The move follows the decision of Henrik Busch-Larsen, the current CEO and member of the founding family, to step down from his role to pursue other business interests.
Busch-Larsen is to continue to serve as a board member of Unibio and remains one of its major shareholders.
“Unibio is uniquely positioned, with a sustainable protein that can be produced at an industrial scale, adding value to feed markets worldwide. It has license or production agreements with partners in three continents. I look forward to helping accelerate its expansion in the years ahead,” said Henstrom.
He has worked in Cargill since 1994 across a range of business units. His track record across Cargill’s food and nutrition businesses includes leading the formation of a joint venture with PURIS Proteins which enabled Cargill’s entry into the pea protein business.
Jan Boeg Hansen, chair of the Unibio board, said Busch-Larsen has been the driving force behind Unibio for more than a decade. “We owe him an immense debt of gratitude; we simply would not be here without him. I am delighted that he will continue to stay involved with the company."
And the outgoing Unibio CEO, commented on the upcoming transfer: “We have arrived at a natural point in Unibio’s development where a range of different skills are needed to take the company to the next stage. David has an incredible track record that complements Unibio’s future development areas very well and I am excited to see where he will take Unibio in the coming years.”
Russian shareholder, licensing deals
Earlier this month, we reported on a Russian company becoming a shareholder in the gas to feed protein player.
Under a new agreement, Stafilies, the parent company of Russian based Uniprotein production licensee, Protelux, will buy a shareholding in Danish feed protein player, Unibio, in exchange for cash and IP, ty including all of the knowledge gained over the past five years of how to install and operate industrial-scale production of Uniprotein, the methane gas to feed protein product pioneered by Unibio.
The Danish company said it has also secured an option to acquire a stake in Protelux in the future. The agreement, said Unibio, is about deepening an existing commercial relationship between the parties.
Separately, in April, Unibio signed a licensing deal with Gulf Biotech, a Doha-based industrial biotech investor to produce its feed protein in Qatar. The agreement allows for one production unit.
