
Diego De Mendonça Fernandes

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About me
Manufacturing Operations Executive | Industrial Manager | Production, Project and Quality Manager | Advisory Board Member
Education

Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - UFU
2001 - 2006Bachelor Mechanical Engineering
Fundação Dom Cabral
2010 - 2011Strategic Management Program
UFU Faculdade de Gestão e Negócios - FAGEN
2008 - 2009MBA Finance and Business Strategies
Experience

Souza Cruz
Oct 2009 - Feb 2018• Responsible for Tobacco Processing plants, Reconstituted Tobacco, Casings and Flavors. • Production and Maintenance Management.• Continuous Improvements TPM Pillar unit Leader.Significant Results• Productivity increase by deploying autonomous maintenance concepts, with equal headcount reduction.• Operational expense reduction by reducing energy consumption and optimizing maintenance strategy to reduce the number of breakdowns and spare-part consumption. • Production waste reduction by implementing loss-tree strategy at the unit. • Quality control (SPC) implementation to reduce process variability. • Micro-Stoppages diminished and supply delays, through TPM methodology implementation. • Application of Lean Manufacturing, resulting in operational optimization increasing materials reuse and reducing headcount. Show less • Project Manager developing equipment, processes and products.• Support for investment plan development and new manufacture-plant technology evaluation in the Americas.Significant Results• Portfolio management and financial control methodology deployment to improve schedule compliance and planned project cash-flow.• Average new-line startup time reduction by implementing FMEA concepts in breakdowns & quality defects.• Factory Layout restructuring project, improving materials flow and enabling client-area headcount reduction.• Implementation of a new high-speed production line, managing national and international suppliers. • Development of a reform & startup industrial-assembly equipment supplier for operations in Brazil and Cuba. Show less • Responsible for Laboratory and Finished-Product Inspection areas and the Integrated Quality and Metrology Management System, with a team of 36 people.Significant Results• Quality Assurance requirements implementation following ISO standards and reducing the number of consumer complaints.• Restructuring the analytical team profile, which started to use Six-Sigma concepts to support managerial decisions and cooperate actively with production teams in problem solving.• Productivity increase by re-dimensioning tobacco-test routines. Show less
Production Manager
Aug 2014 - Feb 2018Technology and Process Manager
Apr 2013 - Jul 2014Quality Manager
Oct 2011 - Mar 2013Shift Manager
Oct 2009 - Sept 2011

Mars
Mar 2018 - Jan 2020Manufacturing Operations Manager• Responsible for the pet nutrition plant attending Brazilian, Chilean and Argentinean markets. • Production, Quality and Maintenance Management.• Unit TPM program implementation leader.Significant Results• Operational productivity increase by deploying production allocation strategies to optimize production-line occupation.• Service-level increase by implementing S&OP routines to optimize production deliveries.• Safety tool (Safety Trigger and Risk Mapping) implementation to strengthen safety culture at the unit.• Microbiological incident reduction by strengthening Quality Culture focused on HACCP at the unit.• Reduction in plant decontamination shutdown time, using quick setup tools (SMED) to identify and act on improvement opportunities.• Production-loss reduction by using loss-tree concepts, implementing standard setup procedures and to obtain greater process stability.• Restructured the unit leadership profile, enabling improved autonomy and decision-making speed, and strengthening the talent pipeline. Show less

