Jim O’Rourke is ready to deliver the goods: both great tasting plant-based food, and results. As the new chief supply chain officer at Motif Foodworks Inc., O’Rourke will be leading procurement, manufacturing, demand planning and all other aspects of the startup's supply chain.
The new executive at Motif aims to “leverage the learnings of financial services and the nuances of the food industry to build efficient systems suitable for a startup company” in anticipation of the brand’s first product launch later this year.
Motif is a food technology company in Boston’s Seaport District that’s working to improve the taste, texture and nutrition of plant-based foods. Before joining the team at Motif, O'Rourke spent 26 years working in a variety of supply chain roles. Most recently, O’Rourke worked as the chief procurement officer at investment manager Vanguard Group. He has also held leadership positions across a number of consumer packaged-food companies including Conagra Brands, The J.M. Smucker Co., The Folgers Coffee Company, and Procter & Gamble.
“My experience in these roles has helped me understand the supply chain from start to end," O’Rourke said. "I’ve witnessed how important it is for the whole supply chain to collaborate with other functions — R&D and sales — to deliver products to customers. At Motif, my experience allows me to talk in the language of my peers to develop effective processes and systems without becoming too ‘big company’ process driven to deliver ingredients and food to our customers.”
Besides his experience in supply-chain positions, O’Rourke also served as an officer in the U.S. Army for six years. O’Rourke said his time in the military had a big impact on his leadership style and highlighted the importance of teamwork.
“Three things that stick with me today: Number one, know yourself and your team. Leadership is a contact sport, which means effective leaders know their people well enough to support them and make both the individual and the whole team be successful. Number two, leaders never ask their team to do something they would not do themselves. Number three, be humble. No one is successful alone. Ask other people’s opinions and pressure-test my own ideas to develop even better plans for great outcomes.”
Big flavor, big funding
O’Rourke is also looking forward to helping Motif with its future product launches, he said.
The company currently has two product launches on its roster — one focused on taste and aroma and the other focused on texture. The first product, entering the market at the end of 2021, is a muscle protein, produced through precision fermentation. The protein provides an umami flavor, with an aroma linked with beef — but in traditional Motif Foodworks fashion, it includes no animal products. The launch of the second product is scheduled for 2022, and this technology uses plant proteins and plant-based carbohydrates to duplicate the texture of animal tissue. With this new product, consumers will feel like they’re biting into authentic, juicy meat, according to the company.
And to help accelerate the launch of its first product, Motif Foodworks recently closed a $226 million Series B funding round. With these funds, the company will also continue to invest in research, development and production for its plant-based food technologies.
With its goal to improve plant-based foods and its focus on sustainability, it’s no wonder why O’Rourke wanted to join Motif Foodworks as its new chief supply chain officer.
“Throughout my career, I’ve worked for traditional CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands. What drew me to Motif is that Motif combines innovation-driven thinking with the expertise of some of the brightest minds in the food industry. I wanted to be part of that ‘best-of-both-worlds’' scenario, somewhere I could provide my perspective in a fast-paced environment. I am also passionate about sustainability and believe that great tasting plant-based food is critical to better the future of our planet. Not to mention that once I tasted the products, I knew I wanted to be part of the team,” he said.
