Nihal Raval
Philadelphia
Summary
Results-driven leader with a proven track record in spearheading teams, driving strategic initiatives, and achieving exceptional outcomes. Expertise in supply chain management, including third-party co-man contracts and 3PL design, enables the implementation of innovative strategies that enhance growth, customer service, and operational efficiency. Committed to fostering collaborative environments that leverage individual strengths while adeptly leading change management initiatives to streamline processes and boost business performance. A dedicated coach who inspires teams through exemplary leadership and accountability, consistently striving for excellence in all endeavors.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
VP of Operations
Little Leaf Farms
04.2025 - Current
- Streamlined operational processes to enhance efficiency and reduce costs across multiple departments.
- Led cross-functional teams to implement strategic initiatives, improving overall productivity and service delivery.
- Developed and monitored key performance indicators to assess operational success and drive continuous improvement.
- Fostered a culture of accountability by mentoring staff and promoting best practices in operational management.
- Collaborated with senior leadership to align operational strategies with organizational goals, ensuring cohesive execution.
- Implemented advanced data analytics tools for real-time reporting, enhancing decision-making capabilities within operations.
- Managed large-scale projects, ensuring timely completion within budget constraints.
- Evaluated existing workflows to identify inefficiencies and propose innovative solutions that enhance productivity across the organization.
- Led organizational restructuring initiatives to improve overall efficiency, streamline reporting lines, and eliminate redundancies while maintaining high employee morale and engagement levels.
SVP Operations
Purple Carrot
06.2022 - 03.2025
- Developed and implemented strategic plans to maximize operational efficiency and profitability for $90mm revenue operation
- Expanded SKU’s from 24 to 150 in 2 years
- Reduced overall COGS by 15% annually through partner contract negotiations, carrier distribution review, and operational productivity
- Negotiated a new packaging contract nationally to reduce packaging cost by 20%
- Improved supply chain efficiency by 20%, enhancing profit margins by 5% annually.
- Increased company sales by 30% by optimizing strategic sales planning for product launches.
- Boosted team productivity by 25% by implementing Six Sigma methodologies across operations.
- Decreased operational costs by 15%, resulting in annual savings of $1.2 million.
- Managed 10 cross-functional teams, overseeing projects with budgets totaling $25 million.
VP Operations
Factory - PE Firm
07.2020 - 06.2022
- Build and startup of new 150k Sq ft state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within 1 year
- Project timeline and budget of $90 million
- Lead operational and supply chain strategy development and execution that lead to delivering on 15% improvement on profit margins than budgeted
- Also reducing distribution costs by 10% compared to budget
- Adding a total of $1.5 million of EBITDA
- SQF audit score of over 97 in the first year of facility audit
- Implemented Continuous Improvement process that led to OEE of over 90% once the manufacturing facility was up and running
- Trained and developed Lean and Six Sigma experts within operations leadership team
- Established a Transportation and Logistics team that has substantially improved productivity and visibility of our freight spend
Site Director
Puratos
01.2017 - 06.2020
- Grassroots effort focused on employee engagement and TPM methodologies
- Consecutive years of World Class HS&E performance in 2017, 2018 and 2019
- Reduced injury rate from 1.5 in 2017 to 0.7 and 0.2 in 2018 and 2019, respectively
- Achieved over 1000 days without a Lost time injury
- Reduced customer complaints by 70% using RCA (root cause analysis) and CA (corrective action) methodologies
- Manufacturing costs reduced by more than 12% in 2017, 8% in 2018 and 10% in 2019, resulting in a total of $3MM added to the EBITDA
- Championed $3MM capital expansion project onsite - Project increased site’s production capacity by 5%
- Created a Continuous Improvement culture by developing front line employees through Lean and Six Sigma training
