Lee Rieth Email & Phone Number

Olathe, Ks, Us

Olathe, Ks, Us

Lead 30 person R&D, quality, and regulatory team across four sites for specialtychemical manufacturer.• Designed and implemented cross-functional innovation management process, increasingannual new product revenue five-fold over the last five years.• Streamlined the R&D organization, consolidating six lab locations into four and reducing totalpersonnel costs. Simultaneously expanded front-line R&D workforce to better supportproduction and new product development.• Led capital project and logistics for manufacturing transfer of 15 SKUs, producing annualsavings of over $500K.• Initiated and actualized a cross-site change control process, accelerating product changetimelines and significantly reducing errors.• Implemented robust quality management system across all sites, achieving AS9100 certification and cGMP compliance for manufacture of FDA OTC products.

Provided product and market development expertise for new chemistry platforms, particularly in the bio-based chemicals arena. Assisted two bio-based chemical companies in translating chemical attributes into marketable value.

Directed four-person product development team in establishing applications for new bio-based chemical platform. Drove sales by working with customers to deliver high-value solutions. • Segmented plasticizers markets based on performance requirements; revamped go-to-market strategy accordingly, leading to >100% increase in projected 2014 sales.• Created comprehensive in-house polymer processing and testing lab, reducing evaluation times of plasticizers and flexible PVC formulations by 80%.• Spearheaded technical partnership with Method Products, Inc. and drove adoption of Segetis products in three household cleaning categories.

Identified applications for new-to-the-world renewable chemistry platform. Led market introductions by working directly with strategic development partners.• Invented and patented new-to-the-world solvents for cleaning, personal care, and coatings markets, generating 80% of 2011-2013 sales.• Developed polyols for viscoelastic and rigid polyurethane foam applications. Validated $10M commercial opportunity at full-scale economics by partnering with industrial formulator.

Spartanburg, South Carolina, Us

Directed market development for three global plastics additives product lines with eight-digit annual sales. Developed region-specific strategies to drive growth and optimize margins.• Expanded market for colorant product line, increasing sales by 20% and tripling EBIT; exceeded sales target by 10%.• Boosted sales of fledgling UV absorber product line by 400% in two years by exploiting unique value chain in European PET market.• Negotiated $3MM supply agreement with a strategic distribution partner, advancing colorants product line’s market reach significantly with minimal investment.

Spartanburg, South Carolina, Us

Created innovative plastics additive technologies to enhance the physical and aesthetic properties of commodity polymers, particularly polyolefins.• Pioneered efforts to extend Milliken polypropylene nucleation and clarification expertise into polyethylene and poly(lactic acid), leading to a new product line within the business. • Recognized for scientific insight and inventive problem-solving with 2008 induction into Milliken Innovation Hall of Fame.

Developed synthetic strategies and new catalysts for preparation of biodegradable polyesters and polyolefins with well-controlled structures and morphologies.• Elucidated mechanism for the ring-opening polymerization of lactones with new zinc catalysts, an insight that had eluded other researchers for over three years.• Synthesized and characterized a new class of thermoplastic elastomeric polyolefins utilizing self-complementary hydrogen bonding arrays as reversible crosslinks.

Ph.D., Organic/Polymer Chemistry

B.S., Operations Research And Industrial Engineering

Executive Education, "Managing Product Design And Development"

Executive Education, "Strategic Marketing Management"