Delayed Ops: Beyond Meat Sees Chief Supply Chain Officer Depart
Just two days after Beyond Meat suspended its COO Doug Ramsey, the alt-meat company is losing another operations executive. The company said today that chief supply chain officer Bernie Adcock announced on September 20 that he would be stepping down, effective September 30.
An SEC filing states that Adcock will depart the company to “pursue other opportunities.” However, following his departure, Beyond Meat plans to eliminate the position entirely. Going forward his responsibilities will be performed by Jonathan Nelson, SVP of manufacturing operations. Nelson has also assumed Ramsey’s duties on an interim basis.
Like Ramsey, Adcock was a fellow veteran of Tyson Foods, having worked for 31 years at the chicken producer. Adcock held the role of chief supply chain officer at Tyson from 2014 to 2021. The duo both joined Beyond Meat in December 2021. In a press release at the time, the company said the hires showed the alt-meat producer’s “commitment to operational excellence and scaling its business globally.”
“Doug and Bernie bring a proven track record of impressive operational excellence in the protein industry that our global partners, customers, and consumers expect and deserve,” Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, said in the press release. “As we’ve made clear, we are investing today in tomorrow’s growth, whether by adding to our best-in-class management team or by building out operations around the world, to advance our vision of being the global protein company of the future.”
Adcock leaves a few days after Ramsey drew national attention for charges related to his arrest during a fight after a University of Arkansas football game. In the police report, Ramsey was accused of biting the nose of another individual after a traffic-related altercation.
An earlier November filing with the Securities and Exchange (SEC) commission states Adcock was based out of Beyond Meat’s El Segundo, CA headquarters, though his LinkedIn profile currently lists him as a resident of Arkansas.
In addition to his $400,000 per year salary, and stock options that vested over a four-year period, Adcock also received a $350,000 sign-on cash bonus, a $200,000 “settling-in payment” and $100,000 relocation payment. According to the terms of the agreement, because he has terminated his employment with the company prior to his one-year anniversary, Adcock is now responsible for repaying these bonuses on a pro-rated basis.
