Karen Roach Email and Phone Number

The opportunities to contribute to the success of Resolute Forest Products have been amazing. Through my talented direct report staff, I direct a team of committed individuals responsible for customer service, production planning, and logistics for the pulp and paper division. The pulp and paper division’s customer network expands the globe, with a freight spend in the hundreds of millions of dollars comprised of truck, rail, container, and break-bulk shipments, including cross-dock through third-party warehouses. A few notable accomplishments during my tenure in this role include: -->Implemented detailed freight cost tracking and analysis allowing for visibility and therefore monetary savings through improved scenario analysis of customer-source pairings, budget formulation and analysis that drove to the root cause of variances, as well as better negotiation positioning with Logistics providers.-->Realized efficiency improvements from SAP ERP implementation through targeted process clarification, training, and fully vetted change requests to ensure that the system was used to its optimal design.-->Limited staff layoffs through spearheading the company’s first Work From Home set-up after the sale of the US site and just over 1 year before Covid lockdowns. This set-up served as the basis for the company’s WFH arrangements once Covid started.-->Championed product line target inventory initiative which examined the pipeline inventory level per customer. This initiative led to an overall cash flow improvement in the millions of dollars while still providing exceptional service value to customers through product availability and on-time delivery.-->Most recently named business leader for the company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program, including company representative on the Free to Grow Canadian forest industry DEI initiative.

During my two years in this role the organization realized significant improvement in customer service while still achieving cost savings. Among my most notable accomplishments: -->Implemented contract standardization, system improvement, and product handling/quality training to address challenges in service performance, damages, late shipments, and product loss. -->Focused on service quality performance by the third party providers through truck carrier scorecard implementation and external warehouse team creation, resulting in an overall reduction in gross claims.

I was given the opportunity to take the successful achievements I made in South Carolina and replicate them in Montreal. This role is responsible for the fulfillment of the annual sales of pulp and paper, and through streamlined processes and production network optimization, I was able to: -->Generate cost savings through increasing the number of machines per planner by 30%. -->Maintain business continuity during relocation of production planning team from the US to Canada through targeted hiring in the new location coupled with a robust transition plan.

My membership in Chief has been a very rewarding experience, from the networking to the training (both on demand and live). Thank you Chief members!

This continues to be a great opportunity to launch a team from the ground up. I am accountable for implementing all the company policies and procedures, particularly in the safety arena, including implementation of the necessary hiring and training processes to bring the site to a 24-7 operation. As a result of my leadership, this location has thus far been able to increase employee hiring and retention as well as to expand the production levels. We still have progress to make, but I am confident that we will achieve our goals!