How did you get to work with Henkel?
After graduating college, I began my career with a large chemical company in the Michigan area.  The experience there was excellent, but I was interested in working for a leaner organization where an individual with personal initiative could really grow.  Looking for alternative opportunities, I made contact with The Dial Corporation, a CPG company with a good product line and diverse opportunities.  The company offered me an opportunity to utilize both my engineering background and manufacturing experience in multiple ways.

Which functions did you pass during your past career at Henkel?
I have held various positions while working for this organization.  Initially I worked for UK at the plant in Aurora, Illinois.  While there, I held several positions in engineering and operations, advancing up to Soap Process Unit Manager.  Afterwards, I moved into a UW operations role in the St. Louis, Missouri plant as Detergent Unit Manager.  In 2003 I moved into an assignment in Headquarters as Contract Manufacturing Manager, with responsibility for several copacker locations.  In early 2005 I was promoted to Director of Contract Manufacturing for Product Supply.

On which further professional training programs did you take part while staying with Henkel?
Throughout my career, Henkel has offered training in support of engineering fundamentals, manufacturing work systems, and personal development that I have taken advantage of.  Also, I have taken several business courses to expand my knowledge of organizational development and finance.

What piece of advice would you give to people starting at Henkel?
Unlike many other organizations, Henkel gives you an opportunity to get involved in multiple functional areas and lead cross-functional initiatives.  If you are a self-starter, and are willing to learn fast and be accountable for results, Henkel offers you excellent career opportunities.  The benefit of driving positive results with your efforts can be seen quickly in both good business performance and longer-term personal rewards.

What about the term "learning on the job"?
Learning on the job is a corner stone of the Dial/Henkel organization.  Our organization is much leaner than many other companies, including my previous employer.  With that in mind, the individuals in this organization are involved in many more cross-functional activities than with other companies.  After the initial orientation period, training is completed several ways including company-sponsored courses, departmental on boarding, and through daily interactions.  The company has always been willing to support individual development of strong contributors through support for external coursework.  People with good initiative find this culture as a great proving ground to learn fast and demonstrate what they can do to contribute to results.

How does your day-to-day business look like?
In general, the Contract Manufacturing department has supply chain responsibility for all the Dial copacker sites across UW and UK.  Our work ranges from project execution across all franchises, evaluation and qualification of new copacker sites, improving current manufacturing site performance through tracking performance metrics, and development and implementation of cost savings initiatives to reduce cost of goods.  Internally we lead or work on teams with all the functional organizations in performance of our daily activities and network closely with the internal plant management teams to ensure we are ready to support them appropriately.  When involved in new process start-ups, we link closely to the R&D organization so that technology is properly transferred to the manufacturing site and to ensure that systems are properly commissioned, qualified, and validated.  Our team is involved in future strategic planning, and in building the capability of our overall copacker-manufacturing network to meet Henkel’s business needs today and in the future.