Dr. Michael Okoroafor
Vice President Packaging R&D / Innovation
H.J. Heinz Company

Dr. Michael Okoroafor is currently the Vice President, Packaging R&D/Innovation at H.J. Heinz Company. In this role, he is responsible for providing strategic direction for the packaging organization and driving overall packaging innovation goals across all Heinz North America Business Units.   In addition, he serves as a member of the Global R&D Council at H.J. Heinz.  Dr. Okoroafor, who is one of the CPG industry's most prominent packaging experts on food & beverage, joined Heinz in 2008 from The Coca-Cola Company, where he held several key global leadership roles, including Global Director, External Technology Acquisition responsible for Open Innovation strategies & execution; and Director, Global Packaging R&D responsible for Packaging Technologies for Foodservice, Design & Decoration and Packaging Lab Services.

Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Mike was the Associate Director, Research & Development for Optical Products at PPG Industries, Inc., where he directed the research team responsible for the development of new optical materials, coatings chemistry and process technologies in support of the Optical Products Business Group.  Under his leadership, TrivexÔ, the world’s first tri-performance lens material was commercialized.  He also served as a member of the Optical Products Business Leadership team and in that role, provided overall strategic technical direction for the business in support of SBU goals and strategic growth initiatives. 

Mike is a graduate of Executive Development Program at Kellogg Business School, Northwestern University. He also holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Nigeria, a Masters in polymer chemistry from the University of Detroit, and a Ph.D in organic polymer chemistry from Michigan State University.

He is an inventor with over 30 patents, 35 technical publications and is a contributing author to the “Handbook of Plastic Foams.”  He is a member of the American Chemical Society, and Society of Plastics Engineers.  He lectures extensively across the globe and most recently was the keynote speaker at two global conferences, the 2009 GMA Conference in Las Vegas & the EUROPACK-2009 in Monaco.

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