Oksana Kovalenko

Oksana is an experienced Bakery Technical Lead for the West Region with more than 20 years of experience working in retail grocery and food production industries. She first became a Bakery Technical Counselor for the largest ISB customer at Rich’s 11 years ago.

A lifelong learner and growth-minded individual, Oksana is always seeking new experiences that enrich her personal and professional life. She loves to travel and often finds herself in bakeries to capture new trends and new cultures around the world that inspire her pastry innovations. Oksana is an avid long-distance cyclist, often finding herself on her bike in the mountains of Colorado and is an ultra-runner with a strong passion for the outdoors. Oksana and her fiancé are continuously training for their next big race and planning their next big adventure. Oksana lives in Colorado with her fiancé Tom and three adult children.

Born and raised in Ukraine, where her family had their own bakery business selling goods to local markets out of their home, Oksana came to the U.S. as a refugee 25 years ago. Beginning a new life in a new country from scratch was not always easy, but Oksana always found a way to ‘figure it out.’ While making a way for her family, she worked multiple jobs and, simultaneously, attended the Community College of Denver to learn English and obtain a general and business education. She found herself returning to the world of baking as a baker, cake decorator and a bakery manager. True to her personality, Oksana also ran her own wedding cake business and offered group decorating classes.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Oksana’s awareness of Rich Products was early in her career through her multiple roles as bakery manager, merchandizer, cake decorator, and internal trainer on grand opening teams with large grocery chains. Always seeking the next challenge, Oksana was intrigued by the idea of training eager students in the bakery as a Bakery Tech. Oksana took great responsibility in her role as trainer, incorporating her many years of experience in the field and helping managers and store leads to inspire passion and love for baking and bakery products. Within a few years, Oksana was promoted into to a team lead role where she has led multiple projects. Most notably, she was part of an integral team who developed, implemented, and maintained the “Trainer on Demand” program which is now in its fifth successful year. Oksana was also awarded Outstanding Bakery Technician in 2020.

Today, Oksana leads a group of talented hands, combining her training and field experience with creativity in her innovative endeavors. She continues to pour her traditional European pastry background into American dessert creations.