Anupa Patel
Anupa Patel is Senior Capital Engineering Manager at Kellanova and a senior chemical engineer with over 20 years of experience in process and project engineering across the food, beverage, biotech/pharma, and consumer products industries. She focuses on process development, scaling from lab to production, hygienic design for food products, and product formulation across consumer categories including beauty, cleansers, food, and pet care. Anupa emphasizes the combination of technical rigor with emotional intelligence and people-centered design, believing that listening to end users and caring about people leads to better engineering outcomes.
Since entering the consumer products industry in 2002, Anupa has accumulated extensive experience spanning R&D, process engineering, product formulation, and building both greenfield and brownfield plants, while leading complex capital projects. She has worked with leading organizations including Nestlé, The Clorox Company, and Constellation Brands, driving process innovation and operational excellence at every stage. Notably, she holds a patent for a pet care product, highlighting her ability to translate technical expertise into innovative consumer solutions.
Beyond her technical contributions, Anupa is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of engineers and fostering learning in STEM. She has volunteered with the EnCorps STEM Teachers Program and served as Chair and Board Member for Oakland Unity School, helping students gain hands-on scientific experience. Fluent in Gujarati and Portuguese, she brings cultural awareness and collaborative leadership to diverse teams. Anupa continues to seek opportunities to drive process and product innovation while cultivating environments that prioritize people and sustainable impact.
• Winemaking Certificate Program, Winemaking
• OSHA 30-Hour
• Constellation Brands New Leader Program
• Improving Your Thinking
• Managing Innovation
• University of Florida - BS, Chemical Engineering
• Florida State University - MS ChE
• Chair & Board Member
Oakland Unity School
What do you attribute your success to?
A lifelong love of chemistry, physics and math; strong technical training and hands-on experience across multiple consumer-product categories; parental support that enabled educational opportunities; and deliberate development of soft skills and credibility.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
That managers who invested in developing her emotional intelligence and soft skills early in her career gave her the most valuable guidance — those skills matter for advancement beyond technical roles.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Balance technical excellence with soft skills: work on emotional intelligence and communication early, build credibility by delivering results, and don't be afraid to speak up once your expertise is established.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges include breaking into senior leadership for women and minorities in a male-dominated field, earning credit for ideas, and navigating industry-specific downturns (the wine industry was cited as under pressure). Opportunities come from combining technical skill with people-focused design and from mentoring and opening doors for underrepresented entrants.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Representation, giving back to community, integrity, credibility and caring for people.