Manager Quality Assurance

James E. Gagnon

*** **** ******** ****** ( Fresno, California 93720 ( H (559) 892-

**** ( C 559-***-**** ( abm7ao@r.postjobfree.com

SUMMARY

An innovative and problem-solving top operations executive with a

successful background of accomplishments in orchestrating high-volume,

multi-client domestic and international business strategies in multi-

plant environments to improve profits and institute cost-effective

planning. An enterprising leader who streamlines wide-ranging

initiatives, building quality teams and coordinating cross-functional

groups to enhance systems and grow productivity.

Food Service/Manufacturing ( Change Management ( Operations Analysis (

Strategic Planning ( Best Practices

Quality Assurance ( Corporate Reengineering ( Sales and Marketing (

Financial Management ( Distribution

Business Development ( Regulatory Compliance ( Lean Manufacturing (

Customer Satisfaction ( Labor Relations

Facilities Management ( Project Management ( Continuous Improvement (

Productivity Enhancement

EXPERIENCE

POM Wonderful, LLC Del Rey, California

Vice President of Operations 2009-2010

Led company in developing world-class manufacturing operations grounded

fundamentally in principles of lean and continuous improvement. Directed

multidisciplined senior leadership team, encompassing bottle manufacturing,

juice extraction/evaporation, blending, filling, fresh-fruit processing,

and fresh-cut fruit production for operations with revenue in excess of

$500,000,000 annually. Guided leadership team, enabling company to provide

top-tier service to customers through consistent, reliable product

availability.

. Developed and implemented production control team combining production

planning, order processing, conveyance, shipping, and supply chain into

one functional department. Eliminated redundant positions in the Los

Angeles corporate office.

. Fostered cooperation between functional leaders by developing off-

season personnel-sharing matrix. Enabled year-round employees to work

with other onsite operational areas.

. Collaborated with farming sister company to institute annual harvest

process, utilizing fruit evaluation team to assemble and communicate

real-time fruit maturity information during harvest.

. Ran project team for installation, testing, and commercialization of

aseptic filling-line/plastic-bottle manufacturing plant.

. Acted as company liaison with international manufacturers of filling,

packaging, and descrambling equipment. Coordinated capital payments in

excess of $20,000,000.

. Worked closely with Vice President of QA/NPD to upgrade existing

quality management practices. Passed all yearly audits for first time

in company's history. Earned highest score of Roll company on British

Retail Consortium (BRC) and AIB audits.

. Streamlined fresh-cut arils processing area. Redesigned product

transfer area to reduce arils damage, resulting in 45% increase in

shelf life.

. Improved downtime for the fresh packing operation by 30% by

implementing an off-season maintenance rebuild program.

Del Monte Fresh Produce Sanger, California

Senior Director of Fresh-Cut Operations 2008-2009

Expanded responsibilities of operations director to include national

support for nine fresh-cut facilities, generating $541,000,000 in annual

revenue. Provided counsel to each production team with quarterly onsite

visits. Improved division profitability through national supply agreements

and systemic pricing format. Championed company lean manufacturing

initiative, improving division productivity by over 40% in the course of 24

months.

. Lowered processing cost for Eastern region facilities by 18%,

establishing contracts with local, as opposed to national growers.

. Negotiated supply agreements with domestic/international growers,

suppliers, and brokers. Executed commodity contracts with suppliers in

the U.S., Mexico, as well as Central and South America.

. Reduced processing cost for Eastern fresh-cut plants by securing

contracts for locally grown product to eliminate excessive freight

charges. Developed specifications for each commodity by size, type,

and harvest specification.

. Formulated and instituted systemic procedure to standardize product

pricing and improve turnaround time. Deployed system as standard

throughout north american region.

. Initiated quarterly production review for fresh-cut facilities.

Identified areas for saving and worked closely with unit-level

operations team to harvest savings.

. Designed yield standards by commodity for proprietary product. Created

customer-specific specifications, identifying product by size to

maximize yield. Acted as liaison with tropics to ensure size, weight,

and quality deliveries to facilities.

Director of Operations, Western Region and General Manager, Sanger,

California 2007-2008

Oversaw operational, financial, and sales functions of fresh-cut produce

manufacturing plant and export facility, as well as regional accountability

for fresh-cut general managers in Dallas, Denver, and Portland, generating

$156,000,000 in annual revenue. Expanded lean manufacturing principles

previously taught to Eastern region facilities. Advised Portland facility

through immigration ICE raid, developing alternate production network to

service customers during complete replacement of employee base. Led Sanger

facility after loss of production management team.

