Operational Excellence Operations Director

Homero Acevedo

Operations Director

**************@*******.*** • 786-***-****

LinkedIn • Columbia, SC 29229

Strategic and visionary professional with a wealth of leadership experience in driving operational excellence, enhancing organizational efficiency, and delivering sustained business growth.

Seasoned leader with a proven track record of driving operational excellence, implementing efficiency measures, and optimizing organizational performance. Recognized for adeptly managing profit and loss (P&L) responsibilities, exceeding business objectives, and fostering a culture of innovation and high performance. Demonstrated success in improving overall equipment effectiveness, reducing costs, and achieving substantial increases in production output. Skilled in aligning operational strategies with broader business goals to propel sustainable growth and profitability.

Areas of Expertise

Strategic Planning & Execution

Food processing (Dairy & Bakery)

Process Improvement

Cost Control Initiatives

Safety Culture Development

Supply Chain Management

Operations Management

Team Building & Leadership

Safety & Quality Management

Cross-functional Collaboration

Root Cause Analysis

Customer Service & Satisfaction

Plant Management

Project Management

Lean Manufacturing

Stakeholder Engagement

Total Productive Maintenance

Aseptic Packaging

Professional Experience

SureWerx (Protective Equipment) – New Bedford, Massachusetts March 2024 – Present

Director of Manufacturing

Desing and develop Operational Excellence and manufacturing strategy for the Business Unit, maximizing assets utilizations, ensuring competitive advantage and seamless insourcing process.

●Led the deployment of a comprehensive safety program, including first aid training and the establishment of a safety committee, significantly enhancing workplace safety and compliance.

●Initiated and structured Tier 1, 2, and 3 manufacturing communication meetings, fostering cross-functional collaboration and operational excellence.

●Introduced a KPI-based reward program to incentivize performance and promote a culture of continuous improvement.

●Developed and implemented a Kanban board for tracking new projects and initiatives, streamlining workflow, enhancing visibility, and ensuring efficient execution from ideation to completion.

Amcor (Packaging & Containers) – Columbia, South Carolina Oct 2018 – Jan 2024

Plant Manager (Jul 2022 – Jan 2024)

Led strategic planning and provided direction for the plant, emphasizing flexibility through effective process control and implementing SMED techniques for efficient changeovers. Guided and inspired employees and managers at all levels by applying the "5 cohesive behaviors of a team" to foster a collaborative work environment. Devised and executed impactful cost control initiatives, contributing to improved financial performance and resource utilization.

●Enhanced operational efficiency through process optimization, maximizing overall productivity.

●Drove a cost reduction initiative by eliminating materials waste, resulting in substantial cost savings.

●Elevated Plant Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) from 52% to 78%, significantly enhancing operational efficiency.

●Employed PDCA approach, resulting in commendable 20% reduction in scrap, optimizing production processes.

●Accomplished energy cost reduction, saving $122K in 2023 through strategic initiatives and efficiency measures.

●Championed a safety-first culture by implementing training programs and fostering accountability, ensuring a sustained commitment to workplace safety.

Operations Director for Mexico (Oct 2019 – Jul 2022)

Steered operations in multiple locations, including plants in Mexico, Rep Dominicana, EL Salvador, and Trinidad and Tobago to improve safety, quality, productivity, and cost-effectiveness. Assumed profit and loss (P&L) responsibility for assigned locations by preparing and managing Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) and operational budgets. Offered strategic guidance to department managers (production, logistics, safety, quality) in ongoing enhancement of operations within respective domains. Identified and resolved operational challenges, fostering continuous improvement in quality, safety, service, and productivity levels.

●Played a pivotal role in Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS to guarantee compliance with company standards and local safety regulations for production and shipments during commercialization.

●Headed implementation of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), contributing to the overall efficiency and reliability of plant operations.

●Created a comprehensive restructuring plan for Project ST2.0, resulting in a reduction of overhead and indirect labor costs, as well as creation of functional clusters through a meticulous re-engineering process.

●Successfully expanded export sales by an impressive 100 million units annually to Caribbean, demonstrating effective market penetration and business growth strategies.

●Achieved a notable 10% increase in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) by implementing improvements in planning, maintenance, and Root Cause Analysis, optimizing operational efficiency.

●Administered health protocols to ensure uninterrupted operations, achieving a remarkable 100% continuous operation rate during pandemic cycle.

