Mussie Futur
Schwenksville
Summary
Senior executive with 27+ years of global experience spanning Engineering, Capital Project Management, EHS, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Asset Optimization, Process Improvement, and large-scale Operational Transformation. Proven track record of leading and delivering complex initiatives across multiple regions and business environments. Successfully led, managed, and built both greenfield and brownfield manufacturing facilities across China, Brazil, India, Norway, Mexico, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United States. Consistently selected by executive leadership to turn around underperforming business units, stabilize failing manufacturing sites, and execute business-critical strategic projects. Expert in post-merger integration, including optimizing multi-site operations to reduce capital and operating costs. Served as Technical Lead for M&A activities at Dow, Arkema, and Avantor, ensuring seamless technical evaluation, integration, and operational alignment.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
Work History
Global VP of Engineering, Manufacturing and EHS
AVANTOR SCIENCE
01.2021 - Current
- Senior Leadership Team (SLT) member for GSCO/COO and BioPharma, contributing to global strategic vision and long-term operational planning.
- Led Avantor’s expansion into AMEA/APAC, overseeing the launch of manufacturing operations in Singapore and India.
- Driving Avantor’s first-ever manufacturing expansions in China and Korea, establishing regional capability and capacity.
- Successfully led nine major global manufacturing expansions across Poland, Singapore, and the United States.
- Achieved 45% year-over-year growth by designing and executing a comprehensive operational growth and transformation strategy.
- Transformed six manufacturing sites with 650 FTEs and more than $750M in revenue, significantly improving stability, efficiency, and performance.
- Stabilized operations and improved morale and retention during COVID-19 and severe labor shortages.
- Reduced Working Capital by 25% and shortened lead times by 50% through planning, scheduling, and process improvements.
- Built a world-class Global Engineering organization, scaling the team from
- Expanded capital project management and execution capacity from $50M to $300M, enabling faster, higher-quality global expansion.
- Implemented a formal stage-gate capital project governance process, improving efficiency, competitiveness, and execution accuracy.
- Strengthened cross-functional alignment and deployed a “fail-fast” model, reducing waste and improving resource prioritization.
- Launched digital transformation initiatives, including MES integration to enhance visibility, compliance, and operational control.
- Key leader in M&A, CMO, JV, and make-or-buy initiatives, driving technical diligence, integration, and strategic decision-making.
- Implemented life-critical safety standards within 60 days, raising safety maturity across all sites.
- Eliminated Priority 1 PSM risks within 90 days, and developed a fully funded, multi-year PSM roadmap.
- Generated $75M in incremental profit in 2021, with $125M projected in 2022 through productivity and process optimization.
VP, Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CfME)
ARKEMA, Inc.
01.2016 - 01.2021
- Member of the senior Manufacturing and Business unit leadership team (SLT)
- Managed a global $400M CapEx of improvement portfolio, delivering strategic capital projects across multiple regions.
- Directed operational excellence initiatives across 60+ sites and 3,500+ employees, driving consistency, performance, and CI improvements.
- Led comprehensive cross-functional operational assessments, identified critical gaps, and executed prioritized closure plans strengthening safety, quality, and productivity.
- Implemented a Mechanical Integrity & Process Safety program, reducing unplanned events and associated costs by $250M.
- Spearheaded Arkema’s digital transformation, delivering a 25% productivity increase and significantly reducing errors and rework.
- Led, consulted on, or governed more than $500M in annual capital spending, ensuring strategic alignment and strong ROI.
- Managed a $450M global asset improvement budget, optimizing asset performance and lifecycle value.
- Led Arkema’s Operational Excellence and People Development programs, fostering an empowered, high-performance culture.
- Directed Lean Six Sigma program deployment, developing 30 Green Belts and 10 Black Belts, generating $19M in annual savings.
- Led Arkema’s M&A, CMO, JV, and make-or-buy initiatives, providing technical due diligence and integration leadership.
- Oversaw process control, automation, and cybersecurity strategies to strengthen operational stability and resilience.
- Drove reliability, operability, and maintainability improvements within major capital projects, ensuring long-term operational success.
Global Improvement Leader (Director)
ARKEMA, Inc.
01.2014 - 01.2016
- Review and implement strategic operational, capital, HES, and maintenance initiatives to improve global plant productivity, quality, and reliability.
