Joseph F. Paris approaches human endeavor as an adventurer and explorer, forever seeking ways to improve the circumstances of others, always with empathy for their context and perspective, always considering their dreams and aspirations, their culture and conditions, their nostalgia and life experiences.

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Joe is the founder of the Operational Excellence Society — a think tank for companies with the desire to achieve peak performance across their enterprise. The society now has thousands of members in chapters around the world.

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He is the owner of the Operational Excellence LinkedIn Group (40,000 members) which welcomes open discussions and opportunities related to the improvement of human endeavor.

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Paris is founder and CEO of XONITEK, an operations management consultancy specializing in Operational Excellence (leadership, culture change, and Lean Six Sigma). In consulting engagements, the firm creates a corporate environment where true transformational change is pervasive and innovation is embraced, an environment where sustainable results can be achieved, the human condition can be elevated, and significant company benefits can be realized.

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Joe is a thought leader and prolific writer on the subject of Operational Excellence, highly valued for his ability to provide strategic analysis and tactical insight. He is sought by companies and academia to explore and address the challenges and opportunities of today and to illuminate and predict those of tomorrow.

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Professional Affiliations

• Board member, Systems Science and Industrial Engineering (SSIE) Department, Watson School of Engineering, Binghamton University
• Board member, Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) Process Industries Division (PID)
• Member of Editorial Board, Lean Management Journal
• Active member, Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), New York City and Frankfurt, Germany.

Charles Ottman has been at this computer stuff since first stumbling across a DEC LA36  that was attached to a PDP 11/70 sometime around 1977-1978 when his middle school class was temporarily relocated to the local high school due to a major reconstruction project.   Given that there was only one of these terminals available access was quite limited with priority given to the high school students, but this was all it took to get him hooked.   When the construction was finished his class was moved out of the high school and back to the shiny new middle school but there were no computers to be found.   He managed to convince his parents to get the family a Bally Astrocade because it was actually possible to get a cartridge for it to program in BASIC and he spent far to many hours learning the slightly odd little dialect of Tiny BASIC.

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He eventually got access to the PDP 11/70 once he entered high school and has subsequently used numerous computers and operating systems throughout the years.

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Having used  the early Apple ][, the Northstar Horizon, and IBM XT, he was exposed to some of the earliest personal computer operating systems, DOS 3.3 on the Apple, CP/M on the Nortstar and MS-DOS on the IBM XT.   As time passed MS-DOS moved up through its various versions and eventually evolved into MS-Windows.  He's since went on to use all the versions of MS-Windows, Mac OS X, a few flavors of UNIX, and various Linux distributions settling on Ubuntu for daily-driver use at home.

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Charles is a collector of some of these old machines as well and still has his original Apple //e and the Bally Astrocade.  He also has some Commodore and Atari equipment as well.  If he had the room he'd like to add a few vintage arcade machines to his collection but manages to get by with the occasional trip to his local arcade and via emulation on modern PC or Raspberry Pi.

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Currently he's running Windows 10 on a few machines so as to be able to manage the office network and MSSQL server.   He knows various versions of BASIC, PASCAL, FORTRAN, COBOL, MS-SQL and enough C and PHP to be dangerous.   He's been in charge of the this website since its inception as well as those of xonitek.com, josephparis.me, and theoutliersinn.com where he does double duty as the recording engineer/producer of the podcast found therein.

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When not working with computers in a professional capacity he can be found still messing around with computers, crazy huh?, listening to his myriad music collection or attending a live concert, reading, cooking, baking, enjoying a glass of his favorite red wine, or cycling.

Philip Holt is currently Senior Vice President, Global Transformation at GKN Aerospace, the world’s leading multi-technology tier 1 aerospace supplier and has over 30 years of business experience in leadership roles spanning the customer value chain, in Industry Leading Companies such as GKN Aerospace, Philips, Gillette, and Travelport. He studied at Manchester Metropolitan University, Warwick Business School, and the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School). He is also the author of two Lean Leadership books: Leading with Lean: An Experience-based guide to Leading a Lean Transformation and The Simplicity of Lean: Defeating Complexity; Delivering Excellence.

Steven Wilson is the owner of Zoned Strategies (a WCTS, Inc company), a business consultancy that helps businesses become the best they can be by helping them apply the best and brightest strategies, tools and methods to their operation. Steve has over 20 years of applying quality improvement tools, methodologies, and principles in a variety of industries that include automotive, healthcare, logistics, distribution, education, and numerous manufacturing venues. He has dedicated himself to the to the cause by training/coaching over 800 Six Sigma practitioners in over 70 companies with an emphasis on getting results. To his credit he has over $100 million impact and $10 million direct project savings. Prior to starting his own company, Mr. Wilson worked as an Operations Manager with Federal Express and as a Service Manager in the automotive industry. He possesses a very engaging style of leadership, training and consulting, and provides an experienced eye for companies on the road to organizational improvement. His extensive project experience includes work with Heinz, John Deere, Pepperidge Farms, Rockwell Collins, University of Iowa Clinics, Oral B, General Mills, Proctor and Gamble, International Paper, Union Pacific and many others. Steve is the member of several professional associations and serves as an adviser on local and national non-profit boards. • Certifications: ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt, Office Lean, Supply Chain Logistics • Daybreak Rotary, • Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce, • Iowa Quality Center - Board of Directors and Advisory Council Chair, • Certified Lean Practitioner – Iowa Community Colleges • Council Bluffs Chamber, • Independence Chamber   Company Website:

Stephen has a wide range of hands-on experience in Engineering, Quality Assurance, Materials Management, Information Technology and Manufacturing/Operations management (electronics and mechanical) permits multi-faceted approach to business management.

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  Specialties: Board support, Supply Chain Transformation, Lean and Operations Excellence, strategic planning, Executive Sales & Operations Planning, technology direction and investment, project management, and team building.

Joe Spadaford is President of J Francis Consulting LLC (“JFC”), a consultancy focused on helping senior leaders and their teams effectively lead and manage successful organizational change and deliver outstanding business results—despite internal and external challenges confronting them. Joe established JFC to focus on applying leading edge organizational change approaches to achieve outstanding, sustainable results by engaging a firm’s human resources in concert with disciplined process innovation. His consulting practice effectively leverages the experiences, skills, and strategies he employed as a senior leader throughout his successful career in the financial services industry. JFC services include:

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• Executive coaching to C suite (or aspiring C suite) leaders to develop the specific skills they need to take on greater leadership roles.
• Assessments of the context within which a business must execute on its value proposition –identifying targets for improvement with suggested road maps and action plans.
• Assisting executive management in strategic assessments, planning, and the execution of any needed operational transformation to achieve growth objectives.

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Throughout a distinguished 30+ year career in banking, insurance and corporate securities businesses, Joe held a series of senior positions including president of an industry-leading corporate stock transfer and services business, president of a broker-dealer, and chief operating officer for multiple lines of business. In every position he held, Joe combined a collaborative style of engagement with a highly disciplined analytical process to create a climate of trust, positive energy, and teamwork unique to most corporate leadership teams. Examples of his success as a highly respected leader include the turnaround of a corporate stock transfer business--repositioning a struggling $100 million business into an industry-leading service provider and profit leader; re-engineering a complex service operation supporting a multi-billion loan portfolio with breakthrough improvements in service delivery, efficiency and productivity; strengthening executive management teams while simultaneously facilitating transformational change programs in the US, UK and Canada that continue to drive long term results.

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Joe has spoken at forums on operational excellence including the Business Transformation & Operational Excellence World Summit where he spoke about using a corporate crisis to drive transformational change. He was a contributing author to the book: “Operating Model Canvas” by Van Haren Publishing. His articles have appeared in the Operational Excellence Society Newsletter, National Productivity Review and the Bank Administration Institute magazine. Joe holds a BSBA degree in business from the University of Dayton and an MBA from Adelphi University in Banking and Financial Markets. He is a Certified Public Accountant in NY State, and a Certified Master Black Belt in Six Sigma from AXA Financial. Joe has been a member of the University of Dayton’s Board of Trustees for 10 years and chaired their Audit & Risk Committee. He is married, lives in Chester Springs PA, and has five grown children.

