Morehead, Kentucky-based AppHarvest has appointed Hollie Harris Phillips, Appalachian Regional Healthcare president and CEO, as an independent director of the company and a member of the audit committee, effective immediately.
Phillips has served as president and CEO of the 14-hospital healthcare system, which includes physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores and retail pharmacies since 2021. Phillips joined the ARH system in 2002 as director of planning and was promoted to chief strategy officer.
During her two-decade career with ARH, Phillips has overseen the organization’s strategic planning, marketing, business development, service excellence, philanthropy, government relations and grants functions.
“With keen insights in addressing unique regional business issues around supply chain, employee engagement and coalition-building while supporting a complementary mission to improve the lives and health outcomes of Central Appalachians, I expect Hollie’s contributions to be particularly helpful as AppHarvest focuses on improving core operations and diversifying its produce offerings with three new at-scale farms expected to be operational at the end of this year,” said Jonathan Webb, founder and CEO.
Phillips fills a board seat vacated by Anna Mason, who resigned in conjunction with pursuing a new career opportunity.
AppHarvest sells to national grocery store outlets, as well as to select restaurants and foodservice providers through its distributor. AppHarvest’s Morehead, Kentucky, farm has been harvesting since January 2021, and is expected to start harvesting its third season of tomatoes in the fourth quarter.
The company recently announced commercial shipments from its new 15-acre Berea, Kentucky, salad greens farm featuring a “touchless growing system” with autonomous harvesting. The company expects to soon announce the opening of its 30-acre Somerset, Kentucky, berry farm, where the team already has planted nearly one million strawberry plants.
AppHarvest has also continued construction on its 60-acre Richmond, Kentucky, farm, which, upon completion, is expected to double the company’s capacity to grow tomatoes. Combined with the Morehead farm, the Richmond facility is expected to enable the company to grow about 1.5 million tomato plants per season. The farm is expected to start operating before the end of 2022.
