Melissa Weber

Experience

• 

  Cargill

  Jan 2011 - Oct 2015

  In a newly created role, established and implemented customer-focused innovation and project management processes for the Pork business. Collaborated with corporate teams to develop tools and systems, introduced online portfolio management, and provided monthly updates to senior leadership, resulting in streamlined innovation efforts aligned with customer needs and strategic goals.*Generated $4 million in gross margin by managing a portfolio of 30 innovation projects valued at $9 million, delivering 8 projects on time and 4% under budget through meticulous project management, effective collaboration with sales teams, and strategic use of project management tools. Show less Developed and launched ready-to-cook products, established processing facilities, optimized processes, managed equipment selection, and built customer relationships.*Within 15 months established a value-added, ready-to-cook processing room, generating $4 million inadditional annual gross margin and strengthening the partnership with strategic private label customers by designing and constructing the facility, developing processes, selecting and testing equipment, and training employees.*Launched 30 private label, ready-to-cook products over three years, generating over $5 million in gross margin and establishing strong collaborative relationships with major customers like Target and Walmart by developing products from ideation to full-scale production, partnering with customers and suppliers, and building a robust pipeline for future launches. Show less

  • Innovation Project Manager

    May 2014 - Oct 2015

  • Sr. Food Scientist

    Jan 2011 - May 2014
• 

  Mars

  Oct 2015 - Sept 2019

  Sr. Innovation/R&D Scientist

  Provided technical leadership for new product launches and cost-saving initiatives, overseeing over 60 SKUs in 3 years and achieving $3MM in recipe/plant cost savings. Led R&D efforts for the NUTRO Feed Clean Wet Product Launch, renovating 16 SKUs in 1.5 years and establishing non-GMO regulatory compliance. Deployed frontend framework tools to generate prototypes and evaluate innovative concepts through focus groups. Substantiated product claims and supported designing new processes for cross-functional collaboration. Solved technical challenges related to processing meat-first, grain-free recipes for successful Cesar recipe renovations.*Successfully renovated 20 Nutro products in 1.5 years, making them meat-first, grain-free, and non-GMO compliant, supporting the Feed Clean initiative and enhancing brand relevance, resulting in a stronger market presence and 5% greater gross margin return.*Achieved over $3 million in cost savings for the Pedigree brand by ideating, testing, and implementing recipe and processing improvements, supported by robust business cases and securing leadership buy-in, while maintaining product quality and integrity. Show less

• 

  Wilbur-Ellis

  Sept 2019 - Apr 2023

  Sr. Technical Sales Specialist

  Oversaw key account management and sales support for pet food, rendering, and livestock customers. Developed cross-functional evaluation processes for launch decisions and pricing considerations, maintained a price book for over 250 SKUs. Created technical sales materials and tools to promote pet and livestock nutrition products and services.*Boosted antioxidant product line sales by $2.0 million and achieved $200,000 in cost savings throughmaintaining and innovating formulations, engaging directly with customers, and conducting comprehensive customer validation studies.*Secured $4M in new sales by launching 3 new antioxidant products and conducting 8 collaborative customer validation trials.*Developed impactful technical sales materials and tools that significantly enhanced the promotion and market penetration of pet and livestock nutrition products and services. Show less

• 

  Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition

  Apr 2023 - now

  Director of Technical Services and FSQR, Pet Nutrition

  Responsible for the development and execution of R&D/innovation strategies, managing a $1.5MM R&D budget. Overseeing a technical team of 14, fostering leadership and talent development. Directing a lab that supports customers, R&D, and operations. Serving as a key member of the Pet Senior Leadership Team and the Strategy Team for Livestock. Collaborating with marketing to create technical support materials and build marketing campaign content, ensuring seamless integration of R&D insights into market strategies.*Drove immediate value contribution and enhanced business support for a pet business by establishing and leading a technical services team, developing a business-aligned strategy, and managing a $1.5M R&D budget to drive innovation and product development.*Grew customer engagement and contributed to business growth by collaborating with the marketing team to revise existing materials with validated claims, develop new marketing materials, andtranslate market insights into actionable steps for product development, sales strategies, and marketingcampaigns.*Increased lab capacity by 50% through the implementation of staggered shifts, improved dishwashingtechniques, and optimized lab organization, with minimal capital investment and the addition of only one FTE to meet increased customer demand.*Improved business performance and prioritized highest-margin opportunities by developing new processes for cross-functional evaluation to support launch decisions and pricing considerations, and maintaining a comprehensive price book for over 250 SKUs. Show less