Stage 1 of 4, 2013 to 2021, and 2023 to 2024
Operate
Unit economics are learned on the plant floor.
The stage
I started my career at Grupo Gloria, in management control for 3 industrial plants and in the evaluation of operational investment projects. In late 2013 I moved to TASA, part of Grupo Breca.
The first years were in research and development. I led products that were not in the company’s portfolio, such as hydrolysates, collagen and protein concentrates. Soluble protein reached the market, with the formulation, process design, scale-up plan and business case I prepared.
In 2017 I led the operations of a new business unit for refined oil and omega-3 concentrates, built for international customers. I took part in the general management committees and brought their requirements into operations, to meet them on time, cost and scope. I balanced the line and standardised the production criteria. Operations became stable, running at full capacity and without bottlenecks. I also designed a strategic costing system for the full line of omega-3 concentrates, a process that yields several fractions.
I then ran 2 fishmeal and fish oil plants at the same time, with more than 200 tonnes per hour of combined capacity. We increased processing speed, lowered unit cost and improved the quality of the finished product. Later I led the operating project portfolio of the company’s 11 plants, which I presented to the executive committees.
In 2023 TASA entrusted me, as Head of Operations, with the challenge of leading its sustainability projects.
Operate
Milestones
- 2013Management control of 3 plants and evaluation of operational investment projects, Grupo Gloria.
- 2013 to 2016New product development at TASA. Soluble protein reaches the market.
- 2017 to 2018Operations of a new omega-3 unit for international clients: stable operation, capacity at its maximum and no bottlenecks.
- 2018 to 2019Operations of 2 plants with more than 200 t/h of combined capacity.
- 2019 to 2021Senior Project Manager for the project portfolio of the 11 plants, with CAPEX of more than USD 25 million a year. Technical expert on the operational excellence working group.
- 2019 to 2020Technical lead of the operations component of the corporate Industry 4.0 project, with descriptive and predictive models for plant efficiency.
- Cross-cuttingI designed and rolled out 2 training programmes: one for the 11 plant superintendents and 30 managers, and a dual training programme for almost 1,000 operators. Both are still running.
- 2023 to 2024Head of Operations with a sustainability mandate. I led a plant that brought together associations of artisanal fishers: pre-processing, cold storage, oil recovery and a waste valorisation unit that produced biofertilisers through enzymatic hydrolysis. The plant obtained its operating licence, and I designed the prefeasibility study to scale waste valorisation to other cities.