Rick Messner
About Rick Messner
Rick Messner serves as the Director of Finance at Beyond Meat, where he has worked since 2018, leading financial strategies and operations. He has a diverse background in finance, having held various roles at companies such as Nestlé Waters and Unilever.
Work at Beyond Meat
Rick Messner has served as the Director of Finance at Beyond Meat since 2018. In this role, he leads the business development strategy and supports the company's innovation and growth initiatives through network analysis and scenario-based ROI. He directs finance and accounting activities across all internal manufacturing locations in the US and EU, focusing on team building and talent development. Messner operates as the single threaded leader for finance across four value stream categories: Beef, Chicken, Pork, and Jerky. He also heads the global product costing platform, managing various financial aspects such as bill of materials and average cost within Oracle – NetSuite.
Previous Experience in Finance
Prior to his role at Beyond Meat, Rick Messner held several finance positions at Unilever. He worked as a Senior Financial Analyst from 2006 to 2008, then served as an Associate Finance Manager from 2011 to 2014, and finally as a Cost Accounting Manager from 2008 to 2010. Before Unilever, he worked at Nestlé Waters as Plant Controller from 2014 to 2018. His early career included roles at JES Holdings, LLC, where he served as Senior Accountant and Assistant Accounting Manager, and at Textron as a General Accountant.
Education and Expertise
Rick Messner studied at Columbia College, where he earned a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in Accounting from 2001 to 2005. His educational background laid the foundation for his extensive career in finance and accounting. He has developed expertise in finance processes, internal controls, inventory management, and risk management, continuously striving to meet world-class standards.
Leadership in Financial Strategy
In his current position, Rick Messner develops the annual operating plan and leads the KPI scorecard review and monthly forecasting at Beyond Meat. He owns cost of goods sold, gross margin, and profitability analysis, providing detailed data for SKU rationalization. Messner partners with sales, marketing, and the commercialization team to facilitate new product innovations through the stage gate process, ensuring accurate product cost estimates and scenario analysis.