Strategic Operations Leader for Growth and Expansion
Resume:
HENRY DANN
Chief Operating Officer Strategic Growth Market Expansion
+1-331-***-**** ***********@*****.*** https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-dann-3176329a Chicago, IL
EXPERIENCE
Chief Operating Officer
Bitek Industries (Pty) Ltd
04/2020 - 12/2025 South Africa
Design and implement strategies to enhance efficiency and productivity while managing operations for cost management and growth.
Set and achieve comprehensive performance goals by aligning team competencies with strategic business needs.
Manage key stakeholder and partner relationships, facilitating cross- functional coordination to meet customer expectations. Oversaw company operations and executive performance reliance to ensure strategic alignment with business objectives. Driven growth through senior and C-Suite relationship engagements and strong customer focus.
Head agency and distributions agreements for Adisseo across South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands for customer liquid nutraceutical conversions with dosing equipment. Managing Director
Bitek Industries (Pty) Ltd
04/2005 - 03/2020 South Africa
Manage operations across divisions: Bioconditioning, Biosecurity, and Cleaning & Hygiene.
Provide operational and sales support to JV partner in India, aligning growth with budgets.
Lead sales to customer C-Suite; convert cost-savings to direct product business with application equipment sales. Oversee Evans Vanodine license manufacture agreement, provide technical support in biosecurity and food process sanitation sectors. Expand core product sales into African territories; prepare volume analyses, sales forecasts and financial reports for board meetings. Optimized supply chain with JIT imports, bulk direct global procurement, reducing inventory costs and improving delivery times. Technical Sales Director
Bitek Industries (Pty) Ltd
03/2004 - 03/2005 South Africa
Manage and mentor technical sales teams to achieve sales targets. Increase revenue by between 15 - 25% annually, by leading strategic sales initiatives and expanding our sales territory outside SA. Focus to engage key customers, understanding their needs and strategically find technical solutions to expand current sales offerings to them.
Technical presentations to key clients, potential clients and stakeholders.
Analyse market trends, identifying growth opportunities. Build relationships with industry decision-makers and influencers. Reduce inventory costs by 8% and improve delivery times by optimizing supply chain efficiencies through "just-In-time" imports. SUMMARY
A detail-oriented executive with over 20 years
of experience driving organisational
transformation, operational excellence and
strategic growth across Africa and Indian
Ocean Islands markets. Proven leader in
developing and executing business strategies,
optimizing operations & processes, whilst
building high performing teams. Recognized for
aligning talent with business objectives,
fostering stakeholder engagement and profit
margin health. Adept at navigating dynamic
environments and converting vision into
measurable results through clear
communication and decisive leadership.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Optimized Delivery Rates
Achieved 99% on-time delivery,
improved from 86%, expanding liquid
nutraceutical market share to 28%.
Expanded Sales Success
Increased company core products sales
by 19% annually over past 11 years and
increase Agency market share to above
30% in past 5 years.
Cost Reduction Milestone
Reduced bulk raw material costs by an
average of 25%, enhancing supply chain
efficiency.
Innovative Technology
Deployment
Implemented water treatment
technologies, reducing municipal fines
and physical waste values by over 50%.
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EXPERIENCE
Technical Sales Manager
Bitek Industries (Pty) Ltd
03/2002 - 02/2004 South Africa
Oversee & advance the promotion of products and services both local and international.
Provide comprehensive support to TA's, regional salespeople, managers and distributors to optimize promotional efforts and sales performance.
Facilitate regular sales support and technical training sessions to our local sales teams, including our joint venture partner sales teams in India.
Lead new product launches and develop a comprehensive business development roadmap & new product development pipeline. Increase Bitek sales volume penetration by 20% year-on-year across Africa, Australia, Indian Ocean Islands and India to achieve our revenue goals.
Technical Advisor
Bitek Industries (Pty) Ltd
03/2000 - 02/2002 South Africa
Apply sales strategies, grow financially, build key customer relationships and build expertise on product applications & problem solving.
Explore exports to new African and IOI markets.
Establish consistent customers within these countries and secure consistent sales growth.
Develop and implement dosing application systems to further enhance the sales of our liquid preservatives to customers. Achieved an extra ZAR10M + revenue increase by executing strategy of penetrating the SADC market and expanding product offerings to existing South African customers.
Technical Sales Consultant
Bidvest - Crown National (Pty) Ltd
06/1997 - 02/2000 South Africa
Grow market presence in meat factories division by leveraging sales and technical expertise, enhancing corporate, retail, and factory relationships.
Expanded product range and client base leading to 22% increase in revenue through spice blends, modified starch applications and increased usage of isolated soy protein in emulsified meat production.
Showcased functional ingredients at national shows, addressing product inconsistency issues through successful demonstrations of rectification examples.
Applied 80/20 sales principles with key corporate customers, achieving consistent sales targets.
Boost corporate sales revenue by 17% at Crown through tailored client acquisition strategies.
