Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Personaldevelopment
Social
Recognition
Timeline
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Derya Canikli Koc

Technical Manager, Senior Flavourist
Bourne End

Summary

Seasonings & Coatings expert with 19 years of EMEA experience seeking to leverage strong leadership, innovation, and project management skills to drive growth in R&D department. Proven ability to execute technical strategies, lead high performing teams, and build strong relationships with cross-functional partners. Expertise in product development, quality assurance, and cost optimization across the food industry. An MBA graduate with a passion for food science and a successful track record of exceeding targets.

Overview

16
16
years of professional experience

Work History

Technical Manager

Symrise AG
10.2021 - Current
  • Managing Snack Food team with 6 direct reports based in UK for EAME region
  • Leading a team of flavourists in the development and application of innovative seasoning solutions for snacks
  • Implement personalized development plans for team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth
  • Establish and fostering strong executive relationships with customers, suppliers, and partners to ensure successful project execution
  • Maintain cutting-edge technical proficiency in application solutions and equipment to ensure customer centric solutions
  • Responsible and accountable for building capability to growth
  • Accountable to implement business strategy across technical and cross-functional teams on local, regional, and global scales
  • Increased reactive and protective business project win rates by 85% and 92% respectively through team development and training initiatives across EAME
  • Doubled growth win rate for the Turkey market by defining market gaps and trends and developing market-fit snack seasonings
  • Drove €4 million in business growth projects by optimizing seasoning formulations through scientific and value engineering principles
  • Secured €1 million project approval, with an additional €3 million in potential seasoning revenue awaiting final sign-off
  • Secured €10 million in new snack seasoning business by building strong customer relationships and demonstrating technical expertise to a strategic client
  • Won a white-spot customer, generating an additional £500k, contributing to the company's strategic growth
  • Led the creation of a standardized process for scale-up, trials, and first-time-right production launches with a fixed seasoning functionality, achieving improved efficiency and reduced customer complaint
  • Led a project delivering a market-responsive seasoning portfolio, prioritizing speed-to-market, cost-effectiveness, and competitive pricing to meet urgent market needs
  • Championed the development of future technical capabilities by actively participating and making significant contributions to the Category and Marketing Route to Growth platform.

Senior Flavourist

McCormick Kütaş
01.2017 - 08.2021
  • Managed key projects focused on cost reduction, innovation, and new business development for snacks, coatings, marinades, sauces, and fermented products across Europe, Middle East, and Near East regions
  • Led a cross-functional team of technologists and collaborated with regional colleagues to achieve project success
  • Demonstrated strong technical expertise in manufacturing processes, application solutions, and global flavor preferences
  • Delivered a 100% success rate on retention briefs and an impressive 80%+ success rate on all other projects for snacks, coatings, marinades, sauces, and fermented products
  • Achieved business goals by managing cost drivers of materials, processes, and application
  • Delivered on internal and external price/margin targets and secured 50% of the required R&D budget through cost-saving initiatives
  • Pioneered new business with a global seasoning customer, leading to a significant 3.5% sales increase
  • Successfully navigated complex challenges through cross-functional collaboration
  • Secured critical defensive seasoning briefs representing 22% of total sales value and achieved a 10% margin improvement, leading to recognition with the McCormick's CP Award
  • Demonstrated leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic by adapting team processes to ensure safety and uninterrupted customer service
  • This resulted in securing new business and customers, generating 6% sales increase in coating business
  • Proven team player, fostering strong relationships with colleagues across regions
  • Established a regional knowledge-sharing platform for coating formulations, ensuring best practices and technical expertise were disseminated across all EMEA teams, leading to win customer briefs in the South Africa, APAC region, and UK, strengthening McCormick's partnership.

Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affair Supervisor

McCormick Kütaş
01.2008 - 10.2010
  • Owned quality assurance for key customer products and processes, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards
  • Led and conducted audits (GMP, HACCP, etc.) to maintain a robust quality management system
  • Led the development and implementation of a back-of-house solution for a QSR, recognized as a best practice across the EMEA region and significantly improving operational quality.

Education

Master of Business Administration (MBA) -

Yasar University
Izmir

Food Engineering, BSc Degree -

Ege University
Izmir

Personaldevelopment

  • HPO,2023 -2024
  • Introduction to Management, 2022
  • Emotional Leadership, 2022
  • Conflict Management, 2019
  • Informal Leadership Training, 2018
  • Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training, 2016
  • GMP, SSOP, HACCP, Total Quality Management, 2008

Social

  • I let my hair down when I acted with the theatre; constantly improving, renewing, and keeping alive myself. I performed at Vol5 Theatre with “23Number” play and am a Municipal Theatre trainee.
  • It's all about the food! It's about the food as a technologist and it's all about the food as a life pleasure. One of the great benefits of my job are the chance to delve into cuisines both locally and during my travels.

Recognition

  • CP Award: The highest value of recognition given by McCormick (2018)
  • Champion of the Dragons (2018)
  • Winning of biggest global snack customer's biggest 2 projects in Turkey (2015)

Timeline

Technical Manager

Symrise AG
10.2021 - Current

Senior Flavourist

McCormick Kütaş
01.2017 - 08.2021

Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affair Supervisor

McCormick Kütaş
01.2008 - 10.2010

Master of Business Administration (MBA) -

Yasar University

Food Engineering, BSc Degree -

Ege University

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Derya Canikli KocTechnical Manager, Senior Flavourist