A Swiss boutique with a big bet on meatless protein is hiring three new executives, including a veteran Silicon Valley investor as a partner.
Blue Horizon is hiring Lea Bajc (pictured below) as a partner, effective immediately, it said in a statement on Thursday. Bajc is a former Morgan Stanley banker who has spent the bulk of her career in San Francisco as an entrepreneur and investor.
She is one of three new hires at the rapidly-growing venture investor, which said it is ramping up its deal pipeline as the sector grows and more market opportunities emerge. Bajc is the sixth partner at the Swiss boutique, which is betting that an estimated $25 billion industry will replace meat at the dinner table.
Doubling Capital
The Zurich-based firm has expanded in leaps and bounds in recent months, tapping a host of prominent female executives. Last month, is hired Anela Musat from Partners Group as its general counsel. CEO Bjoern Witte wants to double the capital it has raised by the end of next year, from just north of $850 million currently, he told finews.com last month.
«Blue Horizon’s fast-growing global portfolio of transformative food businesses requires operations to significantly scale,» it said in a statement. The market for meat replacement – either plant-based or lab-grown – is in its infancy, with few stocks available.
«Big Food» Moves
The CEO of Nestle, Mark Schneider, said the Swiss food giant's revenue from plant-based eating has already hit more than 200 million Swiss francs ($218 million), in an interview with «Tages-Anzeiger» (behind paywall, in German) earlier this month. He forecast «massive» moves towards alternative protein sources. Nestle reaps roughly 11 billion franc in revenue annually from its food segments.
Besides Bajc, Blue Horizon is also hiring Friederike Grosse-Holz and Olivia Stolt-Nielsen Meinl, effective immediately. Grosse-Holz, who holds a PhD in molecular farming, will be responsible for establishing relationships with start-up founders, scientists, and industry stakeholders. Meinl is director of impact and client solutions.
