Michael Kienitz

About Michael Kienitz

Michael Kienitz was named YETI’s Head of Operations in July of 2018 and promoted to Senior Vice President in February 2020. At YETI, Michael led an operational transformation that significantly reduced both product and operating costs, while providing an improved customer service level.

Prior to joining YETI, Mr. Kienitz served as the Chief Procurement Officer – Vice President of Supply Chain at SunPower Corporation, a U.S. solar manufacturer and sustainable energy provider. Within his responsibilities Mike’s team developed and executed SunPower’s sourcing strategies for direct and indirect material along with a strategy for sustainability leadership with a total expenditures of $2B annually.  In addition, Mike’s organization drove operational sourcing execution improvement and the global planning and fulfillment function.

Between 2007 and 2012, he held various roles at Whirlpool Corporation including Vice President of Global Strategic Sourcing and responsible for more than $3B in annual spend. Previously, he was at Honeywell from 2004–2007 and at Intel from 1994–2004 leading corporate purchasing and engineering organizations. He has held a variety of leadership positions across the Supply Chain spectrum from purchasing, sourcing, and warehouse management to engineering and commodity management. Kienitz holds a Bachelor of Arts in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration in International Business from the Thunderbird-Gavin School of International Management.