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.
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 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.
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
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
The use of technology with the aim of improving efficiency and profitability. Businesses in this sector include:
Businesses that fund and invest in the industry including:
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
The use of technology with the aim of providing better input solutions, and improving efficiency and profitability. Businesses in this segment include:
Organisations serving people across the food value chain, sharing ideas, and addressing global issues. Some of those organisations include:
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:
The use of cultivated plants or animals to produce products for sustaining or enhancing human life. Businesses in this segment include:
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:
Innovation and implementation of environmentally responsible business practices from field to table. Companies and areas of focus include:
AN EVOLVING MARKET In an evolving market where organisations across the food-agriculture value chain are identifying new opportunities and navigating new…
AN EVOLVING MARKET It could be argued that uncertainty has been the biggest hurdle of 2023 for businesses around the globe.…
AN EVOLVING MARKET As a firm, we are starting to experience the shift from a candidate market to more of a…
Kincannon & Reed is excited to announce the addition of Philippe Huet to our global team of search professionals as a…
This month, the firm welcomed its newest team member Oliver Cassels as an Associate Managing Director. Dynamic and engaging, Cassels combines…
THE TALENT MARKETPLACE TODAY The talent landscape looks vastly different than it did 5 years ago. Successful organisations are accepting the…
This week, Benjamin Scott joined the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) as the organization’s Platform Lead, Engineering Biology. In his…
Nuveen Natural Capital appointed Kristina Hermanson as the Head of Asia Pacific and Africa to support the organization’s efforts in those…
Earlier this month, SyAqua Group appointed Fred Kao as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. With a 20-year history in the…
Highly experienced quality assurance leader Gabriela Rojas recently joined Terviva as the organization’s Director, Global Quality Assurance. In her new role…
Kincannon & Reed principals congratulate Karsten Neuffer on assuming his Global CEO role for RiceTec earlier this month.
K&R principals Ed Yuhas, Sally Day & Gary Weihs extend their congratulations to Lori Captain on her new role with Dairy…
Kincannon & Reed Managing Partner Michael Whitney extends his congratulations to Tim Althaus on joining Devro as the company’s Group Technology…
Executive coaching may be one of the most underutilized tools that helps leaders reach their full potential. The practice is as…
Despite any negative connotations surrounding the word “disruptive” or how the phrase “disruptive leadership” has become a buzzword for many, we…
Striving toward a more diverse workforce is not new. It has been incrementally happening for the last few decades; recent years…
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 KnowAN EVOLVING MARKET In an evolving market where organisations across the food-agriculture value chain are identifying new opportunities and navigating new…
AN EVOLVING MARKET It could be argued that uncertainty has been the biggest hurdle of 2023 for businesses around the globe.…
AN EVOLVING MARKET As a firm, we are starting to experience the shift from a candidate market to more of a…
Kincannon & Reed is excited to announce the addition of Philippe Huet to our global team of search professionals as a…
This month, the firm welcomed its newest team member Oliver Cassels as an Associate Managing Director. Dynamic and engaging, Cassels combines…
THE TALENT MARKETPLACE TODAY The talent landscape looks vastly different than it did 5 years ago. Successful organisations are accepting the…
This week, Benjamin Scott joined the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) as the organization’s Platform Lead, Engineering Biology. In his…
Nuveen Natural Capital appointed Kristina Hermanson as the Head of Asia Pacific and Africa to support the organization’s efforts in those…
Earlier this month, SyAqua Group appointed Fred Kao as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. With a 20-year history in the…
Highly experienced quality assurance leader Gabriela Rojas recently joined Terviva as the organization’s Director, Global Quality Assurance. In her new role…
Kincannon & Reed principals congratulate Karsten Neuffer on assuming his Global CEO role for RiceTec earlier this month.
K&R principals Ed Yuhas, Sally Day & Gary Weihs extend their congratulations to Lori Captain on her new role with Dairy…
Kincannon & Reed Managing Partner Michael Whitney extends his congratulations to Tim Althaus on joining Devro as the company’s Group Technology…
Executive coaching may be one of the most underutilized tools that helps leaders reach their full potential. The practice is as…
Despite any negative connotations surrounding the word “disruptive” or how the phrase “disruptive leadership” has become a buzzword for many, we…
Striving toward a more diverse workforce is not new. It has been incrementally happening for the last few decades; recent years…
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.