Maria Pais

Maria Pais has a diverse work experience in the food industry, with a focus on innovation, research and development, and commercialization. Maria is currently working as the Divisional VP of Innovation and R&D Commercialization at Aspire Bakeries since April 2021. Prior to this, Maria had a similar role at ARYZTA starting from March 2016. Before that, they worked as the Director of Culinary, Innovation, R&D, and Commercialization at ARYZTA from June 2014 to February 2016. Maria also has experience as a Manager in R&D and New Product Development at Pineridge Foods, where they were responsible for overseeing the entire product development process and ensuring regulatory compliance from April 2006 to June 2014. Additionally, they worked at General Mills as a Food Technologist and at Robin Hood Multifoods as a Research Scientist, where they conducted research projects and developed new product concepts. Maria started their career as a Bakery Specialist at George Weston Limited and as a Food Technologist at Lipton India Ltd., where they worked on product development and quality control. Maria took a break from their career to be a stay-at-home mom, chef, and dean of logistics from February 2000 to March 2006.

Maria Pais has a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Agriculture from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Hyderabad, India, which they completed from 1986 to 1990. Maria then pursued a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Food Science and Technology at the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, India, from 1991 to 1993. Maria later attended the University of Guelph, where they studied Food Science (Cereal Science) and completed their education in 2014. In addition, they returned to the University of Guelph to further their studies in Food Science and Technology, but the completion year was not specified.