Recruiting leaders for organisations that feed the world and keep it healthy

Leveraging an unmatched network to place executives who drive results

Providing insight and candour to deliver a leader as specialised as your work

Introduction to Kincannon & Reed

Food and agriculture: industries as unique as the people who lead them.
And no one knows them like we do.

We are Kincannon & Reed, a global executive search firm exclusively serving organisations within the food and agriculture industries.   

Our approach is different

With 40 years of experience across diverse international sectors, we know the calibre of leaders needed to shape a promising future for the food and agriculture industries.

We have sat in your chair.

Empty seats at your leadership table or ineffective executives hurt profits, morale, and market share. Our principals are well-networked, former industry executives who understand your priorities and the talent you seek. We advise you as a colleague or peer, rather than an outsider.

Knowing your next leader is our job.

We are a team of search professionals serving clients focused on feeding the world and keeping it healthy. We leverage our deep industry knowledge, data, and connections to identify and place leaders with the right experiences, values, and cultural fit.

Providing search expertise and more.

Our search professionals partner with you throughout the process. We ask questions, listen for understanding, and assess candidates from the informed perspective of former executives. We have a genuine interest in your organisation’s next leader.
Impressive track record of placing candidates who succeed

240+

executive placements across the globe in the last two years

93%

of candidates placed remain with the client through the first year

2x

likelihood of 3-year candidate retention compared to search industry averages

Meet some of our European team members

With team members located across Europe and beyond, our firm is large enough to bring the right expertise while small enough to be nimble and responsive.

Scroll to see more team members.

Michael Whitney

Managing Partner

Malton Yorkshire, United Kingdom

As a consultant to Kincannon & Reed, Michael has helped place candidates across the globe. His international career spans more than 20 years in senior executive and board-level positions in global agribusiness, as well as the food, beverage, and household sectors in the UK, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Michael served as an officer in the British Army for nine years.

Attila von Hankó

Director

Bremen, Germany

Based in Germany, Attila serves Kincannon & Reed’s Europe and Asia-Pacific clients, focusing on senior management recruitment and succession appointments in the animal health sector.
Attila’s 30-year career includes global expertise in strategic and operational development for companies focused on research and development, manufacturing, and sales and marketing of veterinary vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and feed additives for livestock, aquaculture, and companion animals.
Attila holds a postgraduate degree in management from the European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, Germany, and the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, USA. He is fluent in German and English, and proficient in Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese.

Christophe Dumont headshot

Christophe Dumont

Managing Director

Bucharest, Romania

Christophe brings executive experience, a passion for the industry, and a broad network cultivated from over 30 years in the industry as an executive with organizations such as Bayer and Monsanto to each search engagement. As a strategic leader, Christophe is well-versed in sustainable growth and talent identification and development. He works with clients to discover needs and identify leaders that solve problems and grow organizations. 

Fluent in French, English, German and Spanish, Christophe holds a Master of Science in Natural Sciences from the University of Rouen, France as well as a Post Graduate Degree in Crop Protection Engineering from E.N.S.H. Versailles, France.  

Philippe Huet

Managing Director

The Randstad, Netherlands

Philippe brings close to 30 years of experience in leadership roles across the agriculture, food and feed industries, giving him unique insights into the leadership needs of organizations. He recognizes the crucial role talent and organizational design play in translating strategy to results. His broad assessment skills are at his client’s disposal to ensure an optimal and engaging fit is found.

Oliver Cassels

Associate Managing Director

Europe

Based in Europe, Oliver is a is a dynamic executive search professional with more than a decade spent in the food and agribusiness sectors. His appreciation for the intersection of food, agriculture, and leadership combined with his expertise, enables him to provide a consultative approach and top-tier service for our clients.

Oliver discovered his passion for talent consulting at a high-growth tech business. His background includes various commercial roles in agribusiness, from agritech start-ups to investors in East Africa. Oliver holds an MSc in Agricultural Economics and a BA in Political Science & Geography.

Roger Peeters, PhD

Senior Advisor

Weert, Netherlands

Based in the Netherlands, Roger combines his scientific and MBA credentials to provide executive search for clients in the crop input, food, and animal sectors.

