Skill Set Summary

*.Proficient in building teams of professional and hourly associates that drive continual improvement in an organization.

2.Skilled in managing P&L activities.

3.Experienced in manufacturing project management including facility construction and production line design.

4.Well versed in the development and manufacturing of: Meat and Poultry (portion control, whole muscle IQF, formed IQF, breaded, cooked), Dough (cold press and sheeted), Pasta, Handheld Snacks, Frozen Dinners, Sauces/Processed Cheese, and Vegetarian alternatives.

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

6.Skilled in collaborating with customers and co-packers in product management from inception to commercialization in the following business sectors: Food Service, National Restaurant Chains, Retail, Industrial, School Lunch and Military.

7.Working knowledge of Food Safety and Quality Systems. (HACCP, GMPs, Specification Development, Plant Sanitation and Net Weight Control). Familiar with GFSI requirement and governing bodies of SQF and BRC.

King’s Command Foods LLC – Versailles, OH 2017 to 2023

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 Operations 2021 to March 23

●Responsible for multiple sites with up to 400 team members and 8 direct reports that included Operations, R&D, QA, Maintenance/Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Warehouse, and Transportation.

●Led a management team in creating an environment of growth and fiscal responsibility through better communication and utilization of process management tools that has resulted in:

oProduction throughput increased by 80%.

oProduct retains reduced by 70%.

oReduced labor cost contribution by $.30 a pound.

oStabilization of the workforce through standardizing operational hours, communication, and team culture.

oInstitution of processes for reviewing production performance, along with order and schedule attainment.

●Developed a standardized system for costing and pricing products.

●Sought resources to improve warehouse and transportation related processes:

oEstablished ingredient inventory max and mins, along with reorder criteria.

oEstablished usage/movement criteria for introduction of new ingredients and finished products.

oDeveloped finished goods movement tracker to drive production schedule.

●Drove improvements into maintenance and engineering:

oIntroduced planned maintenance programs.

oGuided operations and maintenance team members in taking a team approach to set-up and maintenance of equipment, resulting in less downtime.

oMitigated several opportunities within wastewater treatment.

●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.

●Served on a team planning and executing a capacity expansion project that will increase plant output by 60%.

●Established co-packers to assist in meeting product demand through a plant expansion period.

Senior Director of Research and Development/Operational Resource 2017 to 2021

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

●Introduced best practice manufacturing for: linear and batch cooking, marinating whole muscle, batter, and breading that resulted in:

o50% increase of through-puts for: raw breaded, fully cooked patties, and IQF patties.

o30% reduction in waste through training team members in proper equipment operation.

oUp to 30% increase in yield over several product types

●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

●Created an 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.

●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 to develop a network of co-packers for beef and chicken products.

West Liberty Foods – Bolingbrook, IL 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/Operational Resource

●Created a Regional R&D Center and managed up to five technical staff and four hourly associates.

●Assisted in setting up a cutting operation for value added Beef, Pork, and Chicken.

●Served on a team that designed and equipped: raw batter bread, raw IQF, and fully cooked batter-bread lines.

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

●Led development for 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, OH 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 R&D and Operational Process Improvement

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

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

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

oAssisting personnel in becoming acclimated to best practice operation of ovens, injectors, as well as batter and breading equipment that reduced waste, increased yields by 20% and throughputs by 2,000lb/hr.

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

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

●Assisted with and led projects for the installation and design of a Pilot Line, R&D Kitchens, and Production lines.

●Improved product development and commercialization process through implementation of a cross functional team.

●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.

●Commercialized and managed co-pack operations for par-fried and fully cooked chicken products.

ConAgra Frozen Foods

Research and Development Leadership Frozen Meals Manager Corporate Office - Omaha, NE

oLed development and brands like: Marie Calander, Banquet, Kids Cuisine, Wolfgang Puck, and Mama Rosa.

Quality Assurance Manager/Operational Process Improvement - Troy, OH

oImplemented various Quality and Laboratory programs as well as lean manufacturing.

Cooper Farms - St. Henry, Ohio

Director of Quality Services and Special Projects

oRepresentative on Company Technical Steering Committee, Nation Turkey Federal Tech Committee and American Meat Institute Tech Committee.

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

Ohio Army National Guard - Combat Engineer

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