Benjamin is the chief executive of the Public Service Transformation Academy, a not-for-profit social enterprise working with the UK government, managing partner/founder at RedQuadrant. He studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University before becoming co-ordinator of a youth development charity. He then worked at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham for seven years, from the front line to Adviser to Mayor/Leader. He has provided service consultancy at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Sector Projects (part of Capita group), where he worked with clients from the Government of Armenia to Birmingham City council. He has undertaken voluntary accreditation missions for Youth Business International in Bangladesh and Dominica. Benjamin is passionate about commissioning, systems thinking, customer-led transformation, lean, and better ways to run and lead organisations. He holds a lean six sigma black belt and is an accredited power+systems trainer. Benjamin is a visiting lecturer in applied systems thinking at Cass Business School, City University, and has lectured at Nottingham Business School and Oxford Said/HEC Paris. RedQuadrant is a network consultancy working to transform public services ‘from within’ by giving them the skills and capacity to change itself. 20-30 associate consultants at a time work on transformation delivery, skills and knowledge transfer, and strategic projects in local government and other public services. Organisation link: www.publicservicetransformation.org  

I have been involved in some way or other in Opreations Excellence for my entire career which spans stints on the factory floor, human resources, facilities, IT and of course Management.  I have spent the last 10 years focussing in on the people side, what it takes to get people to move in a new direction and going back to fundamentals - the roots of all of the popular programs of the day.  Operations Excellence is a challenging and very rewarding journey that impacts people and their journeys in a very tangable and meaningful way.  These days I help people to think differently about their organization and their place in that organization.  In my current role I am focussing on building a culture of Continuous Improvement that focusses on understanding and providing value to our customers and eliminating waste in all its forms across the organization. While I still consult, write and speak internationally, I have also joined Tesla Motors in Fremont Callifornia to help "Accelerate the world's transition to sustainable transportation"

Carey Lohrenz knows what it takes to win in one of the highest pressure, extreme environments imaginable: in the cockpit at Mach 2.

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As the first female F-14 Tomcat Fighter Pilot in the U.S. Navy, having flown missions worldwide as a combat-mission-ready United States Navy pilot, Lohrenz is used to working in fast moving, dynamic environments, where inconsistent execution can generate catastrophic results.

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A Wall Street Journal best selling author of Fearless Leadership: High Performance Lessons From the Flight Deck, Carey works with top Fortune 500 companies providing inspirational keynotes, leadership training, and executive coaching.

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Company: Carey Lohrenz Enterprises, LLC. CEO

David Thompson, President of Quality Program Improvements, Inc., is a retired Army Officer and DoD Consultant.  He has over 32 years of experience in supporting the Department of Defense, Veteran’s Administration, and the civilian sector.  David is a highly innovative, energetic, and creative problem solver, facilitator, and trainer.  He is an Operational Excellence mentor, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Knowledge Manager, Defense Finance (POM) Expert, Program Manager, Business Development Manager, and an Acquisition Professional. David believes that the core elements of any business are People, Processes, and Technology.  People are the key stakeholders to the success of any Process Improvement endeavor, and Technology is the facilitator. Most of the challenges facing organizations involve communications and buy-in.  David is an expert in developing communication strategies, cross-functional and cross-organizational transformation, as well as building successful, synergistic teams.  He has strong leadership skills as well as the experience to identify team needs, organizational challenges and opportunities for improvement. David’s philosophy is that finding the best approach should make jobs easier and more enjoyable while optimizing effectiveness and efficiency. He believes in getting this done expeditiously and achieving sustainable results. David’s unique background includes extensive and varied experience with the Active and Reserve Components of the Army. He has functioned as the Knowledge Manager for the Department of the Army Staff, Secretary of the Army, Army Chief of Staff, and the Army G4 & G3/5/7.  David has Budgeting and Forecasting experience with the Army’s OPTEMPO program ($750M) which has provided him with unique insight into Executive and Legislative Operations. David also designed, developed and deployed the Enterprise Management Decision Support and a Force Structure Modeling Algorithm for the Army G3/5/7. He has leveraged his understanding of Government Budgeting and Army Procurement to facilitate project based learning workshops across the DoD. During the course of both his Army and his Civilian Career, David has managed countless programs, gained an indepth knowledge and understanding of the FAR; as well as, provided countless organizations with both Acquistion and Logistics Support. David is the co-founder and President of Quality Program Improvements Inc., a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.  Our philosophy is that the key to effective implementation of change is to “bite-size or right-size” projects to enable Quick-Wins and maintain momentum. QPI has completed over 350 projects for various clients across the globe.  Our goal is to provide clients with “Strategic Solutions that Complete the Picture.”

30 years Engineering, Sales, and Senior Management experience in Military, Automotive, Aerospace, Service and Tech Start-Up makes Brett a realistic, strategic, and flexible partner for companies looking to build Operational Excellence. Personally responsible for implementing an Operational Excellence Management system for a mid-size precision parts manufacturer over an 8 year period, Brett understands first-hand the challenges and potential mistakes companies can make during an OpEx transformation and has developed strategic and effective methods for building leadership, process, and employee excellence. Brett is the founder of a new consulting team located in South Western Ontario, a central hub for Tech Start-Up and Innovation in Canada, supporting Canadian business in their evolution to Operational Excellence.

Hal is a globally recognized lean professional with more than 20 years of experience mentoring, developing, and training engineering and operations talent. He also has more than twenty years of proven project and program management expertise in primarily Fortune 500 and Fortune 1,000 environments. One of his many strengths is lean consulting. Hal has taught, implemented, and transferred knowledge on Toyota Kata, TWI, Lean, TPM, and various leadership methods and tools to senior leadership at multiple national and global organizations including Boeing, Parker Hannifin, Philips, Nobel Biocare, Valmont, and Cascade DAFO. One of his shining achievements is developing the very first TPM assessment for Boeing. He went on to lead multiple TPM implementations while at Boeing (and throughout Boeing’s supply base). Beyond domestic projects, Hal’s talents have been deployed in Japan, China, Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Malaysia. Developing “top-down” strategic implementation programs is one of his specialties and Hal enjoys teaching and rolling out lean methods and principles to all levels of management. Ripple effects of Hal’s coaching have touched the lives of thousands of employees across the globe. Hal’s many direct reports have benefited from adopting his “take ownership” leadership style of improvement where teams and direct reports are held accountable for KPIs and targeted focus efforts. Hal also credits his global supply chain development expertise as a major factor in his successful career.  Hal has more than 15 years of global supply chain expertise and has been recognized for world-class proficiency in developing insightful business cases (e.g., identifying suppliers, managing cost down issues, developing on-time delivery strategy, and troubleshooting). Throughout his career, Hal has utilized Kata-driven principles to build deliberate, scientific-thinking cultures. Hal has been mentored by numerous Shingijutsu consultants over more than 15 years (including his greatest mentor, Maehara-san). Another significant mentor was Joe Harless. Mr. Harless was one of the most successful pioneers of systematic and systemic performance improvement and the father of Human Performance Technology and the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). Hal is also an Air Force Veteran and currently lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Casey has more than 19 years experience in driving operational & business process improvement and strategic Hoshin Planning (Strategies Planning) across different industries such as Electronics Manufacturing Services, Metal Fabrication, Tyre Manufacturing, Injection Moulding, Packaging and Automation Inspection Machine. With his proven expertise, he works with organizations to:

• Translate corporate strategies into actionable plan
• Enhance their bottom line savings and top-line growth
• Reduce process cycle time and lead time
• Reduce inventory
• Improve product quality and manufacturing operations
• Create effective operational management dashboard.

Casey is a Certified Training Professional with the Asian Regional Training & Development Organization (ARTDO) and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Practitioner.

Isaac Rodriguez is the President & CEO of the Provident Loan Society, one of the country's oldest lending institutions. Provident Loan is a not-for-profit organization founded by JP Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt II during the financial panic of 1893. As CEO, Mr. Rodriguez leads the day-to-day operations of Provident Loan's five branches, which serves 40-thousand people throughout New York City. He is also the Founder & Director of Double Eagle Process, a consulting organization that provides coaching, training, marketing, and communications consulting services to individuals and entrepreneurs, using the principles of the performing arts. Isaac’s professional experience includes senior banking officer positions for major money center financial institutions including Banco Santander, Sovereign Bank, General Electric Capital Corporation, JP Morgan Chase and the Bank of New York. He was also the President of a wholesale durable goods company and was twice elected President of the Parent Assembly #1 of the Society of American Magicians. Isaac currently serves on the boards of both Artistic New Directions and The Stationers Golf Association. In addition, he is an accomplished actor in the theater community, and is an active volunteer to many community and charitable organizations.  He lives in Queens, NY.

