Jack Burnett
Hygiene Specialist, North America
Jack Burnett joined Vikan a year and a half ago and serves as the Hygiene Specialist for North America. As part of Vikan’s global team of subject matter experts, his day-to-day work involves translating complex microbiology and food safety data into practical, real-world sanitation solutions – ensuring that what works in a pristine laboratory actually holds up on a busy production floor.
Before joining Vikan, Jack was a subject matter expert for Diversey, focusing on cleaning chemicals. He started there in 2018, shortly after wrapping up his master’s research on Listeria. In 2021, he returned to graduate school to complete his Ph.D. in food science while continuing to work full-time.
Jack’s connection to Vikan actually goes back further than his employment. When he began his master’s research in 2016, it became clear that the food processing industry had a major vulnerability in the hygienic design of cleaning tools – at the time, roughly 40 percent of the facility squeegees he sampled tested positive for Listeria. Vikan was the obvious solution, and he has been recommending Vikan products to food processors for the past ten years.
“I have actually been recommending Vikan products to food processors for the last ten years. I have only recently started getting paid for it,” Jack says.
Jack describes his start at Vikan as incredibly welcoming. Colleagues both in North America and overseas made the transition seamless, and he points to a genuine sense of camaraderie that spans across the oceans.
Asked about Vikan’s most important value as a new hire, Jack points to integrity – not just behaving ethically, but a culture of sticking true to your word and being accountable for your decisions and outcomes, which he says is what allows a small company to do big things.
Jack is especially proud of Vikan’s ownership structure. Knowing that the company’s ultimate majority owner is the Vissing Foundation, which funds scientific and environmental research, adds meaning to his work, and he says he wishes this kind of corporate structure were more common.
What Jack appreciates most in his everyday work life is the autonomy he is given to solve complex problems and the fact that his scientific background is genuinely valued. Every day brings a different puzzle, whether it is troubleshooting a persistent biofilm issue for a food processor or collaborating with Vikan’s global team on the next generation of hygienic tool design.
“If they want to work for a company where their expertise is respected and their work has a direct, tangible impact on public health, Vikan is the place to be. It is a rare environment where you get the agility of a tight-knit team backed by the security and purpose of a foundation-owned global leader,” Jack says.
Professionally, Jack says Vikan has allowed him to sharpen his focus on the physical mechanics of sanitation, bridging the gap between his academic knowledge of microbiology and the structural realities of food safety equipment.
Do you have anything else you would like to share?
It is incredibly rewarding to work alongside people who take sanitation as seriously as I do. Most people do not think twice about the engineering behind a broom, but the dedication to detail within this company is remarkable.