Skill Set Summary

*.Experienced in building teams of professional and hourly associates to drive continual improvement in an organization.

2.Skilled Product Developer of: Meat and Poultry (whole muscle IQF, formed IQF, breaded, cooked, raw portioned, deli meats, pepperoni, sausage, and vegetarian alternatives), Dough (cold press and sheeted), Pasta, Pizza, Handheld Snacks, Frozen Dinners, Sauces, Pasta, and Processed Cheese.

3.Skilled in collaborating with customers to commercialize products in the following business sectors: Food Service, National Restaurant Chains, Retail, Industrial, School Lunch and Military.

4.Possess strong skill set in Process Improvement: Least Cost Formulation, Plant Efficiency Improvement, and Product Yield Improvement.

5.Working knowledge of Food Safety and Quality Systems. (HACCP, GMPs, Specification Development, Plant Sanitation and Net Weight Control)

King’s Command Foods LLC – Versailles, Ohio 2017 to present

King’s Command Foods is a producer of frozen and refrigerated meat and poultry products recently acquired by Premium Brands from American Foods Group.

Vice President of Operations 2021 to present

Leading a management team to create an environment of growth and fiscal responsibility through better communication and utilization of process management tools that has resulted in:

oProduction through-puts increasing by 80%.

oProduct retains reducing by 70%.

oReduced overhead cost by $.30 a pound.

oStabilization of the workforce through standardizing operational hours and communicating basic company goals.

oInstitution of processes for reviewing production performance, scheduling, order shortage and inventory.

Guided team in introducing improved food safety and quality systems.

oBetter management of rework by limiting the quantity and instituting a hard cut-off.

oImplementing raw material incoming procedures for meat products.

oReducing product retains and improving tracking of corrective actions.

Developed standardized system for costing and pricing products.

Guided team in implementing planned maintenance programs resulting in less downtime.

Sought resources to improve inventory management systems.

Currently leading capacity expansion project that will increase plant output by 60%.

Senior Director of Research and Development 2017 to 2021

·Managed up to three R&D Professionals and three Technicians.

·Created a R&D Center.

oTrained staff in the development of Meat and Poultry Products from bench to commercialization.

oOutfitted the R&D department with resources needed to develop and ship a wide range of meat and poultry product samples.

·Introduced best practice manufacturing for: linear and batch cooking, marinating whole muscle, batter, and breading that resulted in a 20% increase in through-puts and 30% reduction in waste.

·Implemented the following product management systems: Genesis Nutritional Data Base; Point of Sales Specification; Detailed Processing and Formulation Procedures.

·Worked within a cross-functional team that commercialized over 200 SKUs in less than 3 years through the creation of a Stage Gate System tailored to the company’s business model.

oSome of the products commercialized were: 17 SKUs for US Foods (Raw and Fully Cooked Breaded, Chargrilled Patties); Aldi’s (Fully Cooked Breaded and Raw Steaks); Texas Dairy Queen Raw Breaded; Costco Roast and Grilled Chicken Skewers; Nutritionally Engineered Products for Health Care Sector

West Liberty Foods – Bolingbrook, Illinois 2014 to 2017

West Liberty Foods is a vertically integrated turkey processor and a manufacturer of value-added meat and poultry products sold frozen and refrigerated.

Research and Development Manager

·Managed up to five technical staff and four hourly associates.

·Created a Regional R&D Center.

oTrained staff in the development of Meat and Poultry Products.

oOutfitted the R&D department with resources needed to develop and ship a wide range of meat and poultry products.

·Shared knowledge regarding best practice manufacturing for: linear processing, proper marinade mixing, injection, and continuous oven operation.

·Led development of the Land O’Frost Snackers, which included introducing new methods for extruding, cooking, packing, and scaling lunch meat.

·Utilized industry contacts to assist with expanding West Liberty’s customer base within the National Accounts business sector with customers like: YUM, Bojangles, Denny’s, Long John Silvers, and Dominos.

Koch Foods - Cincinnati, Ohio 2006 to 2014

Koch Foods is a vertically integrated chicken processor that manufactures value added raw and fully cooked poultry, meat, and vegetarian products.

Director of Research and Development

Development responsibilities included: Retail, National Account, Foodservice and Military markets.

·Managed up to four technical staff and five hourly associates.

·Improved the product development and commercialization process markets by:

oImplementing regularly scheduled meetings between R&D, Marketing, Sales, Operations and Supply Chain to develop timelines, review customer expectations and provide status updates.

·Led the development of a line of Whole Grain Products for the School Lunch Program.

·Directed the commercialization of 42 products for US Food Service in less than 12 months.

·Led development and commercialization for accounts such as: Dairy Queen, Sonic, Darden, Dominos, YUM, Bojangles, Kroger, Wal-Mart, Aldi, Stop & Shop, Safeway, Nestle, Pinnacle/Birdseye and Michelina's.

