivotal as we pursue value-chain partnerships. His appointment is an important step in our strategy to serve large-scale soy markets through seed innovations that deliver better feed, better food and better fuel.”
Chief legal officer Yevgeny Fundler is leaving Benson Hill to pursue other opportunities.
“We’re grateful to Yevgeny for his contributions to Benson Hill over the past three years,” Elsner added. “He provided essential support during the go-public process, M&A activities, and several business negotiations, and we wish him all the best.”
Cosgrove previously served on the investment committee of Iowa’s first publicly funded venture capital fund, InnoVenture Iowa. He is also a venture partner at Radicle Growth, a sustainability, ag and food tech-focused venture capital fund. He also serves on the Iowa Innovation Council (IIC).
Cosgrove earned his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, his J.D. from Drake University, and his Bachelor of Science in engineering from Iowa State University. He has proven his commitment to community by serving on numerous local, industry, and philanthropic boards.
