Todd R. Ahern

*** *** ******* *******

Langhorne, PA 19047

215-***-**** / acr6cs@r.postjobfree.com

Selected Career Highlights, Achievements, and Performance Improvements:

Achieved Class A certification for our S&OP process from Oliver Wight Inc. as leader of the program at EMD Chemicals. Coordinated the monthly process involving supply chain, sales and marketing, finance, and executive management. Delivered a monthly state of the business presentation to divisional management. Net results included a 37% reduction in inventory, on-time delivery improvement to 93%, and a backorder decrease of 70%.

Drove on time performance against promised date to greater than 95% at four separate companies. This was accomplished through a variety of methods, including improvement/standardization of production procedures, teambuilding to increase understanding of requirements across departments, and focusing efforts for all areas on a single set of goals.

Drove brand awareness at EMD Chemicals for the insect repellent ingredient IR3535 through a comprehensive marketing approach – technical presentations, attendance at industry specific tradeshows, improvement of web presence, direct to market efforts, and rethinking of customer contract processes. Net result was the signing of four product development projects in the past two years as compared to one project having been developed in the previous six years.

Developed and executed regional marketing plans for the Americas (US, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil) that considered country specific preferences in cosmetics while at EMD Chemicals. Aligned the sales teams in each country to focus on areas where we had the greatest competitive advantages. Sales in the US have grown 22% and 20% for sun protection/self-tanners and repellents respectively, 6% in color cosmetics in Mexico, and 9% in repellents in Brazil versus 2014.

Implemented voice of customer interviews with EMD Chemicals in the cosmetic industry to drive a rethinking of our customer classification strategy. This lead the creation of to a push-pull approach in presenting innovative products to the market as well as time spent at key accounts.

Education: MS in Organizational Dynamics, University of Pennsylvania, 2003. Post-baccalaureate in Business, Columbia University, 1999. BS in Food Science (minor in Chemistry), University of Delaware, 1994.

Skills: UPACA sales training, 2015. En Garde Negotiation, 2013 & 2015. Strategic Marketing for Growth, 2013. Certified professional forecaster, 2012. Merck Advanced Management Training, 2012. SCMChem speaker, 2011 – 2013. Merck Supply Chain Academy, 2011. Six Sigma black belt through Villanova University, 2010. Solid experience in lean manufacturing, 5S and visual management concepts. SAP end user expertise in the PP-PI module with a solid foundation in QM, MM, WM, SD, BW, and APO modules. Expertise in Excel and PowerPoint with an excellent working knowledge of all other Microsoft Office programs. Skilled in utilization of the PROS revenue management tool. Hands on experience in spray drying, extrusion, high-pressure reaction, liquid blending, solid extract, liquid extract, distillation, and dry blending. Expertise in Oliver Wight/Business Excellence.

Employment history:

EMD Performance Materials Corporation, a division of Merck KGaA 2007 to present

Director of marketing and business development, Americas (2012 – Present)

Director of portfolio management, North America (2011 – 2012)

Demand manager, pigments division (2007 – 2010).

Winner of the EMD pyramid award for two consecutive years. The 2008 award was for successful implementation of the S&OP process and the 2009 award was for development of delivery strategies and forecasting tools. Winner of the EMD leadership award for 2013 and 2014 as determined by executive management.

Simultaneously reduced inventory by 37% and increased delivery performance from high 70’s to 93% during 2010. Backorders were also reduced by 70%. This achievement was accomplished through the implementation of statistical and sales collaborative driven inventory policies, standardized root cause analysis for delivery performance issues, and creation of KPIs that focused the organization.

Developed and implemented strategies in multiple disciplines – on-time delivery, make to order, sample packs, lead time, forecasting, product discontinuation, new product introduction, pricing/profitability, budgeting, internal communication – all of which were initially modeled and then realized post-implementation.

Lead the Six Sigma project that successfully reduced new product introduction time from 45 days to 10 days. Consulted as the black belt for three further projects – reduction of finished goods inventory, reduction of production lead times, and improved delivery performance to a global key account.

Envisioned and developed the forecasting tool currently in use by the North American organization along with IT. Implementation of the tool resulted in a doubling of WMAPE measured forecast accuracy.