- Facility received the best in NJ manufacturing award from NJMEP in 2019 - results were based on safety, quality, service, logistics and overall site’s contribution to the success of the NJ manufacturing industry
Plant Manager
Sabra dipping company
01.2016 - 07.2017
- Achieved Zero Safety and Quality incidents 2 years consecutive
- Lead manufacturing organization with 99.5% on time service levels to key retail customers while reducing the overall logistics cost by $500k annually
- Completed two rounds of employee engagement surveys
- Implemented action items based on those surveys that lead to less than 2% attrition for both 2016 and 2017
- Created Operations Excellence reporting systems leading to accurate data analytics and reporting on a daily, weekly, monthly basis
- Accurate data and reporting allowed us to focus on the right areas for productivity improvements such as reducing changeover times by 25%, maintenance repairs compliance to 100% and quality right first time to 98%
- Worked collaboratively with R&D, Sales and Marketing to launch 5 new products in 1 year as part of the overall strategic plan
- Recruited, Coached and Mentored 6 direct reports through Servant Leadership Fundamentals
Business Unit Leader
Sabra dipping company
11.2014 - 01.2016
- Business unit leader for the new $80 million manufacturing facility
- Direct report team of 6 salaried supervisors and 200 hourly team members
- Manage $6 million of total labor budget, $10 million in materials budget and a $1 million small projects budget
- Measure and track all the key performance metrics for operations (Recordable, Complains per million, $/lb cost, lbs produced, morale)
- Determine and provide team and individual development needs to support transition to self-managed work team
- Develop and sustain problem solving skills, continuous improvement and decision making skills
- Achieved 99.8% on time service levels in 2015 YTD
- In charge of HACCP and Sanitation metrics for the 250,000 sqft facility
Expansion Startup Leader
Sabra dipping company
02.2014 - 11.2014
Facilities Manager
Sabra dipping company
01.2013 - 02.2014
Maintenance & Reliability Engineer
Eastman chemicals & honeywell
01.2010 - 12.2012
Reliability Engineer
Honeywell
03.2007 - 09.2009
Education
Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) -
University of Windsor
Windsor, Ontario01.2010
Bachelors of Science - Mechanical Engineering
Wayne State University
Detroit, United States01.2004
Skills
- Business Strategy
- Six Sigma - Continuous improvement
- Strategic sales planning
- P&L responsibility
- Contract negotiations
- Operations Excellence
- Supply Chain strategy & management
- Change management
- Cross-functional team leadership
- Process improvement
- High performance culture
- Organizational development
- Production scheduling
- Capacity planning
- Team building and motivation
- Operations management
- Workforce planning
- Troubleshooting and problem resolution
- Data-driven decision making
- Organizational improvement
- Strategic planning
- Data analytics
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Budget oversight
- Warehousing functions
- P&L Administration
- Excellent communication
- Relationship building
- Analytical thinking
- Conflict resolution
Accomplishments
- Startup of a new 250k Sqft manufacturing facility
- Multi-site leadership role - created national distribution model
- Delivered over $2mm in EBITDA through operational efficiency improvements
- Optimized national supply chain to reduce logistics costs by 35%
Certification
- Six Sigma Green Belt
- Lean Manufacturing
- Servant Leadership
- Supply Chain Management
Timeline
VP of Operations
Little Leaf Farms
04.2025 - Current
SVP Operations
Purple Carrot
06.2022 - 03.2025
VP Operations
Factory - PE Firm
07.2020 - 06.2022
Site Director
Puratos
01.2017 - 06.2020
Plant Manager
Sabra dipping company
01.2016 - 07.2017
Business Unit Leader
Sabra dipping company
11.2014 - 01.2016
Expansion Startup Leader
Sabra dipping company
02.2014 - 11.2014
Facilities Manager
Sabra dipping company
01.2013 - 02.2014
Maintenance & Reliability Engineer
Eastman chemicals & honeywell
01.2010 - 12.2012
Reliability Engineer
Honeywell
03.2007 - 09.2009
Bachelors of Science - Mechanical Engineering
Wayne State University
Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) -
University of Windsor
Best Manufacturing Facility NJ 2018
Manufacturing facility at Puratos received best medium size factory award for operational execution and results