Longtime fashion industry executive Ari Hoffman has stepped up to chairman of the board of TômTex, a biomaterials company.

The Brooklyn-based company creates BloomCell, a 100 percent bio-based, plastic-free and fully compostable material made through microbial fermentation of plant matter. The company’s goal is to expand its use across fashion, industrial and other applications.

Hoffman has more than 30 years’ experience in fashion and has held senior roles including chief executive officer of Ted Baker Americas as well as president and CEO posts at brands including Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Lacoste, Gant, Benetton and Scotch & Soda. Most recently, he has created his own Hoffman Strategic Advisors, which works with companies, their management teams and boards on corporate strategy, growth, governance and business transformation, with a particular focus on emerging technologies, sustainable materials and next-generation business models.

“Ari has spent his career at the intersection of brand, operations and transformation, at exactly the kind of scale we’re stepping into,” said Uyen Tran, CEO and cofounder of TômTex. “BloomCell’s opportunity extends well beyond fashion, into construction, furniture, automotive and specialty applications, and Ari’s experience running and repositioning global businesses across categories is exactly what our board needs as we scale into these markets.”

“TômTex is solving a challenge the material world has struggled with for years: creating a bio-based material that delivers the performance premium brands and industrial partners require across a wide range of applications,” said Hoffman. “I’ve spent my career building, transforming and scaling businesses at critical inflection points, and I look forward to helping guide TômTex through its next stage of growth and expansion across fashion, interiors, construction, automotive and beyond.”