Equinom announced the appointment of Ephi Eyal as president, North America, and Adi Costa as chief science officer. Eyal and Costa join on the heels of the company’s largest capital raise to date, as Equinom prepares for accelerated growth through the commercialization of its minimally-processed, plant-protein ingredients and continued development of its proprietary Manna technology platform.
Eyal brings significant leadership experience in the food and nutrition industries, having driven growth and innovation in the specialty ingredient space for J.M. Huber, CP Kelco, and Innovative Food Processors. Eyal will oversee the North American commercial and farming operations at Equinom as the company scales up its seed, grain and ingredients via a number of strategic partnerships.
As chief science officer, Costa will be responsible for the continued development of the company’s proprietary Manna technology platform, and building out the company’s multi-generational plant protein ingredient pipeline optimized for food and beverage applications. He will oversee the R&D department focusing on activities including genomics and validation, data science and engineering, biochemical assessments and food science & functionality. Costa brings more than two decades of experience as a product and R&D manager, with deep background in developing hardware, software, systems and algorithms, and a specialty in machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques. In his most recent roles at Medasense Biometrics, Costa led the product and R&D activities of the company and was responsible for the entire product roadmap, development, and its release to market.
“Equinom is on a quest to become the food industry’s end-to-end ingredient innovation partner starting with better, nutrient-rich crops and I look forward to playing a role in propelling the company’s mission forward,” said Eyal.
“Equinom deploys highly innovative uses of AI and big data,” Costa added. “Spearheading the continued development of the company’s technology will allow me to apply my experience to a challenge that has considerable real-world implications to improving the health of people and our planet.”
Eyal and Costa join Equinom amid a significant growth phase for the company. Last year, Equinom announced partnerships across the value chain representing exciting steps toward commercializing its ultra-high protein, non-GMO varieties of yellow pea. The company is also working with several food companies who are trialing its ingredients in applications for retail and food service, and products are expected to launch in the coming year.
“Equinom is in a unique space in the food industry: on one hand, we’re engaged in some of agriculture’s most cutting-edge use of science and technology, and on the other, we’re rapidly commercializing new, game-changing ingredients. Fortunately, Ephi and Adi bring us the expertise needed to achieve both goals simultaneously,” said Gil Shalev, founder and CEO of Equinom. “The expertise, agility and growth mindset Ephi and Adi bring will be crucial to Equinom as we work to contribute to the solutions that will sustainably feed 10 billion people by 2050.”
