Rick Lekoski Email & Phone Number

Belmont, North Carolina, United States

Charlotte, NC

• Orchestrate production for Amazon, Whole Foods Market, Harris Teeter, Home Chef, Kroger, MDI, and Trader Joe’s at this international leader in manufacturing of private label prepared ready to eat, ready to re-heat and.
• Created the first capacity models which gives insights for measuring and implementing accurate equipment rates to improve usage and balance demand
• Work cross-functionally with Sales, Operations, Purchasing, IT, R&D, QA, and Finance to ensure accurate planned production
• Analyze demand requirements for production based off forecast and customer orders
• Schedule production to support customer requirements taking into consideration capacity and material constraints

Charlotte NC

• Led teams consisting of senior management Vice Presidents (VPs) of Business Development of manufacturing to 20+ lines from hospitality, healthcare, and educational businesses. Identified business needs and.
• Executed product rationalization for managed-order guides that created annual income of $3.6M.
• Collaborated on retail-beverage profile management, increasing sales Year-Over-Year (YOY) 8.8% with $473K impact.
• Evaluated protein and hot-beverage programs for Cosmopolitan Casino by suggesting alternative contracted items for annual savings of $1.2M in proteins and $320K in beverages.
• Managed sourcing projects, $4M in volume and higher, that increased revenue 12-25% through product rationalization and negotiations.
• Developed and implemented 1st product-specification testing program, evaluating manufacturer product tolerances.

Charlotte, NC

• Supervised and guided 3 chefs developing products from concept to commercialization. Procured and evaluated new raw materials and packaging. Generated USDA applications utilizing Genesis software. Developed products.
• Launched measures, achieving products within timeframe and under budget while maximizing output.
• Analyzed production processes, increasing efficiencies utilizing LEAN manufacturing practices.
• Ideated with existing and potential clients, evaluating their needs to find solutions via existing line items or product development.
• Awarded highest-volume pizza customer, with $4.2M in income, by replicating Subway product specification.
• Reduced material costs 10% by production analysis.

Newark, DE

• Organized production of campus-wide catering for 5K students, visitors, and employees and for 1200 at Delaware’s largest conference center. Managed $26 million of annual food and beverage sales. Trained and supervised.
• Successfully developed and oversaw $4.2 million residential dining expansion
• Increased client satisfaction 3.6%

Associates Of Science, Culinary Arts

Ancient Grains

Activities and Societies: Specified studies on the use of ancient grains in baking

Applied Baking Science