Sharon Peek, a former vice president of Nutra Manufacturing, the manufacturing division of General Nutrition Centers (GNC), has joined Novel Ingredient Services as vice president of manufacturing innovation. 

Peek brings more than 25 years of manufacturing, product development, and engineering expertise in FDA-regulated industries to her work at Novel. In this newly created position, Peek will work directly with manufacturers, helping them meet demanding technical requirements efficiently and cost-effectively. She reports to Novel president Rick Antonoff. 

Peek's technical expertise and firsthand knowledge of the competitive landscape will be a tremendous asset to both Novel and its customers, according to Bob Green, Novel chairman. "Sharon will help manufacturers realize cost-savings and production efficiencies via Novel's custom ingredient manufacturing services, supply-chain improvements, and new ingredients. She will also lead our technical support team, troubleshooting when our customers face operational issues," he said.

Peek spent 15 years with Nutra Manufacturing/GNC—most recently as vice president of product development, engineering and support services. She began her career there as director of solid dosage operations and later served as the senior director of engineering for North America. During her tenure, she managed 400 employees in a 24/7 manufacturing operation that produced eight billion doses annually. Peek not only increased new formula introductions by more than 200 percent in three years, she also reduced manufacturing changeovers by 85 percent, generating significant cost savings.

Prior to joining Nutra Manufacturing, Peek worked for Baxter International, a global health care company, where she rose from production manager to senior principal engineer.

Peek attended North Carolina State University, where she received a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and a master's of engineering. She was a registered Professional Engineer in North Carolina.