. Grew role as company's national lean manufacturing SME, training

Western region teams at fresh-cut facilities on lean principles.

Accomplished productivity savings of 36% in Dallas, 31% in Denver, 68%

in Portland, and 52% in Sanger.

. Worked directly with Asia-Pacific division, coordinating citrus and

deciduous exports to Asia and Australia.

. Coordinated average of 30 weekly loads exported from Port Hueneme,

California. Ensured supply from multiple growers met company and

customer specifications.

. Maintained export paperwork, including ship manifests and U.S./foreign

customs document.

. Established cost-per-unit (CPU) billing with staffing agency. Enabled

system to possess degree of separation with company production

management and staffing work force.

. Expanded CPU billing system to five fresh-cut production facilities,

saving in excess of $2,300,000 in labor costs for first year.

. Led turnaround of Sanger facility, securing first profitable year with

fresh-cut production.

. Restructured plant organization, combining functions between export and

fresh-cut to reduce labor costs by 23%.

. Initiated business improvement teams (BIT) to address profitability

opportunities within each facility.

Director of Operations, Eastern Region 2006-2007

Held complete regional profit and loss accountability for fresh-cut general

managers in Baltimore, Boston, Greensboro, and Plant City, generating

$135,000,000 in annual revenue. Taught and implemented lean manufacturing

principles to operations teams throughout Eastern region. Created and led

Eastern region steering team, coordinating production activities. Oversaw

activities of new product development team for fresh-cut products and

packaging. Orchestrated customer/product rollouts with each operations

team.

. Served as regional lean manufacturing SME, training teams at fresh-cut

facilities on lean principles and achieving significant productivity

savings, including 62% in Boston, 36% in Dallas, 26% in Jessup, and 21%

in Plant City potato repack.

. Developed and implemented peel/cut/pack process for fresh-cut

production.

. Eliminated machinery slowing production and increased product yield by

37% throughout region.

. Established private label co-pack agreement with Orval Kent salads,

earning role as company's sole supplier of cut produce throughout North

America.

. Served as team leader for group forming apple-processing initiative,

preparing 100,000 pounds of product per week with total revenue in

excess of $5,000,000 annually.

. Created and instituted weekly labor forecasting model, raising general

manager focus and accountability.

. Set up weekly labor commitments with conference calls to discuss

successes and corrective actions.

General Manager, Plant City, Florida 2005-2006

Directed operational and financial functions of produce manufacturing

plant/distribution center. Ran full profit and loss, overseeing customer

relations, product development, and quality assurance. Led high-volume

produce fabrication operation, providing 2,000,000 pounds of cut produce

monthly for grocery/convenience stores, and generating $23,000,000 in

annual revenue. Managed over 200 employees, as well as regional

merchandising staff covering retail customers in Florida. Developed in-

store demonstrations and merchandising opportunities with regional produce

managers. Created and coordinated advertising programs with corporate

buyers. Formulated aggressive sales plans focusing on seasonality and

availability.

. Orchestrated operation of $30,000,000 produce distribution center,

including 21 banana ripening rooms. Advised major clients, such as

Kash n' Karry, Albertsons, Winn-Dixie, Food Lion, Wal-Mart, Costco, and

Starbucks.

. Implemented only company facility ISO 9000 and ISO 22000 certification

in fresh-cut and DC operations. Coordinated planning and rollout

initiatives with Port Manatee to ensure integration between operations.

. Championed lean manufacturing initiative, increasing productivity 35%

within four months. Restructured Plant City organization, combining

functions between distribution center and fresh-cut facility.

. Initiated product development team to redesign fresh-cut fruit programs

for Kash n' Karry and Winn-Dixie. Collaborated with Kash n' Karry

director of produce to design program increasing fresh-cut sales for

109-store chain by 46%.

. Reformatted Winn-Dixie fresh-cut to target WD-specific customer base,

raising sales 19%.

. Coordinated deliveries for inbound fruit from Port Manatee to Plant

City, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Montgomery, and New Orleans, averaging up

to 35 trailer loads per week.

LSG Sky Chefs Orlando, Florida

Director of Operations, Retail Services 2004

Maintained full regional profit and loss accountability from retail general

managers in Orlando, San Jose, Austin, Denver, Boston, Reno, and Phoenix.

