Sead Dedovic

Goldbergs Group is the premier food solution provider of restaurants, manufacturing plants, commercial kitchens and airline catering solutions. I was accountable for the production of cabin meals for all Atlanta airport flights. This included breads, muffins, pastries, croissants, Danish buns, biscuits, etc. We also sold our products to retail, foodservice, and wholesale customers.

• Duties: implement Lean Six Sigma best practices to increase efficiency and control labor costs

Hale and Hearty Soups is a privately held company that operates twenty-seven retail restaurants and two manufacturing plants that produce soups, sauces, dressings, and some baked goods.

Vice President of Plant/Retail Operations

December 2019 – October 2022

Accountability entailed oversight and performance of the entire restaurant chain, wholesale sales, and two unionized manufacturing facilities. My direct team included two Plant Managers and one District Manager. Plants were unionized facilities.

• Duties: oversight and performance accountability of the entire restaurant chain, wholesale sales, and two manufacturing facilities
• During COVID-19: demonstrated gradual build-up from complete shut-down to make all locations operational within four months
• Implemented level III SQF system, and developed a total program for recertification
• Reduced DL cost by 8% via redesign of company operations
• Increased sales revenue by 14% via development and implementation of a novel business plan to promote profitable wholesale and retail channels
• Successfully implemented Lean Six Sigma across the entire organization

Director of Plan Operations

July 2017 – December 2019

Managed two unionized manufacturing facilities with a near-total employee headcount of 250 people.

• Duties: oversight of entire manufacturing P&L
• Successfully negotiated a bargaining agreement with the Brooklyn facility's union leaders
• In 2017, successfully blocked union entrance to twenty-five restaurant locations in Manhattan, NY
• Through 2018–2019, effectively led manufacturing and played an active role in positioning the company for a sale
• Reduced operating costs by 22% despite the state's 33% salary-wage increase over a three-year period
• Reduced overall labor costs by $1.6M annually
• Developed groomed younger members of the leadership team to excel in in union environments

Brooklyn Brands is an artisanal baked goods manufacturer of various cookies, macaroons, rugelach, babka, and tarts. These goods are sold to the retail, foodservice, and wholesale markets. I was accountable for all baking operations in the Brooklyn, NY, facility. All facilities were FDA, CRC, OU, and Kosher regulated, with a 300+ total employee headcount. The manufacturing facilities also supplied the local Hasidic market and large national accounts such as Trader Joe’s, Costco, BJ’s, and others.

• Effectively managed TIR at 0 level
• Increased volume and revenue 27% without additional capital
• Conducted acquisition assessments for two facilities in Bronx, NY, and Newark, NJ

Bimbo Bakeries USA produces some of America's favorite bread, bagels, buns, English muffins, and sweet baked goods brands. Bimbo also operates baking facilities.

• Duties: provided consulting services to improve efficiency of bakeries in both West Virginia and Kentucky; responsible for implementation of manufacturing transformation in a union environment (RWDSU#21)
• Highlights: Increased weekly average EBITDA by 9.8%; increased gross margin by SKU to 27% – 32%; Achived a labor-to-sale-dollars ratio of 24%; increased customer fill-rate to 99.6%
• Achieved zero OSHA reportable injuries
• Increased material efficiency by 5% to 83.75%
• Improved line efficiency by 4.9% to 94% (#1 in the USA)
• Increased management's morale and efficiency via strategic initiatives
• Restored and improved relationships with four key customers

AdvancePierre Foods is a leading supplier of value-added protein and hand-held convenience products to foodservice, school, retail, club, and other markets. AdvancePierre's Amherst location is a 117,000 sq./ft. RTE/USDA/FDA regulated sandwich production facility with an annual operational budget of $24.5MM. AdvancePierre Foods was acquired by Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, Inc. in 2017 (read more).

• Duties: accountable for all plant operations, including budget development, P&L projections, and Lean Six Sigma implementation
• Highlights: reduced TIR from 6.84 to 1.98; reduced customer complaints from 4.6/MM to 0.5/MM; stabilized fill rate to 98.7% with 3.6 WOS; increased OEE to 3.5%/quarter; reduced COGS on plant level to $0.17/lbs.; reduced turnover from 112% to 17% annualized; reduced worker compensation claims to less than under $100/claim
• Conducted acquisition assessments for two facilities in Bronx, NY, and Newark, NJ
• Coordinated and oversaw all manufacturing, maintenance, purchasing, warehousing, and scheduling through significant production ramp-up from 20MM to 45MM lbs. of sandwiches
• Successfully implemented second shift production; developed and led installation of four new production lines, new plant KPIs, and created important partnerships with staffing agencies to support the growing plant's labor needs

Plant Manager

Barber Foods

2007 – 2010 · Portland, ME

• Duties: accountable for all plant operations, including budget development and Lean Six Sigma implementation
• Reduced costs by 8% via improvement to processes
• Implemented $14MM automation improvements in packaging
• Actively assisted senior management during acquisition by AdvancePierre Foods

Superintendent

Barber Foods

2005 – 2007 · Portland, ME

• Duties: accountable for some plant operations, particularly with respect to process improvement via development and implementation of Lean Six Sigma initiatives
• Timely delivered $2.5MM annual savings while managing one DMADV; implemented four DMAIC projects with annual average savings of $418,000
• Developed and initiated forty-two Kaizen events with average savings of $45,000 per event
• Reduced direct labor from 620 to 280 employees while increasing output by 12%
• Earned Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean for Manufacturing Master Black Belt