A little about myself...
I'm a bit fanatical about Continuous Improvement, workplace safety, and Lean Manufacturing culture, and find a lack of information, data, or experience is usually the biggest barrier to success for facilities struggling to stay or become Lean. There are always ways to overcome this, and sharing expertise with a team to generate creative, cost-effective strategies is the definition of "job satisfaction" for me.
Originally from Illinois, I've lived and worked in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, the Carolinas, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland. I began my career over 20 years ago in the stomping grounds of the automotive industry's "Big Three": Detroit, Michigan. The Toyota Production System, JIT, and Kaizen methodologies were taught to me by one of the oldest Japanese manufacturers, and I practiced World Class Manufacturing with a major European powerhouse. |
I'm often called a “rolled-up sleeves, hands-on” guy, and I've proudly built my entire executive career on that foundational quality. My humble beginnings in automotive-supply foundry and CNC precision machining environments are something I'm proud of; I've spent years (decades!) gaining hands-on, real expertise with high-production, tight-tolerance operations. It gained me an intimate knowledge of machinery and processes, pitfalls and practical solutions so I can take an holistic view of an entire organization, then quickly generate targeted solutions that work together to effect positive change.
But I'm not all work and no play; I was a soccer player on the path to minor leagues until I was given an ultimatum by my doctor: stop playing, or get total knee replacements by the time I'm 25. Reason finally won out over competetive spirit, so I simply (rabidly) enjoy watching futbol, and occasionally coaching youth teams. Ice hockey is another sport I watch regularly (I'm a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan), though I've never played.
If I'm not plopped in front of the telly cheering on atheletes, you can find me doing some sort of home improvement project. Landscaping is my particular favourite--something about digging in dirt, building retaining walls, and watching things grow is immensely satisfying. And therapeutic! In the winter months I build furniture. In the warmer seasons I go biking, walk the dogs, hike and camp with the family. We actually enjoy spending time together. Haha!
My wife and I have raised two wonderful children who are getting ready to take their first steps out into the adult world. They will both begin college next year, and are planning on following careers in science and engineering. For their upcoming gap year they plan to pursue short internships in nuclear physics and electrical engineering, and a longer European work/travel trip for some exciting-yet-practical life experience. My daughter wants to visit the great art and architecture areas in France and Italy, and experience the culture of northern Europe; my son has a passion to immerse himself in Italy and help preserve old houses. My wife, a photographer and avid traveller, just wants to see everything from the perspective of a local...and make photographs!
And now some work history back story and shameless self-plugging:
My career journey truly began after successfully completing numerous Lean projects with Metaldyne as a Project Manager in their machining division. My drive for Continuous Improvement was ignited! I designed manufacturing processes for a new product launch and discovered a talent for untwisting complicated problems into clean, elegant solutions.
My next challenge was helping implement a start-up operation by a major Japanese OEM division in South Carolina. I enjoyed the business culture in a Japanese company, as they are very data driven and didn't like to engage in office polotics. I was immersed in a pure execution of the Toyota Production System at Musashi, and developed wonderful working relationships here. I was chosen to lead a ten-week training session in Japan to learn new manufacturing processes for dissemination in the US, and translated SOPs from Japanese to English (with translator help). The new product line was a major success, and I found my ideas for continuous improvement eagerly accepted by my Japanese counterparts and superiors. I found fostering leadership in my direct reports to be a rewarding balancing act, and often became the liason-of-choice to ‘interpret’ between cultures. While at Musashi, I took the time to soak up all of the Japanese Lean methodologies I could, requesting and attending training seminars as often as possible.
After much deliberation, I left Musashi after being courted by ThyssenKrupp Precision Forge to step into the leadership of their production division. The main challenge at the U.S. branch of the German-owned manufacturer was driving process improvement for their machining division. There was a lack of Lean culture buy-in, and I re-engineering manufacturing processes, developed departmental and operational policies, advocated re-training and new technologies. The net result was huge qualitative and quantitative impacts on the facility’s growth margin.
My career took another leap forward when I was invited to join Leistritz Advanced Turbine Components, one of the world’s principal players in the power generation supplier market. Because of my expertise in precision manufacturing enterprises and proven successes, I was chosen to direct Manufacturing Operations of their turbine blade division and bring the outdated facility into the 21st century. Through extensive use of new technology, Lean, ultra-efficient processes, and targeted investments, a smart, global-savvy operational strategy to carry the company forward into the new age was developed.
I finally stepped into an executive level position as Site Leader for Crane's Nuclear division, a step up from being the Manufacturing Operations manager. This was a trial by fire for me (and my colleagues) as budgets were tight after the global economy crash. It was in this very challenging circumstance where I cut my teeth on true autonomous company leadership with full P&L responsibility and complete directorship. I actually carried out all of the tasks for three positions simultaneously (a combination of employee turnover and corporate hiring freeze). What a learning experience!