Operations Director for Venezuela (Oct 2018 – Oct 2019)

Devised and executed a comprehensive Maintenance strategy, focusing on maximizing return on expenditure and optimizing operational efficiency. Led and actively participated in continuous improvement initiatives, employing hands-on involvement in identifying and implementing lean manufacturing practices for enhanced productivity. Developed a robust recruitment and training process to ensure the hiring of competent operations personnel, fostering a culture of accountability and maintaining high-performance standards. Formulated annual operating and capital expenditure budgets for areas of responsibility, aligning financial planning with strategic goals and ensuring effective resource allocation.

●Enhanced availability of industrial services, minimizing production stoppages and unavailability to an impressive 0%.

●Introduced a Weekly Dashboard and guaranteed timely Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reporting, enhancing real-time visibility and decision-making capabilities.

●Employed Linear Programming for planning, optimizing labor usage, resulting in a significant reduction of 70 Full-Time Equivalents (FTE) while maintaining operational efficiency.

●Established a robust spare parts inventory management system, streamlining procurement processes and ensuring optimal availability of critical components for seamless operations.

Songa (Shrimp processing) – Ecuador Apr 2018 – Sep 2018

Operations Manager

Conducted daily monitoring of harvesting fleet in alignment with shrimp farm programs, ensuring seamless operations and adherence to schedules. Developed comprehensive cargo care plans, meticulously securing and overseeing the movement of heavy cargo during loading, ensuring optimal conditions prior to export by sea. Managed all loading and discharging operations for cargo and vessel, ensuring a streamlined process and achieving the best possible turnaround for enhanced efficiency.

●Optimized fleet with impressive 95% satisfaction rate among affiliated fisheries, enhancing overall operational effectiveness.

●Reduced shipment unloading time by 25% through a comprehensive restructuring initiative and the implementation of a new deck design, boosting overall efficiency.

●Designed secondary packaging areas and successfully increased capacity from 200K tons to 400 tons per day, demonstrating a proactive approach to meet growing demands and enhance productivity.

Cargill (Food Production) – Ecuador Mar 2009 – Feb 2018

Operations Manager Aqua Nutrition (Jul 2015 – Feb 2018)

Took charge of integrating operations in Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru to ensure smooth coordination and synergy across diverse regions. Designed a novel organizational structure for operations direction in the newly established Andean Region, aligning framework with strategic goals and regional nuances. Led development and successful implementation of extrusion technology for Aqua Feed in Ecuador and Peru, contributing to advancement and diversification of product offerings.

●Served as the lead user in a designing team for a greenfield facility dedicated to extrusion feed, managing a substantial capital expenditure of US$70M to confirm successful project implementation.

●Spearheaded operations to secure Cargill CAN Business of the Year in 2017, exhibiting outstanding leadership and operational excellence.

●Achieved a substantial increase in Peru's shrimp feed production, elevating annual output from 25K tons to an impressive 48K tons, encompassing pellet and extruded feeds.

Production Operations Manager (Animal Nutrition) (Mar 2009 – July 2015)

Oversaw operational management of 6 plants in Venezuela and Peru, handling all facets of manufacturing, supply chain, safety, quality, and employee performance to align with organizational goals. Managed performance of a workforce exceeding 300 individuals, including 6 plant managers, a quality manager, and a project manager, employing ongoing appraisals, regular reviews, and motivational techniques.

●Guaranteed successful delivery of a combined annual production of 300,000 tons of feed, adhering to a cost budget of $12M USD and a capital expenditure of $4M USD.

●Championed significant improvement in safety index, plummeting it from 16 to an extraordinary 0.5.

●Amplified production output in pet cuisine by a laudable 50%, concurrently augmenting volume by 25% for chow lines, demonstrating a steadfast dedication to optimal operations.

●Accomplished a pristine 100% certification score in the HACCP system, enforcing strict quality and safety measures.

●Masterminded considerable elevation in pet cuisine manufacturing capacity, upscaling from 1200 tons to a tough 1800 tons per month.

Additional Experience

Manufacturing Manager Continuous Improvement Manager Kraft Foods – Venezuela

Production Manager Production Supervisor Dairy Partner America Venezuela – Venezuela

Education & Credentials

SCMP Supply Chain Management University of Texas at Austin (USA) & INCAE Business School (Costa Rica)

Master of Science in Dairy Science and Technology Massey University, New Zealand

Bachelor of Chemical Engineering Universidad de Carabobo, Venezuela

Transition into Leadership Cargill with Harvard Business School

Technical Proficiencies

Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

Languages

English – Fluent French- Intermediate Spanish – Native

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