S03 E8: Dan Seidel, Global COO, HelloFresh

May 19, 2026 | Episodes

Meet Dan Seidel

Dan Seidel spent more than 15 years at Thomas and Betts (an ABB Group company) as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt before moving to Amazon, then Target, and now HelloFresh — first as COO of North America, then Global COO. When he joined HelloFresh in 2024, he skipped the typical executive onboarding and spent his first two months working on the factory floor in Illinois. In this conversation, he breaks down how he’s rebuilding the operation from the inside out — and what it means for the future of manufacturing leadership.

In this episode, we cover:

Why Dan treats inventory as the “number-one evil” of lean operations
How HelloFresh uses AI to cut delivery windows, optimize routes, and survive weather disruptions
Why robotics should enhance — never eliminate — the workforce
The “renters vs. owners” framework Dan is using to reshape frontline teams
What it takes for plant managers to make the leap into multi-site leadership

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