Top Women In Store Brands 2023: Doraly Witt
For more than a decade, Store Brands and Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence (WISE) have teamed to honor women across the private label industry who have had and continue to have a major impact in the store brand segment.
From supply chain, to sales, marketing, finance and more, members of the Class of 2023 each play a vital role in moving store brands forward amid new and on-going challenges that include rising prices, capacity issues with manufacturers, and evolving demand from consumers.
The following is the profile of Doraly Witt of John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., the 2023 honoree in the Operations category.
Engaging Leader
Doraly Witt’s job title of senior director, Continuous Improvement & Organizational Development at John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., rings true on a daily basis. Lauded by colleagues as being an engaging leader, she is continually focused on helping employees within all levels of the company improve and develop their skills.
She is a driver of continuous improvement with a passion to assist operations teams from the company’s multiple manufacturing locations in Illinois, Georgia, Texas, and California along with its co-manufacturer in Wisconsin. Witt has cultivated a “Culture of Continuous Improvement” by training and engaging employees on LEAN and Six Sigma methodologies.
She also keeps manufacturing teams on track to complete continuous improvement projects that save money, improve working conditions for employees, and meet sustainability goals for store brands and the company.
In addition to being viewed as an engaging leader, Witt has worked to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement while also leading organization development and training to develop employees as future leaders.
“I was truly humbled to be nominated and receive the award, and It took a few days to sink in, and in those days I reflected on my career and my journey,” she said. “This award not only recognizes me, but it recognizes my mom, an immigrant woman that taught me to stand strong, work hard, be humble, have faith, speak from the heart, give it your all and to never forget your roots. It recognizes all the hard-working women that seek to make a difference in the lives of their families, their organization, their community.”
During the past year she was a speaker on the Women@JBSS Senior Director panel and also spoke at HOLA (Hispanic Organization for Latin Americans) at JBSS. Witt mentors and coaches multiple manufacturing employees on various shifts annually, and her door is open to employees needing mentoring, coaching, and advice.
She also leads organizational development training across Sanfilippo’s corporate and manufacturing facilities, focusing on enhancing leadership and technical skills for employees. Witt was on the steering team that launched the JBSS Career Leadership program, developed the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) multi-year training strategy, and organized training for employees at all Sanfilippo manufacturing sites.
Her work has also contributed to the success of store brands at the company. Her leadership along with her passion for mentoring has been the main factor that has led operations teams to continually improve. Witt’s efforts have also helped store brands by meeting/exceeding their goals while also meeting the company’s goals for continuous improvement, training, sustainability, and DEI.