SUMMARY:

• Solutions - driven Supply Chain and Operations Leader offering over 20 years of successfully leading strategic initiatives encompassing Food and Beverage business and operations growth. Strong background in operations strategic planning, financial planning, optimal productivity, developing and expanding the scope of new markets.
• Strong results-oriented leader who obtains high output with employees through participative management and interfacing extensively with multiple decision makers in a highly competitive environment, while ensuring USDA, FDA compliance and customer service. Cost savings accomplished through these areas of expertise:
• Strategic Business Planning & Execution
• Supply Chain Management
• Lean Manufacturing Principles
• Plant Start-ups & Commissioning
• P & L Management
• Leadership & Staff Development
• Partner / Vendor / Supplier Oversight
• Six Sigma Methodologies
• Quality Assurance Compliance / Management
• Business Continuity Planning / Execution
• High Performance Team Building
• Complex Union Negotiations
• Facilitated turnaround of a semi-automated condiment plant in California, delivering cost-avoidance strategies implemented with savings in excess of $9M.
• Chosen to commission and manage a start-up frozen foods production facility based on success with the condiment plant; within 1 year increased productivity savings of $1.3M.
• Led exceptional operating performance results for a new coffee (bottling beverage) automation factory. New coffee beverage operation ranked in the top 5 out of 20 facilities for three consecutive years (exceeded both projected results and profit margins).

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Plant Manager

Confidential, Jacksonville, FL

• Led a semi-automated processing and packaging operation plant including direct production, safety, quality, purchasing, maintenance, engineering and lean/six sigma initiatives. Volunteered for this project in order to improve operation challenges of efficiency and quality, while ensuring the transition of a new team. Six direct and two dotted line reporting managers (Finance and Human Resource) and 220 indirect reports, with a budget of $22+M.
• Exceeded food quality compliance standards
• Achieved a 12% OEE improvement

Plant Manager

Confidential, Florence, SC

• Assigned to take a start-up frozen foods facility to next growth level after successful management of California site. Introduced initiatives, which resulted in cost savings and increased productivity. Eight direct reporting Managers (Safety/Environmental, Quality, Production, Human Resource, Engineering/Maintenance, Finance, Materials/Warehousing and Continuous Improvement) and 136 indirect reports with a budget of $21M.
• Improved OEE rates by 52% in less than 1.5 years
• First year productivity saving $1.3MM
• Modified warehousing process to control warehouse inventory turns and RMI financial target
• Decreased TRIR from of 4.1 to .74
• Implemented new products and improvements with Marketing and R&D collaboration
• Kaizen initiatives

Plant Manager

Confidential, Chatsworth, CA

• Over 5yrs with a budgets managed from $32M to $22M, introduced impactful initiatives ensuring excellence in Safety, Quality, and employee engagement with productivity savings >$9MM. Nine direct reporting managers (Production, Safety/Environmental, Quality, Engineering/Maintenance, Financial, Materials / Planning, CI, Warehousing, and HR Manager)
• Reduced 12 FTEs by introducing an automatic packaging line (project worth $1.9M).
• Cutting product waste by choosing a cooling system that correctly solidified jellies.
• Implemented Lean and Six Sigma Methodologies (including Kaizen initiatives, 5S)
• Modified JIT process to order frequently-used items in bulk, drastically cutting shipping expenses.
• Developed long-term planning for the tactical merging of other commodities and plant expansion

Business Unit Manager

Confidential, Fullerton, CA

• Accountable for an operating budget up to $20M, with 500 employees; while ensuring excellence in operation - Safety, Quality, Food Regulatory Compliance (USA, FDA, Kosher), Customer Service, Cost effectiveness, employee engagement and innovation. Multi-faceted role entailed overall production management, employee development and enforcing health/safety programs for all staff. Instilled a sense of ownership and urgency among all personnel by developing succession plans and designating line leads, efforts which led to a decrease in union issues, employee grievances and improvements within the facility operation to include:
• An increase in productivity by 73% in 2003 followed with 10% additional the next year
• Productivity savings that amounted to $3.7M
• A decrease in safety incident rate by 50% in 2003 and by 25% in 2004

Plant Manager

Confidential

• A start-up plant, led the continued development of a successful high performance team and exceeded company goals while ensure customer centric demand; with a team of 5 managers and operators to produce a cold coffee beverage for a joint venture with Starbucks and Pepsi.
• As Resource Manager, successfully established plant operations in four months; accountable for staffing of 120, training and ensuring functionality of equipment under stringent deadline.
• As Plant Manager, positioned plant to rank number one of 20 plant sites for three consecutive years by exceeding profit margin and forecasted results.

Manager of Career Development Center

Confidential, CA

• Managed a Title III program servicing unemployed participants with an opportunity for self-employment (entrepreneurship), on job training or retraining for demand skilled jobs in the Confidential area. Administered a budget of $3.1 million with a staff of 40 employees.

QA Manager / Manager of Manufacturing / Senior Analytical Chemist

Confidential

• As Manager of Manufacturing, surpassed output levels after successfully producing an additional 26M pounds of product, while ensuring product quality and low costs; netted productivity of $500K annually.
• Quality Manger - Department start-up, implementing regulatory compliance and ensured high quality products.
• As Senior Analytical Chemist Supervisor, improved training and delivered staff seminars, resulting in savings of $1.4M.