Eagerly applying all of my Lean methodology, industry, and strategic, and risk management experience to the field, I use my energy and drive for excellence to realize successful results no matter the scope of the task. I often am asked to consult on projects, both major and minor, from CEOs wanting advice on new start-ups or turnarounds, to engineers wondering the best way to implement a program on the production floor. I have extensive knowledge of various markets, industries, technologies, processes, and cultures, and I feel it adds a unique dimension to my constant drive for Operations directorship and makes my strategies immensely effective.
Drop me a line and let me help you become a more effective organization!
But I'm not all work and no play; I was a soccer player on the path to minor leagues until I was given an ultimatum by my doctor: stop playing, or get total knee replacements by the time I'm 25. Reason finally won out over competetive spirit, so I simply (rabidly) enjoy watching futbol, and occasionally coaching youth teams. Ice hockey is another sport I watch regularly (I'm a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan), though I've never played.
If I'm not plopped in front of the telly cheering on atheletes, you can find me doing some sort of home improvement project. Landscaping is my particular favourite--something about digging in dirt, building retaining walls, and watching things grow is immensely satisfying. And therapeutic! In the winter months I build furniture. In the warmer seasons I go biking, walk the dogs, hike and camp with the family. We actually enjoy spending time together. Haha!
My wife and I have raised two wonderful children who are getting ready to take their first steps out into the adult world. They will both begin college next year, and are planning on following careers in science and engineering. For their upcoming gap year they plan to pursue short internships in nuclear physics and electrical engineering, and a longer European work/travel trip for some exciting-yet-practical life experience. My daughter wants to visit the great art and architecture areas in France and Italy, and experience the culture of northern Europe; my son has a passion to immerse himself in Italy and help preserve old houses. My wife, a photographer and avid traveller, just wants to see everything from the perspective of a local...and make photographs!
And now some work history back story and shameless self-plugging:
My career journey truly began after successfully completing numerous Lean projects with Metaldyne as a Project Manager in their machining division. My drive for Continuous Improvement was ignited! I designed manufacturing processes for a new product launch and discovered a talent for untwisting complicated problems into clean, elegant solutions.
My next challenge was helping implement a start-up operation by a major Japanese OEM division in South Carolina. I enjoyed the business culture in a Japanese company, as they are very data driven and didn't like to engage in office polotics. I was immersed in a pure execution of the Toyota Production System at Musashi, and developed wonderful working relationships here. I was chosen to lead a ten-week training session in Japan to learn new manufacturing processes for dissemination in the US, and translated SOPs from Japanese to English (with translator help). The new product line was a major success, and I found my ideas for continuous improvement eagerly accepted by my Japanese counterparts and superiors. I found fostering leadership in my direct reports to be a rewarding balancing act, and often became the liason-of-choice to ‘interpret’ between cultures. While at Musashi, I took the time to soak up all of the Japanese Lean methodologies I could, requesting and attending training seminars as often as possible.
After much deliberation, I left Musashi after being courted by ThyssenKrupp Precision Forge to step into the leadership of their production division. The main challenge at the U.S. branch of the German-owned manufacturer was driving process improvement for their machining division. There was a lack of Lean culture buy-in, and I re-engineering manufacturing processes, developed departmental and operational policies, advocated re-training and new technologies. The net result was huge qualitative and quantitative impacts on the facility’s growth margin.
My career took another leap forward when I was invited to join Leistritz Advanced Turbine Components, one of the world’s principal players in the power generation supplier market. Because of my expertise in precision manufacturing enterprises and proven successes, I was chosen to direct Manufacturing Operations of their turbine blade division and bring the outdated facility into the 21st century. Through extensive use of new technology, Lean, ultra-efficient processes, and targeted investments, a smart, global-savvy operational strategy to carry the company forward into the new age was developed.
I finally stepped into an executive level position as Site Leader for Crane's Nuclear division, a step up from being the Manufacturing Operations manager. This was a trial by fire for me (and my colleagues) as budgets were tight after the global economy crash. It was in this very challenging circumstance where I cut my teeth on true autonomous company leadership with full P&L responsibility and complete directorship. I actually carried out all of the tasks for three positions simultaneously (a combination of employee turnover and corporate hiring freeze). What a learning experience!
Eagerly applying all of my Lean methodology, industry, and strategic, and risk management experience to the field, I use my energy and drive for excellence to realize successful results no matter the scope of the task. I often am asked to consult on projects, both major and minor, from CEOs wanting advice on new start-ups or turnarounds, to engineers wondering the best way to implement a program on the production floor. I have extensive knowledge of various markets, industries, technologies, processes, and cultures, and I feel it adds a unique dimension to my constant drive for Operations directorship and makes my strategies immensely effective.
Drop me a line and let me help you become a more effective organization!