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Isaac Rodriguez es el Presidente y Director Ejecutivo de Provident Loan Society, una de las instituciones de crédito más antiguas del país. La Provident Loan Society es una organización sin fines de lucro que fue fundada por JP Morgan y Cornelius Vanderbilt II durante el pánico financiero de 1893.  Como Director Ejecutivo, el Sr. Rodriguez se encarga de supervisar las operaciones diarias de las cinco sucursales de Provident Loan que prestan sus servicios a 40 mil personas en Nueva York. El Sr. Rodriguez también es el Fundador y Director de Double Eagle Process, una organización de consultoría que brinda servicios de entrenamiento, capacitación, marketing y comunicaciones dirigidos a individuos y empresarios en los cuales se utilizan elementos de las artes escénicas.  Su experiencia profesional incluye puestos bancarios en posiciones senior dentro de importantes instituciones financieras de centros monetarios incluidos el Banco Santander, Sovereign Bank, General Electric Capital Corporation, JP Morgan Chase y el Bank of New York.  También se desempeñó como Presidente de una compañía mayorista de productos no perecederos y fue electo dos veces como presidente de Parent Assebly #1 de la Sociedad de Magos Americanos. Actualmente, el Sr. Rodriguez forma parte de las juntas directivas tanto de Artistic New Directions como de The Stationers Golf Association. Asimismo, es un actor de teatro comunitario con gran reputación y actual voluntario de varias organizaciones comunitarias y de caridad.  Vive en Queens, NY.

Timo is a charismatic global business leader with proven track record in various industry-related arenas (specialties: Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing, Automotive, Clean Energy sector, Pharma) and flawless execution on multiple operational improvement and turnaround projects.

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Growth architect who leverages industry expertise to identify and capitalize on market trends and opportunities that take companies to new levels of growth and profitability.

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With profound business acumen, financial insights, and extensive international experiences (Europe, U.S., Asia, China, India), combined with in-depth understandings of the Western and South East Asian economies, Dr. Wiegmann is a thought leader in his field of expertise. As a lecturer for “Production & Procurement Principles” and “Supply Chain Management”, Timo is giving his global experiences to the next generation of young leaders.

Malu Septien Milan is a Senior Executive Leader, Cross-Boundary Collaborator and Culture Change Agent, Large IT Program Strategy, Product and Service Design & Delivery, Cloud Computing Evangelist, Big Data Strategist, GDPR, DPO, Quality and Business Excellence Fortune 100 Leader, STEM Supporter Driving Initiatives empowering students at risk through community outreach in LWSD. Lead multiple innovation teams and collaborates with internal and external groups to prototype, develop, implement, and integrate state of the art solutions based on technologies. Head of Cybersecurity GTM Solutions for Capgemini NA, GRC, GDPR and Risk Management Solutions,product innovation, channel partner development.

+30 Years of Experience, Operational Excellence, MBB, SCOR, Digitalization, Analytics, Industry 4.0, Speaker and Coach. Certified from Columbia business school, Digital Strategies For Business: Leading The Next-generation Enterprise Digitalization and Industry 4.0 Readiness Consultant.

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Experienced Supply Chain, Localization, and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with a demonstrated history of working in the management consulting industry. Skilled in Analytics, DMAIC, Operational Excellence, SCOR, Industry 4.0 readiness, Digitalization Strategy, Value stream mapping, Lean Deployment, Black Belt, Strategy Deployment, and Manufacturing Operations. Strong business development, professional with a Master of Business Administration – MBA focused on Business Administration, Management, and Operations from the American University in Cairo.

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Recognized ability to utilize technical acumen, operations knowledge and Six Sigma root cause analysis expertise to identify and implement optimal solutions to complex issues.

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Reputation as an effective leader with demonstrated skill in organizing work and engaging people in the pursuit of achieving results, while not afraid to get her hands dirty.

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Regarded as a subject matter expert with a record of accomplishment of applying BPR, Lean Supply Chain and Six Sigma expertise in identifying technical and transactional opportunities for improvement.

Roger is Managing Director of Matrixx Solutions, a business consultancy that helps companies successfully navigate major transformations and enhance operational and business practices. Under his leadership, the company was recognized as Business Transformation Consultancy 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Business Consultancy Firm of the Year 2024/2025.

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With over 33 years of experience in the energy industry, Roger brings a wealth of internationally diverse expertise. He combines a strong tactical operational foundation with sharp business acumen, cultural awareness, and a global perspective. While he began his career as an engineer, he found his true passion in transformation and operational leadership, where he has made a lasting impact.

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Executives and leaders consistently seek Roger’s expertise to implement operational excellence practices and embed sustainable ways of working. He has a long-standing record of delivering value, driving performance improvement, and ensuring lasting operational success.

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Roger is also highly experienced in facilitating workshops and meetings that foster collaboration among cross-functional teams and lead to actionable outcomes. His passion lies in providing creative solutions that empower leaders to achieve their vision and elevate their success.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• 10 year of experience in global Consumer Goods industry (Detergents, Personal Care, Foods)
• More than 15 years experience in Consulting to international clients in Consumer Goods, Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals industries
• Expert knowledge and experience in the supply chain performance improvement programs and initiatives
• Areas of expertise in Operational Excellence, Lean Management und Total Productive Maintenance program implementation
• Concept development of Maintenance Management Systems, Shop Floor Management Systems and OpEx Performance Management Systems
• Organisational development and Change Management

Billy is a renowned Global Operation Strategist and former North America Director at Goodyear Tire. With his exceptional skills, Billy has successfully led some of the most awarded operation turnarounds in manufacturing.

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Billy's deep experience with strategy development, deployment, and execution at Goodyear led him to lead multiple turnarounds within the company, ultimately achieving the position as a senior executive leading operations. During his tenure, he led the company to new heights, resulting in a remarkable increase in the company's earnings from -$38 million to over $1 Billion.

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Today, Billy is a highly respected figure in the global manufacturing industry, universities, international conferences, and the U.S. military. He is known for his trusted LinkedXL process, which helps build effective business operating systems. Working alongside his trusted team, Billy helps global brands achieve breakthrough and record-breaking results by aligning their entire workforce around clear outcomes and systems that drive ownership and execution.

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Billy's remarkable achievements and success in delivering breakthrough results have made him a valuable asset to organizations worldwide. With his knowledge, skills, and expertise, he continues to inspire and lead many in the industry to achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence.

Provocative, educated, experienced, opinionated, David Schneider encourages people to think critically, to explore the limits of conventional wisdom and boldly deliver new ideas and approaches, to solve challenging logistics problems. With over 25 years of boots on the ground to the boardroom experience, David’s depth and breadth of practical knowledge in supply chain logistics, engineering, management and proven success is unequaled by most in the profession.  He developed the strategy and design for thousands of supply chains.  No really!!!  Working for Fortune 500 companies, David designed and led the operations of a complex logistics networks.  As an external consultant, he led complex strategic planning projects in over 50 different companies.  As an internal consultant, he developed effective supply chain strategies that multiplied Operating Cash Flow. David is a practitioner.  As prolific writer, David clearly presents his analysis of successes and failures in the industry to identify ways to improve.  David’s articles appear in many business and trade publications including Supply Chain Digest, Food Logistics, Logistics Management, and in Supply Chain Management web site We Are the Practitioners, which he founded in 2011.

Helmut Welke is the Principal for Welke International LLC and consultant in the field of Lean Manufacturing and Warehousing.  He is also a retired engineering manager.  His last position was Manager for Material Flow Design for John Deere World Wide Logistics.  He holds BSIE and MSIE degrees from the University of Illinois.  He worked for John Deere for 38 years in a variety of US and European assignments, including Industrial Engineering Manager for the world-wide Parts Distribution Division, Production Engineering manager; and Industrial Engineer supervisor.   He has belonged to IIE for 40 years, presented at several conferences and served on their Board of Trustees.

With over 20 years of industry experience, I am a seasoned Senior IT Leader known for my strategic planning, operational expertise, and forward-thinking approach. My track record of success spans diverse organizations locally and internationally, showcasing my adaptability and global perspective.

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I specialize in Agile methodologies, driving efficiency and business agility in the fast-paced digital landscape. My proficiency in Business and Enterprise Architecture enables me to align technology strategies with business objectives, creating impactful IT initiatives and scalable infrastructures.

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As a proactive leader, I thrive on identifying opportunities and implementing innovative solutions. My multilingual skills enhance communication in today's interconnected world, fostering collaboration and productivity.

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Committed to empowering teams through education and tailored support, I excel at managing stakeholder concerns and making balanced decisions to promote effective leadership. I am enthusiastic about leveraging my skills to drive operational excellence and facilitate growth within your organization.

