Experience

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  Whole Earth Brands

  • United States
  • Consumer Goods
  • 200 - 300 Employee

  • Product Development, Innovation and Technical Services Director

    • Apr 2023 - Present

  • Research & Development Director EMEA / APAC

    • Mar 2016 - Present

    Responsibilities: • Implement streamline insourcing, manufacturing and logistics of facilities in CZ (150 employees, 7 production lines), supervise a team of Process and Packaging Engineers and Food Scientists.• Manage 200 projects to empower Whole Earth Brands in key Markets.• Innovative solutions for suppliers and external renewal replacement.• Lead improvement process, quality management and endorse Supply Chain productivity initiatives with high efficiency: USD 1mio in 2021.• Sustainable packaging innovation worldwide: kraft doypack, thinner plastic foils combined with USD 200k/year savings.• Strengthen Supply Chain and Production capabilities with packaging opportunity and validate strategical raw materials sourcing such as erythritol, xylitol, coconut blossom sugar, aspartame, sucralose to offset inflation and high tense market.• Leverage the laboratory equipment to support QC of new coloring ingredients (caramel, molasses) or existing syrup (agave).• Boost collaboration of R&D and Regulatory overcoming restrictions of Regulations to expand natural, plant-based, vegan, zero and low-calorie products.• Develop communities of sugar reduction expertise to deliver combination of zero/low sugar and avoidance of other ingredients to reflect demand for organic and no artificial.Key Achievements: • 30 new product launches in 2021 on top markets (FR, UK, AUS, SA, TH) in sweetener and baking powders.• Propose formula, ingredients, and process optimization for baking blends (USD 400k).• Build sustainable practices as standard: eliminate over-packaging throughout supply chain in 2021, move to recyclable plastic and recycled board in 2021.• Freeing up a 10% of R&D resources for innovation setting up a new global portal for internal designs.• Create a steady packaging platform, specifications, sustainability status and weight breakdown for each packaging item.• Savings USD 200k/year executing production insourcing from US to CZ.

  • Technical Lead

    • Sep 2008 - Feb 2016

    Responsibilities: • Transfer new formulations from the R&D team located in the US to the European factories.• Launch disruptive products to meet consumer demand for new sweeteners restoring a brand such as Canderel back to growth in a declining category.• Lead a packaging development group focusing on new sustainable materials and long-term packaging strategies.• Implement a new project management process to initiate, review and track new product/packaging developments and innovations.• Design, source, and commission the 6 production lines for the start-up of the new factory.• Transfer technology and implement 4 new manufacturing processes at the CZ factory in 4 years.• Lead the validation of new suppliers and work in collaboration to ensure optimal performance of Operations and ultimate satisfaction of consumers.Key Achievements: • Oversee the acquisition of new equipment for a new factory in Czech Republic for ~ USD 4 mio.• Optimize the manufacturing process of a major product to minimize the leakage of powder and decrease the losses from 12% to 4%.• Extend the launch of 62 stevia-based products into 30 countries. • Restructure the working procedures and the team who doubling the efficiency of the operations process in 3 years for over 400 products.

  • Food Process Engineer

    • May 2006 - Aug 2008

    Responsibilities: • Manage suppliers for commissioning, start-up and validation of equipment and new product.• Drive studies of technical feasibility: prototypes assessment, equipment supplier research, manufacturing process validations for multiple strategic markets.• Supervise multiple artwork changes for European, South African and Middle East Markets.• Transfer the formulation from R&D perspective to production scale.Key Achievements: • Purchase new injection molding equipment for ~ USD 1mio.• Launch a new shape of sweetener tablets to fit the new dispensing system.• Up to five new packaging artworks redesigned per month and on shelf in Europe, South Africa and Middle East.• Launch the first range of natural sweeteners in Europe which allows the brand Pure Via to become the leader of the French Market.

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  The University of British Columbia

  • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

  • Researcher

    • Sep 2005 - Apr 2006
    • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Responsibilities: • Conduct crystallization experiments on a scale of 5 ml to 1 L, as well as filtration and drying experiments.• Analysis of solid and liquid samples with on-line, in situ techniques such as ATR-FTIR, FBRM, PVM and Raman spectroscopy as well as offline, ex-situ techniques such as GC, XRPD, scanning electron microscopy, laser diffraction, DSC, TGA, dynamic water sorption and BET.• Document the corresponding results in English.• Organize and execute of maintenance work on analytical equipment.• Directive-compliant disposal of chemicals in accordance with company instructions.• Order and invent of laboratory chemicals.

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  Nestlé

  • Broc, Fribourg, Switzerland

  • Laboratory Technician

    • Sep 2000 - Aug 2001
    • Broc, Fribourg, Switzerland

    Working for Cailler chocolate brand owned by Nestlé.Responsibilities: • Support the R&D through testing of new and current ingredients.• Evaluate ingredients in chocolate formulation.• Scale up and processing of multiple variable research in chocolates.• Evaluate physical and chemical properties of chocolate products.