Arcadia Biosciences Promotes CFO Thomas Schaefer To Succeed Stan Jacot As CEO

(RTTNews) - Agricultural biotechnology firm Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (RKDA) announced Tuesday that CEO Stan Jacot has left the company and been replaced by Thomas Schaefer, effective July 5, 2024. Schaefer was previously Arcadia's chief financial officer and will be replaced in that role by Mark Kawakami, Arcadia's current vice president of finance.

Schaefer is an accomplished executive with more than 20 years of experience in investments and corporate finance. He began his career as an equity research analyst and later joined a Fortune 500 company where he helped lead several acquisitions and divestitures.

In 2013, Schaefer moved into consumer products where he led teams, developed long-range strategies and helped launch new products across a variety of industries including vitamins and apparel.

He later served as director of finance at Flavor Producers, a portfolio company owned by private equity firm GTCR that specialized in beverages and snacks, before joining Arcadia in 2020.

Schaefer's successor as chief financial officer, Mark Kawakami, joined Arcadia in 2021, and he has held several key positions, most recently as the vice president of finance.

Kawakami brings more than 20 years of finance and accounting experience to the role, with a background in industries such as convenience and retail grocery, food manufacturing, consumer packaged goods and financial services.