Dr. Michael Okoroafor is currently the Vice President, Global Packaging Innovation at McCormick & Company where he is responsible for setting overall global strategy and execution for packaging innovation across all business units. Previously he was Vice President for Packaging R&D and Innovation at H.J. Heinz Company. Prior to that, he worked for The Coca- Cola Company where he served as Global Director, External Technology Acquisition, and Director, Global Packaging Innovation.
Mike has led several major industry packaging developments, including McCormicks Herb Grinder, Dip N' Squeeze, Heinz Thunderbird Icon bottle, Heinz/Coca-Cola PlantBottleTM Partnership and Coca-Cola Freestyle Packaging. Mike also served as judge for the 2013 DuPont Packaging Awards. An inventor with over 40 patents, Dr. Okoroafor is one of the CPG industry's most prominent packaging experts on food & beverage. He lectures extensively across the globe and is a veteran keynote speaker at major conferences.
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 PhD in organic polymer chemistry from Michigan State University.
Notwithstanding substantial gains made in the West over the past several decades to level the playing field and bring about greater equality between men and women, pay gaps persist, and in many countries, corporate leadership remains heavily dominated by men.
IRC Global Executive Search Partners convened affiliates and business partners at three regional summits covering Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the Americas in early 2019 to spark an intercontinental discussion about leadership and organizational preparedness in an era characterized by accelerating technological change and disruption.
Recently, IRC Global Executive Search Partners convened a summit in Gurgaon bringing together senior executives from leading organizations of the Asia Pacific region to explore what organizations and leaders can do to prepare their companies for the future. Many of the themes that emerged are timeless; others are specific to the modern age and the opportunities and challenges of the digital era.