OrthoLite has hired Raj Santhana as vice president of operational excellence.
Santhana, who is part of OrthoLite’s global operations management team, will be responsible for manufacturing excellence and innovation in his new role, as well as automation and digital transformation. The leading insole manufacturer also stated Santhana will work with its Global Foam Innovation Team in a new satellite office, which is located in Singapore.
Most recently, Santhana served as the global head of quality at Bata in Singapore. Before Bata, he was at Adidas for more than seven years, ending his time with the Three Stripes as its director of quality footwear forVietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.
“In addition to his vast expertise in the footwear industry, Raj holds two engineering degrees and he will be critical to driving operational excellence programs for our global team of 3,200 people at OrthoLite’s owned manufacturing facilities around the world,” OrthoLite chief operating officer Richard Bevan said in a statement.
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Aside from Santhana, OrthoLite announced another personnel move, the promotion of Shaw Kiat Phua to vice president of global foaming. In this role, the company stated he will lead the strategic direction for OrthoLite PU material development with a focus on sustainable innovations in footwear, and will continue to report to Bevan.
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Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at peter.verry@footwearnews.com.
