Michael Leonard
Senior Vice President, Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Protein Fortification
Dr. Michael Leonard is senior vice president, chief innovation officer and head of protein fortification for Ingredion. He is responsible for advancing the Company’s global innovation function, growing the healthful solutions global strategy, and expanding the Company’s portfolio. Leonard has led product development and commercialization across multiple food and beverage categories in domestic and global markets, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region where he lived and worked.
Leonard joins Ingredion from MycoTechnology, where he served as the chief executive officer, leading the food technology startup company’s transformation and global expansion of new protein and bioactive technology platforms for the specialty food ingredient industry. Before MycoTechnology, Leonard served as the chief executive officer and chief technology officer of Motif FoodWorks, where he spearheaded new product discovery, development and commercialization across the startup’s plant-based food ingredient portfolio. Previously, Leonard served in progressive leadership roles in R&D, process engineering and business development at Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, DuPont Nutrition and Health, and International Flavors & Fragrances.
Leonard holds a Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a BS in chemistry from Roanoke College.