Served as sole operations member of retail services core team, directing

activities for retail division. Coordinated merchandising for product

rollouts. Devised and distributed POS material to each store. Delivered

final operations approval for business pro forma and bids. Advised product

engineering and finance departments to validate post-startup cost

assumptions. Created national operations strategy for facilities servicing

retail customers.

. Developed standard operating procedures and operations manuals for

retail facilities, resolving customer quality issues with each

operations management team. Managed projects for retail startups,

including Boston, Austin, Denver, Reno, and Phoenix.

. Contributed as 7-Eleven customer liaison with Florida market, leading

operations team in product development, quarterly pricing reviews, and

chairing of product enhancement team.

. Designed and instituted quality assurance standards for USDA and non-

USDA operations. Progressed facilities' acquisition of regulatory

approvals and USDA/state inspections.

. Orchestrated four-member senior leadership team as operations manager

charged with expanding company's retail initiative throughout system.

. Worked closely with onsite management to integrate retail business into

airline kitchens, as well as with local teams to develop SOPs and

individualized processes best suited to facilities.

General Manager, CSC 1475/147*-****-****

Directed operational and financial functions of dual-line business

manufacturing kitchen. Led USDA- and FDA-inspected facility, manufacturing

high-volume fresh food for grocery and convenience store customers. Ran

high-volume home-meal replacement operation, producing 50,000 units daily

for grocery/convenience stores and generating $23,000,000 in annual

revenue. Coordinated over 350 employees.

. Consolidated, installed, and deployed single team to operate two

different business units, yielding $32,000,000 in total combined annual

revenue.

. Conceived and delivered full-line deli program for SuperTarget Florida

division, introducing fresh commissary-made products and eliminating

prepackaged products.

. Earned election as vice chairperson of 7-Eleven fresh food operating

team composed of commissary operators serving 7-Eleven system. Acted

as liaison between operators and 7-Eleven category managers. Shaped

fresh food category for 7-Eleven system.

General Manager, CSC 147*-****-****

. Led multi-client international/domestic flight kitchen with $9,000,000

in annual revenue. Oversaw profit and loss performance, catering team

operations, customer satisfaction, financial performance, and staff

relations. Generated team atmosphere, reducing employee turnover by

109%.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

Operations Manager, CSC 1366, Miami, Florida, 1997-1999. Held

responsibility for operations of multi-airline international flight

kitchen. Earned company champion for change award, achieving recognition

as management employee of year for company. Obtained nomination for award

from entire management team. Food Production Manager, Dallas, Texas, 1996-

1997. Directed food production team responsible for preparation and

delivery of 40,000 airline meals daily.

ALPHA FLIGHT SERVICES, General Manager, Orlando, Florida, 1991-1996.

Coordinated combined domestic and international flight kitchen. Grew

revenue from $900,000 to $3,500,000, including KLM, Saudi, and ATA

Airlines. Oversaw off-site catering operation, including sales, pricing,

production, and delivery. Called on airline customers actively to secure

business.

Ogden Allied Aviation Services, General Manager, Jamaica, New York, 1986-

1991. Directed operations of multi-airline international flight kitchen,

as well as facility housing regional management for six different

international customers. Contributed to aviation support services

provider, including ground services, cargo handling, fueling, and in-flight

catering.

Sky Chefs, Food Manager, Dallas, Texas, 1985-1986. Held responsibility for

food production of multi-airline flight kitchen averaging 20,000 meals per

day. Food Manager, Tucson, Arizona, 1984-1985. Led food production for

multi-airline flight kitchen averaging 5,000 meals per day. Supervisor

Materials, 1983-1984. Oversaw food and non-food purchasing/receiving for

flight kitchen producing 12,000 meals per day. Food Supervisor, 1982-1983.

Headed shift operation in food department for multi-airline flight kitchen

averaging 12,000 meals per day. Supervisor, Airport Restaurants, 1981-

1982. Managed operation of three airport restaurants, two snack bars, and

three liquor bars located inside terminal at Syracuse Hancock International

Airport.

Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York, Assistant Director of

Public Operations, 1978-1981. Oversaw operation of student-run

restaurants. Purchased wine and liquor for CIA complex. Dining Room

Fellowship, 1978. Ran government grant focused on operation of school's

dining room.

EDUCATION

Almeda College, Boise, Idaho

B.B.A., 2002

The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York

Degree in Occupational Studies, 1978

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Better Business Mediation Training, 1989

AFFILIATIONS

American Culinary Federation (ACF), 1980-2010

COMPUTER SKILLS

Microsoft Excel, Word

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