I am leading a newly formed group to identify opportunities to automate difficult to automate tasks and develop cost effective solutions. We have developed technology and projects for over $9,000,000 in savings in our firt year, and are on track to triple that in years two, I am ConAgra Engineering’s Subject Matter Expert for food packaging systems. I am responsible for providing technical excellence across all operations. I created and am currently leading the Strategic Supplier Program to identify new technologies that will benefit CAG, and to develop new capabilities with current vendors. I have also used my ability to develop creative solutions to resolve major production issues.

I developed and implemented a five year packaging innovation strategy for all products, including retort packages, to significantly reduce cost and chart future material and equipment innovations. Partnering with Purchasing, I have forged alliances with key suppliers to enable success for these initiatives. I have outsourced non-value added activities from my group and implemented innovative packages for several future product launches. My department consists of 3 engineers and 2 interns.

As the sole packaging professional at Imperial Sugar, I was responsible for consumer ethnography, material design and selection, vendor identification and selection, equipment troubleshooting, equipment specification/evaluation/selection, line design, project installation, and start up. I championed and implemented four new packages and packaging lines for sugar in less than two years, winning two Ameristar awards in 2004.

When I joined Satake, there had not been a new product launch in over eight years. My challenge was to launch one new product each year while supporting the existing product line. Leading my group of seven engineers, 8 designers and 2 technicians, we launched six new products in five years, expanded the capabilities of the current product line, and reduced costs by 25 to 50 percent.I also led the expansion of cooperation with the head office in Japan, beginning the sharing of best practices and initiating joint development projects. These joint development projects cut the development timeline in half.

I was Kraft’s design leader for packaging capital projects worldwide, focusing on equipment specification/evaluation/selection, line design and layout, line control philosophy, and troubleshooting. This included identification of emerging equipment technologies and leading manufacturers in the development of technologies strategically useful to Kraft. I led the custom designed equipment team for Kraft Foods facilities worldwide. I refocused the department on opportunities that lead to sustainable competitive advantages in conversion costs. My group consisted of six design leaders and three outside engineering companies. I established contacts at all levels at Kraft facilities worldwide. I did extensive internal consulting domestically and internationally.At Kraft, I developed my ability to rapidly identify root causes of production issues and apply my creative nature to engineer solutions. This skill allowed me to solve issues that confounded other engineering teams. Examples include:- After installation of a new machine, rework jumped to 30%. Within two months, I had implemented design changes that reduced rework to under 0.1%. - After changing a component design, line output dropped 20%. I redesigned a machine sub-assembly, and working through the night with some very good machinists, installed the parts 20 hours later. Line output increased to the pre-change level. - When several newly designed high shear mixers were installed, the room noise level was over 110 Db. I researched and implemented a new technology that reduced that level to under 85 Db.