Romel Somavat Email & Phone Number

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States

Manage long term capacity plan for Unilever's ~$3B North American ice cream business. Lead investment roadmap, demand & supply analytics, and business cases for supporting expansions, major innovations, restructuring, and COVID & post-pandemic sourcing strategy for Ben & Jerry, Magnum, Talenti, Klondike, Good Humor and Popsicle brands.

Greater Memphis Area

Led site engineering team at one of the largest ice cream factories in the world with high-speed automated manufacturing of novelty and packaged ice creams. Served as the technology engineering manager for six key ice cream brands / technologies at five internal NA manufacturing sites. Executed capital projects for Talenti Layers and Klondike Donuts innovations.

Columbus, Ohio Area

Managed the operations, engineering and quality functions of the Process Research Center, supporting R&D and new products development by making aseptic, retorted and spray dried nutritional products for research, sensory and shelf life studies. Developed and coordinated a predictive data analytics program with external engagement for improving tech transfer and scalability from pilot to commercial scale.

Managed capital equipment projects including aseptic, high care powdered infant formula processing and product batching systems. Led six-sigma based process optimization initiatives and provided technical and strategic consultation for global expansion of the pilot facilities. Invented a product for fortifying the nutritional density of hot beverages such as coffee and tea. Aseptic and Sterilization Subject Matter Expert.

Supported multiple capital projects and managed the preventive maintenance group at the pilot plant.

Developed the new generation of Ensure® Plus Advance with CaHMB shake for Europe and Asia. Optimized a powdered Glucerna® product using a novel integral spray drying technology for improved product and sensory attributes. Received two key patents.

Developed an advanced food package for NASA’s future inter-planetary space missions with an inbuilt ohmic heater to heat and sterilize the food. Led the package design and development activities, 3D computer simulation and microbial verification of the sterilization process using /Geobacillus stearothermophilus/ spores. Received a patent. Invented capillary sized micro ohmic heaters and substantiated the presence of non-thermal effects of electricity during ohmic heating on inactivation of the otherwise non-conductive thermophilic bacterial spores.

Executive Mba

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Food Engineering

Dissertation: Applications and effects of ohmic heating: sterilization, influence on bacterial spores, enzymes, bioactive components.

Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech.)