Meri Stevens
Chief Operations Officer Kenvue
ABOUT THE WINNER
Meri Stevens is Chief Operations Officer at Kenvue, the world’s largest pure-play consumer health company by revenue and maker of iconic brands such as Neutrogena, Listerine, Aveeno and Tylenol.
Meri’s extensive experience spans more than 30 years with senior leadership roles at global corporations, including Chief Supply Chain Officer at Newell Rubbermaid and various operations and procurement leadership roles at Tyco, Bertelsmann, Knoll and General Electric.
Meri is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of STEM professionals. She proudly serves as an executive sponsor of the Women at Kenvue impact network and as Vice Chair of the Smithsonian Science Education Center Advisory Board. She and her husband have three daughters.
Congratulations, Meri Stevens!
Case Study Highlights
Kenvue’s global operations have undergone rapid transformation under Meri Stevens’ leadership, enabling agility, growth, and innovation. With a sharp focus on digital acceleration, her team implemented AI digital twins, control towers, and automation to improve efficiency across production, inventory, and transportation.
This smart operations strategy has delivered impressive results: predictive maintenance at the Mumbai plant reduced downtime by 51%, and digitized scheduling in Bangkok cut lead times by 42% and greenhouse gas emissions by 29%. In Promezzia, Listerine supply chain cycle time and inventory dropped by 33%. These changes reflect the power of data and technology in driving operational excellence.
Meri’s leadership emphasizes talent development and cross-functional collaboration. She fosters a culture of shared knowledge, encouraging every team member to take ownership of “flow blockers” and continuously innovate. Her goal is to empower teams to thrive in a digital-first world.
Meri sees this transformation as a shared achievement. It reflects the creativity, resilience, and accountability of the global operations team, whose work delivers iconic brands like Neutrogena, Listerine, Aveeno, and Tylenol to nearly one billion consumers worldwide.
