Kayla Powell Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Illinois

Glenview, Il

Managed projects on a cost engineering team that supports all Kraft Heinz business units across North America. Owner of several packaging projects that yielded over $4MM in annual savings for the company.Collaborated with several cross-functional teams including marketing, finance, and procurement to take a project from concept to commercialization. Worked directly with suppliers, plant personnel, and engineering groups to develop optimal packaging designs, install and qualify equipment, and execute large capital projects. Responsible for using technical background to fully understand business risks and develop strategies to negotiate with all parties while making quick and impactful decisions.

Champaign, Il

Managed 76 direct reports across three shifts of production in a department that manufactures over 220 million pounds of salad dressing annually.Performed troubleshooting for daily operational issues and identified their root causes to implement permanent solutions. Responsibilities included process optimization, change management, increasing employee productivity, developing a safe workplace, and ensuring high quality product.Designed and led several projects to reach aggressive departmental savings targets for 2018. Projects included material staging standardization, downtime reduction, increasing throughput, and labor optimization. Projects resulted in a departmental productivity increase of over 40%.

Champaign, Il

Selected for a corporate program that provided training on all aspects of global supply chain and operations within the company. Gained invaluable insight from top executives in areas such as operations, marketing, finance, sales, R&D, and HR.Led a continuous improvement project in the mayonnaise processing department at one of the company’s largest manufacturing facilities. Project resulted in departmental waste reduction of 36%. Presented project results at a company executive report-out and received a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification.

Syracuse, Ny

Facilitated weekly group sessions to help students master the subjects of thermodynamics and calculus with emphasis on the development of problem-solving, teamwork, and interpersonal skills.

Syracuse, Ny

Oversaw a diverse group of first year engineering students and assisted with their transition into college. Served as a role model to younger students while enforcing residential safety, managing crises, resolving conflict, and developing a positive living and learning community.

Baldwinsville, Ny

Collaborated with managers and operators to troubleshoot and improve packaging processes within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.Managed several projects to reduce process loss on a sleek can packaging line. Projects included decreasing gross fill averages on 12oz cans and improving can losses as a result of equipment malfunctions. Collaborated with operators, technicians, and other Anheuser-Busch breweries to choose part specifications, develop testing procedures, and implement changes.Utilized Voyager Plant Optimization tools and methodology to maximize project productivity. Tools included process maps, short interval control, standard operating procedures, one point learning, abnormality reports, action logs, KPI trees, and visual boards.

Towanda, Pa

Worked on a team of engineers to perform daily problem solving within the production of ammonium paratungstate (APT).Completed process optimization tasks related to APT production using Six Sigma methodology. Daily activities included performing material balances, heat exchanger and scrubber calculations, designing process maps, troubleshooting and replacing equipment, and analyzing data.Led several engineering projects such as low normal digestion analysis, crystallizer tracking, caustic characterization, sludge reporting, and ammonia absorber troubleshooting.