Advisory Board

Sharon Walbert is a business advisor and board member with over three decades of experience across food, agriculture, and sustainable biotechnologies.

Sharon is widely recognised for building commercial and technology strategies that bring complex innovations to market and create durable competitive advantage. Building on her experience leading diverse teams at global corporations, today Sharon advises entrepreneurs and growth-stage companies on how to leverage technologies to drive market growth.

Previously, Sharon served as Vice President of Global Innovation at Bunge, the world’s largest oilseeds processor, where she led Research & Development and served on the Food Solutions leadership team. In this role, she directed cross-functional teams across Bunge’s value chain to develop novel plant-based ingredients for leading food companies seeking to reimagine the future of food.

Before Bunge, Sharon spent 27 years at Cargill, the world’s largest agri-business, holding a series of progressive leadership positions across Strategy, Innovation, Research & Development, and Technical Services within the global Food Ingredients & Bioindustrial business. During her time at Cargill, Sharon directed global health and protein strategies for the food and feed markets, built a technology acquisition program to identify and assess disruptive novel technologies, and cultivated an extensive network of food and agriculture innovators, start-ups and investors, which she now leverages to help start-ups facilitate high-impact partnerships.

Sharon holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh.

Outside of work, Sharon is a multi-time marathon finisher and, together with her husband, is an active supporter of The Chicago Academy for the Arts and the endurance sports community.