Job title: Purchasing Manager
Department: Purchasing-Henkel of America
At Henkel since: 1994

How did you get started with Henkel?
I started working for Dial in the late 80’s, after graduating from New Mexico State University with a BBA/Economics degree.  After two years in a corporate environment, scheduling production of finished goods, I decided I wanted the hands-on experience in a plant environment.  I joined Bausch and Lomb to attain plant purchasing experience and then returned to Dial in 1994.

What job experiences have you had at Henkel?
I have been given the opportunity to manage many areas while at Dial/Henkel. I began my “second” career at Dial purchasing commodities (paper and plastic packaging and raw materials). After a period of buying direct materials, I then switched to managing the Indirect Material and Services area, which required a vastly different purchasing skill set.  I also worked in the operations area, managing the Material Requirements Planning department for Contract Manufacturing.  Between these roles and my current assignment, I was the Purchase-to-Pay project business lead for implementation of SAP(Henkel’s new ERP system).  This vast spectrum of responsibilities has given me a strong portfolio to now oversee the execution of the purchasing activities from a tools, systems and processes viewpoint.

What further professional training programs have you taken part in while with Henkel?
I took part in the following training: Keystones of Effective Leadership, Customized Leadership Development Program, Negotiating to Yes, Contract Negotiations, extensive SAP training, just to name a few.

Do you travel for your job at Henkel?
Yes, we have approximately 650 purchasing people globally in many locations, using many vendors. Henkel encourages employees to have face-to-face strategic planning meetings.

What are your areas of responsibility?
I work in the purchasing organization to coordinate reporting efforts, align business processes within the Henkel business units, provide training on systems, tools and processes and coordinate purchasing initiatives.  Henkel looks to me for leadership and project management in order to make our goals and objectives and drive efficiencies within the organization.  This is done through collaboration between my team and eighty plus purchasing employees within North and South America.

What makes your job attractive?
Henkel’s global purchasing department is accountable for billions of dollars in expenditures so it is a significant impact to the Henkel organization. It’s nice to have that kind of responsibility.