“Beiersdorf Manufacturing Itatiba is my place to be!”

Beiersdorf Manufacturing Itatiba (BMI) is one of Beiersdorf’s fastest growing double-digit plants and very important for Beiersdorf’s business growth – especially in Latin America. Opened 2003 in Itatiba City, Brazil, the production center has around 200 employees, a production capacity of 350 million pieces per year and, since August 2020, a new PC Director: Camila Pacheco. In her role, she is not only responsible for BMI but also for the management of Third-Party Manufacturers for Latin America. In total for a production volume of around 500 million pieces. 

This march she was nominated for the Impact of Diversity Award in the category “Most influential woman of the year” and called “a great role model and trailblazer not only for women in Brazil”. A statement one can definitely agree to, knowing that throughout her career, Camila has always been the first woman in her leadership positions.

We got the chance to talk to Camila a few weeks ago about BMI, the ongoing projects there – and of course her inspiring career in Supply Chain:

First and foremost, I care for the safety and wellbeing of our employees. I am proud of protecting our team in such COVID-19 difficult period and proud to have produced 1,2 million pieces of alcohol gel as part of Beiersdorf global disinfectant donation.

We have been quite busy in these volatile times. NIVEA Brazil business is growing double digit, requiring from BMI a high level of quality, efficiency and agility to serve our consumers. Therefore, based on Supply Chain 2025 Roadmap we have recently deployed the BMI strategic program in order to further drive performance and, at the same time, build new capabilities for the future, such as Digital Transformation and Sustainability in Manufacturing. We want to bring BMI to the next level in terms of modern manufacturing excellence. Towards this direction, one of our most important projects is the installation of our 7^th high speed production line. Besides, we are further investing on integrated planning capabilities to outperform.

To begin with, I love what I do! Supply Chain makes dreams come true! We positively impact millions of consumers’ lives, every day, every second by delivering beauty, protection and self-esteem!

Besides, Supply Chain is all about people development and engagement! Connected people making the impossible possible. I graduated as a food engineer, did my master’s in business administration and I started working as a trainee at Unilever Brazil. In 2015, I had the great pleasure to join Beiersdorf in the Supply Chain MU for operations in Brazil. To sum it up, I did everything apart from Manufacturing.

I was really dreaming to have this opportunity soon to consolidate my technical and leadership skills and I took the chance, when after almost five years in the Brazil MU, I got the fantastic opportunity to lead the manufacturing site at Itatiba.

Definitely! To lead, inspire and develop 200 people in multifunctional areas, both administrative and technical is a great challenge. I had to learn fast new supply chain specific capabilities. Especially on the production floor where real life shows up. But the most important task was to take the time to get to know the people that are so proud of producing NIVEA products. What surprised me was the level of passion, engagement and trust amongst the teams. Therefore, BMI is definitely my place to be!

I would say that during my career I had very different experiences. It was not always easy – especially at the beginning, when I was a young female logistics manager in a big, outsourced warehouse and transportation operations. It always required some time to gain people’s trust and respect. At that time, the topic of diversity was still far away from being discussed. But I gained experience and understood how I could be more respected while still being authentic in the workplace.

On the other hand, further on, I had the chance to work with brilliant male bosses that enabled my authenticity and provided me space to develop and grow.

My main advice would be to be less anxious. To worry less about irrelevant topics, to better manage my personal and professional life and to take care a little bit more of myself.

Ines is responsible for the communication around our Pharmacy and Selective Brands like Eucerin, Hansaplast and La Prairie within the Corporate Communications team. Prior to this task, she worked on various communication topics for Beiersdorf – including HR, Strategy, R&D and Finance – and became an expert in the area of Issues Management and Crisis Communication. In addition, she manages the network of our PR Managers worldwide. Just recently, she spend some months on a short term assignment at Beiersdorf in France – another great international experience.