Speakers at the UK Lean Summit 2013

Below you will find biographies for the speakers of the Lean Summit 2013 in order of appearance.

Dave Brunt – Chief Executive, Lean Enterprise Academy Limited

David Brunt is Chief Executive at the Lean Enterprise Academy. The academy is dedicated to pushing forward the frontiers of lean thinking and helping others with its implementation. He is the co-author of “Creating Lean Dealers – The lean route to satisfied customers, productive employees and profitable retailers.”

David helps firms making a lean transformation. He conducts public workshops at the Lean Enterprise Academy and develops and delivers bespoke in-house workshops for firms. In addition David mentors firms making a lean transformation. He has walked and mapped over 300 value streams in both manufacturing and service sectors in businesses such as steel production, vehicle and component assembly, FMCG, retailing and banking and financial services.

David has been both applying and researching lean since 1990. He spent over three and a half years as the Porsche Verbessrungs Process (PVP – Porsche Improvement Process) Manager at Porsche Cars Great Britain and carried out work to develop lean in after sales, used car processing and parts operations as well as conducting a number of other business process improvement projects at dealer and national sales company level. His work on lean dealer operations formed the basis for several chapters in James P. Womack and Daniel Jones’ book, Lean Solutions, and his work has been implemented successfully by GFS, the “lean dealer” example in the book.

Prior to his work at Porsche, David was Senior Research Associate working for Daniel Jones at the Lean Enterprise Research Centre at Cardiff University Business School. There he was involved in a number of research projects:

  • The Lean Processing Programme (LEAP), a three-year initiative focused on mapping steel to component value streams to identify significant gains in competitive advantage for the UK upstream automotive industry.
  • Lean projects with individual firms to research and apply Lean Thinking outside the automotive industry in areas such as FMCG and non-automotive based manufacturing.
  • The International Car Distribution Programme (ICDP), the world’s leading co-operative research programme into the future of car distribution and retailing. Research focussed on the application of Lean Thinking to car distribution and car dealerships.

David has written a number of reports and publications including “Supply Chain Management And The British Metals Industry” for The Metals Industry Competitive Enterprise (MICE) and the books “Manufacturing Operations and Supply Chain Management – The Lean Approach” with David Taylor (2001) and “Creating Lean Dealers – the lean route to satisfied customers, productive employees and profitable retailers” with John Kiff (2007.)

David’s career started in the automotive industry at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars where he held a number of roles in the fields of Purchasing, Supplier Development, Quality and Customer Service.

He holds a Masters in Business Administration specialising in Supply Chain Management from Cardiff Business School.

Pierre Masai – CIO, Toyota Motor Europe

Pierre joined Toyota in 2005 as IS Director in the European Sales Organisation, and oversaw the merge of the various IS organisations of R&D, Manufacturing and Sales into one streamlined organisation in 2007, then the extension into a truly pan European organisation leading to the integration of TGB IS in 2012 and Toyota Informationssysteme GmbH (TIS) in 2013 (of which he is now also a Managing Director). An ambitious vision towards 2016 has been developed and agreed with all stakeholders and the implementation has started.

He developed and coordinated the Telematics activities of Toyota in Europe from the start in 2008 towards the delivery of the segment first Touch & Go starting with Yaris in 2011, the second generation of Multimedia/Telematics for Lexus and Toyota cars (with apps managed by IS) in 2013, and is now preparing the next generation of Telematics activities towards 2015 (e-call, Fleet and Insurance) and the next generation of Multimedia systems, together with R&D, Product Planning, Sales, After Sales and IS functions.

Before Toyota, Pierre was Global CIO of Hays Logistics (based in Paris), Managing Director of Hays Logistics Deutschland (in Dusseldorf) and served in the Volkswagen Group for 17 years, including as CIO of Europcar International in Paris and Chairman of the Board of Europcar UK, Head of Organisation and IS at the joint venture FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun, China, 
and IT Director and member for the Board of Volkswagen Brussels.

Pierre is a Belgian national, fluent in eight languages. He holds a master’s degree in Mathematics (1980) and a master’s degree in Information Technology (1982) from the Free University of Brussels, a postgraduate degree in business studies from the Solvay Business School of Economics and Management (1990), and followed the Toyota Executive Development Programme in 2008 in Wharton University in the USA and Toyota Mikkabi University in Japan.

Daniel Jones – Chairman, Lean Enterprise Academy Limited

Daniel Jones is a management thought leader and advisor on applying lean, process thinking pioneered by Toyota to every type of business across the world. He is the founding Chairman of the Lean Enterprise Academy www.leanuk.org in the UK, dedicated to pushing forward the frontiers of lean thinking and helping others with its implementation. His work has inspired the very successful implementation of lean by Tesco and many other companies.

