Nelinia “Nel” Varenas, MBA

Founder & Leader, Strategic Value+ Solutions | Manufacturing Finance & Operations Executive

Nelinia “Nel” Varenas, MBA, is a manufacturing and business transformation executive who brings together finance, accounting, operations, and technology to improve performance, reduce costs, and accelerate time-to-market. Her experience spans aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer electronics, and apparel, including work with Northrop Grumman, Toyota, Belkin, Epson, and Nike.

Nel leads Strategic Value+ Solutions, a consultancy focused on helping U.S. manufacturers navigate reshoring pressures, supply-chain disruption, and Industry 4.0/5.0 transformation. She advises manufacturing leaders on digital transformation, AI and automation, executive dashboards, operational resilience, supply-chain risk, ISO 9001 quality systems, and aligning financial planning with product delivery and profitability.

At Northrop Grumman, Nel supported Space Technology, Defense, and Tactical Systems manufacturing programs through financial reporting, forecasting, cost analysis, cash-flow projections, and capital planning. She received a 2006 CFO Award for leading the cross-functional deployment of Hyperion Planning, Essbase, and IBM Cognos platforms to improve program-level performance tracking across multiple manufacturing sites.

Her earlier experience includes financial performance and reporting leadership at Toyota and Belkin, business analytics and technology consulting for Epson, and business analytics and strategy work supporting Nike’s global product lifecycle and supply-chain operations. Across these roles, she has focused on improving reporting, cost visibility, forecasting, operational efficiency, and data-informed decision-making.

Nel’s areas of expertise include cross-functional leadership, manufacturing program management, Industry 4.0/5.0, ERP and financial systems, lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, cost reduction, margin optimization, global supply chains, and reshoring strategies. She is a member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence and holds an ISO 9001:2015 QMS Auditor Certification; she is also a Six Sigma Black Belt candidate.

Nel earned an MBA in Finance and Accounting, an M.S. in Applied Behavioral Sciences, and a B.S. in Applied Behavioral Sciences from the University of California, Davis. She also holds a Certificate in Financial Planning from the College of Financial Planning.