Prior to joining Kincannon & Reed, Roger held director positions in R&D and strategy for BASF Vegetables, DummenOrange (flowers), Royal Fruitmasters, and Syngenta Vegetables. In addition to six patent applications, Roger holds an MBA from the University of Derby and a PhD in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology from Radboud University of Nijmegen.

Gabriella Snoeck

Director

Brussels, Belgium

Dynamic and multi-lingual with more than 15 years’ experience recruiting for executive leadership across a variety of sectors, Gabriella provides each client with a level of professionalism that drives results. Gabriella applies her experience as a research trainer for corporate talent acquisition departments to execute personality assessments when implementing client search strategies.

Gabriella holds multiple academic accreditations, including a Masters in Modern Languages from University of Cambridge, a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from the Institute of Personnel & Development and an LLB law degree from the University of Huddersfield.

Serving clients who feed the world and keep it healthy.

We are a firm with a focus – specialising in delivering leaders. Our clients from across the globe are all types and sizes of organisations. If food and agriculture are part of your business model, we have principals with experience and connections in your industry.
Who We Serve
Ag Technology & Inputs
Capital & Investment
Distribution, Retail & Food Service
Food & Beverage Consumer Products
Industry Associations & Non-Profit
Processors
Production
Research Development & Safety
Sustainable Solutions

Ag Technology & Inputs

The use of technology with the aim of improving efficiency and profitability. Businesses in this sector include:

  • Animal Health & Nutrition
  • Crop Protection & Nutrition
  • Data Analytics, Digitization & AI
  • Equipment, Robotics, Remote Imagination & Automation

Capital & Investment

Businesses that fund and invest in the industry including:

  • Asset Management
  • Global and Regional Banking
  • Private Equity
  • Venture Capital

Distribution, Retail & Food Service

The variety of companies, organisations and programs that collect food from processors and manufacturers, store it in warehouses, and then distribute it to stores and restaurants. Organisations that we have worked with are in the following segments

  • E-Commerce
  • Food Service
  • Grocery
  • Restaurants

Food & Beverage Consumer Products

The use of technology with the aim of providing better input solutions, and improving efficiency and profitability. Businesses in this segment include:

  • Bakery & Snacks
  • Beverages
  • Confections
  • Dairy
  • Meat Products

Industry Associations & Non-Profit

Organisations serving people across the food value chain, sharing ideas, and addressing global issues. Some of those organisations include:

  • Foundations
  • Industry Associations
  • NGOs & IGOs
  • Research Centers/Institutes
  • Universities

Processors

Transforming, packaging, sorting, or grading livestock, agricultural commodities, or plants into goods that are used for intermediate or final consumption. Businesses in this segment include:

  • Crushers
  • Flavours, Fragrances & Naturals
  • Food Ingredients
  • Food Processors
  • Meat Protein

Production

The use of cultivated plants or animals to produce products for sustaining or enhancing human life. Businesses in this segment include:

  • Aquaculture
  • Biotechnology
  • Cellular Meat
  • Crops (Row & Permanent)
  • Floriculture
  • Forestry
  • Horticulture
  • Livestock
  • Plant Based Proteins
  • Produce

Research Development & Safety

The broad range of activities and potential innovations that increase benefits, address challenges, and ultimately deliver safe and healthy options for consumers. The business we’ve worked with in this segment include:

  • Alternative Proteins
  • Biologicals
  • Diagnostics
  • Food Safety
  • Genetics

Sustainable Solutions

Innovation and implementation of environmentally responsible business practices from field to table. Companies and areas of focus include:

  • Bio-Packaging
  • Biomaterials
  • Environmental Stewardship
  • Regenerative Agriculture
  • Water Technologies

Recent Placements & Food for Thought

The leaders we place prove the quality of our work. The knowledge of our experts provides the insight you need to attract the right candidates. Find some of our most recent placements in Europe or for European organisations here.

What We Know

Diversity: A Commitment in Every Search

As an industry, we continue to serve a more diverse consumer. We understand a vibrant, innovative workforce is built on a diversity of ideas and perspectives that start by bringing leadership with different backgrounds, experiences, and cultures to the table. That’s why we make every effort, in every search, to identify qualified, diverse candidates.