Reza Karim
About Reza Karim
Reza Karim is the Sr. Manager of Business and Operational Excellence at Chemtrade, specializing in Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement strategies.
Title: Sr. Manager Of Business And Operational Excellence
Reza Karim holds the title of Sr. Manager of Business and Operational Excellence at Chemtrade. In this role, he is responsible for implementing continuous improvement efforts, acting as an internal consultant to shape continuous improvement strategy, and helping senior leadership solve complex business, operational, and manufacturing problems. His expertise extends to training internal Six Sigma Green Belt candidates and coaching them on Lean Six Sigma tools and methods.
Previous Roles at Graphic Packaging International and International Paper
Before joining Chemtrade, Reza Karim worked at Graphic Packaging International, LLC as a Bleach Plant Area Process Manager in 2018 for 11 months in Augusta, Georgia Area. Prior to that, he had several roles at International Paper, including Bleach Plant Area Process Manager (2016 to 2017), Manufacturing Excellence Initiative Leader - Pulp (2014 to 2016), Manufacturing Excellence Group Leader (2013 to 2014), Process Manager (2012 to 2013), Engineer II (2010 to 2011), and Process Engineer (2009 to 2010) in Augusta, Georgia Area and Campti, Louisiana.
Education and Expertise in Chemical Engineering
Reza Karim studied Chemical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from 2006 to 2009. His technical expertise includes Lean manufacturing tools, Minitab, Tableau, advanced data analysis, multivariate analysis, Kepner-Tregoe, MS Office, PI, Proficy, and PARCView. He is Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt Certified and is currently a Master Blackbelt trainee.
Leadership and Continuous Improvement at Chemtrade
Reza Karim has over 8 years of leadership experience, primarily focused on Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. At Chemtrade, he leads cross-functional teams to deliver sustainable improvements in performance. He drives standardization and structure across performance indicators, partners with key stakeholders to prioritize and deliver projects on time, and promotes the use of Lean tools and Strategy Deployment methodology.
Specialized Skills in Business and Operational Excellence
As Sr. Manager of Business and Operational Excellence, Reza Karim specializes in creating efficient business processes and workflows to streamline initiatives. He analyzes and benchmarks current state processes against proposed alternatives, identifies opportunities to close competitive gaps, and documents progress to track identified value opportunities. His role includes accelerating cultural change to reduce variation and waste in Chemtrade's business operations.