SKILLS
Agency Indent business
GMP, ISO9000 & HACCP frameworks
Additives & biosecurity manufacturing
Expertise knowledge on sanitation
products in various food process
industries
Supply chain and global procurement
strategy
Project and production management
P&L management & financial oversight
Electrochemical water treatment
Capital projects & facility expansion
Servant leadership
Export & international market
compliance
TRAINING / COURSES
Sales Performance, Training and
Development
Tony Karam Smash Targets (PTY) Ltd
Key Account Management Strategies,
Sales Skills, Motivation & Teamwork
SI Training
Future Focussed Selling Skills
Performance Catalyst Corp
Sales Impact Training
Hugh Cumming
Leadership Training for Managers
Dale Carnegie
Organoleptic Food Sensory Analyses
Agricultural Research Council
HACCP (Hazard Analyses Critical
Control Points)
Van Holy Consulting
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EXPERIENCE
Production Manager - Fresh & processed meats
ARC-Animal Nutrition & Animal Products Institute
03/1996 - 05/1997 South Africa
Guide organizations to achieve targeted goals with tailored solutions Coordinate and manage diverse processed and emulsified meat production
Implement and manage efficient hygiene and sanitation cleaning schedules and programs
Evaluate and deploy new meat processing technologies Manage comprehensive maintenance of facility and meat process equipment
Research and identify lucrative new product lines for production QC Laboratory Technician
Royal Beechnut (Pty) Ltd
11/1994 - 02/1996 South Africa
Increased production quality by 20% by performing additional quality checks and verifications and analyzing results on 15% of high sales contributing samples monthly.
Conduct QA testing for sweets and packaging at Royal Beechnut with 9 departments: baking, squashes, wine gums, chewing gum, sweets, packaging, puddings, cake mixes, compressed sweets. Apply specified test methods, pre-set tolerance levels for quality control.
Laboratory analyses performed on both traditional manual methods and fully automated test equipment.
All testing equipment goes for frequent strict calibrations before product testing.
Lieutenant 1st in command
South African National Defence Force
01/1991 - 12/1991 Voortrekkerhoogte
Joined a 1-year short service and was promoted to Lieutenant 1st in command.
Dedicated instructor to train leadership skills, and specialized military principles & code to upcoming course goers for Alpha and Bravo companies.
Lieutenant 2nd in command
South African National Defence Force
01/1990 - 12/1990 Lohatla
Compulsory 1-year national service
Completed a 3 months basic service followed by a 9-month Junior Leaders course to become a Junior Leader instructor with the rank of Lieutenant 2nd in Command for Alpha Company
CERTIFICATIONS
Implementation & Evaluation of Quality
Systems ISO9000:2000
SABS
Professional Member of SAAFOST
(South African Association of Food
Science & Technology)
2008 - 2025
STRENGTHS
Effective Communicator
Ensures transparency and clarity,
enhancing collaboration and reducing
misunderstandings within the team.
Decisiveness
Facilitates timely decision-making, which
is crucial in fast-paced environments,
ensuring the team can act quickly and
efficiently.
Adaptability
Allows pivot strategies in response to
changing circumstances, maintaining
team resilience and performance.
Empowerment
Fosters a culture of ownership and
accountability, encouraging team
members to take initiative and develop
their skills.
Integrity
Builds credibility and respect, leading to
increased loyalty and commitment from
team members.
Strategic Thinking
Anticipate challenges and opportunities,
aligning resources to achieve long-term
objectives.
Resilience
Remain focused and composed under
pressure, inspiring confidence and
stability within the team
Lead by example
Foster a culture of accountability, high
performance and trust which aligns
words with action and setting high
standards.
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PROJECTS
Adisseo Agency and Distribution Agreements
Execution
04/2020 - 12/2025 Bitek Industries, South Africa
To lead & oversee the execution of major agreements and expansions involving product transformation and agency operations, ensuring significant growth and cost reductions (ROI) in use, to customers. Execute Adisseo agency & distributors agreements. Converted feed mills to liquid methionine, installing specialized dosing equipment. Maintained 40% annual growth since inception in 2020. Achieved average yearly growth in RSA & SADC to gain 28% market share in less than 5 years.
Improved company logistics on-time delivery rate from 86% to >98% through implementing efficiency strategies.
Reduce cost of major and bulk raw material chemicals by between 18 and 25% via direct supply chain optimization and negotiations directly through China supplier visits and company audits. Achieved consistent volume growth year on year to achieve turnover growths of between 15 to 20%, gross margins of between 52 - 55% and net margins of above 23%.
Facility and Equipment Optimization Projects
2013 - 2019 Bitek Industries, South Africa
Managed projects: facility relocation, new equipment setup, new water technology.
Implemented equipment & plant layout design, process, and chemical flows for the 2013 Bitek production facility relocation, ensuring seamless operations in new Chloorkop facility. Reduced rate of loss of volatile reactive components by 8.5% through introducing pressure vessel reactors.
Managed factory expansion and site relocation whilst guaranteeing uninterrupted customer service & supply, in compliance with delivery schedules.
Led Ecodose in wastewater treatment sales, introducing electrochemical treatment for mining and poultry. Achieved financial viability and compliance with environmental standards. Licensed agreement with Evans Vanodine for local detergent production. Established EU-compliant local lab.
Pioneered a distribution business in Bitek for biological blocks used in wastewater treatment, handling FOGs and challenging numerous food waste types.
Installed energy-efficient bulk tank and pipeline systems to enhance gravity flow, ensuring inter-changeability and efficiency. EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science - Food
Technology
University of Technology Tswane
1996 - 1997
National Diploma Food Technology
University of Technology Tswane
1992 - 1994
Matriculate
High School Volkskool
1985 - 1989
INTERESTS
Healthy living / Sports / Fitness /
Hobbies / Reading / Nutrition / DIY
LANGUAGES
English
Fluent
Afrikaans
Fluent
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