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April Fernandez, MBA, serves as the Sr. Director of Product & Process Development in R&D at Ventura Foods since July 2013, where April has fostered collaboration between R&D and Operations and manages a team of 22, overseeing North America R&D initiatives across 14 manufacturing sites. Previously, April held various positions at Ventura Foods, including Director of Product & Process Development Technical Services and Senior Plant Manager, driving operational excellence and enhancing profitability and product quality. Prior experience includes roles at Ruiz Foods as Continuous Improvement Manager, at Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds as Process Engineering Manager utilizing Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing methodologies, and earlier engineering positions at CMEC and UpRight Inc. April earned an MBA from California State University, Fresno, complementing a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the same institution.