Jeff Naglestad is an experienced expert applying Operational Excellence principles to companies and focusing organizations on delivering sustained results. His career began in the US Navy as a nuclear submarine officer. His first foray into Operational Excellence was simply common sense; he and his team re-designed the communications plan for submarines operating in a battlegroup to make it more user-friendly. It became the basis of the standard for Atlantic Fleet submarines. After leaving the Navy, Jeff has worked in operational leadership and quality leadership roles at General Electric, Black& Decker, Johnson & Johnson and presently at Sanofi. His broad experience applying OPEX spans across: Manufacturing Operations, Information Systems, Research & Development, Clinical Development, Medical Activities, Human Resources and Finance. Jeff holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the US Naval Academy. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and is a certified PMP.

Steven Bonacorsi, President at the International Standard for Lean Six Sigma (ISLSS)

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• Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma Methodology.
• Expert in Kaizen event for rapid project execution.
• Certified PMP (Project Management Professional)
• Masters in Business Administration (MBA)
• Masters in Computer Information Systems (MS-CIS)
• Numerous IT certifications.
• Over 20 years of Professional Business Consulting experience at the C-Level.

Paul Docherty started his career in Marconi, where he held a wide range of senior management roles covering manufacturing, IT, sales, product development, project management, Operational Excellence and corporate strategy as well as having P&L responsibility for the growth of a regional telecoms equipment business. Passionate about helping organizations to execute more effectively, Paul's deep understanding of the challenges of establishing robust strategy execution disciplines comes from his experience coaching senior management teams in over 100 global organizations. He is a regular speaker at conferences and has delivered keynote presentations at annual Operational Excellence and Process Excellence summits and at the thought leader global annual Strategy Execution conferences. Regularly averaging over 500 registrants for each of his quarterly webinars on Strategy Execution Best Practices, Paul is the architect of the Strategy Execution Maturity Model which has been used by hundreds of global organizations to benchmark their strategy execution capabilities. In addition to his role as a thought leader in the Strategy Execution space, Paul is also the founder and lead facilitator of the Strategy Execution Consortium – a group of 40+ Global 2000 companies that meet annually on both sides of the Atlantic to share and benchmark Strategy Execution Best Practices. In 2001, Paul founded i-nexus with the goal of building SaaS software that could help organizations successfully manage the complexity involved in translating their vision into reality. This software is now the "de facto" standard for large enterprises when it comes to driving execution of their strategy. Paul holds an MEng. in Computer Systems and Software Engineering from the University of York and an MBA from the University of Warwick.

Dean Sorensen is the founder of the IBP Collaborative, a consultancy that helps organizations to achieve step change improvements to how they plan, manage and govern their business.  He speaks and writes frequently about integrating strategic, financial and operational planning and performance management processes, as a means to:

• Manage complexity across global supply chains
• Achieve sustainable cost reduction and profitable growth
• Institutionalize process thinking and operational excellence

Dean is a recognized thought leader, having written and spoken on dozens of occasions about the need for greater integration between strategic, financial, sales and operational planning, forecasting and measurement to drive finance and performance management transformation. Previously, Dean held consulting positions with AT Kearney, Accenture and KPMG.  He is also a Chartered Accountant in Canada.

Background:

• I recently concluded my military career and started a new one in the technology industry. My many passions & endless curiosity has taken me to all sorts of worldwide experiences.
• My career interest is Information technology to accelerate digital transformation initiatives. I aspire to be involved in global strategic growth by catapulting digital transformation services.

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Education & Professional Certifications

• Executive Program certification in Management and Leadership with focus on technology business strategies -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Artificial Intelligence Specialist / Python for Data Science & AI (IBM)
• US Army Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt practitioner and trained Master Black Belt.
• S. in Mechanical Engineering and postgraduate education in business administration, operations research, and engineering management.

Interim CFO. MBA, an engineer at heart (graduated in Management of Metallurgical Plants). Progressive experience in consulting (Arthur Andersen, PWC) and Finance of large multinationals (Cisco Systems, Dell, Orange, Viacom, Foster Wheeler) allowed him to become the Interim Manager in the field of Finance. In his assignments and full time jobs Piotr implemented ERP systems, designed budgeting models, built controlling systems, transferred Finance processes between countries. Between projects Piotr likes to travel and in 2015 he traveled Round The World in 6 weeks.

Donna O'Leary is a geek, optimist, animal lover and adventurist. An ex-workaholic she knows the value of planning and results - in that order. She fluctuates between entrepreneur and public servant, currently serving as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. She is a trusted advisor to key stakeholders, known for articulating and leading the execution of a clear vision to transform organizations through leveraging technology. Her experience includes leadership in organizational turnaround situations and intraprenurial start-ups; providing technical solutions that enforce security, stability and streamline operations. Donna has a reputation as a collaborative leader with a talent for communicating complex technical solutions to non-technical stakeholders and building high performing teams. She is respected for her agile approach to leadership, and ability to leverage emerging and traditional solutions to solve complex problems in dynamic environments. She holds degrees/credentials in Radiation Therapy treating cancer patients, Zoology, Project Management Professional (PMP), and a MBA in Information Technology. This diversity of experiences has provided a range of perspectives and a pragmatic approach to operations. She currently resides in New Hampshire, retains residences in New York and pursues animal rescue, technology projects and other bold endeavors that make people smile.

Curtis Bakle is a driven executive in the Energy industry with an ability to transform individuals/teams to achieve goals, enhancing profitability, and advance strategies with over 25 years global business experience.  Bringing his background in operations leadership, influence, and direction, Curt works actively with an organization to successfully  improve performance and create strategic mindsets for sustainable performance.  Curt developed the Operational Excellence Agility™ model to support team’s journey of becoming fast, focused, and flexible in business performance.

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He is passionate about working with organizations that strives for improvement and growth linking his expertise in manufacturing and strategic mindset with a passion for leadership and people.

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Utilizing his extensive manufacturing experience across global locations to establish production increases, optimize variable cost, create efficiencies in maintenance cost, and develop capital investment strategies with high return on investments to maximize profitability.

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Curtis is well versed in demonstrating management best practices and a serving leader in operational leadership working with front line people and board executives.  This unique ability to understand how culture, mindsets, and dynamics can change an organization and forge a new path that leads to breakthrough achievements.  Leadership can manage ambiguity and complexity to create direction and simplification ending in systematic operations.

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Curtis graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in Chemical Engineering.  He has earned a certificate program at the MIT Sloan School of Business in the Operations Academy.

Andrew E. Chrostowski is an NACD Certified Director and Qualified Technology Executive who focuses on the future of work, corporate culture, leadership, and governance issues with respect to digital transformation, AI, and cyber risk. He retired as chair and CEO of RealWear, where his deep understanding of technology, innovation, and complex systems played a key role in advancing the industrial wearables market. As a physicist, program manager, and officer in the US Air Force, he applied systems thinking to the full technology stack of command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) systems in airborne and space-based platforms. His experiences in developing teams and implementing strategies have enabled innovation, growth, and profitability improvements in aerospace, commercial electronics, fast-moving consumer goods, industrial sensors, and safety products with organizations that spanned the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. His board service includes experiences on Fortune 500 wholly owned subsidiaries, start-ups, private companies, and nonprofits.

Space industry expert Jason Kanigan is the founder of Cold Star Technologies. Cold Star Tech helps companies retain intelligence and institutional knowledge before it disappears, and using these to become true learning organizations. We also uncover valuable insights from data your firm is already collecting but doesn't know how to use. Data science/machine learning along with OSINT and process improvement are the main tools we utilize to help you move your organization along to operational excellence. Joining the OpEx Society was therefore a natural fit. Jason has previously founded and co-founded two sales organizations, was a plant manager at 25, and held the role of credit manager for a national electrical wholesaler responsible for collecting $2 million/month for four years. His interests include advancing the space industry, the exploring chief of staff role, how national policy is developed, and the Austrian school of economics. His education includes a Bachelor of Business Administration, Diploma of Technology in Operations Management, and Advanced Specialty Certificate In Administrative Studies (With Honors) for work on strategic management and the global economy. When it comes to business there is not much he hasn't seen before. If you feel adrift in the organization you founded or head, and know you need help with strategic direction, talk to Jason.

Frederick’s passion organisations and teams become more effective and adaptable. Frederick helps organisations implement their strategy in order to help meet their executive goals. He does this through utilizing principles of intention-based leadership. He facilitates strategy implementation, while also improving decision-making culture and and building high-performance teams. Frederick calls on his experience as a military intelligence officer where he learnt practical leadership skills and the operational implementation of strategy.

