10 General Mills R&D leaders
Tom Hockenberry, Vice President - Nutrition, Technology and Science at General Mills, is one of these General Mills R&D leaders, who hold vice president, senior director and director roles in research and development across the company's brands. A reader can learn how R&D leaders work at General Mills from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
Aashish Maheshwari
LinkedInExperience: R&D Director - Innovation, Technology & Quality · General Mills
Aashish Maheshwari has been R&D Director - Innovation, Technology & Quality at General Mills since February 2023, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Aashish Maheshwari was Sr. R&D Manager - Innovation, Technology & Quality at General Mills from 2019 to 2023 and R&D Manager there from 2015 to 2019, and lists product development and scale up in food and pharma among their specialties.
Chris Field
LinkedInExperience: ITQ R&D Business Unit Director Pet Growth Accelerator & Global Packaging · General Mills
Chris Field has been ITQ R&D Business Unit Director Pet Growth Accelerator & Global Packaging at General Mills since May 2026, based in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area, and was ITQ Pet Growth Accelerator there from 2024 to 2026. Chris Field was Global R&D Leader CPW, AOA & LATAM Regions at Cereal Partners Worldwide (Nestlé & General Mills) from 2022 to 2024.
Dan Fasold
LinkedInExperience: Sr R&D Director Pillsbury & Baking Technology · General Mills
Dan Fasold has been Sr R&D Director Pillsbury & Baking Technology at General Mills since June 2023. Dan Fasold was Sr R&D Director, Pillsbury, Progresso, and Simple Meals at General Mills from 2021 to 2023 and Sr R&D Director, Global Snacks there from 2017 to 2021, and describes leading global teams of scientists and engineers in the food and consumer products industries.
Eric Engesser
LinkedInExperience: R&D Director - Blue Buffalo · General Mills
Eric Engesser has been R&D Director - Blue Buffalo at General Mills since July 2023, based in Mound, Minnesota, and is also listed as R&D Director at General Mills since the same month. The listing shows these two current General Mills rows and no earlier roles.
Kate Gallager
LinkedInExperience: R&D Director - Cheerios & Adult Cereal Brands · General Mills
Kate Gallager has been R&D Director - Cheerios & Adult Cereal Brands at General Mills since July 2021, based in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area. The listing shows this current General Mills role, which covers R&D for the Cheerios and adult cereal brands.
Linda Curley
LinkedInExperience: Director - R&D - General Mills - Natural & Organic, Packaging · General Mills
Linda Curley has been Director - R&D - General Mills - Natural & Organic, Packaging at General Mills since April 2019, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Linda Curley was Sr. Manager - One Global Snacks at General Mills from 2016 to 2019 and R&D Manager there from 2011 to 2015.
Olivier Perrin
LinkedInExperience: R&D Director North America Food Service · General Mills
Olivier Perrin has been R&D Director North America Food Service at General Mills since June 2022, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Olivier Perrin was Global Product Design Director at General Mills from 2019 to 2022, ITQ Director - LATAM there from 2017 to 2019 and Sr R&D Manager One Global Dairy there from 2013 to 2017.
Shawn Azadivar
LinkedInExperience: R&D Director · General Mills
Shawn Azadivar has been R&D Director at General Mills since July 2021, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Shawn Azadivar was Sr R&D Manager at General Mills from 2018 to 2021, R&D Manager there from 2014 to 2018 and Associate R&D Manager, Senior Engineer, Engineer there from 2003 to 2014.
Tom Hockenberry (he/him)
LinkedInExperience: Vice President - Nutrition, Technology and Science · General Mills
Tom Hockenberry has been Vice President - Nutrition, Technology and Science at General Mills since July 2021, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is also listed as Vice President Nutrition, Technology, Science and Regulatory Affairs there since May 2020. Tom Hockenberry was Sr. Director of Nutrition and Technology at General Mills from 2017 to 2020.
Tom Nack
LinkedInExperience: R&D Business Unit Director- Snacks · General Mills
Tom Nack has been R&D Business Unit Director- Snacks at General Mills since July 2025, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tom Nack was Sr Manager Snack Bars Innovation at General Mills from 2023 to 2025, Sr Manager at Blue Buffalo from 2021 to 2023 and Co-Founder- Innovation Lab General Mills at General Mills from 2019 to 2021.
Choose the right perspective
Pick the person whose own R&D area, such as cereal, snacks, baking, pet food or foodservice, sits closest to the decision you face. Check the start dates of each role to see how recent the experience is.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01What did you focus on first when you took on your current R&D role, and what did you learn from it?
- 02How do you decide which product development projects your team takes forward and which ones you stop?
- 03How have you built and developed the R&D team that reports to you?
Reaching General Mills R&D leaders
How can I contact one of these General Mills R&D leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: General Mills, based on profile data retrieved on October 24, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
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Can an AI agent ask one of these General Mills R&D leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. Claude and ChatGPT can do the same through the Instant Expert connector: setup is at /docs/mcp for Claude and /docs/chatgpt for ChatGPT. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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