Chemical Engineering

Summary https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-anim-mensah-phd-977bbba/

A PhD Chemical Engineer with over sixteen (16) years of progressive diverse experiences with a track record of delivering sustainable technical, business and management results through award winning performances. Extremely results oriented with a strong sense of transforming organization through engineering and developing products with customer value intent, improving products through continuous innovation, positioning company competitively by securing inventions as part of strategic patent portfolio, prioritizing and aligning resources to a company’s strategy, championing on-time customer issues resolution, and developing robust products, systems and processes. Building teams, mentoring and developing talents.

Experienced in patent portfolio strategy, growth strategy, advanced project management, business strategy, sales/marketing, project and innovation leadership, operations management, technology management, budgeting, capital project planning & expenditure, resource allocation, risk analysis & projections, strategic cost analysis, improving productivity, continuous innovation, customer issues management and problem-solving.

Experienced in research-to-commercialization, product and process development, technology & engineering feasibility analyses, process design & engineering, prototyping, piloting, modeling & simulation, scale-up, energy & environmental engineering, water chemistry, water & wastewater treatment system design and costing, proposal preparation, waste treatment, membrane science & technology, and optimization.

Involved in over thirty (30) inventions, and US/world patents in areas spanning from improved chemical & water use efficiencies, sensing, energy management, cleaning, refrigeration & heat pumps, optimization, process improvements, performance monitoring, waste minimization and environmental impacts reduction.

Some Achievements

Recipient of “2019 Distinguished Patent & Innovation Awards” in May. This award is granted to inventors whose patents generated exceptional levels of commercial and technical successes.

Currently leading and managing three (3) departments strategically positioned to work with all groups

Direct reports ranging from full-and part-time, contractor interns/co-op with 25 years average experiences.

Team played key role is securing over $18M sales revenue from two (2) key new customers in 2018.

Managing contract services budget for a whole business segment engineering team

Working closely with product line managers and upper management to align technology road map to support product development and continuous improvement.

Working closely with sales and marketing activities to secure new businesses and maintaining existing ones

Building effective teams, mentoring, developing and retaining talents.

Developing and evaluating technologies for competitive and sustained advantages; some technologies developed are niche products growing sales by 15% yearly since 2013.

Coaching and mentoring over 15 young and aspiring engineers yearly through co-ops/intern programs and university projects. Managing company’s external projects.

Two (2) patents on energy management granted so far in 2019. More expected to be granted by end of 2019

Serving as company’s Subject Mater Expert (SME) on water chemistry, water treatment and related areas

Six (6) straight years of documenting inventions, drafting patents for internal and external attorney filing, responding to patent examiners requests and screening inventions/patents for my business segment.

Six (6) straight years as highly ranked Hobart Symposium presenter on water to consultants, dealers, prospective customers, rep groups, sales organizations in the food industry.

Working with the various codes and agencies including UL, NSF, FDA, Energy Star, UMC, UPC, etc.

Co-authored two (2) books, two (2) books chapters and several technical papers in the area of membrane science and technology, and biomedical applications.

Published peer reviewed journal articles and delivered scientific presentations at various international conferences

ProfessionalExperiences

Manager, Engineering/Innovation/Product Development & Testing/Patents ITW FEG - Troy OH 09.2017 - present

Leading and managing a group with focus spanning from product validation & verification, product lab & field testing, research-to-commercialization, concept development and evaluation, prototype building, pilot manufacturing/ production, customer/field issues troubleshooting & resolution, customer-focused innovation, product development, continuous product & process improvements, products evaluations and competitive analyses, technology scouting and evaluation for product development road map. Managing company’s external projects, exploring new markets, involved in product development stage gate processes and building teams for prioritizing customer-driven product innovation. Evaluating technologies for product development for Customer-Back Innovation (CBI), New Product Development (NPD) and Continuous Improvement (CI). Working with both internal and external attorneys and patent examiners to secure inventions into patents.

