AppHarvest is building some of America's largest greenhouses, combining conventional agriculture techniques with today’s technology to grow non-GMO, chemical-free produce.

Agriculture & Farming

AppHarvest

Emily Wilson

A marketing and corporate social responsibility leader with decades of experience, Geof has worked closely with AppHarvest since the company’s founding. In 2020, he joined the company full-time as Chief Marketing Officer following his time as Chief Marketing Officer of The Nature Conservancy, where he led novel collaborations with major companies including Macy’s, Subway, Harley-Davidson, and Univision. Before joining The Nature Conservancy, Geof held marketing leadership roles at World Wrestling Entertainment, Showtime, Comcast, Radisson Hotel Group, and Procter & Gamble.

Born in Barbados and raised in Brooklyn, Geof earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, where he worked with the basketball team during the tenure of Coach John Thompson and star Patrick Ewing. He also holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Geof has served on boards of numerous environmental organizations, including ecoAmerica and Sustainable Brands.

Geof Rochester

Tony joined AppHarvest following a nearly 12-year career with Windset Farms, one of the largest CEA producers and marketers of indoor-grown crops in North America with more than 250 acres in the U.S. and Canada. At Windset, he supported both significant infrastructure and revenue growth. Tony has served as a consultant in the CEA sector and is a board member of the Fruit & Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation, a non-profit that sets standards for the trade of fresh fruits and vegetables in Canada.

Tony earned his credential as a chartered professional accountant following a bachelor of commerce in accounting and finance and a graduate diploma in accounting, audit and taxation at Concordia University in Canada.



Tony Martin

Travis joined AppHarvest in 2020 as Chief Communications Officer. An Appalachian native, Travis previously served in a number of global communications roles since 2012 in Paris, Tokyo, and Nashville with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance — most recently as Vice President for Nissan Americas and President of the Nissan Foundation. Prior to his work with Nissan, Travis held public relations leadership roles with companies including General Motors, Ally Financial, Pulte Homes and Lockheed Martin. He holds a master’s degree in communications management from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Tennessee.



Travis Parman

A Kentucky native, Loren joined AppHarvest in 2019 after serving as Vice President of Finance at Famous Brands International, the parent company of Mrs. Fields and TCBY. Loren brings more than 13 years of experience in finance and accounting from Famous Brands International, as well as prior roles at Ernst & Young, Summit Rock Advisors, and FTI Consulting. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Kentucky and University of Notre Dame, respectively.



Loren Eggleton

Hollie P. Harris

Martha Stewart is currently the Director at [AppHarvest](/org/appharvest). Prior to their current position, they were the Controller for the KFC division at [Yum! Brands](/org/yum-brands) from January 2003 to February 2021. In their previous role, they were responsible for leadership of the accurate accounting and reporting of the consolidated financial results of KFC's 15 global operating units, including the operation of effective processes and internal controls. Martha also maintained strong working relationships with the KFC division and market CFO's and finance teams to provide guidance and analysis on the financial implications of global and market level business initiatives and accounting requirements. In addition, they partnered with market CFO's and Controllers to ensure appropriate team structure and capability, providing insightful coaching to key market team members and division reporting team members to drive personal development and maximize potential. These responsibilities required collaboration with cross-functional teams around the world, including regular international travel (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic).

During their time at [Yum! Brands](/org/yum-brands), Martha achieved several key accomplishments, including minimizing the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on global accounting and reporting processes, establishing a process to analyze the financial impact of Covid-19 store restrictions and closures, ensuring appropriate accounting for deals including the sale of hundreds of KFC's worldwide, partnering in the assessment of the financial impact of a major UK supply chain disruption, leading the assessment of aggregator agreements and establishing related accounting policies, and implementing accounting policies for revenue recognition, leases and franchise incentives.

Martha Stewart attended the [University of Kentucky](/org/university-of-kentucky), where they earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting. Martha is also a certified public accountant, having received certification from the Kentucky State Board of Accountancy.

