FoodChain ID, a food safety, testing, and sustainability organization, is announcing that its board of directors appointed Conor Kearney as CEO, effective immediately. Kearney succeeds Brad Riemenapp, who led FoodChain ID as CEO for more than five years before passing away in May after bravely battling cancer.

Kearney joined FoodChain ID in 2021 and most recently served as interim CEO during Riemenapp’s medical leave of absence. Prior to that, Kearney was FoodChain ID’s senior vice president of strategy and operations. Before joining FoodChain ID, he spent 11 years at Staples Inc. in numerous leadership roles — most recently managing a multi-billion product division — and 5 years at McKinsey & Co. Kearney earned his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Dartmouth College.

Ted Rainaud, a managing director at Berkshire Partners, stated, “Conor has already had a significant impact on FoodChain ID.  His collaborative leadership style and ability to rally the organization to achieve its goals make him the absolute right person to lead FoodChain ID in the next stage of its growth journey.”

“Brad was a great mentor to me, and I’m committed to continue building on his vision and delivering on FoodChain ID’s mission to make the food supply chain safer and more transparent,” said Kearney.

“Brad will be missed, as a leader and friend ... We are fortunate that his strengths as CEO included recruiting a great leadership team and thoughtful succession planning ... We are excited about FoodChain ID continuing to reshape the food safety and compliance landscape under Conor’s leadership,” said Blake Gottesman, a managing director at Berkshire Partners.

Berkshire Partners acquired FoodChain ID in 2020 as part of a recapitalization transaction.

Source: FoodChain ID