Frederick’s approach – Intention Based Leadership

Many businesses now operate in ever-changing and complex environments. In order to cope many businesses must go from being efficient to being adaptable.

Towards an effective solution

Frederick believes the best solution is to learn from the best. Take their strongest and most suitable parts and implement them into your business. Contemporary modern day militaries are some of the best at adapting to complex and dynamic environments. They have developed by necessity of the operating on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Frederick’s approach is to take the most suitable parts from modern military organisations and implement them in your business. The benefits can help your business adapt and thrive in complex environments. This will help you become more adaptable and effective. It is also creates a much for fun and motivating place to work! Frederick believes most organisations can significantly improve their effectiveness by understanding their ‘mission’ and applying simple principles around clarity, alignment and confidence.

Areas of specialism include:

·         Organizational decision-making ·         Strategy implementation ·         Developing high performance teams ·         Leadership development

Frederick’s Background

Frederick left the Norwegian Armed Forces in 2017 as a Captain. Here he served as a Military intelligence officer. Frederick has also led and trained teams of Military intelligence analysts in support of operational battlefield commanders and strategic decision makers. He has supported NATO Special Operation Forces in the urban jungle of Kabul, Afghanistan and led soldiers in extreme arctic winter conditions. Before joining the Norwegian Armed Forces in 2010. Frederick worked as Financial Futures Trader. From 2003-2007 Frederick studied Economics & Politics at the University of Edinburgh (MA with Hons).

Outside Work

Frederick has a passion for health and well-being and the great outdoors. Frederick takes advantage of being based in Norway. His hobbies include cross-country skiing, running and crossfit and mountain walking. Frederick has developed an addiction for pushing his body while being in the army. He enjoys taking part in Ski marathons like the Birkebeinerrennet. He also enjoys Ice bathing in Norwegian winter fjords. (if that is possible to enjoy!?) Frederick is inspired by... working with others to design and improve teams and organisations. Favorite quotation… Victory awaits him who has everything in order, luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time, this is called bad luck. ― Roald Amundsen If he could be superman for the day he would… he would ”Remove all the rubbish from the world’s seas…then return to beat my personal best for the Birkebeinerrennet ski marathon!”

Jon’s focus is supporting organisations to sustain their Operational Excellence efforts by inspiring and developing their people through best practice learning experiences. Jon has spent two decades in education and training. From 2005 he developed lean training programmes and events for The Manufacturing Institute and the UK’s Manufacturing Advisory Service. During this time Jon launched the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence in the UK. Jon has created and directed internationally lean conferences and awards, was Editorial Director of the Lean Management Journal and chair of the World Class Manufacturing awards progamme. Jon established True North Excellence in 2013 and in 2015 Jon was appointed UK President for the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME).

Wasim’s career in financial services has focused on leading operational teams and delivering strategic change across banking sectors. Partnering with global banks to execute large-scale transformation, and advising innovative startups to launch new products and services. He currently is the Managing Director of 1CG (1Consulting Group).

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He spent his formative years in business banking at Abbey National Bank; followed by global banking and markets at RBS where I managed teams delivering all UK Libor lending for commercial and corporate banking.

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Moving onto Barclays Wealth Management as VP Head of Credit Operations, and onto the Operations Lead role to launch Smart Investor. Before consulting in the CIO office to deliver group programmes covering system decommissioning, platform implementations, banking entity closures, launching new products, and structural reform for the Private Bank.

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Transitioning into fintech as Director of Operations and Projects at AskIf, launching CBILS with the British Business Bank as part of the initial wave of UK lenders. Developing SME green finance innovations, managing operational third-party vendors, brokers and external client lending portfolios utilising managed services.

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Joining Standard Chartered Bank as their Transformation Lead in Financial Markets, delivering global change initiatives impacting all 45 regulatory markets. Leading the plan, design and transition of a material outsourcing programme under NDA within a full RFP lifecycle. Delivering business outcomes in people, operations, technology, communications, finance, risk & transition workstreams.

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Most recently as the Interim COO of CFIT (Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology), where he led overall capability across the organisation. This included governance, risk management, reporting, operations, finance, technology, HR and programme delivery. Partnering and providing ExCo leadership to drive forward strategic deliverables across Coalitions, Ecosystems and Partnerships.

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Wasim received his Master’s in Economics from the University of Glasgow and more recently completed executive certificates at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and MIT Sloan School of Management. His focus areas are business strategy, digital transformation, client journeys, process reengineering, lending, regulatory adherence, corporate innovation, platforms, open finance, and outsourcing solutions.

Alexey Baranov is Director General and Senior Trainer and Consultant at Orgprom Group  located in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Mr. Baranov has extensive experience of implementing long-term comprehensive in-house improvement programs at dozens of Russian companies. He is the Chairperson of the National Public Movement “Lean Forum. Lean Production Professionals” and the Program Committee of the Russian Lean Forum as well as member of work groups of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Military Industry Committee of the Russian Federation. Mr. Baranov participated in developing Government Standards (GOSTs) on Lean Production and co-authored a book “Strategy of a Business Breakthrough: Production Systems Development”. He is included in the ranking “Industrial Elite of Russia – Top 100 Production Managers”, being the only consultant and public figure in this list.

Peter Evans was born in 1955. He joined LEGO in February 2016 The early part of his career was in Finance in various industries, including Defence, Financial Services and Telecommunications.  Peter worked for General Electric throughout the 90’s including spells in Manchester, Brussels, Shannon (Eire) and Connecticut. From 2000 to 2013 he worked in Telecoms in the UK, first with Vodafone, then Cable & Wireless, before finally leading Operational Excellence for Virgin Media. From 2013 to 2016 Peter led Process Excellence in Northern Europe for Maersk Line, based in Copenhagen Since February 2016 Peter has been Director at LEGO where he is Director of Service & Performance Management for Business Service Operations and is actively involved in growing a Global Business Services Organisation for various services including Finance, HR and Procurement… Peter Lives in Newtown, Powys, UK with his wife Amanda, Dog Masie, and various other pets and pests.  Long term ambition is to finally write the definitive book on Cultural Impact of CI and to drive a lawn mower on a golf course all day long.

Definition of  being "agile" in the business context:

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1. Acknowledging that the world is uncertain, and that despite our best efforts to be right, we will frequently be wrong.

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2. Creating ways of working that quickly lets us find out what we are wrong about, change those things, and learn from the results.

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3. Building things (products, organisations) in a way that makes them quick, safe and easy to change based on these learnings.

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 Agile is the art of being less wrong, faster. I help people and organisations be more agile. 

Vir Alvaran has decades of experience in productivity & quality improvement -- the first decade and a half in white-collar productivity & service quality continuous improvements.  He was a recipient of the Citicorp - Diners Club International Franchise Network Service Quality Award.  His next two decades were in automotive parts manufacturing with a Tier-1 supplier to the OEMs -- improving production efficiencies and products quality, utilizing various methodologies, including Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Lean Six Sigma (LSS) to achieve operational excellence.

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Vir was national president of the Association of Industrial Engineers of the Philippines and concurrent president of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers-Philippine Chapter, prior to their "merger" as the Philippine Institute of Industrial Engineers.  Upon his immigration to Canada, he became active in the IISE - Region XIV, for many years also known as the Canadian Society for Industrial Engineering (CSIE). He was a presenter-speaker in three of the CSIE/IISE annual conferences in Canada -- once in Toronto-Ontario and twice in Montreal-Quebec.

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Vir is the founder of CloserToLean-Six Sigma Consulting Inc., which he intends to serve as his tool to help younger professionals, (online or virtual, especially in the less developed countries who cannot afford the big ticket consultants), to keep up to date in the emerging Operational Excellence worldwide.

Andrew is an entrepreneurial and big-picture oriented Process Excellence Leader with demonstrated success in driving both cost-effective process improvements and innovative automations solutions that improve efficiency, increase quality and deliver sustainable value.  He continually applies in-depth knowledge of design thinking, process management, agile principles and automation technology to identify and deliver high-value solutions. He is a trusted advisor and strategist effective in cultivating global partnerships, mentoring high-performance teams and spearheading enterprise-wide change initiatives that promote operational excellence and innovation.

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Andrew’s career has been driven by a passion for process excellence, originally triggered in his university days, when he did an independent study with a professor on ‘Out of the Crisis’ by W. Edwards Deming.  He has helped drive transformation programs at companies like Microsoft, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard, while also delivering process improvement projects and standing up process management capabilities at dozens of other companies.  These opportunities came while Andrew was a consultant at several of the top process modeling and management software companies in the world, giving him unique insight and expertise in the combination of process excellence and process automation.

