DIRECTOR OF PACKAGING: SELFCARE/INTIMATEWELLNESS - Reckitt plc - U.K
(2024-01)
Hired to direct & lead site-based packaging operations for Europe/The Americas/Aus NZ at Reckitt plc; a £14bn sales revenue Branded Healthcare business. Focusing on Selfcare & Intimate Wellness business units to protect and grow net revenue through compliance and operational excellence
- Leading a global team of 120 engineers and material scientists to ensure quality standards, regulatory documentation and site-based packaging operations are compliant to registered healthcare product dossiers
- Driving Commercial, Compliance and Supply plans and delivering packaging sustainability objectives
- Establish annual margin improvement plan in collaboration with site directors to drive Operational Efficiency Programs annually
- Leading enterprise organisational redesign for the global packaging structure and re-focus dedicated teams for future business
- Improving project resource management and leveraging data/AI to improve project per FTE delivery
- Leading future leadership capability building
- Establishing Global Packaging Council to set enterprise strategy review for packaging innovation & sustainability
PROGRAM & STRATEGY DIRECTOR - James Ross Consulting international - London, U.K
(2022-01 - 2024-12)
Hired to provide expert advice & global cross-functional leadership across global FMCG Brands and drive improved margin and accelerate innovation/sustainability strategies.
- Commissioned by Britvic plc leadership to lead their R&D technical program management for one of the four key strategic business pillars of flavouring billions of water occasions. Have consolidated and developed a pipeline of innovation activity to accelerate breakthrough product and packaging innovation and developed their Packaging Compliance & Sustainability strategies.
- Commissioned by senior leadership of AG Barr (Irn-Bru), Scotland's largest beverage brand owner, to improve operational efficiency and drive margin improvement. Developed & delivered a new warehousing & materials management system to improve downtime, waste and improve OEE by 5% providing an additional 82,000 case of outputted production and realising £500K of savings inside 4 months.
- Commissioned by senior leadership of Keurig Dr Pepper, one of America's largest hot and cold beverage brand owners to drive margin improvement. Developed & Delivered a cost optimisation program delivering $20m of packaging savings from initial ideation through validation and P&L capture.
HEAD OF PACKAGING - Marks & Spencer plc - London, U.K
(2021-01 - 2022-12)
Hired to establish a central packaging function and reset the packaging strategy and deliver a packaging innovation/sustainability agenda. Recruit and manage a team of 14 direct reports to drive tangible added value for M&S's £10.9BN revenue and increase both top and bottom-line growth through differentiated premium food pack presentations as well as re-energise the Plan A packaging sustainability strategy and ensure all packaging is recyclable whilst removing 1BN units of plastic packaging by 2027.
- Delivery of 2021 Sustainability goals by creating a portfolio of packaging sustainability projects and aligning key internal stakeholders to eliminate 75M unit of plastic in food packaging against a target of 50M.
- Industry first Innovation to launch a "plastics-free" fully recyclable beverage cup/lid into a highly competitive and crowded marketplace.
- Accelerated Innovation process developed to link disruptive innovation to consumer insights and establish a central innovation fund to break through barriers and drive successful live launches into market.
- Data-driven decision making established through close collaboration with external contract manufacturers to ensure accuracy and granularity of data to drive benchmarking and improve sustainability against a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.
- Safeguarding supply and protecting £120M of peak sales revenue during major supplier industrial action by creatively leveraging global network to secure packaging supplies into UK from other regions.
- Representing industry to positively influence emerging legislation and ensure practical deployment of packaging legislation within the retail industry and M&S.
GLOBAL DIRECTOR: PACKAGING INNOVATION & ENGINEERING - Abbott Laboratories - Basel, Switzerland
(2016-01 - 2021-12)
Hired to establish a new packaging operations, shape Packaging strategy, pioneer packaging innovation portfolio and recruit a packaging team to drive real product value for Abbott Laboratories US$34BN revenue t/o "Established Pharmaceutical Division" (EPD) within US$34BN revenue global healthcare corporation with US HQ. Managed 5 direct reports, reporting directly to Divisional VP of Operations & Supply Team.
- Pioneered and Launched 2030 Sustainability Strategy across Global Corporation, influencing Heads of 6 Core Divisions to devise enterprise level alignment, forming tangible KPI's and 10 year forecasted process governance pathway to address circular economic approach to packaging sourcing, use and waste disposal
- Shaped Packaging Innovation & Sustainability Strategy to reduce packaging materials and attain 10% improvement in certified fibre usage within first year of implementation, partnering with WWF and FSC to drive best practice, embed across all business areas and over achieve target to attain 14% reduction in packaging weight by 2020, generating US$500M global cost savings, with $330M savings in EPD operations
- Spearheaded Global Smart Packaging & Track & Trace Serialisation/global security Portfolio, launching first to market and current industry leading Smart QR codes packaging, partnering with third party agency to create bespoke, secure medical product content mobile app, in global languages, containing Avatar to speak product information in local languages, advise patient medical reminders to care givers and put patients at the centre of managing their own health. Influenced and secured launch in
- Financial Leader & Budget Controller, managing US$3M Department Operational budget and US$1M Innovation & Development budget to drive US$5M in year savings, improving packaging spend by 4%
- Margin Improvement Programme Value Leader, driving 3-year top line disruptive packaging innovation and bottom-line cost optimisation strategy to Rationalise number of suppliers, standardise packaging specifications and Optimise material use (RSO) to achieve US$12M packaging cost savings within US$100M overall Abbott target, Stood in as Procurement Director for two years in additional to Packaging Director role to support business transition and margin improvement program (led by McKinsey).
- Inspirational Team Leader & Developer, shaping new packaging team structure, leading 5 direct reports and motivating through shared vision, understanding individual development needs to promote team through "Emerging Leadership Programme" and successfully promote 2 direct reports to global management roles. Lead on Global Graduate Development, STEM, Diversity & Inclusion and Women in Leadership across Abbott. Developer of Packaging Technology/Engineering Career Pathway across all levels
- Abbott Packaging Council Leader, chairing global senior steerco of Abbott Packaging Leaders forum to address enterprise level packaging goals and shaping global packaging community of 400 heads
- "Intrapeneurship Challenge" Award Winner receiving praise from Division Executive President for Smart Packaging initiatives
