Sean Kowalski

About Sean Kowalski

Results-driven Plant Manager and Food Manufacturing Operations Leader with 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in bakery and confectionery environments. Proven success leading 24/7, multi-line, union facilities, building strong leadership teams, and delivering consistent results across safety, quality, service, and cost.Known for driving continuous improvement, increasing throughput, reducing downtime, and maintaining a strong food safety culture with repeated Excellent SQF audit results. Hands-on leader with the ability to stabilize operations, improve engagement, and execute change in high-volume manufacturing environments.Core strengths include:• Plant & Manufacturing Operations• Food Safety & Quality Systems (SQF, HACCP, USDA, GMPs)• Union Labor & Workforce Optimization• Continuous Improvement & Waste Reduction• Production Scheduling & Capacity Planning• Safety, OSHA & Compliance Leadership• Cross-Functional Team DevelopmentOpen to opportunities as a Plant Manager, Senior Manufacturing Manager, or Operations Leader within food manufacturing, bakery, or CPG environments.

Experience

1. Plant Manager

   Alpha Baking Co., Inc.

   Jul 2024 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   Plant Manager – Alpha Baking Chicago, IL | Jul 2024 – Feb 2026Directed full plant operations for a 2-line, 24/7 bakery, overseeing production, shipping, receiving, quality, and sanitationImproved combined line efficiency 9% and reduced downtime 7%Led first-time achievement of shipping 1MM+ lbs on high-speed bun lineDelivered consistent on-time service while meeting all customer, quality, and food safety standardsAchieved Excellent SQF audit results in consecutive years

Education

• Eastern Michigan University

  no degree, General Studies

Skills

• Warehouse Management
• Food Manufacturing
• 5s
• Kaizen
• Haccp
• Supply Chain
• Sop
• Supply Chain Management
• Warehousing
• Food Processing
• Continuous Improvement
• Inventory Management
• Inventory Control
• Lean Manufacturing
• Food Industry
• Warehouse Management Systems
• Operational Excellence
• Six Sigma
• Logistics
• Distributed Team Management
• Demand Planning
• Food Safety
• Sap
• Materials Management
• Mrp
• Production Planning