Head Of Food Ingredients Business (Etobicoke)

Title: Business Head – Food Ingredients

Department: Operations

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

Location: Mississauga, ON

Job Overview

The Vice President – Food Ingredients is a senior executive responsible for leading the Food Ingredients business line across North America and Europe. This role carries full P&L; accountability for the business line and oversees production planning, freight, operations, sales, and production facilities. The VP will set strategic direction, drive commercial growth, and ensure operational excellence across the region, while building and developing high-performing teams. This is a leadership position for a commercially driven executive with deep expertise in the food ingredients sector, who can translate strategy into execution and deliver sustainable, profitable growth.

P&L; Ownership & Business Leadership

• Hold full P&L; accountability for the Food Ingredients business line across North America and Europe, driving revenue growth, margin improvement, and cost discipline.
• Set and execute the strategic plan for the business line, aligning with broader organizational goals and market opportunities.
• Monitor and manage financial performance against targets, identifying variances early and implementing corrective actions.
• Present business performance, forecasts, and strategic updates to senior leadership and key stakeholders.
• Evaluate and pursue business development opportunities — including recent markets, products, partnerships, and channels — to grow the footprint of the Food Ingredients line.

Sales & Commercial

• Lead and drive the sales function for the Food Ingredients business line, setting targets, building customer relationships, and developing a commercial pipeline across North America and Europe.
• Develop pricing strategy, contract terms, and go‑to‑market approaches that maximize margin and competitive positioning.
• Cultivate and maintain key customer and partner relationships, acting as a senior point of contact for strategic accounts.
• Identify emerging customer needs and translate them into product or service opportunities for the business line.
• Collaborate with the global commercial team to ensure regional activity aligns with group‑wide pricing and positioning.

Operations & Production Facilities

• Oversee the operations of Food Ingredients production facilities ensuring safety, quality, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.
• Drive continuous improvement across production processes to reduce costs, increase output quality, and improve throughput.
• Ensure all facilities meet relevant food safety standards, environmental regulations, and internal quality benchmarks.
• Partner with production, maintenance, and capital projects teams to plan and execute facility upgrades and capacity expansions.
• Monitor KPIs across sites and hold facility managers accountable for performance delivery.

Production Planning

• Oversee production planning to ensure manufacturing schedules align with sales demand, inventory targets, and cost objectives.
• Ensure effective S&OP; (Sales & Operations Planning) processes are in place to balance supply and demand across the business line.
• Partner with procurement to align raw material sourcing with production plans and cost targets.
• Drive planning efficiency to reduce lead times, minimize waste, and optimize working capital utilization.

Freight & Logistics

• Oversee the freight and logistics function for the Food Ingredients business line, ensuring on‑time, cost‑efficient movement of goods across North America and Europe.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key freight and logistics providers, negotiating contracts to optimize service levels and costs.
• Ensure logistics operations comply with cross‑border trade regulations, food safety requirements, and customer delivery commitments.
• Identify and implement improvements to logistics network design, routing, and carrier management.

Team Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a cross‑functional team spanning sales, operations, production planning, freight, and facility management.
• Build a high‑performance culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Define team structure, roles, and capability requirements to support the growth agenda of the Food Ingredients business line.
• Attract, retain, and develop talent across the organization, ensuring succession planning is in place for key roles.
• Foster strong cross‑regional collaboration and knowledge‑sharing between North American and European teams.

Employment Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Food Science, Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in the food ingredients, food manufacturing, or agriculture commodities sector.
• Demonstrated P&L; ownership at a business unit or divisional level, with a track record of delivering profitable growth.
• Strong commercial acumen with proven success in sales leadership and business development within the food ingredients or food processing industry.
• Deep operational expertise across production, manufacturing, planning, and logistics within a food or ingredients environment.
• Experience managing multi‑site operations across geographies.
• Excellent strategic thinking skills, with the ability to translate high‑level objectives into executable plans.
• Strong financial literacy, including budgeting, forecasting, and performance management.
• Outstanding leadership and people management skills, with experience building and developing high‑performing cross‑functional teams.
• Proven ability to manage senior stakeholder relationships, both internally and externally.
• Knowledge of food safety standards (e.G., FSMA, HACCP, SQF, BRC) and regulatory requirements applicable to food ingredients production.
• Ability to travel regularly across North America and Europe as required.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills.