Director Pet Nutrition CD&D - Chicago, IL

Job description

Director Pet Nutrition CD&D - Chicago, IL

Position Summary

The Director, Pet Nutrition CD&D (Creation, Design & Development) leads ADM's global customer-focused product development and applied innovation organization serving the Pet Nutrition business. Reporting to the Vice President, Animal & Pet Nutrition CD&D, this role is responsible for aligning innovation capabilities, technical resources, and development priorities with ADM's strategic growth objectives. The position leads a global team of approximately 30 scientists, application specialists, formulators, and technical experts dedicated to developing innovative solutions for pet food, treats, supplements, and wellness products.

Role Purpose

Serve as the global leader responsible for translating business strategy, customer needs, market opportunities, and scientific capabilities into commercially successful pet nutrition solutions. The role drives growth by supporting customers and commercial teams through technical excellence, application development, and applied innovation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the global Pet Nutrition CD&D organization and define strategic priorities.
• Align innovation and development activities with Animal & Pet Nutrition business goals.
• Partner with commercial teams to identify and pursue customer growth opportunities.
• Drive development of differentiated solutions across dry pet food, wet pet food, kibble systems, treats, supplements, and emerging wellness platforms.
• Lead customer innovation workshops and strategic technical engagements.
• Oversee formulation, application, testing, validation, scale-up, and commercialization activities.
• Build global technical capabilities and ensure best-practice sharing across regions.
• Manage innovation portfolio prioritization, resource allocation, and project governance.
• Strengthen ADM's position as a trusted innovation partner through science-based and customer-driven solutions.

Job Requirements

Leadership Accountabilities

• Provide leadership and development for a global team of approximately 30 employees.
• Establish a high-performance culture focused on collaboration, accountability, innovation, and customer success.
• Develop organizational capabilities, succession plans, and talent pipelines while creating an inclusive and engaging work environment.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Commercial, Marketing, Product Management, Operations, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Procurement, and R&D teams to ensure successful product development and commercialization.
• Act as a key member of the Animal & Pet Nutrition leadership team and contribute to broader business strategy discussions.

Success Metrics (KPIs)

• Revenue supported through innovation projects; pipeline value created through new opportunities; commercialization success rate; speed-to-market improvements; strategic customer engagement; employee development and retention; and overall contribution to business growth and profitability.

Job Requirements

• Advanced degree in Animal Nutrition, Food Science, Pet Nutrition, Veterinary Nutrition, Animal Science, or related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience in product development, applied innovation, technical services, or pet nutrition.
• Demonstrated success leading global teams and customer-facing innovation organizations.
• Travel required up to 30% globally. ADM office-based.

Location

North America

Mission Statement

Lead ADM's global Pet Nutrition CD&D organization by transforming customer insights, scientific knowledge, ingredient technologies, and business strategy into differentiated solutions that accelerate growth, strengthen partnerships, and improve pet health and well-being worldwide.

Excited about this role but don’t think you meet every requirement listed?

We encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings.

ADM requires the successful completion of a background check.

REF:114305BR