The new head of Panevėžys bakery Šarūnė Kiznienė: "When I came to work as a packer, I really didn't plan to be a manager one day"

It seems that just half a year ago, we interviewed Šarūnė Kiznienė, who was nominated as an ambassador of our Drive Value. She truly embodies this value like no other: having started working in a bakery a decade ago from her initial career as a bread packer, today Šarūnė manages the largest Vilnius bread bakery in Lithuania, Panevėžys. 

Šarūnas, what was the path to the helm of the bakery?

I didn't plan, plan, or expect that. For the last three years, I have been working as the Continuous Improvement Manager. My main job is to look for where and what and how we can do better, safer, more efficiently. So there are points of contact with the work of the manager. 

However, there were no such thoughts until the moment when Marius Juška, who had been running the bakery for six years, made the decision to continue his career elsewhere. And as he was leaving, he told me: "Šarūnas, try to run, you can." 

Then that encouragement sowed the idea for me, or maybe to really take it and try. Especially since for several months, while we were looking for a new head of the bakery, I was appointed to the position of interim manager. The possibility of substitution has always been provided for in my positions, but in fact it was never necessary.

And as for the competition – was it easier for the inner person to apply? 

The selection was not easy. Both from the procedural and personal side.

First of all, I haven't participated in any job search for ten years, I haven't written or managed my CV for ten years, I wasn't interested in what was there in the job market. I had to sit down and have a hard time, think about what to put in that white CV sheet and cover letter. I had to dig a lot deeper into how this should be done. 

What from your current job was useful when applying for the position of manager?

I emphasized my experience working as a shift manager, a continuous improvement manager. This is really very useful in the work of a bakery manager. Where you will have to learn more is team building. Until now, although I work very closely with many colleagues, I have not had people directly subordinate to me. Now I'm at the helm of Team 144. There is definitely excitement. 

However, since people and the team are in the first place for me, I think we will find the necessary solutions together. I also gain the missing knowledge while studying. Currently, I am studying Business Management at Utena University of Applied Sciences for the third year. 

How did you choose these studies?

It's always good to broaden your horizons, learn something new that you don't know yet, don't know. I was looking for business management studies nearby and I liked this college the most because it has a very favorable attitude towards students while working. 90 percent of studies are organized remotely, when you have a job, a family, those 3 hours saved from traveling are very important. 

In addition to the selection and job changes, studies have also contributed, and I can see that since the last interview, the surname has changed – so many changes at the same time?

Yes, we got married last summer. This year is the third year of studies. Lectures, exams. At the end of the year, the selection of the bakery's manager began. I took over the position of acting manager and submitted a candidacy for the position of manager. The competition is serious, it continued during the intensive Christmas period for the bakery, and then the speed was almost twice as high. 

The last few months have really been intense. But when you do a lot, you do a lot, that's how it is. However, I was very eager to receive a response from the competition, whatever it may be. 

How did you react when you found out that you were chosen to run perhaps the largest bakery in Lithuania? 

A stone fell from my heart. 

After the last conversation, I already knew that I had done everything I could on my part. But still, waiting for an answer for a few days was impatient and worrisome. In the last stage, I was left with another candidate.  The head of the group supervising the Baltic States called and informed me that she had chosen my candidacy. 

I never expected to be the head of a bakery. It wasn't my plan, but I've always made an effort to do more than what is expected of me. 

And what then led you to find yourself in leadership and decision-making positions?

All the time, I felt trust and reinforcement from my immediate supervisors. For my part, I have always done a little more than they ask of me. When my boss was leaving, the encouragement that "you can, really, try" – that also added motivation. But there really wasn't such a purposeful idea that I wanted to be a manager. 

How useful will the existing experience of a continuous improvement manager be in the new position?

The positions are closely related. The head of the bakery also pays a lot of attention to improvement, efficiency, innovation, but looks, I would say, even more broadly. 

Now you are responsible for almost half a dozen employees and a large part of the bread shelves in the country's stores. How do you feel?

I feel a huge responsibility. Feeding the whole of Lithuania with bread is a really important mission. Especially since bread is a symbol of security for Lithuanians. I remember when the coronavirus pandemic began, the demand for bread jumped so much that the ovens were pounding: it was almost Christmas in March. We bake about 60 tons a day in the Panevėžys bakery. Therefore, the whole team must work like clockwork, from order forecasting, shift managers, logistics, to baking, loading, and handling. 

The team both protects each other from bad decisions and offers good ideas on what to improve. You won't do anything alone in this job. 

What kind of work do you have planned? 

In our bakery, the work is well coordinated, so the first goal is to preserve and maintain what works perfectly. I don't have a goal or desire to change anything because of the change. Sometimes maintaining good things is much harder than redesigning something. 

Of course, we have long-term investment plans, process review, equipment replacement and automation, so we will implement these works consistently. 

A big project is planned for our biggest load, the fourth line, where we bake our "Grandmother's" and "Beata's Kitchen" bread. There is a lot of manual packing and weighing work there, and we are planning a large automation and workplace ergonomics project here, worth about 310 thousand euros. euros. We will invest almost half a million more in the modernization of dough mixers and dispensers. 

We are also making plans to make better use of our capabilities. The lines are working quite efficiently, but we are definitely not yet making the most of the possibilities offered by our lines. 

How did the bakery finish the last year, 2025?

We have implemented several important projects that have helped to raise the bar of efficiency. Not only did we manage to achieve the plan to save 300 thousand euros. But also to exceed it – we saved almost half a million, 460 thousand euros. euros. 

This was mainly due to the heat return project implemented in our bakery. Instead of releasing the energy through the chimneys, we now use it in the bakery, to heat the premises or to heat the water. A similar project is currently being implemented in the Vilnius bakery. 

What kind of manager do you think you will be?

I want people to feel good at work, to leave work even if they are a little tired, but healthy and safe. Safety and responsibility are very important to me.

We had the example of a top-level manager. A leader who united the team, strengthened it and grew the shift of leaders. I would like to keep our team as a fist as it is now. Because only together can we provide Lithuania with bread. I have always been proud to work in the food industry. This is both a great responsibility, but also a great honor.