Two executives at Tyson Ventures, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of US-based meat product supplier Tyson Foods, intend to leave the unit before the end of 2019, Axios has reported.
Managing director Reese Schroeder and chief financial officer Tom Mastrobuoni both plan to depart because of the unit’s pending move from Chicago to Tyson Foods’ headquarters in the state of Arkansas, Axios has learned.
Formed in 2016 with $150m in capital, Tyson Ventures funds developers of food-related technologies and has built a nine-strong portfolio. Its most recent deals involved investments in ingredients developer MycoTechnology and VC firm Big Idea Ventures’ New Protein Fund.
Schroeder joined the unit in mid-2017 after 13 years as MD at another corporate venturing vehicle, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, and was part of the GCV Powerlist earlier this year. Mastrobuoni had been chief financial officer at VC firm Advance Vixeid Partners and continues to be a senior adviser there.
Tyson Ventures’ most notable investment was in Beyond Meat, the vegetarian meat developer that floated in May this year. It divested a 6.5% stake in advance of the offering, reportedly due to conflicts arising over Tyson Foods’ plans to develop its own meat-free products.