He is the author with James P Womack of the influential, best-selling management books – The Machine that Changed the World, and Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Organisation – which describe the principles and practice of lean thinking in production. Their latest book Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers can Create Value and Wealth Together extends these ideas to consumption, provision and service delivery.

These books have triggered a worldwide movement of lean practitioners and the establishment of the Lean Global Network of Lean Institutes (including the Lean Enterprise Academy) which teach lean locally and have organised over 25 Lean Summits in the USA, UK, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, France, Holland, Denmark, Poland, Turkey, Israel, South Africa, India, China and Australia.

Kevin Robinson – Senior Manager, Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK)

Kevin Robinson has been with Toyota Motor Manufacturing for 22 years. During this time he has gained first hand practical experience in the application of the Toyota production System (TPS) within Manufacturing, Maintenance, Engineering and logistics functions. Currently Senior Manager for the Toyota Lean Management Centre (TLMC) he leads a team of specialists delivering lean transformational projects to a diverse range of Non-competitive external organisations.

Art Byrne – Operating Partner, J W Childs Accociates

Former CEO of Wiremold, and author of

Art Byrne, a recent inductee into Industry Week Magazine’s Manufacturing Hall of Fame, began his lean journey in January 1982 as the General Manager of General Electric Company’s High Intensity and Quartz Lamp Department. As a Group Executive for The Danaher Corporation he was instrumental in introducing lean to all of the then 13 Danaher Companies. While at Danaher he was trained in the Toyota approach to kaizen by the four original founders of the Shingijutsu Company all of whom had worked directly for Taichii Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System. Danaher was their only US client for four years. As CEO of The Wiremold Company Art led an aggressive lean implementation that resulted in Wiremold winning a Shingo Prize. More importantly, Wiremold’s enterprise value increased by just under 2,500% in 10 years under Art’s leadership. After Wiremold was sold, Art became an Operating Partner with J. W. Childs Associates L.P. where he has been leading lean conversions in Childs’ portfolio companies. Art recently published a book, The Lean Turnaround from McGraw-Hill, that details the approach that has allowed him to lead lean conversions from the CEO position in over 30 companies in 14 different countries. In addition to providing a repeatable implementation methodology, The Lean Turnaround highlights the role of the leader and the fact that a lean strategy can be used to turnaround any type of company.

As additional background, the following is a list of the various businesses/product lines where Art has implemented a lean strategy;

Light Bulbs, Lighting Fixtures, Hand Tools, Power Tools, Heavy Duty Truck Components, Drill Chucks, Encoders, Temperature, Pressure and Flow Instrumentation, Tachographs, Tank Level Sensors, Various Mechanical Counting Instruments, Specialty Bolts, Swiss Screw Machines Parts, Air Conditioning Equipment, Aircraft Engine Parts, Jewelry [rings], Surge Protectors, Wire Management Systems, Hospitals, Life Insurance, Walk in and Reach in Coolers and Freezers, Bathtubs and Showers, Wet Shaving Razors, Filing Products, Staplers and Punches, and Label Manufacturing.

Dr Peter Treadwell – Dean of Academic Development, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Peter is the founding director of Treadwell Consulting Ltd, which specializes in performance development consultancy and executive coaching to organizations of all sizes, in both public and sectors.

He lectured for over 35 years in sport and business management at three leading UK universities, including Cardiff Metropolitan university, where he finished his academic career as the Dean of Academic Development. He was instrumental in establishing the highly acclaimed Centre for Work Based Learning [CWBL] in Cardiff Metropolitan University. He has advised the Wales Government ‘high performance working’ and has authored over 35 peer reviewed academic publications on leadership and management in sport and business.

His current post-doctoral research focuses on how we create and sustain ‘top teams’ in elite sport and business.

Owen Williams – Chief Executive, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

Owen Williams was appointed Chief Executive of Calderdale Council in January 2008, at the age of only 39, having joined the Council as Deputy Chief Executive in February 2006. His area of responsibility included regeneration, performance management, partnership working, local area agreements and equalities.

Owen was born in Bradford, brought up in Buttershaw and educated in the city. Previously he was Chief Executive of Rossendale Council, taking up that position in May 2003 following the Audit Commission’s critical report of the Council in the latter part of 2002. As well as working in financial services and telecommunications, Owen’s previous experience includes being Director of Marketing and Communications for Bradford Council, where he worked to improve the city’s image and profile in the wake of the riots of 2001 through motivation, vision and leadership.