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He is an ASQ-certified Six-Sigma Black Belt, a Project Management Professional, a Certified Business Process Professional and a LUMA-certified Human-Centered Design instructor.  He is also ProSci Change Management Practitioner and a graduate of the Better Teams’ ‘Team Consultant Academy’ program.

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Andrew has a degree in Operations Management and International business from Penn State University and an MBA from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  He lives in Johns Creek, Georgia, outside Atlanta, with his wife and two children.

Joerg Baier is a Senior Operational Excellence practitioner and ambassador. Building on previous experiences as Process, IT and Strategy Consultant, his OpEx related insights and experiences reach from the day-to-day work of a local OpEx champion to that of an OpEx Advisor, Senior Advisor, Program Manager, Head of Business Process & Performance Management, Transformation Partner and Country Management Board member at Capgemini, Deutsche Post DHL and Maersk Line. He is co-author of the book “Praxisbuch Prozessmanagement” and a frequent speaker on subjects related to OpEx, Business Transformation and Process Management on events and conferences such as OPEX Week, Prozess-Management Konferenz  and the European Strategy Consortium. In his current role as a member of E.ON’s Centre of Operational Excellence, Joerg helps to shape the way E.ON interprets and lives the practices associated with the term “Operational Excellence”. Joerg holds a Masters degree in Economics and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Change Management practitioner.

Jonathan Escobar Marin (Barcelona) is Chief Executive and partner with Actio Global Consulting (https://actioglobal.com/en/), the trusted partner chosen by companies from all over the world that aspire to become high-performance agile organizations. He also is co-founder and partner with the HPO Global Alliance (http://hpoglobalalliance.com/), co-founder and CEO with Inn-Be, a start-up dedicated to High-Performance Education (HPE) (http://inn-be.com/) and  Axiom Group (https://www.axiomgroupe.com/) made him a member of their Advisory Board. Jonathan graduated from Singularity University´s Executive Program. Driven by his passion for education, he is also Postgraduate Director and Master´s program associate professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia as well as lecturer at the Higher Institute of Psychological Studies IESP. In Germany, Jonathan worked as a Director and Global Head of Lean Management with the HARTMANN GROUP based in their headquarters in Heidenheim. After defining a global strategy, he led an international transformation which converted HARTMANN GROUP into a more structured, measurable, efficient, agile, and capable organization. Prior to becoming a director for HARTMANN GROUP, he held leadership positions in several firms including Procter & Gamble, where he led several operational teams and product launches. After a global benchmark between P&G and Toyota, he was assigned to lead an international transformation, which resulted in breakthrough improvements in Key Performance Indicators such as lead-time, speed to market, produce to demand and productivity. During his career, Jonathan has led multidisciplinary and multicultural teams in more than 30 successful business transformations in a dozen countries and on three continents. In these transformations, he helped the organizations develop the business strategies, leadership competences as well as the innovation ecosystems and capabilities to deliver superior business results. Jonathan was mentored by Jeffrey K. Liker (internationally recognized author of The Toyota Way with thirteen Shingo prices for Research Excellence) and David Hanna (expert in Organizational Design for High-Performance Organizations, ex-Procter & Gamble and FranklinCovey). Through his work in all these organizations in different countries, Jonathan has proven his main business belief The success of companies depends on how capable they are of unleashing the talent and passion of their people to win with the hearts of a growing number of customers.   Company Links: http://hpoglobalalliance.com/  

José Pires serves as Global Excellence & Innovation (E&I) executive leader and advisor for startups, scaleups and Fortune 500 companies, where he oversees the global identification, prioritization and execution of high value business improvements and innovations for the companies, business partners and customers in multiple markets. Pires has held Excellence & Innovation leadership positions in large, global companies in the electronics (Sony), semiconductor (Cymer-ASML), food (Nestlé), energy/water/telecommunications infrastructure (Black & Veatch) and oil & gas/energy (Andeavor-MPC) industries. Throughout his career, Pires developed and refined E&I as an award-winning program to accelerate innovation, leadership development, strategy execution and value creation globally. Pires is an advisory board leader and keynote speaker for several global conferences on innovation, operational excellence, leadership development, strategy execution, culture and business transformation, customer engagement, exponential technologies and growth acceleration. He is an executive Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt who holds a Bachelor in Engineering Physics from the University of Kansas and a Master in Business Administration focused in Investment Banking and Entrepreneurship from the University of San Diego.

Sam Yankelevitch develops a team’s capacity to work together to get things done right the first time. He has adapted lean concepts to reduce waste rooted in culture, language and distance in projects, supply chains and operations. Sam is the author of Walking the Invisible Gemba, Lean Communication, Lean Potion #9- Communication: The Next Lean Frontier and Global Lean: Seeing the New Waste Rooted in Communication, Distance and Culture where he illustrates how hidden sources of waste can be brought to the surface so they can be dealt with. Sam is a LinkedIn Learning instructor and facilitates workshops to align teams toward strategic goals and has presented at the Kaizen Congress, ASQ World Conferences and BMW Supplier conference.

Steven Blake is a successful principal management consultant residing in Western Canada with a passion for Operational Excellence and delivering exceptional value to organizations. He approaches each situation with a questioning, positive attitude, seeking to curiously explore and uncover options to continuously improve performance while always keeping an open and unbiased mindset. Embracing the core values of integrity, humility, innovation and gratitude, Steven is an advocate for leading by example and is often quoted advising that you don’t have to be a leader to lead. He strives to promote a collaborative culture of innovative problem solving and has championed collaboration Network Excellence frameworks for clients. Steven feels that although Operational Excellence is the never ending pursuit to achieve perfection, he never lets “perfect” get in the way of “good” and applies the 80-20 rule as much as possible. This mindset combined with “fit for purpose” delivery of strategic initiatives sets him apart from the pack. Blake is the founder and CEO of Synerquest Consulting, a management consulting firm specializing in Management System development, Continuous Improvement, Business Strategy Alignment and Organizational Effectiveness. Engaging with clients in a consultancy capacity to enable transformational change and operational discipline, the firm has many stories of success and value creation with benefits realization for their clients. With a passion for the outdoors you’ll find him enjoying activities in the nearby Canadian Rockies with cycling, hiking and cross-country skiing being his favourites. Steven has obtained a degree in Electronic Technology in 1990 followed by a Bachelors of Engineering Sciences at the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing an MBA with the University of Villanova. Along with 25+ years of cross industry experiences supported by additional industry certifications, he is highly valued for his analytical and strategic mindset and ability to spearhead complex business initiatives while defusing sensitive communication issues.

Greg Hutchins is the founder of 800Compete.com, WorkingIt.com, CERMAcademy.com, QualityPlusEngineering.com, and other startups. Greg Hutchins is the risk evangelist who coined the expression Future of Quality: Risk®. Greg Hutchins PE CERM is also the principal professional engineer Quality + Engineering - international supply and quality management firm. He has written best-selling books on global ISO standards and risk management. Greg is the author of ISO 9000 (best-selling translated into 8 languages published through John Wiley), Value Added Auditing, ISO 31000: Enterprise Risk Management, ISO Risk Based Thinking, Risk Based Thinking, Supply Management Strategies (APICS, ISM, ASQ endorsed and used in certifications), and Standard Manual of Quality Auditing and more than a dozen article international books.

James Considine is a Senior Business Operations and Transformation leader experienced in driving breakthrough corporate performance and creating value for customers.

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His career has included leadership roles in operations, strategic marketing, continuous improvement, and business transformation in Fortune 500 firms including Royal Philips, General Electric, Quad Graphics, and Thomson Publishing.

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His breadth of experience includes direct engagement with all organizations from back office to sales and has involved clients and colleagues on 6 continents.

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He has led multiple organization-wide transformation initiatives, including Lean deployments, Digital Transformation efforts, and operational excellence programs, delivering over $250M in top and bottom line impact.

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In 2019 he launched The Hedgehog Group, a boutique coaching and consulting firm providing advisory and consulting services to digital health, telemedicine, insurance and communications organizations.

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Representative accomplishments include:

• Operations & Quality: Achieved record productivity and financial improvements as part of $50M+ annual lean-driven productivity/cost reduction portfolio in Philips Imaging. Led enterprise transformation program overhauling imaging equipment inventory, fulfillment and installation, saving over $15M and establishing company-wide best practices.
• Digital Transformation Leadership: Designed and launched first-ever Digital Boot Camp at Philips to create roadmap and critical mass of change agents and early digital-first initiatives. Overhauled portfolio planning and scrum team structure, boosting output by 50%.
• Strategic Marketing and Commercial Operations: Implemented standard work for evaluating over $1 Billion in complex transactions including large sales, M&A and asset sales. Led business turnaround in key Philips market performance; improved market share by 35%, orders by 40% and customer retention by 30%.

