Susy Tejayadi, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer

• Along with my PhD in Food Science, I have 30 years of professional experience in research and development in human food and pet food – with 16 years specifically in pet food
• As the Chief Scientific Officer at Instinct, I oversee the scientific operations within the company. In my position, I am responsible for overseeing scientific operations such as the HPP validation study, probiotics validation study, AAFCO feeding trials and other scientific studies which require collaboration with research institutions such as Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Illinois, University of Nebraska in Lincoln, University of Helsinki to name a few. These research initiatives have allowed us to use cutting edge technology as the leader in raw and has set us apart from our competitors in terms of quality and food safety at Instinct.

Susan G. Wynn, DVM, DACVN

Sr. Director of Scientific Affairs

• Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist™ (a credential that fewer than 100 people in the US have obtained) with 31 years of experience as a veterinarian in private practice.
• I’m responsible for the education of staff on nutrition of dogs and cats to ensure that our sales and consumer engagement teams are the most well-informed and credible of any raw pet food company.  I also develop customer education so that consumers are shown the scientifically supported benefits of feeding Instinct products. I design, implement and monitor research projects related to raw pet foods in order to showcase the benefits of feeding raw.

Helena Soedjak, PhD

Sr. Director, Product Safety & Quality

• 29 years in Microbiology, Food Safety and Quality, Regulatory
• In my role I’m responsible for creating and sustaining a culture that empowers Instinct teammates to drive excellence in food safety & quality, ensuring the safety & quality of our products. I offer food safety & quality guidance while aligning with the company’s needs to grow the business and improve manufacturing efficiency. I’m also responsible for keeping up with emerging and future trends in science and technology to optimize our internal food safety & quality programs through collaboration with external resources.

Jason Meents

Director of Research & Development

• 15 years of research & development experience in the human food and pet food industry, with a primary focus on meat-based products
• My responsibilities include new product development, commercialization & technical services for all raw frozen & freeze-dried products. I’ve developed & implemented several successful products such as raw frozen bites, raw boosted kibble, raw boost mixers, and raw boost functional mixers. I assist in the testing and implementation of pathogen interventions including the validation of our HPP process. I serve as Instinct’s subject matter expert on freeze drying and recently led the commissioning and validation of our new freeze-drying operation.

Jennifer Brickley

Director, Product Safety & Quality

• 23 years in Quality and Food Safety (21 years in human food)
• It is my number one priority to make sure that at the manufacturing level we have programs in place and that are followed to ensure our pet food is safe for not only the pets but also the pet family who handle the pet food. It is also my responsibility to make sure we are producing a premium quality product that meets or exceeds our pet family’s expectations.

Sean May

Director of Strategic Sourcing

• 17 years of Sourcing Experience
• As Director of Co-Pack, my role is to manage our current co-packers for our wet and kibble products.  In my Strategic Sourcing role, I oversee finding and facilitating the qualifications of our approved Ingredient and Packaging Suppliers.  I make sure our suppliers are the best and meet all the quality safety standards of Instinct through collaboration with our R&D and Quality departments.

Robbie Swanson

Head of Production & Operations

• 20 years of experience
• As the Director of Production, I am responsible for aligning our operations team and driving the food safety and quality standards which are the foundation by which we operate. We ensure that each teammate understands how their role impacts food safety/quality, building a food safety and quality culture.

Eric Newgard

Process Improvement Manager

• PhD in Engineering: Biological Systems with 9 years in food processing (human & pet)
• My role at Instinct is to observe and document our business and manufacturing processes. I then lead efforts to improve the processes by reducing wastes and increasing efficiencies.