Viveca Fairbanks-Henderson

Viveca Fairbanks-Henderson, B.S. Electrical Engineering '90

Past Purdue NSBE Chapter President

Viveca Fairbanks-Henderson is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, and received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1990. She currently resides in Portage, Michigan with her husband Darren Henderson and their son Bryce. Upon graduation, Viveca joined Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio where she spent 21 years of her career.

During her tenure at P&G, Viveca held assignments across multiple businesses. Her experiences include the Charmin plant expansion in California and the line startup in Germany for the European launch of Bounty paper towels. Viveca has also had assignments launching new product initiatives and working in upstream technology development. She took a broadening assignment outside of Engineering to lead a multi-functional technical and commercial team to launch a new product into the North America market.

In the Always feminine protection business, Viveca had North and Latin America R&D Process and Engineering responsibilities across sites in Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Chile. In Pringles, she had global responsibilities for the Engineering, Materials, and Packaging Innovation organization with resources based in the U.S., Europe and Asia. In 2012, Viveca joined the Kellogg organization based in Battle Creek, Michigan when it acquired the iconic Pringles brand. In 2014, she became the Senior Director of food and packaging cost optimization for the Kellogg's Company where she was held accountable for food and packaging reformulation across the Snacks, Morning Foods, and Frozen Foods platforms. She is currently the Senior Director, of Global Packaging at Kellogg's.

In addition to her core business responsibilities, Viveca previously served as the lead P&G Engineering campus recruiter at Purdue, was a member of the P&G Black Manager Supply Chain Leadership Team and served as a trainer for the P&G "Self-Development Strategies for Women" course offered to all new women who were hired into Engineering. She frequently returns to Purdue where she continues to have strong ties.

Viveca is a past Purdue NSBE Chapter President and past Chairperson of the NSBE Purdue Chapter Industrial Advisory Board. She served as the National President of the Purdue Black Alumni Organization for 10 years and was previously a member of the Purdue Alumni Association Board of Directors and Executive Committee. For 10 years, she was a trainer for the Purdue Society of Women Engineer's annual Market Yourself Workshop and is a supporter of the Purdue Minority Engineering Program's pre-college workshops. Outside of work, Viveca is an avid reader and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

She is a charter member of the Phi Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and previously served as President. She has a passion for developing youth and frequently conducts etiquette workshops for students at the elementary, high school, and college level. She has also conducted workshops on making the transition from college to corporate America and interviewing skills. Viveca is fortunate to have a supportive family and strong career advocates that have been instrumental in her personal and professional success. She lives by the following words: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

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