Florian Schattenmann

Florian Schattenmann is Cargill’s Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Innovation and Research & Development (R&D). He drives innovation for the Food enterprise, overseeing a global team dedicated to developing market and customer-driven solutions while still leading innovation and R&D efforts across Cargill. Florian also oversees the Food Safety Quality and Regulatory (FSQR) team in enhancing food safety standards and chairs Cargill’s Ventures Board, guiding strategic investments in innovative technologies. Under his leadership, his teams have received numerous accolades, including recognition from the Edison Awards for breakthrough innovations and from Fortune listing Cargill as one of America’s Most Innovative Companies.

Prior to joining Cargill in November 2018, Florian spent eight years at The Dow Chemical Company. His most recent role was Vice President for Performance Materials & Coatings R&D, where he led innovation across a diverse set of specialty businesses. Florian has also held leadership roles at SulphCo Inc., Momentive Performance Materials and General Electric (GE)-Bayer Silicones. Earlier in his career, Florian managed several research laboratories at the GE Global Research Center.

Florian is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, holds seven U.S. patents and has numerous publications. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Vernay Laboratories Inc., a privately held specialty elastomer parts manufacturer. He serves on multiple advisory boards including the College of Science and Engineering at University of Minnesota, the Department of Chemistry at University of Wisconsin-Madison and the American Chemical Society CTO forum. He earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his Diplom Chemiker degree from the Technische Universität München in Munich, Germany.