REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. — Impossible Foods announced the hiring of Sherene Jagla as its first chief demand officer. The California-based company has tasked Jagla with bringing its sales, marketing, insights and product development teams into one integrated function under her leadership as it prepares for the next step in its growth strategy.

Jagla’s appointment follows Impossible Foods’ more than 50%-dollar sales growth in 2022. The company said its flagship Impossible Beef product has been the best-selling product by volume of any plant-based meat brand in the United States while its brand is the fastest growing plant-based meat in US retail stores.

“Our next phase of growth requires tight integration across teams and disciplines, and Sherene knows how to do that and build organizations that scale,” said Peter McGuinness, president and chief executive officer of Impossible Foods. “She’s transformed complex organizations into high-performing businesses, and she has a deep understanding of the food and CPG space. I’ve no doubt her leadership will help transform Impossible into a household name.”

Jagla’s experience includes more than 25 years of sales, marketing, and general management experience at Fortune 500 companies across the CPG and food and beverage industries. She served as the senior vice president and general manager at Newell Brands, where she was responsible for a $2 billion business across 50 brands in 18 categories. There, Jagla oversaw the strategy for the brand’s top customer partnership and created a framework for collaborative growth that combined seven independent operating companies into one scaled organization.

Before Newell, Jagla led sales at Kellogg’s driving brand innovation in the United States and internationally. She has also held senior leadership positions at personal care corporation Kimberly-Clark, retail strategy and execution firm Crossmark, and beverage company MillerCoors.

“One of the reasons I was drawn to Impossible is the company’s focus on leading the category and commitment to creating delicious, nutritious, and sustainable food,” Jagla said. “Impossible has created a compelling brand with a strong product portfolio that’s primed for growth. I look forward to working closely with Peter and the Impossible team to build on this foundation.”

Jagla serves on the board of directors for the American Heart Association in Northwest Arkansas and guest lectures at the University of Arkansas Business School.