Human Resources Plant

Paul Lipsitz

*** ******* ****** ****** *****, MI 48236

Home 313-***-**** Cell 313-***-****

Email: ****.**********@*****.***

CAREER SUMMARY/ KEY PROFESSIONAL STRENGTHS

•Transformational, Human Resources business partner who collaborates with managers/supervisors to solve business problems

•Build, change and develop culture and upgrade supervisory performance by utilizing organizational development techniques I am certified in (MBTI® (Myers Briggs), PDI®(360 degree evaluation), Workout® and Communications With Connections®)

•Stand- up verbal and negotiation skills that engage employees and enhance management credibility

•Seasoned judgment and coaching that provides practical, sustainable results while dealing with complex labor agreements

•Create game- changing safety programs that engage employees and drive down injuries

•Labor contract negotiation results and execution that achieve business objectives with greater collaboration with the union and less entitlement mentality

•Strategic employee relations skills that preserve union-free status in union-free operations

•Turnaround and start-up experience in union, non-union, and corporate and sales environments

•Created and executed sales person selection training that changed the hiring profile from “order taking” based to consultative selling based

•Coached and mentored supervisors and managers in HR, sales, operations, IT, finance, and trucking operations so that greater collaboration and employee engagement was achieved

•Open minded, willing and able to learn and integrate new techniques and approaches

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

Cytec Industries Inc. Wallingford, CT Plant Human Resources Manager 9/2010 to present

(Specialty Chemical plant, two union contracts) 24/7 365 day operation

● Brought in as part of new management team to turn the plant operations around from the lowest

performing in the company to a higher performance level. The plant is currently slated for sale or spinoff in late 2012. During my tenure we have concentrated on upgrading the salaried staff (through training and selection/termination) and weakening an entitlement culture. Arbitrations have gone from several per year to zero.

Taminco Higher Amines Inc. Riverview, MI Plant Human Resources Manager 3/2002 to 1/2010

($400 MM Belgian owned manufacturer of specialty chemicals, US Steelworkers labor contract) 24/7 365 day operation

This highly profitable plant closed at the end of 2009 due to new governmental EPA chemical transportation rules and subsequent transfer of the plant assets to a non-union facility in Louisiana.

•Pro-actively anticipated and solved plant closing HR issues such that plant closure was achieved positively, with no sabotage, no union grievances challenging the closure, no NLRB or EEOC charges, no employee lawsuits, no false “injuries”; primarily due to positive employee relations practices

•Member of leadership team that originally swung the business from a $6 MM annual loss to a $12 MM annual profit

•After multiple fatality accident, resolved multiple labor relations, legal, media and public relations issues

•Created and executed breakthrough safety strategies which moved the plant from the worst corporate safety record to zero safety incidents

•Coached supervision and pro-actively resolved union grievances that sought to block operational change as plant changed production model from specialty to commodity type chemicals back to specialty chemicals

•Successfully achieved Department of Labor TAA certification with innovative application that argued the plant shutdown was due to future, rather than current, foreign competition

Praxair Distribution Inc. Danbury, CT National Human Resources Manager 10/1997 to 10/2001

A $1 billion distributor of industrial and specialty gases, non union and union plant sites

Provided generalist HR support to 3,500 employees in multiple US sites through direction of 3 field HR managers while retaining direct, hands-on HR role for several Midwestern plants. Collaborated as HR business partner for senior managers in operations, distribution, safety, logistics, finance, and quality.

Created and executed

•Day-to-day employee relations strategies and practices that bridged 70 smaller, union and non- union,

entrepreneurial culture acquisitions into one company/one corporate culture

•Innovative, results-focused recruitment process called “Starhire” for use by field supervisors to recruit truck drivers and plant personnel

•Strategic communications and employee relations tactics to defeat multi-state simultaneous, Teamsters union organizing drives

•Designed, wrote, and published innovative handbook for non-union employees

Witco Corporation, Greenwich, CT Director, Human Resources U.S. And Canadian Field Operations

12/1994 to 1/1997 (A $2 billion specialty chemical company), non-union and union plants

•Led delivery of generalist human resources services at 34 U.S. and 3 Canadian plants for 4,000 employees, including operations and sales personnel. Directed 5 field HR managers

● Chief strategist and contract negotiator for partnership- forging labor negotiations in union

stronghold Peoria, Illinois that cut $2.5 MM annually from plant operating expenses with no work

stoppage

•Established culture of trust in plants that had adversarial union leadership which initially resisted change

•Chief spokesman and oversight responsibility for developing and administering 22 labor contracts in multiple states

•Coached supervisors/managers in positive employee relations practices in order to engage and motivate employees in 12 non-union plants

Advo Inc. Windsor, CT Director, Corporate Human Resources and Employment 7/1988 to 6/1994

($900 MM fast growth, entrepreneurial direct mail marketing firm), non-union and union plants and national sales organization

Member of cross functional management team that swung this rapid- paced company from a $6.5 MM operating income loss to $30.1 MM profit. Revenues increased from $587 MM to $900 MM during this period.

Directed 2 HR managers providing generalist Human Resources services for the Corporate Office, National Computer Center, Targeted Marketing Group. Also acted as hands-on Human Resources partner for National Accounts Sales Group (revenues $400 MM) and trucking services division. Partnered in building field HR organization and providing dotted line coaching on employee relations issues to 18 field HR managers.

Key accomplishments:

•Recruited senior marketing and national sales professionals. Coached managers and provided

training in methods to change the hiring profile from transaction focused sales personnel to business

partner strategic model

• Developed and executed Management Succession Planning process covering senior staff and middle management line positions

•Conceived and executed national safety program that imparted skills to line managers to cut workers’

compensation costs

•Developed and executed national program to reduce runaway unemployment insurance costs

Johnson Controls Inc. Sycamore, IL (non-union, automotive supplier plant) Plant Human Resources Manager

12/1986 to 7/1988

• Created and executed all Human Resource practices to support the new, greenfield plant start-up of a high energy/high performance all salaried, team- driven, Just-In-Time automotive seating manufacturing plant start-up. The plant was a Tier 1 supplier to Chrysler and won numerous quality awards.

Modine Manufacturing Company, McHenry, IL (union, then non-union, automotive supplier plant) Plant Human

Resources Manager 5/1981 to 12/1986

● Led all human resources activities for this automotive supply plant. During my tenure the plant replaced half

of its operations with a Japanese joint venture new manufacturing technology. The employees eventually

decertified the union, in large part as a reaction to positive employee relations practices I had helped initiate.

EDUCATION/ TECHNICAL TRAINING

Master’s Degree, Labor and Industrial Relations, Michigan State University March, 1981

BA, History; Phi Beta Kappa, Honors College, Michigan State University March, 1979

Proficient in MS WORD, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Outlook

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