WALLA WALLA, WASH. — Paul Rhynard has been hired as chief executive officer of Wilkinson Baking Co., the origin place of the world’s first fully automated bread baking robot. Mr. Rhynard most recently worked as chief strategy officer at Russell Investments. Earlier, he worked as executive vice president at the Joshua Green Corp. and an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company. He will be taking over the role of CEO from Randall Wilkinson, chairman of the company.
Over the past 10 years, Wilkinson Baking has been formulating a commercial version of its “BreadBot,” a robot that mixes, forms, proofs, bakes and cools bread before notifying employees that completed loaves are ready to be sliced. This summer, five BreadBot units will be deployed into the market.
“Wilkinson has developed an incredible product and is poised to become a world-class bread and robotics company,” Mr. Rhynard said. “The BreadBot is a highly disruptive solution that changes the nature of bread production bringing truly fresh bread to consumers.”
Mr. Rhynard’s experience executing growth strategies comes at a key moment for Wilkinson Baking as the company expands and establishes its commercial presence.
“I couldn’t be more excited than to hand the reins over to Paul,” Mr. Wilkinson said. “He brings tremendous experience crafting strategies and driving growth for companies both large and small. His drive and focus will help Wilkinson revolutionize the bread industry.”
