Directed all aspects of three dehydration plants located across the United States. Responsible for building the management team/structure, engineering, operational excellence, quality systems, HR, safety, sanitation, and project management. - Business turn-around scenario that involved addressing throughput, quality and environmental issues at all three locations -Developed and initiated BRC quality programs for all three locations to comply with FSMA regulations- Aligned organizational structure to establish clear lines of accountability and to support on-going growth of the platform

Directed all aspects of USDA plant operations including project management, engineering, continuous improvement, design, HR, safety, materials management, maintenance, warehousing, quality, technical services, production, and sanitation. Supervised Management team of 9 individuals that were responsible for the performance against targets of 100 employees.- Implemented a KPI structure surrounding the plant operations that incorporated a bottom-up/top-down approach to information transfer- Developed target setting and goal performance recognition program from strategic KPI’s- Worked cross functionally with Sales and Marketing to launch a new product line consisting of 15 new SKU’s within a 6 month window- Collaborated with R&D on the development and introduction to marketplace of 2 never before seen items within RTE meat category. Operations supported and supplied major retailers and clubs across North America (Costco, Walmart, Safeway, Kroger)- Worked cross functionally with Finance department to incorporate accurate financial information and improve communication of the numbers to be utilized in targeting areas of improvement- Increased plant OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) by 10% points through focused improvement projects - Increased plant Schedule Attainment by 15% points through maximized schedule projects, SMED techniques and preventative/predictive maintenance- Decreased plant production personnel turnover by 35% year over year

Primary decision maker and implementer of the worldwide rollout of the Operational Excellence platform into 18 US plants and 6 facilities in Europe. Direct 48 plant personnel in OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) and ZBW (zero-based waste) improvements, while ensuring regulatory compliance and sustainability of company culture. Operational Excellence’s continuous improvement initiatives are anticipated to deliver $57M in savings.

Directed plant-wide operations, engineering, project management, design, production, logistics, HR, maintenance, safety, and sanitation in growing this startup company. Also managed a sister leasing company and a nonprofit orphan-advocacy organization. Supervised 5-member plant team and 30 shop floor personnel.

Recruited as primary decision maker and implementer of the worldwide rollout of the Operational Excellence platform into 18 US plants and 6 facilities in Europe. Direct 48 plant personnel in OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) and ZBW (zero-based waste) improvements, while ensuring regulatory compliance and sustainability of company culture. Operational Excellence’s continuous improvement initiatives are anticipated to deliver $57M in savings.

Provided operations management of seven plants throughout the Midwest US, with multiple technologies and co-manufacturing. Managed more than $70M operating budget in supporting $500M+ in sales. Directed quality, safety, sanitation, maintenance, engineering, production, materials management, and plant accounting for each of the seven locations, with responsibility for setting targets, developing management staff, creating detailed action plans, and ensuring progress toward goals. Successfully led launch of more than 15 new products.- Decreased overhead by optimizing staffing and equipment assets; achieved 10% decrease in conversion costs.- Initiated product and production improvement measures that reduced QA complaints 20%, increased shipping readiness by 15% points (through SPC changes), lowered inventories 75% (by standardizing SKUs), and improved online time 15%.- Managed development, justification, installation, and successful startup of numerous capital projects, ranging in cost from $50K to $20M.- Directed and achieved an immediate improvement in OEE by more than 10% on average for all seven plants.- Applied SMED principles in slashing changeover times from 4 hours to 30 minutes.- Saved company $4M annually by recommending and implementing closure of one facility and consolidating production to another, taking projects from concept through design and execution.