Benson Hill Announces CFO Transition With the Upcoming Retirement of DeAnn Brunts and Appointment of Dean Freeman as Next CFO
- Deann Brunts to Retire After Filing of 2021 Form 10-K, Will Remain on the Benson Hill Board of Directors
Benson Hill, Inc. announced that Dean Freeman, a seasoned finance executive with nearly 30 years of experience, will become Benson Hill’s next Chief Financial Officer. DeAnn Brunts has elected to return to retirement from her full-time executive role effective following the Company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of its 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Brunts will remain on the Company’s Board of Directors, the original role she had when she joined Benson Hill in 2020.
Freeman officially joined Benson Hill as Executive Vice President of Finance on February 2 of this year and will work closely with Brunts over the next two months to ensure an effective transition.
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“Dean brings the full breadth of financial and business acumen to Benson Hill, but beyond that, he has first-hand experience leveraging technology and innovation to modernize entrenched industries,” said Matt Crisp, Chief Executive Officer of Benson Hill. “His foresight, discipline, and growth mindset fit well with our culture as we execute our strategy and growth plans, creating value across an evolving food system.”
Freeman brings nearly three decades of financial leadership and public company experience. Most recently, Freeman served as the President and CEO of First Source Capital, a commercial finance company he founded in 2019. Prior to that, he held roles as Chief Financial Officer at GCP Applied Technologies and interim Chief Executive Officer at Watts Water Technologies, each a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
“I am thrilled to be joining Matt and the Benson Hill team during this important time in the Company’s history,” said Freeman. “I believe Benson Hill is well positioned for its next phase of growth, commercializing its current and future portfolio of innovative ingredient solutions to serve human food, aquaculture and pet food markets. I look forward to working with Matt and the rest of the leadership team to further enhance the Company’s financial and operational performance.”
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“We are very grateful for the role DeAnn has played at Benson Hill, most notably helping lead our transition into the public markets only months after joining us,” said Crisp. “We recruited DeAnn to the Board in 2020 and she graciously agreed to step out of retirement and into the CFO role. Her leadership, oversight and hard work have helped to position Benson Hill to be a category-defining player in the food system. We are pleased DeAnn will continue her service in the boardroom.”
“It has been both an honor and a privilege to work alongside Matt and the Benson Hill team this past year as CFO,” said Brunts. “Given the progress, and our accomplishments, I have decided, for purely personal reasons, to retire a final time. I am excited about Benson Hill’s future and look forward to remaining involved as a director on the Benson Hill Board of Directors. I will continue to support the Company as it executes its strategy and achieves its mission of creating food that’s made better from the beginning.”
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