Robert Whyte Email & Phone Number

Georgetown, Tx, Us

 Helping strategic customers navigate the complex commodity market landscape. Lead the Ventura Foods risk management team working with both internal and external customers - develop correlated and uncorrelated procurement strategies. Set RM goals to motivate the various category team members to hit volume and VM objectives. Manage the risk management programs for various CPG, CCD, F/S, and Industrial accounts.  Collaborate with the various sales segments' sales managers working with the strategic risk management customers establishing procurement strategies. Provide information and strategy guidance. Interpret the global commodities complex to determine price direction in the North American marketplace, ensuring the correct hedging strategies are in place for each customer to achieve better than market pricing.  Develop relationships with customer executive teams to grow their understanding of the benefits of the risk management program, helping them to achieve lower operating costs and improved operational effectiveness. The program manages 10 percent of the US edible oils.

 Developed Ventura Foods’ risk management program in conjunction with our business department heads. Also collaborated on establishing process, policy and customer targets. Set up and executed the six distributor risk management programs for commodity and value-added programs internally and externally. Established the initial CCD risk management customer base working with various program types. Played a major role in establishing Ventura’s risk management contracting and hedging policies.

Wayzata, Mn

 Managed the commodity risk profile for eleven customers, seven of which were Fortune 200 companies (representing 8% of all North American vegetable oil usage). Through the execution of futures and options strategies, customers were positioned $40 million below the 2004 market average. Over three years, grew the program from three customers to eleven, resulting in a 400% increase in the program size to $300 million. Collaborated with customers to establish their budgets, develop hedging strategies that paralleled their risk profile and helped set their profitability objectives. Monitor and analyzed the global commodities complex to determine price direction in the North and South American marketplace to ensure correct hedging strategies were in place for each customer to achieve margin objectives. Developed relationships with customers' management teams to grow their understanding of the benefits of the risk management program. Recipient, Cargill Distinctive Value Award, 2004; Chairman's Award 2004; Wendy’s Exceptional Performance Award, 2004

Fargo, Nd

 Directed the daily running plan for a multi-seed facility, improving operational effectiveness to manage within the $110 million budget. Interpreted industry trends and analyzed the competitive global landscape in order to identify North American opportunities. This resulted in improvements in long-term facility effectiveness and profitability expectations being surpassed. Collaborated with Proctor & Gamble on the introduction of an improved Pringles potato chip. Analyzed, marketed, and pioneered our entrance into the Asian market, achieving $15 million of new business and $1 million of gross profits. Trained, coached, and motivated merchandising team of six resulting in lower costs and effective employees. Managed product sales programs and customer relationships within North America, Europe, and Asia, which resulted in 20% market share growth and facility profit expectations being exceeded. Recipient, Cargill Chairman’s Quality Award, 1998 and 1999.

Winnipeg, Mb Canada

 Pioneered the use of canola oil into the Asian and Latin American marketplaces by selling new customer on the advantages of this product including logistics, pricing and consumer trends. Analyzed, developed, recommended and executed commodity hedging strategies and segment budgets to determine price direction in the North American, Asian, and European market place in order to manage the Canadian business unit’s risk position of $175-250 million. Resulted in an annual profit increase of $18-20 million. Market share was increased 5%. Led, coached, and monitored a team of seven traders in weekly strategy sessions. Identified targeted customer base and developed new clientele both domestically and internationally, increasing profit by $3 million.

London, Ont And Calgary, Ab, Canada

 Established procurement budget and executed purchases to meet the Canadian business units’ program needs for Canada.  Trained, coached, and motivated team of nine merchants in the weekly merchandising meetings. Team met/exceeded performance objectives. Set annual targets and performed annual reviews for the team each year. Analyzed, developed and managed the sales program within two Canadian regions. Grew the customer base by ten, increased sales from $3 to $10 million and profitability by $0.5 million. Managed and coordinated export sales program. Recommended futures and options strategies to producers to manage their farm profitability.