Eliana Pinilla-Ryhal

Director at Common Market

Eliana Pinilla-Ryhal has a diverse range of work experience in the food industry. Eliana began their career as a Food Scientist in R&D at Sterling Foods, where they developed and re-formulated bakery products. Eliana later worked as a Mentor for small business development in urban agriculture enterprises at Catalyzer Startup Advisors.

Following this, they joined Tate & Lyle as a Food Scientist in Technical Service, where they played a key role in creating value propositions for new business ventures and led structured internal technical training programs.

Eliana then moved to RXBAR, where they held various roles including Vice President, Director, and Manager in R&D. Eliana was responsible for product innovation and pipeline development.

Eliana also worked at Kellogg Company as part of a long-term innovation integration assignment, designing technical frameworks for elevating and accelerating product innovation for several brands.

In addition, they have held positions as a Mentor in the Good Food Accelerator's G2M Program and as a Coach for emerging brands at JPG Resources - Food & Beverage Innovation.

Currently, Eliana is the Director of the Great Lakes Chapter Start-up at The Common Market, a non-profit regional food distributor. Their role focuses on local food, social enterprise, and community development.

Eliana is also a Board Member at Marbleseed and the Institutional Procurement Working Group Coordinator at Artisan Grain Collaborative.

Eliana Pinilla-Ryhal completed their education in a systematic and progressive manner. Eliana pursued their Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture with a specialization in Food Science & Technology from Purdue University. This educational journey took place from 2002 to 2007.

Subsequently, Eliana pursued higher studies and obtained their Master of Science degree in Cereal Quality, focusing on Food Science and Technology, from Texas A&M University. This period of academic pursuit spanned from 2008 to 2010.

In addition to their formal education, Eliana also obtained several certifications to enhance their skills and knowledge. These include certifications in Business Innovation, Designing a Business, Designing Strategy, and Leading For Creativity. These certifications were acquired from IDEO U, with the most recent certification obtained in January 2021.

Based on the provided information, it can be concluded that Eliana Pinilla-Ryhal has a strong educational background in Food Science and Technology, with a focus on Cereal Quality, and has further expanded their expertise through additional certifications in business innovation and leadership.

Links

Previous companies

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Timeline

  • Director

    October, 2021 - present