COPLANA - Cooperativa Agroindustrial
Oct 2020 - Mar 2023Executive Operations Manager• Responsible for 3 Manufacturing Units comprising Seed Production, Grain Receiving and Processing (peanut, soy bean and sorghum) Plants, suppliers to food companies such as Pepsico, Nestlé, Mars, Arcor, Mondelèz, and others.• Investment strategy definition, including a new receiving unit.• OPEX Management Significant Results• Process discard reduction, using cause analysis tools to identify and mitigate major waste points.• OTIF increase, deploying S&OP routines, ensuring better communication for potential incident prevision.• Increase in operational production productivity, leading work-station assessment tool application.• OEE improvement, implementing fail-analysis tools and redefining maintenance strategies.• Unit Safety Culture enhancement, resulting in reduction in incidents during harvest receiving and in asset damage incidents.• NC rate reduction by deploying root-cause analysis tools for identified Client Quality problems.• Zero seed-unit quality problems, using improved strategies for segregating low germination materials. • Green-Field project implementation for a new receiving unit, consolidating operations in a more efficient materials flow, increasing operation receiving capacity by 33%. Show less

Barry Callebaut Group
Mar 2023 - now- Develop and align continuous improvement strategies with business priorities.- Plan and implement the IWS-based Operational Excellence program across plants in the region.- Lead performance improvement projects supporting team initiatives in each factory.- Implement and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate operational efficiency and identify improvement opportunities.- Train and develop local teams, while also conducting regular assessments to identify performance gaps.- Act as a change agent, driving the adoption of operational excellence practices and leading cultural transformation initiatives. Show less - Conducting diagnostic assessments and alignment workshops with local leadership to define the operational transformation roadmap.- Training and coaching local IWS practitioners on key pillars such as Autonomous Maintenance (AM), Focused Improvement (FI), and Daily Direction Setting (DDS), etc.- Supporting the development of 90-day plans and facilitating governance sessions with cross-functional teams.- Driving frontline engagement by adapting global best practices to the local cultural and operational context. Show less • Responsible for building a regional Asset and Process development plan.• Assures the alignment between site managers and global Asset and Process teams to deliver proposed business cases.• Supports, validates and tracks business cases completion, assuring coherence of the different industrial projects rolling out.• Supports and leads the implementation of key projects in the region focusing on innovation for process performance.• Change Management lead inside the region, guiding sites to define its business priorities.• Leads people development inside the region and across regions to embed a stronger continuous improvement culture.• Assures the standards deployment within the region and provide feedback to all relevant stakeholders for the improvement those standards.• Supports site managers and regional director to strategies and projects to improve site performance. Show less
Regional Manufacturing Excellence Manager - Americas
Oct 2024 - nowRegional Manufacturing Excellence Manager - APAC
Jun 2024 - Sept 2024Regional A&P Manager - Americas
Mar 2023 - May 2024

Board Club
Apr 2025 - nowAdvisory Board MemberBoard Club is a Professional Networking Club composed of Board Members, C-Level Executives, and Entrepreneurs with the purpose of promoting Corporate Governance for all. This is achieved through networking, knowledge exchange, and shared experiences, supporting companies in the implementation or management of their Boards — whether Advisory or Administrative — as well as their committees.
Licenses & Certifications

Programa de Formação e Certificação de Conselheiros
Board Academy BrJun 2025
Metodologias Ágeis
MenttoJun 2021
Maintenance Coach L4
EYMay 2025- View certificate

Gestão de Projetos Internacionais
LinkedInJul 2023 
BCOS Coach Training
Barry Callebaut GroupJun 2025
Leading Change
Barry Callebaut GroupMar 2024- View certificate

Strategic Innovation: Building and Sustaining Innovative Organizations
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignJun 2022 
ISO 22000
S2G Soluções em Sistemas de GestãoNov 2019
Leadership through Safety
ALLETRUST S.A.Mar 2019- View certificate

Operations Management
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignMay 2016
Honors & Awards
- Awarded to Diego De Mendonça FernandesOperations Excellence - Successfull EHS Management Souza Curuz Sep 2017
- Awarded to Diego De Mendonça FernandesOperations Excellence - Uberlandia Factory Transformation Souza Cruz Mar 2017
- Awarded to Diego De Mendonça FernandesOperations Excellence - Quality Step Change Souza Cruz Sep 2012
Languages
- enEnglish
- poPortuguese
- spSpanish
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