Food & Beverage Professionals – Kinsa’s Top Talent

February 14, 2011 in Food & Beverage Industry Information, HR Best Practices

 

Laurie Hyllberg

Laurie champions Kinsa Group’s position as the top food and beverage recruiting firm in the nation and its presence in the global FMCG marketplace. To her Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Business Management, and Marketing she adds over 20 years of executive search experience in the food and beverage industry at Kinsa. Building a network of executives and professionals through membership in the Women’s Foodservice Forum, Institute of Food Technologists, FaB Wisconsin, Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network, and maintaining professional expertise in recruiting as an Executive Board Member for the Recruiters Of Wisconsin association, Laurie is able to connect top talent in the food industry with food and beverage processors and foodservice providers growing their teams at the C-Suite, VP, Director, and Management level. Connect with Laurie today!

 

The following food & beverage industry professionals are experienced, motivated and ready to perform for your organization:

DIRECTOR OF SALES / DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

CANDIDATE INITIALS: S. T.

CN: 88930

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Outstanding!  Move this candidate to the top of your list.  At a great point in his career, this seasoned professional has:  strong communication skills, a technical background, operations knowledge and experience.

With combined experience of 15 years in specialty food / nutritional ingredient B2B sales, this individual has served such accounts as:  Kraft, Kellogg, Sara Lee, Wrigley, major beverage companies and more.  Also responsible for contract manufacturing.

This candidate is based in Chicago and is accustomed to 50%+ travel.

EDUCATION: B. S. in Microbiology; Masters in Business Administration

DESIRED SALARY: $100,000+ (most recently at $145,000)

CONTACT: Kinsa recommends meeting this candidate in person – you will not be disappointed!  Please contact Russ Lilly at 414.421.2000 x213 or e-mail Russ.

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DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & PACKAGING

CANDIDATE INITIALS: A. M.

CN: 103879

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Beverage / Bottling Plant Operations executive able to implement process improvements and cost reductions organization-wide.  Direct, extensive experience in utilizing LEAN manufacturing principles (including cross-functional teams) for problem solving, root-cause analysis, 5S, standardization, visual and value-stream mapping.

This A-level candidate enables his plant production teams to be high functioning, empowering them to autonomously identify problems and determine solutions in day-to-day production.  P & L management; Bi-lingual English / Spanish.

EDUCATION: B. S. in Business Administration

DESIRED SALARY: $170,000.  Willing to accept salary commensurate with position responsibilities.

CONTACT: To learn more, please contact Russ Lilly at 414.421.2000 x213 or e-mail Russ.

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RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT MANAGER /
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER / FOOD SCIENTIST

CANDIDATE INITIALS: C. R.

CN: 99757

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Project-minded, professionally trained, highly creative candidate seeking to grow career to the next level with new challenges.  This self-motivated Product Development Manager / Food Scientist has over 10 years of industry experience and a proven performance record managing the implementation of new food products for the restaurant, hospitality, food service and retail food industries.

A determined leader, this manager focuses on enhancing productivity and profitability by utilizing strong technical, decision-making and creative problem-solving skills, while taking a results-oriented approach to project management and strategic marketing.  Has worked with marketing and sales to prioritize projects and determine which to pursue.  Employs “stage gate” process.

Open to relocation; single and renting; family is from Chicago.

Core Competencies

  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  • Written and oral proficiency in Spanish, Italian and Arabic.
  • Strong organizational skills.
  • Ability to conceptualize a project from ideation to the commercialization and marketing stages.
  • Strong business management skills; ability to critically evaluate projects for feasibility.
  • Strong knowledge of FDA, FSIS and USDA regulatory procedures and Genesis nutritional analysis programs.
  • Ability to translate scientific information to a range of audiences.
  • In-depth knowledge of baking technology, dough rheology, grain technology and starch gelatinization.
  • Proficient in flavor processing and development i.e., spray dried, oil, and alcohol based sweet and savory flavor/aroma generation.
  • Proficient in product development for laminated and lean dough, pastries, sauces, savory items and spice blends.
  • Strong pilot plant experience based on product development/food science background.
  • Strong experience in quality assurance and implementation of HACCP programs.
  • Excellent knowledge in value-added pastry, bread, sauce, soup and meat items.

EDUCATION: B. S. in Food Science and Nutrition; currently pursuing M. B. A. and M. S. in Food Agribusiness programs; Associates degree in Culinary Arts.

DESIRED SALARY: Current base is $85,000; bonus is 15%.

CONTACT: Please contact Karen Engelmann at 414.421.2000 x211 or e-mail Karen.