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He earned a BA in Philosophy and MBA in Finance from the University at Albany, and was trained at the GE Crotonville Center in Leadership, Advanced Management, and Change Acceleration. He is also a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Scaled Agile Leader.

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Service has included board trustee and advisor roles at Make A Wish Foundation, The Leapfrog Group, National Patient Safety Foundation, and The Beryl Institute for Patient Experience.

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Industry Vertical Expertise Healthcare | Medical Devices | Telemedicine | Digital Health | SaaS | Energy & Power Generation

John is an Operation Excellence Specialist with 28 years of experience coaching Leadership to craft a “Toyota Management System” that can be executed in any business. Driving multi-site worldwide implementations across the value stream-Finance, Supply Chain, Program Management and Operations. Strong leadership skills developing key relationships at a strategic level to help Leadership maximize the benefits of a sustainable System. Linking leaders to a system that exponentially performs both in capacity and capability enabling decisive responses faster than the competition. My mission is to inspire, encourage and mentor executives to use lean thinking to solve their business problems.

Pedro Monteiro is currently based in Porto, Portugal as Operational Excellence Manager for Europe, Asia, and New Zealand at Allient (www.allient.com), a global leader in connecting motion, controls, and power technologies to create products and solutions for customers, from standard component products to preeminent custom-designed, vertically integrated systems

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Industrial Engineer by education, Pedro has deepened his operations knowledge with a Porto Business School's Operations Management graduate and worked in process engineering and lean management roles in global organizations in the automotive, electrical, and metalworking industries.

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In love at first sight with the lean and continuous improvement mindset, Pedro is a lean practitioner, kaizen coach, lean evangelist through theleanmag and social media.

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theleanmag (www.theleanmag.com) is an online magazine about lean, continuous improvement, operation excellence, strategy, and leadership. With 600+ registered members across 50+ countries and 30 different industries, it also works as a worldwide community, establishing partnerships with companies, businesses, and institutions to expand the network and create opportunities.

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Pedro is also the co-founder of YOKOTEN (www.yokoten.pt), a benchmarking network for "excellence sharing" in Portugal

Mr. Cruz is the CEO and Founder of The Guiding Principles, a non-profit organization known for helping minority owned businesses achieve operational excellence. He is an accomplished, transformational visionary with over 30 years of combined progressive leadership roles in building organizational strategic goals into clear, measurable, and sustainable results.

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As an experienced, multilingual, and multicultural executive with unique ability to manage diverse cultural organizations, he focuses on transforming wasteful behaviors across the enterprise. Implemented Shingo “Culture of Excellence” by synthesizing Best-in-Class methods, developed a culture to optimize flow, continuous improvement, enterprise-wide learning, data driven statistical methods, and utilizes tools to develop people-centered leadership approaches to create high performing, quality driven, compelling vision to reduce cost by eliminating non-value-added waste, grow revenue, and improve the customer experience by sustaining a culture of operational excellence.

Wilson Faure is a global business executive having worked and lived in Brazil, Germany and the United States. As a native Brazilian with an outstanding knowledge about the country, its business and cultural environments as well as relationships nurtured over decades, Faure built a successful business career working in a variety of industries (automotive, telecommunications, retail, consulting, hospitality and finance), functions and cultural settings. Wilson has a unique experience as business owner, Managing Director, Relationship Manager, Business Developer, Consultant and Program Manager allowing him to clearly understand all aspects of a business. Wilson is fluent in Portuguese and English and has a good conversational level in German and Spanish. After working for major corporations such as Mercedes-Benz, Ford Motor Company and others in 2007 a successful career/industry change opened a new spectrum of opportunities when Faure played key roles in business transformation projects, global application delivery and major business development initiatives. In 2012, Wilson launched Advanced Global Partners and since then has worked with clients in the Retail, Construction, IT, Logistic, Consulting, Security, Healthcare and Hospitality sectors to explore new markets (mainly Brazil and USA) as well as pairing companies with investors and supporting startup companies to define and execute their growth strategy. Wilson earned an Electrical Engineering degree with a specialization in Software Development Business in Brazil. He also earned an Executive MBA degree from the University of Georgia. He founded the Operational Excellence Society Chapter in Atlanta and is volunteering at PMI Scholarship foundation. He is also an active member of Metro Atlanta Chamber, The World Trade Center Atlanta and an elected Board Member at the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce - Southeast. Wilson Faure lives in Woodstock, Georgia with his wife and two daughters.

Michael Webb is author of "Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way," and founder of SPC, Inc., a firm that brings operational excellence and continuous improvement to B2B sales and marketing teams. He was worked with large firms such as Wacker Chemie, Pentair, and Danfoss, as well as privately held firms such as Burr Oak Tool, Growers Organic, and Replicon. His latest book, “Sales Process Excellence,” earned the Shingo Research Award. It is the definitive guide to how operational excellence changes and improves B2B sales and marketing management. Download the Introduction and Chapter 1 at my website.

My current role is Chief Compliance Engineer and founder of Lean Compliance. I started this business in 2017 to help forward-looking compliance leaders succeed at keeping their organizations between the lines and ahead of risk. To achieve this success, I believe that compliance must be more proactive, integrative, and capable to contend with risk to ensure total value is protected and created. This requires a new approach that aligns more with operational excellence than it does audit and reporting.

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I am currently authoring a book on the topic of, "Operational Compliance: Staying Between the Lines and Ahead of Risk". This is based on my experience across my career working for hundreds of organizations and companies in highly regulated, high-risk industries and lessons learned making compliance work. This has given me a unique perspective having witnessed how safety, security, sustainability, quality, environmental, legal, and regulatory programs and technologies are used to advance compliance outcomes.

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I publish weekly blog articles, and speak on the topics of risk, compliance, ethics, AI, and Lean principles and practices. I recently started a community of practice to help all compliance practitioners across all sectors elevate their compliance. This community meets every Monday @ Noon on Zoom.

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I chair the AI Committee at E4P (Engineers for the Profession) advocating for the recognition and right to practice for emerging engineering disciplines. As a profession we need to do more to elevate the role engineering across the multiple disciplines that are needed today such as AI engineering, Cyber security, Quantum and many others.

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I am a member of the ISO Working group to develop a global standard for ESG.

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As a professional engineer I recognize that I have a duty to uphold the public welfare as paramount and this informs my work and how I engage with clients, my community, and others to advance human flourishing.

Lee Sellenraad, CCM, LEED AP, Certified Lean Innovation, is leader of the North American Industrial Program and Project Management team. Lee’s focus and responsibility is servicing clients in the commercial and industrial sector, while also growing the project management business and client base across North America. Since being onboarded, Lee has quickly partnered with other markets to support clients needs as an integrated and collaborative team. Recent projects completed include Portobello of America, Element Materials Technology, Atlas Copco and AM General. Lee has over 30+ years of experience leading clients through the development and acquisition of complex manufacturing / industrial facilities, while satisfying lean manufacturing and operational goals. Lee’s background enables him to provide the following services to Avison Young clients: Operational efficiencies / lean innovation

•  Program / change management and development support
•  Project Management
•  Process integration and optimization
•  Mergers and acquisitions
•  Environmental, sustainability and governance services
•  Decarbonization efforts

Prior to joining Avison Young, Lee served as Chief Operating Officer of an Atlanta based national contractor, President and CEO of LIC, with overall worth of $140 million and 440 employees and founder of a Program Management Consulting firm he grew to $40 million and merged with a Michigan based Engineering firm. Lee has also developed and led national and global sales, marketing and operations teams focused on corporate and client capital expenditure efforts.

An internationally experienced Business Transformation and Operational Excellence Executive with programs and projects delivered in Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Areas of expertise cover Six Sigma, Lean Management, Change Management and Business Model Consulting, primarily in a transactional / service environment. Significant experience in Operational Excellence training design and delivery, as well as coaching business leaders and functional managers. Examples of deliverables:

• Turnaround and restructuring plan for P&C Insurance
• Lean Management program deployment
• Black Belt and Green Belt training
• End-to-end transformation of Motor Claim process
• Company Project Office set up

Recently completed a PhD Management Science studying the effects of Lean Six Sigma deployment on Organizational Learning and Knowledge Creation.

