Nicole Bayona
About Nicole Bayona
Nicole Bayona is a Senior Packaging Engineer at General Mills in the United States, specializing in R&D packaging for Dairy products.
Current Position at General Mills
Nicole Bayona is a Senior Packaging Engineer at General Mills. In this role, she specializes in areas such as film/flexible packaging, rigids, paperboard, and corrugated materials. Her primary focus is on the Dairy products segment, specifically for the Kid Platform and Convenience & Food Service sectors. She works cross-functionally with various departments including marketing, consumer insights, brand experience, sourcing, supply chain, food safety, and product engineering to ensure successful product launches.
Previous Roles at General Mills
Nicole Bayona has a well-rounded history with General Mills, holding multiple roles over the years. She served as a Line Lead and Startup Manager in 2017, an Operations Team Leader from 2015 to 2017, and a Project Engineer from 2014 to 2015. She also worked as an Operations Team Lead in 2014 and as a System Engineer from 2013 to 2014. Through these roles, she gained extensive experience in both operational and engineering capacities.
Experience with Other Companies
Prior to joining General Mills, Nicole Bayona accumulated diverse industry experiences. In 2011, she worked at ExxonMobil as a USP Western Facilities Engineering Co-op in Houston, Texas. She also held internships at Colgate-Palmolive as a Global Supply Chain Program Intern in Piscataway, New Jersey, and at Ashland as a Technical Sale Associate Intern in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Educational Background
Nicole Bayona holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University, where she studied from 2008 to 2012. Prior to that, she earned her High School Diploma from Mount Carmel Academy, where she studied from 2004 to 2008. Her educational background laid a strong foundation for her career in engineering and packaging.
Significant Contributions
At General Mills, Nicole Bayona has made significant contributions in packaging engineering. She led a tool boxing initiative to enhance packaging for Dairy products, developing a comprehensive toolbox database. Additionally, she achieved approximately $15 million in cost savings through projects that involved structural changes, packaging streamlining, and supplier validations. Nicole has also led packaging iteration processes, utilizing consumer interviews and shelf placement strategies to finalize designs for successful product launches.