Kemin Industries recently appointed Dr. Zheng Yang as director of research and development for its food technologies business unit in North America. Yang will lead all aspects of research, product development, and formulation activities, from conception to commercialization.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Yang as director of R&D at Kemin Food Technologies,” said Marc Scantlin, president, Kemin Food Technologies – North America. “Trained as a chemist, Dr. Yang has put his scientific knowledge to use in the natural product space solving challenging problems at all stages of product and process development—from discovery to scale up. With over 15 years of experience working for global food and beverage leaders, his expertise will guide innovation and business strategy to accelerate future market growth for Kemin Food Technologies.”

As director of R&D, Dr. Yang will guide the R&D team for food technologies in North America and establish Kemin’s scientific and strategic basis for research and development in the human food industry. He will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for product development and commercialization activities, in conjunction with the marketing, regulatory, and business development teams. Dr. Yang will also be the lead commercialization scientist for the application of new molecules that are identified, developed, and commercialized at Kemin.  

Prior to joining Kemin, Dr. Yang served as general manager for HempRise LLC. In addition, he has led R&D teams within various global food and beverage companies such as Givaudan, The Coca-Cola Company, and Cargill. 

Dr. Yang earned an Executive Master of Business Administration in General Management and Operation from Quantic School of Business and Technology, a doctoral degree in analytical chemistry from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree in organic synthetic chemistry from Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, China.