Recognized as a forward-thinking leader and catalyst for continuous improvement, Jason is a decisive CEO known for his passion, energy, and ability to grow companies well ahead of industry benchmarks. Jason inspires teams to think differently through collaborative partnerships, delivering beyond what others believe is possible.

Jason’s success in optimizing business value and creating efficiencies utilizing the Kaizen philosophy has led to historic gains in building world-class manufacturing entities, global order fulfillment businesses, and, most recently, one of the fastest-growing portable storage and transportation companies in the US. With numerous industry accolades and patent-granted collaborations, Jason’s ability to visualize and create future success has set him apart from those merely satisfied with yesterday’s accomplishments.

Before his success as an executive, Jason honorably served nine years in the United States Marine Corps as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Sergeant. As a decorated and distinguished leader with a Top Secret (SSBI) security clearance, Jason was hand-selected by commanding officers to present sensitive situation briefs as a subject matter expert while leading operations during Operation Alljah (Phantom Thunder) in Fallujah, Iraq.

Jason resides in Central Texas with his wife, Stephanie, their two children, and Plott hound. Away from the office, he is an avid golfer, outdoor enthusiast, youth sports coach, and community volunteer. Currently, Jason is co-creating a non-profit to deliver equitable societal opportunities to youth in lower-income and minority communities.

Ron Crabtree is the founder and CEO of MetaOps, Inc., a firm that provides business and operational excellence ‘problem fixer’ MetaExpert™ interim talent resources to customers in various industries. Ron is an internationally recognized organizational transformation expert in operations management, supply chain, and Lean Six Sigma.  Ron has worked with customers in many industries worldwide with a proven track record in delivering results in improving productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.

Màxim Serra is a remarkable leader in the field of Operational Excellence. With over 25 years of international experience, he has led numerous innovative projects and transformative programs for top-tier companies such as Groupe Renault, Heineken Global Supply Chain, Yamaha Motor Company, Averda, and Mahle Group. Currently serves as the Head of Business Process Excellence at Novartis Pharma, where he manages a global team of OpEx professionals.

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Throughout his career, Màxim has worked and lived in various countries, leading over 100 operational excellence audits and assessments worldwide. He has been instrumental in delivering significant savings of millions of dollars through continuous improvement projects and initiatives. His expertise as a Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt has been invaluable in transforming companies and driving positive change. Additionally, some of his Lean and Total Productive Management programs have been recognized by Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance, Kaizen Institute, Microsoft, and other Operational Excellence institutions.

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Màxim is deeply passionate about Quality, Lean, and Continuous Improvement, and his unwavering enthusiasm is contagious. He has trained over 1,200 people in Problem-Solving, Quality, and Lean tools and methods and has certified over 100 people in LSS Green and Black Belt. Màxim has also authored many technical publications and spent several years collaborating and teaching Quality, Lean, and Operations Effectiveness at the American University of Sharjah (AUS-UAE) and within several Exec-MBA programs.

Dave Harry is CEO of Process Whisperer® Consultants LLC, a boutique process improvement consulting firm.  As an independent Lean Six Sigma, Team Dynamics and Toyota Kata consultant, Dave has taught and lectured process improvement, project management and Toyota Kata classes throughout the US and internationally for over 20 years.  Dave’s leadership and teaching experience includes with the University of Tennessee, Rolls-Royce Energy, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, KMPG Consulting, Training Modernization Group, and Simplilearn. He has also had a successful U.S. Navy career as a Naval Aviator, International Defense Cooperation Agreements Negotiator and U.S. Defense Attaché.  He has resided overseas in Spain, India, and Sri Lanka.  He holds Lean Six Sigma certifications from ASQ, Rolls-Royce plc, SSD Global Solutions, and Northrop Grumman and actively participates on boards and leadership positions with the IISE OpEx Division, ASQ Lean Enterprise Division, IISE Industrial Systems Engineers Body of Knowledge (BoK) Governing Board, Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM) Society Advisory Board and the Project Management Office Global Institute (PMO-GI).  Dave has presented at IISE, ASQ, IEOM, TapRooT and AQI Conferences for more than 15 years.  Dave is a PMI certified PMP®, has Lean Bronze Certification (LBC) through the SME/AME/Shingo Institute Alliance and is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM®). He has been awarded three master’s degrees, including a MSc Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

Donald Kuk is an innovative, multiple industry award winning Global Transformation, Operational Excellence and Quality Management Executive with more than 20 years of delivering record setting top line growth, customer and employee satisfaction, and margin improvement leading rapid Enterprise Transformation and Operational Excellence for the world most highly regarded banking, insurance, technology, healthcare and manufacturing industry leaders. Widely published successes include advanced metrics, analytics, strategy, mission, vision, program, milestones, budget and roadmap development, multi-tiered communication, transformation and improvement program management, quality, training, change and performance management, and results verification for AIG, Ca Technologies, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Telaxis Communications, all Divisions of GE, NBC, Lockheed Martin, Nokia and Acer Computer. Donald is a frequent invited Keynote Speaker, Session Chairman and Tutorial Presenter at CEO, CFO, CIO, CTO, Operational Excellence and Enterprise Strategy events worldwide.

Andrea Benfenati is a seasoned and versatile professional with over 15 years of experience gained both in Italian and international companies, working in projects with great companies as Vodafone, BNL, Autogrill, H3G, Banca Aletti, SAI Sim, IES Italiana e Servizi, and also with smaller but agile companies throughout the Italian territory. He is the founder of Newconsulting, a specialist consulting firm offering high-quality organization design and development services. At Newconsulting, they help companies increase their efficiency and competitiveness hence, eventually, their revenues by streamlining their management processes; through their network of highly experienced professionals they can offer agile and pragmatic services able to support business leaders to make their change agendas come to life. Newconsulting operates in the area of organization design, process improvement, corporate governance, risk management, ISO standard implementation, compliance, providing also software to facilitate and implement all the activities. In the last years, Newconsulting paid a particular attention to company digitalization and to the analysis of the related risks and opportunities issues. Andrea has professional proficiency in three languages: English, Italian and French. He is highly skilled, having obtained his Master’s degree in Management Consultancy from Centro Studi Direzionali e Ambientali, and completed a tertiary qualification Accountancy and Business Consultancy.

Dan Cockerell has held various management and executive operations roles at the Walt Disney World Resort, both in them parks and resort hotels. In a story that seems written by Walt Disney himself, Dan rose, literally, from the parking lot to the castle. Dan began working as a front desk host while participating in the Disney College Program, then parking cars following his graduation from Boston University. Transferred to Disneyland Paris in 1992, Dan got his first management role. Throughout a 26 career with Disney, Dan rose through the ranks to eventually become only the 6^th person to hold the title of Vice President of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Dan’s experience leading a team of 12,000 cast members, who entertain millions of guests every year, solidified his belief that building relationships are critical for leadership success. He now brings his wealth of Disney knowledge and experience to organizations around the world to help them create a world-class customer experience and operational excellence.

Srilakshmi (Sri) Tella is a distinguished senior executive with over two decades of transformative experience in the technology and healthcare industries. Based in Roswell, Georgia, she has established herself as a leader in digital transformation, particularly in the integration and advancement of Generative AI, Cloud solutions, and Salesforce platforms. Her career is marked by delivering exceptional business value and operational excellence, spearheading initiatives that have resulted in multi-billion-dollar outcomes. Sri's leadership is defined by her strategic vision and her ability to foster cross-functional collaboration, which has consistently led to enhanced customer experiences, significant cost reductions, and increased revenue growth.

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At McKesson Technology, Sri currently serves as the VP of Enterprise Commercial Services, where she directs the transformation of Salesforce and B2B platforms, generating substantial business value through the incorporation of Generative AI. Her strategic leadership has not only positioned McKesson as an industry leader in B2B integrations but also improved customer retention 20% improvement in customer. Her efforts in advocating for modernization and leveraging market analysis have consistently delivered continuous value, enhancing both the company's platform capabilities and its competitive edge.

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Sri's career is also distinguished by her commitment to societal contributions and mentorship. She actively participates in the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and is a member of the judging committee for thought leadership awards. Her involvement with the Technology Association of Georgia as a student mentor underscores her dedication to nurturing the next generation of technology leaders.

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As a lifelong learner, Sri holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering and has pursued further leadership development through prestigious programs. Her certifications in Salesforce and Oracle, among others, reflect her technical proficiency and her commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancements. Sri Tella's career is a testament to her passion for innovation, her strategic acumen, building high performance teams and her unwavering dedication to making a positive impact in the technology space.