Engineering Manager, ITW - Food Equipment Group (FEG) - Troy OH 10.2013 – 09.2017

Responsibilities spanned from product development, topline growth, targeted selling, product and process improvements, continuous improvements and customer/field issues resolution. Role involved using my background and experiences in engineering, innovation, R&D, technology, intellectual property (IP), business, and management. Served as a consultant in areas including water chemistry, water treatment, corrosion, chemicals/chemistries (esp. involving. detergents, rinse aids, sanitizers, delimers, etc.), biochemical, material analysis/compatibility and waste treatment/management. Evaluated technologies from both technical and business feasibility standpoints for acquisition. Evaluating Technology for the product development and improvement portfolio in Customer-Back Innovation (CBI), New Product Development (NPD) and Continuous Improvement (CI). Working with both internal and external attorneys and patent examiners to secure inventions into patents. Managing company - university projects and co-op/interns’ program.

Principal Engineer/Project Leader, ITW - Food Equipment Group (Hobart) - Troy OH 06.2012 – 10.2013

Led integration of European technologies into US products for the North American market. Involved project scoping, concept reviews, performance & reliability testing, code compliance, process redesign, system integration, budgeting, cost estimation, vendor selection, prototypical document preparation, prototype & engineering build, pilot manufacturing, training, installation procedure documentation, operation and trouble shooting. Built a team comprised of an engineering test technician, strategic sourcing, quality & reliability, field technician, production, and system integration for lab and field testing, sourcing parts and vendors in the US for products to meet reliability, functional and cost requirements, while being compactible, manufacturable and serviceable. Heavily involved design of experiment (DOE) in our testing and FMEA for reliability.

Consulted on water chemistry, water treatment and products, water report interpretation, material compatibility and chemicals. Resolving customer issues remotely and onsite.

Senior Engineer/Project Leader, ITW - Food Equipment Group (Hobart) - Troy OH 01.2010 - 06.2012 Transferred knowledge from a water-chemistry-machine project company-wide and implemented findings globally to alleviate customer pain points. Developed several concepts into technologies, evaluated technologies for company’s technology pipeline/portfolio and integrated technologies into new products and improved existing products.

Some technologies developed and patented in products are key in company’s sustained competitive advantage.

Consulted on water chemistry, water treatment and products, water report interpretation, material compatibility and chemicals. Resolving customer issues remotely and onsite.

Water Treatment Consultant, Corporate R&D ITW - Chicago IL 04.2010 - 04.2011

Executed a key role in a company-wide water chemistry, chemicals and machine project. Consulted on water chemistry, water treatments, chemicals and expected machine performance. Evaluated several commercially available water treatment technologies against the different water types across North America. Synthetized different water across USA in the lab for analysis.

This was one of the company's strategic in-depth research in the water-chemical- machine space in a 100-year span. Findings from the research led to knowledge transfer and development of several technologies currently in our machines to position company competitively.

Applications and Sales Support Engineer, Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies - Vandalia OH 03.2018 - 05.2009

Designed, cost-estimated, budgeted, constructed, installation, and commissioned industrial water and wastewater treatment plants for industries including pharmaceutical, oil & gas, medical, semiconductors, food & beverage, mining, power plants, etc. Conducted new business feasibility analysis.

Research Engineer, Pharma. Purification Process & Evaluation, University of Cincinnati OH 09.2003-08.2007

Worked closely with Eli Lilly & Co through the former National Science Foundation – Membrane Applied Science & Technology (NSF -MAST) Center to develop membrane - active pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) purification processes. This involved modifying commercially available solvent resistant polymeric NF membranes, developed UTDR techniques for real-time membrane visualization, developing membrane characterization methodologies, constructing & operating test evaluation systems, and monitoring the purification processes while considering mechanical, chemical and thermodynamic effects on the overall performance. Developing purification processes and scale-up methods for large scale processes.

Technical Services Manager, Siemens Water Technologies - Colorado Springs CO 11.2006 - 03.2007 Managed the installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of field membrane pilot plants across USA for gathering data for designing and construction of full-size plants. Worked closely with the various customers, engineering and sales/marketing.

Sr. Research and Product Development Engineer (PhD Co-op), Procter and Gamble - Cincinnati OH 06.2005 - 12.2005

Led the development and integration of a filtration subsystem for a new non-conventional laundry machine. Developed specifications for the various subsystem parts for outside vendors. Developed fluid simulation models for understanding and determining the various variables sensitivity and impacts on energy and material as well as for unit sizing. Tested the various iterative parts and overall subsystem for compactness, reliability, ease of integration, manufacturability, serviceability and safety.

