Michael Whitney

Managing PartnerEurope
Areas of Expertise

Food & Beverage, Global Agribusiness

About

As a consultant to Kincannon & Reed since 2012, Michael is an executive coach and search professional. He brings more than 25 years industry experience as a senior executive working for well-known global beverage, consumer goods, and agribusiness companies, that include Allied Domecq, RB, and Bunge. Michael began his career in commercial roles before promotion into progressively senior General Management positions in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. His executive experience extends across marketing, sales, operations, finance, and supply chain, and includes M&A, organisational strategy, and business transformation.

He has also held a number of Non-Executive Directorships on the Boards of Private Equity portfolio companies. As a search professional, he has led multiple C-suite and senior executive engagements for multi-nationals and earlier stage companies across the food and agribusiness value chain.

Michael graduated from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served as an infantry officer in the British Army for more than 10 years before moving into industry. He holds a Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching from Henley Business School in the UK and is studying to become an accredited coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

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.

First Quarter Talent Trends & Implications for EMEA

AN EVOLVING MARKET In an evolving market where organisations across the food-agriculture value chain are identifying new opportunities and navigating new…

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The Value of Retained Search

Talent acquisition is only becoming more complex, especially in niche markets and for specialized roles. It’s a monumental task to hire…

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Year End Global Talent Trends and Implications

AN EVOLVING MARKET It could be argued that uncertainty has been the biggest hurdle of 2023 for businesses around the globe.…

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Year End Talent Trends and Implications for EMEA Regions

AN EVOLVING MARKET It could be argued that uncertainty has been the biggest hurdle of 2023 for businesses around the globe.…

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The ROI of Executive Coaching: Is it Worthwhile?

Change is inevitable and it’s necessary to grow, but that doesn’t mean it’s not challenging. To appreciate the value – tangible…

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Behavioral-based interviews provide foundation for in-depth candidate assessments

Last year, we had conversations with more than 15,000 prospective candidates to determine not only their level of interest in an…

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Mid-Year Talent Trends and Implications for Europe

AN EVOLVING MARKET As a firm, we are starting to experience the shift from a candidate market to more of a…

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Inclusive Leadership: Three Actions for Successful Leaders

The jury is in: inclusive leadership is successful leadership. According to a recent Kincannon & Reed survey, food and agriculture industry…

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New Managing Director expands K&R global team

Kincannon & Reed is excited to announce the addition of Philippe Huet to our global team of search professionals as a…

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The Leadership Multiplier: Building a High Performing Talent Engine in Startups

Contributing Principals: Michael Whitney & Christophe Dumont Behance Co-Founder Scott Belsky once said “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas…

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Executive Coaching – Should I Consider It?

10 Questions to help you decide if Executive Coaching is for you For a new executive, coaching can accelerate onboarding and…

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K&R continues to expand with global addition

This month, the firm welcomed its newest team member Oliver Cassels as an Associate Managing Director. Dynamic and engaging, Cassels combines…

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Talent Trends & Implications for Europe in the First Quarter

THE TALENT MARKETPLACE TODAY The talent landscape looks vastly different than it did 5 years ago. Successful organisations are accepting the…

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When is the right time to hire new leaders for startups and innovative businesses?

Five Considerations to Recruit the Best Leaders for Your Startup Managing Directors Ed Yuhas, Lisa Johnson & Aidan Connolly contributed to…

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Engagement & Development: Keys to Engaging and Developing Top Talent

Developing executives to meet future human capital needs has C-suite leaders examining former assumptions and identifying a different set of attributes…

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Retention: Workplace Culture and Hybrid Demands Front and Center

In 2021, more than 47 million Americans quit their jobs, the most resignations on record, but The Great Resignation is not…

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Attraction: C-Suite Leaders Identify the Most In-Demand and Elusive Skills

Today’s executives are not only being hired for what they have accomplished, but more crucially, for their potential to impact the…

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Motivating Factors in Attraction & Retention

How do organizations in the ag-food value chain face off against others in and out of the industry? How do they…

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K&R partners with Global Institute for Food Security for search

This week, Benjamin Scott joined the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) as the organization’s Platform Lead, Engineering Biology. In his…

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Nuveen Natural Capital regional head placed by K&R

Nuveen Natural Capital appointed Kristina Hermanson as the Head of Asia Pacific and Africa to support the organization’s efforts in those…

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K&R partners with SyAqua for successful CEO search

Earlier this month, SyAqua Group appointed Fred Kao as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. With a 20-year history in the…

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Global QA Director Placed by K&R

Highly experienced quality assurance leader Gabriela Rojas recently joined Terviva as the organization’s Director, Global Quality Assurance. In her new role…

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K&R places global CEO for rice seed company

Kincannon & Reed principals congratulate Karsten Neuffer on assuming his Global CEO role for RiceTec earlier this month.

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Dairy Industry Sustainability EVP placed by K&R

K&R principals Ed Yuhas, Sally Day & Gary Weihs extend their congratulations to Lori Captain on her new role with Dairy…

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R&D leader placed by K&R at global food industry supplier

 Kincannon & Reed Managing Partner Michael Whitney extends his congratulations to Tim Althaus on joining Devro as the company’s Group Technology…

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Developing Leaders – The Role of an Executive Coach

Executive coaching may be one of the most underutilized tools that helps leaders reach their full potential. The practice is as…

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Disruptive Leadership: Where Innovation & Agility Drive Success

Despite any negative connotations surrounding the word “disruptive” or how the phrase “disruptive leadership” has become a buzzword for many, we…

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Fostering a Diverse Workforce – Thoughts for Success in Food & Ag

Striving toward a more diverse workforce is not new. It has been incrementally happening for the last few decades; recent years…

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Who Believed in You?

You did not come to this leadership role on your own. Certainly, you got here with a lot of hard work,…

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Industry Experts Making Connections

Our principals are active in the industries they serve and leverage their experience for our clients