- Led six global operation sites with more than 300 employees and $750M in revenue, ensuring strong performance and alignment with corporate strategy.
- Managed Global Operations, Supply Chain, and CapEx ($300M) for the business unit, including leading the construction of a new plant in Shanghai, China.
- Directed major strategic capital projects across Germany, France, Canada, the United States, and China, ensuring on-time, on-budget, and high-quality execution.
- Led the global Operational Excellence team, delivering $4M in annual recurring savings.
- Increased global capacity by 20% through systematic debottlenecking and process optimization.
- Reduced wastewater generation by 90% and improved yield by 9%, significantly enhancing sustainability and cost efficiency.
- Benchmarked global plants to identify improvement opportunities and institutionalize best practices.
- Developed and executed a comprehensive global 5-year CapEx strategy, grounded in operational gap analysis and long-term business needs.
Engineering, Manufacturing and SC Operations Director
ARKEMA, Inc.
01.2012 - 01.2014
- Review and implement strategic capital and maintenance projects to enhance plant reliability and operational performance.
- Led the turnaround of six global sites with historically poor performance, achieving full operational recovery and stability within 15 months.
- Transformed the business from repeated force majeure events to earning “Supplier of the Year,” restoring customer confidence and market credibility.
- Implemented a global S&OP process, significantly improving supply chain performance, forecasting accuracy, and lead-time reduction.
- Managed strategic capital projects across the Americas, while providing technical support and governance for global initiatives.
- Improved asset reliability, generating $16M in additional revenue and eliminating $7M in unplanned event costs.
Sr. Global Project Director, Engineering and Strategic Planning
W R Grace- Davison
01.2011 - 01.2012
- Led, reviewed, and approved Annual Operating Plans (AOP) across global operations, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy, financial targets, and long-range capital planning.
- Prioritized high-value initiatives to maximize ROI, operational performance, and resource efficiency.
- Directed multiple complex global projects simultaneously, overseeing ~$400M in annual capital investments and ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery across diverse geographies and business units.
- Optimized a new polypropylene (PP) catalyst system, collaborating with R&D, Manufacturing, and Commercial teams to improve performance and reliability—an initiative that delivered multi-million-dollar EBITDA gains.
- Developed and institutionalized global Engineering Standards, strengthening consistency, quality, and technical rigor across all sites.
- Built and enhanced Process Safety Management (PSM) frameworks, improving compliance, risk mitigation, and safety culture while reducing the frequency and severity of process-related incidents.
- Established best-in-class project management governance, including stage-gate methodologies, performance metrics, and execution discipline to elevate capital project success rates globally.
Global Improvement Leader
The Dow Chemical Company
01.2008 - 01.2011
- Led and successfully managed all capital and major maintenance projects for the site, ensuring safe, on-time, and on-budget execution while improving overall asset performance.
- Built and operated manufacturing sites across Brazil, Spain, Russia, India, Italy, and the United States, delivering reliable startup, operational readiness, and regulatory compliance in diverse global environments.
- Led the implementation and startup of medium and large-scale projects globally, driving standardization, execution discipline, and operational excellence.
- Directed a $5M automation upgrade involving 5,000+ I/O points at a sold-out facility running at full capacity—closing compliance gaps, increasing capacity by 40%, and improving first-pass-prime quality by 25%.
- Executed a high-impact improvement project that debottlenecked a high-margin product reactor, doubling production capacity with zero capital expenditure through innovative process optimization.
- Reduced site natural gas consumption by 83%, earning a prestigious WRAP Award for sustainability and cost efficiency.
- Developed MET (Most Effective Technology) systems, including a next-generation pig-line system and a dripless sample system, enhancing safety, reliability, and product quality.
- Created and led the Global Improvement Engineering team, enabling rapid knowledge sharing, standardized best practices, and collaborative problem-solving across all sites.
Production Site Leader and Manufacturing Rep
The Dow Chemical Company
01.2004 - 01.2008
- Managed and led two mega-train engineering plastics operations, serving as the technical leader for all day-to-day activities, troubleshooting, optimization, and production reliability.
- Reduced production downtime by 25% annually, delivering over $500K in yearly savings through root-cause analysis, equipment optimization, and improved maintenance practices.