Process and Environmental Engineer, Syngenta AG. - Greensboro NC 12.2002 - 11.2003

Conducted benchtop analysis for extracting key parameters for pilot trials. Investigated different pilot trials for best candidate set-up for scale up to the commercial scale agrochemical production. Selected production processes were audited for compliance with EPA NESHAP regulation.

Process and Environmental Engineer, Tema Oil Refinery - Ghana 04.2000 - 08.2001 Monitored operating unit performances, troubleshot equipment operation, evaluated catalyst performance, and recommended operating guidelines and process improvements for crude oil processing into the various products including LPG, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel. Monitored industrial effluents for effectiveness of treatment systems and compliance with EPA standards. Spearheaded and facilitated the implementation of a waste minimization program

Technical Sales Manager, Rex Laboratories - Ghana 10.1997 - 02.2000

Developed and managed strategic relationships, analyzed competitors and opportunities to create and execute market penetration plans, prospected for new business, and achieved sales budgets while providing customer support.

Process/Quality Engineer (Intern), Ghana Cement Works - Ghana 07.1996 - 10.1997

Tested raw materials and finished product quality to ensure meeting specification.

Chemical Engineer (Intern), West African Mills Co. LLC - Ghana 07.1994 - 10.1994

Collected and tested samples from key points on the process to produce natural and deodorized cocoa butter from cocoa beans.

Education

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati OH 09.2003 - 08.2007

oThesis: Evaluation of both nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for small molecule purification and recovery of solvents for re-use. A zero-discharge projects sponsored by the former Membrane Applied Science & Technology (MAST) Center and Eli Lily & Co. as part of promoting environmental responsible solvents processes.

M.S., Chemical Engineering, North Carolina A& T State University - Greensboro NC 08.2001 - 08.2003

oThesis: Separation and recovery of liquid & Supercritical carbon dioxide from processing solutions with phase change through enhanced micellar crossflow micro-and ultra-filtration. A zero-discharge projects fully sponsored by the NSF- STC Center as part of promoting environmental responsible solvents and improved energy efficient processes.

B.S., Chemical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology - Ghana 10.1993 - 07.1998

o Thesis:

(1) Plant design with its economic analysis to produce alumina from bauxite (1997-1998)

(2) Studies into the kinetic of soap making processes (1995-1996).

Some Specializations

Supervisory Leadership, University of Dayton - Dayton OH 09.2017 - 03.2018

Marketing Mix Implementation, IE Business School - Madrid Spain 05.2016 - 12.2016

Technology, Operations and Value Chain Management, MIT Sloan School of Management - MA 06.2015 - 10.2016

Business Strategy, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia - Charlottesville VA 10.2015 - 06.2016

Some Certificates

Innovation Leadership, Georgia Institute of Technology, GA (March ending expected completion)

Intellectual Property Law & Policy, University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia PA

Managing Complex Technical Project, MIT Sloan School of Management - Cambridge MA

Water Resources and Policy, The University of Geneva, Switzerland

Global Energy Business, University of Colorado - CO

Energy Within Environmental Constraint, Harvard University - Cambridge MA

Operation Strategy and Management, Vanderbilt University - TN

Sales Strategies, Mastering the Selling Process, Booth School of Business, Univ. of Chicago - IL

Strategy, Law, Ethics: The Three (3) Pillar Model for Business Decisions; University of Michigan MI

Advanced Waste Management (AWM) - North Carolina A&T State University, NC

EPA Section 608 Universal Refrigeration Certification, Mainstream Engineering Corporation - FL

Environmental Management Systems EMS (ISO 14000 Series), Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Belgium

Total Quality Management, TQM (ISO 9000 Series), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

Extracurricular Activities

President, Kwahu Professional Network of North America (KPN-NA) 11.2018 – present

General Secretary, Okwahu United of North America (OUNA) 11.2018 – present

Member, Corrective Action Review Board (CARB), ITW-Hobart Corporation, Troy OH 09.2017 - present

External Advisory Board Member, Biomed., Chem. & Environ. Eng. Prog. Univ. of Cincinnati, OH 02.2013 - present

Executive Safety Committee Member, ITW-Hobart Corporation, Troy OH 10.2013 - present

Director, Industrial Partnership, African Membranes Society (AMS) 09.2009 - present

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