Deborah brings a practical approach to Lean, based on applied learning. Her experience spans three continents in manufacturing, project management, logistics, not for profit health care and higher education. She co-founded and is a key leader at the Lean Gulf Institute, spreading Lean awareness, professional development and empowerment through process improvement activities. She holds an Engineering degree from Boston University, an MBA and PhD. Deborah can be contacted at deb@leangulf.org or visit www.leangulf.org.

Mr. David Herber is President of Metal Innovations, an industrial sales representative entity specializing in the marketing and sales of engineered components to a variety of markets and customers including the Tier 1, 2, and 3 automotive, agricultural, hardware, and consumer products industries. Mr. Herber has had over 30 years of “hands on” direct experience in the management of the entire industrial sales process, including marketing strategies to locate and develop new prospective customers, selling strategies to current customers, web based and printed media development, trade show deployment, establishing effective request for quote (RFQ) processes, pricing and work center overhead rate strategies, contract negotiation strategies to automotive and non automotive customers, marketing as a “solution based enterprise,” management of company direct sales personnel and the development and management of independent manufacturers representatives. Prior to founding Metal Innovations, Mr. Herber spent 20 years with Trans-Matic Mfg., Holland, MI (USA) in the positions of Customer Service, Estimating, Account Management, Director of Sales/Marketing and Vice President of Sales/Marketing. During his 12 years of direct sales activities, corporate sales increased in excess of 250% from $14 million to $48 million. Mr. Herber’s sales entity Metal Innovations has experienced similar growth as over $25 million of new sales have been generated to Metal Innovation’s partnered firms. Mr. Herber has held numerous positions within the Precision Metal Forming Association (PMA), Independence, OH (USA) including West Michigan District Director and West Michigan District Chair positions. He has been a member of the PMA Strategic Marketing Committee. He has been a board member with Fleetwood Group of Holland, MI (USA) and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hope College, Holland, MI.

Primary areas of consulting and support

• Lean Sales and Service Transformation and Leadership
• Sales person training, basic and advanced
• Leadership and Supervisor training and improvement

Secondary areas of consulting and support

• Executive Leadership
• Sales and Quality Improvement tools

Mr. Richardson sold his interest in a company that he co-founded in the fall of 2001. His company was cited in Managing Automation cover story February 2001 as one of the top 25 emerging technology companies in America to watch. During that venture Mr. Richardson was cited in Quality Magazine, Automotive News and a number of other publications. He currently serves as a partner in Global Lean Institute. He leads companies acting as interim CEO. His experience has been with Tier 1 Automotive suppliers and Aerospace. He has worked in plastic injection molding, stamping, tool & die, investment casting, steel foundries, assembly plants, and machine building companies. He has also worked with banks and legal counsel in various roles of receiverships and bankruptcy issues. He has 20 years experience in the manufacturing environment holding Plant Manager and Operational Manager positions. He has assisted with several Japanese transplants and has had extensive training and implementation in Lean Manufacturing. He has performed over 100 Kaizen initiatives implementing pull systems, 5-S, TPS, TPM, Poka Yoke solutions, and Kan Ban systems. He has also been involved with several QS and ISO implementations from inception to external audit review. His work has centered on solving complex problems and defining opportunities for organizations. His leadership has resulted in well-documented improvements on the manufacturing floor as well as the performance of individuals and teams. He has worked closely with companies helping develop organizational structure and leadership groups to assist in the growth of these companies. He has worked in China, South Korea, Canada and Mexico. Mr. Richardson earned a B.B.A. from Grand Valley State University in 1988 and an M.M. from Aquinas College in 1995.

Primary areas of consulting and support

• Executive Leadership and financial management
• Rapid turn-arounds
• Lean Manufacturing Transformations and Leadership
• Leadership and Supervisor training and improvement

Secondary areas of consulting and support

• Culture Shifts
• Lean and Six Sigma Tools

Dr. William M. Mothersell (Ph.D. Michigan State University) is an Associate Professor of Management at the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University – Grand Rapids, MI, USA. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in business and industrial-organizational psychology, a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in employee relations and political science, a Master of Labor and Industrial Relations with a concentration in human resources and labor relations, and a Ph.D. with a concentration in strategic human resource management, organizational behavior, organizational development, and lean transformation. Dr. Mothersell currently teaches courses in organizational development and planned change, compensation and benefit systems, and teambuilding. He also teaches graduate courses in organizational development, strategic human resource management, organizational behavior, and high-performance work systems. Dr. Mothersell is the co-author of a book entitled “Knowledge-Driven Work: Unexpected Lessons from Japanese and United States Work Practices.” His research activities have also resulted in co-authoring lean transformation journal articles entitled; “A brownfield conversion: A case study of Open Belgium,” “Hoshin Kanri planning: The five alignments behind the Toyota Production System,” “Japanese Team-Based Work Systems in North America: Explaining the Diversity,” and “Constructing Employment Security: Understanding the Emergence of Mutual Commitment.” His current writing, research and consulting involves lean production, large-scale change, and Hoshin Kanri planning systems. His consulting, training, and research activities have been conducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and Japan. Dr. Mothersell has held numerous positions at General Motors Corporation and with Ford Motor Company in his 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. These positions include: production operations; skilled trades; participative leadership and management; recruitment; compensation; organizational and personnel planning; plant labor relations/contract negotiation; division-wide personnel relations; division-wide organizational development responsible for the design and implementations of team-based work systems; and, company-wide design and implementation of lean manufacturing, HR systems and team-based work organization.

Areas of consulting and support

• Lean Manufacturing Transformations and Leadership
• Leadership and Supervisor training and improvement
• Executive Leadership
• Labor Relations and Culture Shifts

Dr. Jaideep Motwani is Chair and Professor of Management at the Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University since 2000. He received his Ph.D. degree in Operations Management from University of North Texas. He has co-authored a book entitled “Classics in Operations Management,” and published more than 150 articles in prestigious journals such as Operations Research, IEEE Transactions of Engineering Management, European Journal of Operations Management, International Journal of Production Research, Omega, Business Horizons, Journal of Operational Research Society, among others. Majority of Dr. Motwani’s publications are in the area of total quality management, lean manufacturing, strategic manufacturing, technology management and global competitiveness. In 2004, Dr. Motwani was ranked among the Top 1% Researcher in the field of Technology Management by the International Association of Management of Technology (IAMOT). He also appears in several Who’s Who in the World publications annually and is the recipient of the Michigan Outstanding Educator’s Award granted by the Governor of Michigan. Dr. Motwani serves as an Editor for two international journals and on the Editorial Board of 12 prestigious national and international journals. He has taught and conducted research seminars in major universities in Canada, China, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, India, France, Germany, Thailand, and United Kingdom. He also serves as a global consultant and trainer for a number of organizations in the Unites States, India, Europe, and Middle East. Some of his recent clients include: Herman Miller, Nokia, Oliver Products, among others.

Areas of consulting and support

• Executive Leadership
• Lean Manufacturing Transformations and Leadership
• Lean Sales and Service Transformation and Leadership
• Leadership and Supervisor training and improvement
• Culture Shifts