Miyoko Schinner Claims She Was Forced Out of CEO Role in June
Miyoko’s Creamery founder Miyoko Schinner said she was forced to step down as CEO of her vegan dairy brand last June, and would not take on a non-executive role as a face of the brand.
Writing on LinkedIn today, Schinner said that a press release announcing her replacement as CEO had been disseminated yesterday while she worked at a fundraiser for Rancho Compasion, a non-profit she formed, in order to ensure she would be occupied and unable to reply to requests for comment.
“As has already been made clear, we did not arrive at this point by my choosing,” Schinner wrote on the social media site today. “It is true that I was unwilling to agree to restrictions that would have made any ongoing role I played at this company ‘for appearances’ only.”
Yesterday the alt-dairy creamery issued a press release announcing that Schinner had departed the business and would no longer be involved in its day-to-day operations. Chief financial officer Jon Blair was named interim president.
However, in her post, Schinner said she had been removed as CEO of Miyoko’s in June 2022, with negotiations for her continued involvement in the company ceasing before year’s end.
In her LinkedIn post Schinner also alleged she had conflicting strategies with some members of her board regarding how to align future growth plans with the company’s core values. She noted that “especially in the last two years” her approach has not always been headed.
During that period, the brand launched and later discontinued a line of cheese sticks and shreds that Schinner publicly stated required her to compromise on product quality.
Schinner noted that not all directors were in favor of her dismissal as CEO but also seemingly took umbrage with investor James Joaquin, the cofounder of Obvious Ventures, telling a reporter at FoodNavigator yesterday that the company needed a new CEO in order to scale and that the board had voted unanimously to remove Schinner from the job.“It is telling that I was patronizingly described as taking the company from ‘zero to one’ in contrast to what is needed to take the company from ‘one to 100,’” Schinner said. “The results that this company achieved under my leadership speak for themselves. We achieved these results – while I still had the ability to meaningfully ensure it – in a legitimately values-aligned way.”
Schinner ended her post by encouraging readers to call, email or share on social media channels “what you think the future of [Miyoko’s] can and should be.”
“Whatever is next, I wish the best for the Company I founded, led and grew. I hope you continue to fight with me to create an equitable and just food system that saves animals, creates opportunities for independent producers, and helps ensure nutritious, delicious, and compassionate food is meaningfully accessible to all.”
This is a developing story that will be updated.