·Led projects for the installation and design of a Pilot Line, Working Kitchen, R&D show kitchen, QA Lab, and conference room.

Led cross-functional team in identifying opportunities for profit improvement in excess of $1,000,000 each year through:

oAdjustments in formulas that resulted in higher yields, lower ingredient cost and reduced complexity.

oImplemented a net weight control program that allowed the facility to reduce over pack.

oImplemented ingredient cost reductions of $100,000 or greater each year.

oDeveloped a method for producing coated diced chicken breast that increased yields by 20% and throughputs by 2,000 lbs. an hour.

ConAgra Frozen Foods – Omaha, Nebraska 1997 to 2005

ConAgra Frozen Foods produces and markets retail frozen dinner brands such as Banquet, Healthy Choice, Marie Callendar and Kid Cuisine.

Research and Development Manager Corporate Office- Omaha, Nebraska 2004 to 2005

Directed the development and improvement of retail refrigerated and frozen products.

Developed and launched Crock-Pot meal alternatives that included protein, sauce, starch, and vegetable components.

Led effort to consolidate ingredients across all brands.

Refreshed Kid Cuisine frozen meal line through innovation with kid interaction and seasonal/property themed meals, as well as improving nutrition.

Research and Development Project Leader Corporate Office- Omaha, Nebraska 2000 to 2004

Directed the development and improvement of retail refrigerated and frozen products.

Worked within a task force that mitigated performance issues of dairy sauces utilizing D.O.E.s.

Worked within a team that launched the Healthy Choice Flavor Adventure tray meal (IRI Pacesetter

Product for 2003-2004).

Refreshed ConAgra’s Mama Rosa’s line of retail refrigerated and frozen pizzas through:

oProduct redesign, which included improving flavor and texture of dough, sauce, imitation cheese, and sausage crumbles.

Participated on a team that developed and launched the Wolf Gang Puck line of Wood Fired Pizzas in Canada.

The following research tools were utilized while developing meals at ConAgra: Design of Experiment, Meal Trend and Key Driver Searches, Flavor Sorts, Guidance Testing, Focus Groups, (IHUTs) In Home Use Tests.

ConAgra Frozen Foods Processing Plant (Gilardi Foods)

The plant is a manufacturer of Pizza, Handheld Snacks, Dough, Substitute Cheese, Pepperoni, Sausage and Ham.

Quality Assurance Manager Troy, Ohio 1997 to 2000

Directed the activities of the Microbiological and Analytical Labs.

Directed operational product monitoring.

Implemented a work-in process inspection plan that included monitoring for defects as well as excessive product culling. This plan reduced the quantity of retained product by 80% and increased net finished product produced.

Reduced the Quality Assurance staffing by 25% while the throughput of the facility increased by 600%, which included adding second shift in two departments.

Wrote the following programs: Ingredient and Finish Product Standards, Statistical Process Control plans, Facility GMPs, HACCP plans for meat and pizza products.

Expanded Analytical and Microbiological testing capabilities, reduced turnaround time, improved methodology and reduced cost by 35%.

Directed the activities of Meat and Cheese Research and Development.

Directed the reformulation of the dough, mozzarella substitute cheese, pepperoni, ham, and sausage, which resulted in over $1,000,000 in savings.

Directed a task force to eliminate the mold contamination of the pepperoni.

Selected as one of three managers to lead a cost reduction effort focusing on labor and waste in all three of the Gilardi facilities:

Lead efforts that identified close to $2,000,000 in savings.

Trained the management staff in all three facilities to use tools such as: process mapping, activity list analysis, line balancing and associate involvement.

Directed the activities of the sanitation department that included one manager, three supervisors and forty hourly employees.

Received recognition from ConAgra Frozen Foods Corporate Quality Assurance for efforts in controlling Listeria.

Increased on-time start-ups by 50% by utilizing the sanitation department to set-up the production line.

Reduced cleaning time from 8 hours to 3.5 hours, which gained 4 more hours of production time.

Cooper Farms - St. Henry, Ohio 1989 to 1997

Cooper Farms is a Turkey processor that hatches, grows, slaughters, debones, and manufactures value added raw products and cooked deli meats.

Director of Quality Services 1993 to 1997

Directed the activities of the Quality Services and Sanitation Departments.

Developed HACCP and inspection plans/sampling plans for the slaughter and the further processing facility.

Served on the National Turkey Federation and AMI Tech & Reg Committees.

Directed packaging artwork development and labeling/regulatory needs.

Directed the activities of raw processing Research & Development.

Quality Assurance Manager 1990 to 1993

Quality Assurance Supervisor 1989 to 1990

Education B.S. Animal Science/Agricultural Education at Ohio State University 1989

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