Kirk Jensen Email & Phone Number

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Key member of team that built one of the fastest growing food companies of scale. Held annual planning accountability for >50% of GS business encompassing all strategy (including M&A due diligence), operational planning, finance, product design (from R&D to commercialization), quality control, forecasting, and supply chain management (demand/supply planning, procurement, food safety, quality, regulatory, engineering, internal and external manufacturing, warehouse operations, customer… Show more Key member of team that built one of the fastest growing food companies of scale. Held annual planning accountability for >50% of GS business encompassing all strategy (including M&A due diligence), operational planning, finance, product design (from R&D to commercialization), quality control, forecasting, and supply chain management (demand/supply planning, procurement, food safety, quality, regulatory, engineering, internal and external manufacturing, warehouse operations, customer delivery, and customer service), as well as IT oversight. Lead business partner for all brands through GM operating model. Met with customers, including Costco, Walmart, and Target, ensuring distribution gains and retailer confidence. Member, ELT/Ops Steering Committee. Presented at all board meetings. Reported to CEO. Staff: 550+★ Built operational, supply chain, and talent strategy to drive double-digit growth and fuel 2021 IPO ($12 per share) and 2024 $2.7B sale (92% stock increase) to Campbell’s; recognized as a top-3 food industry deal with 19.8 multiple of EBITDA.►Negotiated unique long-term contract and expansion strategy for Rao’s sauce that was key to driving ~7-fold capacity/4x sales increase.-Met business plan goals 3+ years ahead of schedule; accelerated brand recognition/equity exponentially.-Achieved extraordinary order fulfillment throughout pandemic.-Added hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue by expanding to new categories outside core sauce.►Improved frozen foods business (acquired 2017) sales by 87.5% and EBITDA by 400% while reducing costs by millions of dollars by overhauling/modernizing plant infrastructure.-Simplified portfolio, yielding 3x boost in operating profit. -Enhanced safety accountability, achieving world-class safety recognition.-Made critical infrastructure investments.-Introduced IT/automation to reduce labor costs and waste and mitigate risk.-Implemented digital processes for monitoring and incentivizing employee performance Show less

Charlotte, North Carolina

As CSCO of the second largest salty snack food manufacturer in the US, oversaw nationwide full lifecycle supply chain operation from materials and ingredients purchase to fulfillment across 12 manufacturing locations, 115 warehouses, and 70-tractor private fleet. Implemented lowest landed cost models and daily management system to optimize performance of manufacturing network. At peak, oversaw $1B+ budget and staff of 7 direct reports/3,000 team members. ★ Realized double-digit growth… Show more As CSCO of the second largest salty snack food manufacturer in the US, oversaw nationwide full lifecycle supply chain operation from materials and ingredients purchase to fulfillment across 12 manufacturing locations, 115 warehouses, and 70-tractor private fleet. Implemented lowest landed cost models and daily management system to optimize performance of manufacturing network. At peak, oversaw $1B+ budget and staff of 7 direct reports/3,000 team members. ★ Realized double-digit growth by rationalizing portfolio and eliminating manufacturing complexity and waste, facilitating strong market positioning and subsequent $6.1B sale to Campbell’s (19.9 EBITDA multiple) in 2018. ►Following acquisition of Kettle Brand Chip, built TD (Total Delivery Cost) scorecards to optimize synergies across plants and seamlessly harmonize ingredients across product lines resulting in tens of millions of dollars in cost savings and 100% consumer retention. ►Negotiated a favorable contract with an automation vendor despite challenging non-compete clause.►Led analysis to optimize warehouse that was projected to reduce costs by 10%.►Introduced end-to-end planning improvements, reducing cases cut by 1M in first months with expectation to deliver multimillion-dollar decrease in stales or damage. Show less

Lake Oswego, Or

For this nuts and snacks packaged food division of Snyder-Lance, directed nationwide manufacturing, engineering, quality, and food safety practices and processes for 3 plants and co-packers. Involved in all aspects of procurement, demand planning, cost, quality, people safety, food safety engineering, warehousing, logistics, and customer service. Accountable for tens of millions of dollars in Capex spend. Staff: 7 direct reports/1,200 employees at peak.★ Played key role in developing… Show more For this nuts and snacks packaged food division of Snyder-Lance, directed nationwide manufacturing, engineering, quality, and food safety practices and processes for 3 plants and co-packers. Involved in all aspects of procurement, demand planning, cost, quality, people safety, food safety engineering, warehousing, logistics, and customer service. Accountable for tens of millions of dollars in Capex spend. Staff: 7 direct reports/1,200 employees at peak.★ Played key role in developing business transformation strategy resulting in record-breaking sales growth and multimillion-dollar cost savings that was instrumental in the 2015 sale to Snyder-Lance for $1.27B (15.7 EBITDA multiple).►Identified millions of dollars in materials, ingredients, labor, downtime, and overhead savings (50% above target) through a zero-based approach to spend.►Built strategic sourcing program resulting in more competitive pricing, double-digit sales growth, and 60% CX improvement. ►Delivered multimillion-dollar cost reduction while simultaneously achieving significant capacity increase by developing weekly scorecard reviews and sharing best practices across safety, product quality, case fill rates, productivity, and cost containment. Show less

Sunnyside, Wa

Held P&L accountability for production at 2 of this $2.3B dairy agricultural marketing cooperative’s largest plants packaging 175M pounds of cheese and 120M pounds of sweet whey annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues. Staff: 2 direct reports and 138 employees.★ Delivered 6% reduction in off-specification product to sales, 2% increase in volume, and 25% decrease in TIR, while reducing total operating costs by nearly 3%.►Led development and… Show more Held P&L accountability for production at 2 of this $2.3B dairy agricultural marketing cooperative’s largest plants packaging 175M pounds of cheese and 120M pounds of sweet whey annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues. Staff: 2 direct reports and 138 employees.★ Delivered 6% reduction in off-specification product to sales, 2% increase in volume, and 25% decrease in TIR, while reducing total operating costs by nearly 3%.►Led development and implementation of score-carding and process control checklists, as well as cost controls through individual ownership for each account on GL.►Co-led cost-per-unit tracking strategy to effectively manage costs with variations in volume. Show less

Vancouver, Wa

Partnered with Stonecreek Development, LLC home building company. Constructed the most successful subdivision in Stonecreek’s history.

Vancouver, Wa

Progressed from Intern to member of plant senior management team in 8 years. As Plant Controller, responsible for large manufacturing/operations site, led monthly financial analysis/forecasting, and set strategy for cost reductions, customer satisfaction, supply chain management, and employee safety. At peak, managed 600 employees.►As Plant Controller, achieved multimillion-dollar direct conversion cost reductions in 3 years and trimmed injury frequency, lost time injuries, and workers’… Show more Progressed from Intern to member of plant senior management team in 8 years. As Plant Controller, responsible for large manufacturing/operations site, led monthly financial analysis/forecasting, and set strategy for cost reductions, customer satisfaction, supply chain management, and employee safety. At peak, managed 600 employees.►As Plant Controller, achieved multimillion-dollar direct conversion cost reductions in 3 years and trimmed injury frequency, lost time injuries, and workers’ compensation claims by 49%, 79%, and 57%, respectively.►As Corn Plant Manager, decreased annual production and packaging costs significantly and improved quality by 30%.►As Engineering Project Manager, improved Doritos Product Quality Monitoring score from #23 out of 27 plants to #3 nationally and developed a continuous oil spray system that became a company best practice. Show less