- Increased asset utilization from 73% to 96%—a historic record high, by implementing targeted process improvements, reliability strategies, and Lean Six Sigma methodologies.
- Implemented multiple Six Sigma projects generating more than $15M in annual savings, strengthening quality, throughput, and operational consistency.
- Developed a new product that delivered over $10M in value and earned the Technology Center Award for innovation and technical excellence.
- Achieved more than $30M in cost savings by transitioning from a catalytic process to a thermally initiated process, improving safety, efficiency, and product economics.
Technology Center Engineering Manager
The Dow Chemical Company
01.2001 - 01.2004
- Led the development of Most Effective Technology (MET) for emulsion polymer business and technology center
- Executed capital projects valued between $40M and $120M across Brazil, China, the Netherlands, the US, Norway, Spain, and Argentina.
- Designed and commissioned greenfield manufacturing units for HDPE, LDPE, PP, EPDM, and emulsion products.
- Developed and secured approval for PFDs, P&IDs, M&EB, specifications, and engineering records for all unit operations in collaboration with the Technology Center and Subject Matter Experts.
- Led or supported global capital projects from initial scope definition through to successful start-up.
Global Process Engineer
The Dow Chemical Company
01.1998 - 01.2001
- Assisted and actively participated in process engineering projects across multiple sites and business units worldwide, contributing to operational excellence and technology optimization.
- Designed, developed, and implemented global capital projects valued between $25M and $125M, delivering innovative solutions across diverse regions including the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams of engineers, project managers, and operations personnel to ensure projects were completed on schedule, within budget, and in compliance with safety and regulatory standards.
- Supported process improvements, troubleshooting, and technology transfer initiatives that enhanced plant performance, efficiency, and product quality.
- Contributed to the development of engineering documentation, including PFDs, P&IDs, process specifications, and operational guidelines, ensuring alignment with global standards and best practices.
Education
B.S. - Chemical And Biochemical Engineering
University of California, Davis
01.1997
Certified Six Sigma Black Belt - Lean Process Methodologies
Leadership Program - undefined
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
01.2020
Executive Manufacturing Managers Development Program - undefined
Caltech
01.2016
M.S. - Chemical Engineering
Louisiana State University (LSU)
01.2000
Skills
- Strong Operational Leader
- Capital Strategic Planning
- Standardization/Best Practices
- Efficient and Effective SC
- Multi-site Operations
- Organizational Transformation
- Continuous Improvement
- Digital Transformation
- Building Empowering Culture
- X-Functional Alignment
- Succession Planning
- Life-Critical Standards
- Coaching and Mentoring
- Merger and Acquisition
- Sourcing Planning and Scheduling
People Management | Manufacturing Excellence | Reliability | Strategic Planning | Organizational Transformation
- Strong background in manufacturing, operation, Process Improvement & Engineering Capital Planning.
- Operational Excellence leader and Six Sigma Black Belt certified
- Leader in growing, mentoring, and coaching personnel, conducting design reviews, establishing maintaining budgets, creating bid packages and creating contingency plans.
- Expert in integration of systems of software, hardware, mechanical and electrical disciplines.
- Graduate of the CalTech Institute of Manufacturing Management Development Program
- Cornell Johnson school of business leadership certificate training
Timeline
Global VP of Engineering, Manufacturing and EHS
AVANTOR SCIENCE
01.2021 - Current
VP, Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CfME)
ARKEMA, Inc.
01.2016 - 01.2021
Global Improvement Leader (Director)
ARKEMA, Inc.
01.2014 - 01.2016
Engineering, Manufacturing and SC Operations Director
ARKEMA, Inc.
01.2012 - 01.2014
Sr. Global Project Director, Engineering and Strategic Planning
W R Grace- Davison
01.2011 - 01.2012
Global Improvement Leader
The Dow Chemical Company
01.2008 - 01.2011
Production Site Leader and Manufacturing Rep
The Dow Chemical Company
01.2004 - 01.2008
Technology Center Engineering Manager
The Dow Chemical Company
01.2001 - 01.2004
Global Process Engineer
The Dow Chemical Company
01.1998 - 01.2001
Leadership Program - undefined
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
Executive Manufacturing Managers Development Program - undefined
Caltech
M.S. - Chemical Engineering
Louisiana State University (LSU)
B.S. - Chemical And Biochemical Engineering
University of California, Davis