Company Name

SunOpta

Search Job Title

Vice President of Integrated Supply Chain

Client Profile

SunOpta is a growing food and beverage manufacturer with a diversified portfolio spanning aseptic beverages, fruit snacks, and broth products. The organization has expanded primarily through acquisitions, resulting in a highly decentralized operating model across seven manufacturing facilities and a complex supply base.

As the company continued to invest heavily in capacity expansion and modernize its manufacturing footprint, leadership identified the need to evolve the supply chain from a fragmented structure into a fully integrated, enterprise-wide function capable of supporting scale, margin improvement, and data-driven decision making.

Role Objectives & Challenges

SunOpta partnered with SCM Talent Group to recruit a Vice President of Integrated Supply Chain who could lead a broad transformation across procurement, planning, logistics, and warehousing. The mandate was to take a decentralized, plant-driven supply chain and integrate it into a cohesive operating model with standardized processes, improved visibility, and consistent performance management.

The role carried significant complexity. SunOpta’s supply chain had grown organically through acquisitions, leaving gaps in structure, uneven leverage of systems and data, and limited coordination across functions. Leadership was seeking one common strategy and a unified team to drive cost savings, eliminate waste from processes, and improve efficiency as the company invested in new manufacturing capacity and upgraded its network.

The ideal candidate needed deep end-to-end supply chain experience with a particular strength in procurement, combined with strong leadership presence and the ability to operate as a true co-leader within the organization. Functional expertise alone was not sufficient. This executive needed the judgment, influence, and communication skills to align stakeholders, mentor leaders, and guide the organization through change.

Our Approach to Solve the Search

The search evolved early in the process. Initially open to relocation, SunOpta ultimately decided to focus exclusively on local talent in the Minnesota market, prioritizing candidates with experience in small to mid-sized food and beverage organizations rather than large, highly structured enterprises. This shift significantly narrowed the candidate pool and increased the importance of targeted sourcing and rigorous assessment.

SCM Talent Group concentrated on identifying leaders within the Minnesota food and beverage community and selectively expanded into the broader Midwest to ensure depth and quality. Adjacent industries were explored but ultimately yielded limited success, reinforcing the need for direct industry relevance and manufacturing complexity similar to SunOpta’s environment.

A key differentiator in the search was the level of synthesis and analysis required during candidate evaluation. Many executives presented well on paper or in interviews but lacked true end-to-end supply chain exposure. Others were strong leaders but had operated too narrowly within procurement, logistics, or planning to effectively step into an integrated VP role. SCM Talent Group’s subject matter expertise enabled deeper vetting, allowing the team to identify where surface-level qualifications masked gaps in enterprise supply chain understanding.

This disciplined screening process ensured that only candidates with the right balance of functional breadth, transformation experience, and leadership capability advanced through the process.

The Hire & Results

SunOpta ultimately hired a local executive with deep food and beverage manufacturing experience and a proven track record of leading multi-year supply chain transformations across procurement, planning, logistics, and operations. The hire demonstrated both strong procurement expertise and a holistic understanding of the end-to-end supply chain, along with the leadership presence required to drive change across a complex organization.

The selected candidate was the first identified in a slate of nine, emerging early as the top choice due to her combination of technical capability, strategic thinking, and leadership strength. SCM Talent Group partnered closely with the Chief Human Resources Officer, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, and Senior Director of HR Services to streamline the process and maintain momentum throughout the search.

From kickoff to offer acceptance, the engagement took approximately three months. The successful placement positioned SunOpta to accelerate integration efforts, drive meaningful cost savings, and build a more resilient, scalable supply chain aligned with the company’s growth strategy and manufacturing investments.