2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

Aiesha Dempster currently serves as a Senior Director for Manufacturing at General Mills, leading the North American Snacks Manufacturing teams.

Prior to taking this role in 2020, Aiesha served in the Sourcing organization for the previous two years.

Aiesha also completed a three-year assignment in Melbourne, Australia where she was the plant managing director, responsible for leading the fresh pasta business. She was first promoted to the role of plant manager in 2013, making her the first African-American woman in General Mills to hold this position.

Over her 20-year career, Aiesha has held many roles with increasing responsibility in the Supply Chain in
various cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Hannibal and Milwaukee. 

Aiesha served as the chairperson for the 2020 Twin Cities Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast. She is an active mentor through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Aiesha previously served on the board of the Citizens League, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that champions the role of all Minnesotans to govern for the common good. Outside of General Mills, Aiesha remains a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. In her spare time, she enjoys travel, yoga and strength training.

Prior to joining General Mills, Aiesha earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Industrial
Engineering from the University of Miami.  Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Aiesha’s family immigrated to the
US when she was a teenager. Her culture and her family remain a very important part of who she is.