Management consultancy Kearney has appointed James Wilde as a partner in its consumer industries and retail practice in New York.
Wilde brings 15 years of consulting, startup, and government experience in agribusiness and agricultural technology (agtech). He has deep expertise in critical and innovative areas of the agriculture industry, including sustainable and regenerative agriculture, bio and digital technologies shaping the supply chain, and planning for water scarcity.
Wilde joins Kearney from EY Parthenon, where he spent over four years as global agribusiness, agtech, and innovation leader. He has also spent 11 years as an investor and advisor at Agfunder, an industry venture capital platform, and four years as a mentor at SVG Ventures/Thrive.
Prior to EY, Wilde spent seven years at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, a government agency focused on helping New Zealand’s businesses grow internationally, where he was head of the agribusiness division.
Before that, he co-founded two agtech startups: Digital Agtech Export Services and BGF Farms.
Wilde has a master’s degree in marine science, economics, and finance from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and biochemistry from North Carolina State University.
“We are pleased to welcome James to Kearney, especially given his background bringing innovation to the scale of agriculture,” said Greg Portell, global and Americas lead for consumer and retail at Kearney. “His hiring marks another step in strengthening our firm's agribusiness capabilities. It is increasingly important for businesses to recognize the link between sustainability, agricultural technologies, and methodologies that are critical to both consumer goods companies and all consumers."
Kearney provides end-to-end management consulting to large clients in a range of industries. The Chicago-based firm has more than 4,200 people in 40+ countries.
Kearney recently announced it would give manager-level employees equity grants that vest if and when they make partner.
Sourced from Consulting.us