Martha Stewart

Kevin Willis

David Lee was appointed AppHarvest's President in January 2021. As president, Lee brings his experience in food tech innovation and disruption to help AppHarvest continue its growth by developing strategy and engaging in operations management and in the sales, marketing and finance functions of the firm. Lee joined AppHarvest from Impossible Foods where he has served as chief financial officer since December 2015. 

Lee holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA from Harvard.

David Lee

Kiran Bhatraju

JD is a Co-Founder of Narya. Before co-founding Narya, JD served as the managing partner of a multi-stage venture capital fund. A veteran of the US Marine Corps, JD is also an internationally acclaimed commentator and author of the bestselling book, Hillbilly Elegy. 



J.D. Vance

Mr. Couch founded Meridian Wealth Management in 2009, then set out to surround himself with like-minded professionals to build a firm that supports the interests of both clients and the advisors who serve them. Ten years later, Meridian Wealth Management is a $1.25 billion firm where 19 advisors in four cities support more than 900 client families throughout the U.S.



Greg Couch

Dave is the CEO and Chairman of Equilibrium. Dave leads the firm’s growth, strategy and investment product development. He serves on Equilibrium’s Board of Directors.

Dave’s commitment to sustainability started with his work in venture capital, leading initiatives in regional economic development and participating in climate change policy development. In 2007, Dave saw sustainability re-shaping the basic economic sectors of the “Maslow hierarchy of needs” and creating economic advantage. Climate change was driving a rethinking of asset risk and value.  In 2008, Equilibrium was founded to be a global leader in sustainability-driven asset management for institutional investors to deliver sustainable alpha and intentional positive impact for society and environment.

Previously, Dave was a general partner at OVP Venture Partners (2000-2007). His investments at OVP included Intelligent Results (acquired by First Data), Net6 (acquired by Citrix), @mobile (acquired by Software.com), and @once (acquired by InfoUSA). Prior to OVP, Dave founded GeoTrust (acquired by VeriSign 2006), The Ascent Group, a global strategy consultancy firm; Vice President Marketing Mentor Graphics; Associate McKinsey & Company; and early team member Solectron (1978-1985).

Dave Chen

A Kentucky native, Jonathan has long been committed to sustainability and job creation in Appalachia. Now, after years of study and gathering support from inside and outside the region, he’s turned his dream of a high-tech farming hub in Appalachia into reality with AppHarvest.

Why Appalachia? Like many Kentuckians, Jonathan grew up knowing of the devastating job losses in the region. But there are personal reasons, too. A coal mining accident killed his great-grandfather, and, from his grandmother, Jonathan learned of the hard times her family faced afterward. He came to know that people in Eastern Kentucky are among the hardest working in the country.

In 2007, Jonathan became the first in his family to finish college, earning a business degree from the University of Kentucky. Eager to start wind and solar projects in Eastern Kentucky, he found the recession had soured investment in pretty much everything. So he packed up and headed to New York City. He slept in his car, applied for 150 jobs, and waited for interviews. Nobody called. He made his way to Washington D.C., where he worked with the U.S. Department of Defense on a massive solar project to help achieve a White House goal of ensuring the military’s hundreds of installations receive 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

Over time, Jonathan came to understand that wind and solar farms bring temporary construction jobs, but they don’t create long-term job security. A different type of farm could, though. Jonathan learned about the Netherlands and its controlled environment agriculture facilities, which in a single acre yield as much as 30 outdoor acres and virtually eliminate the use of chemicals. And Appalachia’s location being within a day’s drive of 70 percent of the U.S. population makes it the perfect AgTech hub.

In February 2017, encouraged by investors, advisers, and politicians of both parties, Jonathan left Washington and came home to Eastern Kentucky, where he now works tirelessly to create good jobs and redefine American agriculture.

Jonathan Webb

AppHarvest's board of directors is made up of individuals with experience in a variety of industries, including fast food, accounting, and auditing. All members of the board have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Kentucky.

Board of Directors

About

Team members

Other teams at AppHarvest

Leadership Team

CEO and Executive Team

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