Created a business model for our insect repellent offerings to go from an ingredient supplier to a direct to market approach. Sold internal stakeholders on private label and mass market initiatives and brought this concept to the largest retailers of repellents. Eventually convinced our Consumer Health division to launch the first ever OTC product offering by EMD/Merck in the US. Launch date projected for early 2017 in what will be the first cross divisional project of this type between these two divisions.

Lead the negotiation of the largest in-licensing business development deal in the division’s history. Managed the relationship and lead the internal approval process involving legal, purchasing, technical applications, regulatory, quality, sales, marketing, and senior management functions. Expected result is $5 million in additional sales in 2016 with expected sales of greater than $10 million annually for 2017 and beyond.

Challenged sales management to rethink our key customer base in order to drive the sales team from farming to hunting. Developed and implemented sales objectives that changed us from governance based to financially driven sales management.

Mastertaste, Inc. 2006 to 2007

Supply chain manager, fragrance division

Responsibility for fifty-seven people (7 direct, 50 indirect) in all aspects of supply chain including shipping, receiving, warehousing, production, and planning. Total budgetary responsibility for these areas covering $36 million in sales.

Developed, tested, and implemented a cycle counting program that eliminated annual physical inventories at Mastertaste. Inventory counts were 99.98% accurate and gave the entire facility an additional week of manufacturing time each year.

Implemented goals, measurements, and feedback across all areas of the supply chain focusing on satisfying internal and external customers. On-time performance increased from 92% to 99.8% and lead time was slashed from 10 to 5 days. Improved chemical pour rate by 77% and reduced overtime by 50% by moving the frequently utilized materials into arms-reach for production operators.

Increased operator productivity by 44% through use of 5S/visual management concepts at Mastertaste. Capitalized on this improvement by driving the total supply chain towards a make to order strategy. These improvements were the primary factor in reducing finished goods inventory by 40% in less than six months.

Firmenich, Inc. 2005 to 2006

Production manager, flavor division

Lead a manufacturing workforce of forty individuals through a period where sales increased 25% in less than a year. Maintained 96% on-time delivery to promise date during this time.

Developed previously non-existent manufacturing procedures to quickly train additional employees to meet this growing demand.

International Flavors and Fragrances 2000 to 2005

Regional master planner, North America (2003-2005)

Planning manager (2002-2003)

Process control group leader (2000-2002)

Worked with manufacturing to increase throughput by 25% and generate more consistent yields for washed citrus extracts. Generated all data for the analysis and helped drive data based decision making for the department. Improvements to the process resulted in elimination of overtime and a 30% reduction in lead time.

Developed and loaded forecasts along with all associated measurements as regional master planner. Worked with the sales group on improving forecast accuracy and eliminating obsolete products. Forecast accuracy on a product/customer level increased from 18% to 32% in eighteen months that significantly reduced raw material shortages as well as overall inventory.

Redefined SAP manufacturing recipes as data accuracy team lead for the Oliver Wight/Business Excellence initiative. Recipe improvements generated an additional four weeks of dryer time per year.

Spearheaded efforts that reduced the internal rejection rate by 41% from 2000 to 2002. Created communication networks and established standard operating procedures for quality control, manufacturing, planning, and process control.

CHR Hansen, Inc. 1997 to 2000

Production supervisor/process engineer

Challenged perceptions of union work responsibilities and drove the change initiative that lead to production operators interacting with the AS400 based system followed by SAP. Scheduled spray dry, reaction, powder blending, pharmaceutical coatings, and vacuum dried products. Implemented weekly meetings with production staff to deal with a variety of issues including GMP compliance, standard operating procedure development, and OSHA related training. Developed documentation for pest control, HACCP, and quality SOPs that became our initial quality program. This was a key factor in receiving a rating of outstanding during an American Institute of Bakers audit.

Lead the implementation of the QM module and was a key contributor for PP-PI, WM, MM, and SD as a member of the SAP core team. This project encompassed ten facilities across North America. After insuring a successful go-live at a pharmaceutical ingredient facility, was moved to a seasoning facility to act as production supervisor and SAP resource for sixty individuals.

Takasago International Corporation 1994 to 1997

Pilot plant supervisor

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