10 Cargill engineering leaders
Jan Callens, Refinery Manufacturing Technology Director Edible Oils Europe at Cargill, is one of ten Cargill engineering leaders listed here, alongside people who hold director of engineering, manufacturing technology and process development roles at the company. A reader can learn how engineering leaders work at Cargill from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
Bill Castledine
LinkedInExperience: Director - Engineering Management · Cargill
Bill Castledine has been Director - Engineering Management at Cargill since April 2026, and has also been Regional Utilities Operations Leader since 2023. Bill Castledine was Capital Project, Utilities, Environmental Superintendent at the company from 2017 to 2023 and Utilities Supervisor from 2016 to 2017, and was Engineering and Maintenance Manager at Unilever from 2014 to 2015.
Bruno Brito
LinkedInExperience: LATAM Manufacturing Technology Director · Cargill
Bruno Brito has been LATAM Manufacturing Technology Director at Cargill, based in Uberlândia, Brazil, since December 2024. Bruno Brito was South America Manufacturing Technology Manager from 2021 to 2024 and Plant Manager for an acidulants plant and site waste water treatment from 2018 to 2021, and was Production Manager - Fermentation & Utilities at the company from 2016 to 2017.
Christopher Kuyava
LinkedInExperience: Director R&D, Process Development and Piloting · Cargill
Christopher Kuyava has been Director R&D, Process Development and Piloting at Cargill in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since June 2026. Christopher Kuyava was Senior Research Engineer from 2025 to 2026 and Process and Piloting Senior Supervisor for Edible Oils North America from 2021 to 2025, and the profile describes a pragmatic chemical engineer with experience in process development and multi-disciplinary leadership.
Fábio Silva
LinkedInExperience: LATAM Director | Engineering Leader in Electrical, Instrumentation & Automation · Cargill
Fábio Silva has been LATAM Director | Engineering Leader in Electrical, Instrumentation & Automation at Cargill in Brazil since October 2017. Fábio Silva was Global Automation, Electrical and Instrumentation Center of Excellence Lead (2015–2017), Regional Operations Manager (2013–2015) and Electrical Project Coordinator (2010–2013) at Cargill, and the profile describes an electrical engineer with an MBA.
Heather Jones
LinkedInExperience: North American Director of Process Development & Piloting - Fermentation · Cargill
Heather Jones has been North American Director of Process Development & Piloting - Fermentation at Cargill in Eddyville, Iowa, since May 2025. Heather Jones was Manager Team Leader, Fermentation Process Development (2023–2025) and Principal Scientist (2023) at Pfizer and a Fermentation Unit Engineer at Corteva Agriscience (2021–2022), and the profile describes experience in laboratory, pilot and industrial fermentation.
Jan Callens
LinkedInExperience: Refinery Manufacturing Technology Director Edible Oils Europe · Cargill
Jan Callens has been Refinery Manufacturing Technology Director Edible Oils Europe at Cargill in Pittem, Belgium, since June 2025. Jan Callens was Regional manufacturing technology lead Edible Oils Europe (2023–2025), Value engineering lead edible oils Europe (2021–2023), Production excellence lead - Senior value engineer - ass. plant manager (2018–2021) and Operations manager refinery & senior value lead refinery and packaging (2015–2018) at Cargill.
Jan Foeke Kikstra
LinkedInExperience: Director Engineering and Data Sciences · Cargill
Jan Foeke Kikstra has been Director Engineering and Data Sciences at Cargill in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, since January 2021. Jan Foeke Kikstra was Director Engineering R and D Europe (2017–2020), Manager Modeling and Energy Group (2007–2017) and Proces Modeler (2001–2007) at Cargill, and was a Ph. D. student at Delft University of Technology from 1995 to 2000.
Jeroen Caminada
LinkedInExperience: Packaging Manufacturing Technology Director · Cargill
Jeroen Caminada has been Packaging Manufacturing Technology Director at Cargill in Schiphol, the Netherlands, since April 2026, and has also been Global Packaging Lead - Animal Nutrition & Health there since September 2021. Jeroen Caminada was Global Packaging Portfolio / Innovation Manager at AkzoNobel (2019–2021), and Packaging Purchasing Manager (2016–2018) and Packaging Engineer (2010–2013) at Diversey.
Mike Sinkovits
LinkedInExperience: Director Engineering Maintenance · Cargill
Mike Sinkovits has been Director Engineering Maintenance at Cargill in Kitchener, Ontario, since April 2025, and the profile headline names the role as Director Engineering/Maintenance, Cargill Meat Solutions. Mike Sinkovits has also held the title Engineering Maintenance Manager at Cargill since January 2016, and was a Superintendent there from 2011 to 2016 and a Lead Hand at Grand River Foods from 2009 to 2011.
Nico Cornelius
LinkedInExperience: FS EMEA Reliability Engineering Director · Cargill
Nico Cornelius has been FS EMEA Reliability Engineering Director at Cargill in Terneuzen, Netherlands, since June 2025, and the profile headline names the role as Cargill Food Solutions EMEA Reliability Engineering Director. Nico Cornelius was EMEA Reliability Engineering Lead (2023–2025), CSST EU Mechanical Asset Lead (2018–2024), Starches & Sweeteners Europe Maintenance & Reliability Leader (2013–2018) and European Reliability Excellence Process & Metrics Lead (2011–2013) at Cargill.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's engineering area, such as refinery technology, packaging, fermentation process development, reliability, maintenance or electrical and automation work, to the plant question you face. Weigh whether they set standards across a region or support specific sites, since each sees different tradeoffs.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01Which engineering problems take most of your time across the plants you support?
- 02How do you decide which process improvements or capital projects to fund first?
- 03What have you learned about moving a new process from pilot scale to a full plant?
Reaching Cargill engineering leaders
How can I contact one of these Cargill engineering leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: Cargill, based on profile data retrieved on October 18, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Cargill engineering leaders?
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Can an AI agent ask one of these Cargill engineering leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. Claude and ChatGPT can do the same through the Instant Expert connector: setup is at /docs/mcp for Claude and /docs/chatgpt for ChatGPT. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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