Owen has just completed his first year as Chief Executive for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

Liam Duffy – Chief Executive, Beaumont Hospital, Ireland

Liam Duffy has many years’ experience at management and leadership level in the hospital sector in Ireland. Liam was appointed Chief Executive to Beaumont Hospital in April 2004. Prior to that, he held the post of Deputy Chief Executive and General Manager with Beaumont Hospital. His career has also encompassed senior roles in patient services, human resources and finance in other city hospitals.

In Beaumont, he has overseen a major organisational development programme which focused on process improvement around patient pathways and clinical programmes using strong project management skills and tools to support the change agenda.

He has also developed a strong management team that has a clear vision for the hospital and delegated the operational management of the hospital to Clinical Directorates. In addition, a culture of openness and accountability has been created within the organisation that is leading to improved working relationships amongst all staff and therefore, improving quality of care for patients.

Outside of healthcare, he has a history of involvement with local communities in developing resources, including cultural and sporting amenities, that benefit the population.

Marc Baker – Lean Coach, Lean Enterprise Academy Limited

Marc, who holds a degree in Process Engineering, is a Chartered Engineer and holds an MBA from Cardiff Business School, started his lean journey as a Process Engineer during the start-up and validation of a new pharmaceutical facility, where he first began applying lean concepts and principles in a regulated industry.

He led various Engineering organisations in Research & Development and Operations in a Johnson & Johnson company. He then became Head of Process Excellence (Umbrella term for Lean Thinking and Six Sigma)

This is where Marc and Ian Taylor first joined forces 2000.

While working together at J&J, Marc and Ian developed a robust, standardised and scientific approach to both applying and de-mystifying lean thinking. The company has enjoyed substantial increases in sales per employee, market share and profit margins through its application of Lean Thinking and Six Sigma.

Working at J&J also provided Marc and Ian the opportunity to work with its customers in the healthcare industry, where they began their first experiments in the application of lean to healthcare processes.

Since leaving J&J Ian and Marc have spent the last seven years working both with the Lean Enterprise Academy and as Interim Line Managers specialising in large Health Trusts in Acute and Community settings in addition to operationalising Integrated Care Pathways across multiple organisations.

Marc and Ian are the authors of LEA’s latest publication, the book ‘Making Hospitals Work’ which both, seeks to de-mystify lean thinking and explains their approach to the application of lean in healthcare.

Ian Taylor – Lean Coach, Lean Enterprise Academy Limited

A qualified Production Engineer with considerable experience in Operational Management, Ian started his lean journey whilst managing Operations within the highly competitive Tier One, Automotive Industry supplying the likes of Toyota, Ford and General Motors. Assisting Tier Two businesses (the organisation’s own suppliers) in making their own successful Lean transformations became a major part of his role.

More recently Ian worked as a Value Stream Manager in a Johnson & Johnson company. This is where Ian and Marc Baker first joined forces 2000.

While working together at J&J, Marc and Ian developed a robust, standardised and scientific approach to both applying and de-mystifying lean thinking. The company has enjoyed substantial increases in sales per employee, market share and profit margins through its application of Lean Thinking and Six Sigma.

Working at J&J also provided Marc and Ian the opportunity to work with its customers in the healthcare industry, where they began their first experiments in the application of lean to healthcare processes.

Since leaving J&J Ian and Marc have spent the last seven years working both with the Lean Enterprise Academy and as Interim Line Managers specialising in large Health Trusts in Acute and Community settings in addition to operationalising Integrated Care Pathways across multiple organisations.

Marc and Ian are the authors of LEA’s latest publication, the book ‘Making Hospitals Work’ which both seeks to de-mystify lean thinking and explains their approach to the application of lean in healthcare.

Dr Paul Jarvis – Consultant in Emergeny Medicine, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

Paul is a consultant in Emergency Medicine at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. He is the co-founder of the Emergency Department Quality Improvement Forum within the NHS Trust where he works.

Paul first encountered ‘Lean Thinking’ working in Clinical Decisions Units in Emergency Departments in West Yorkshire. He has built upon this, working alongside Marc Baker and Ian Taylor by implementing the principles contained within ‘Making Hospitals Work’.

Paul is currently leading on a project improving the clinical effectiveness of two Emergency Departments. He has shown how lean methodology can reduce patient journey time in the Emergency Department whilst improving the quality of care that is delivered.

Paul has recently completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Education and hopes to use these skills to raise awareness of Lean methodology and the positive effects it can have on healthcare delivery.

Mark Davies – Section Manager, Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK)

Mark Davies has been with Toyota Motor Manufacturing for 17 years. His initial experience was gained in a plant operations role at Toyota’s vehicle plant in Derby. He transferred to the Engine plant, 13 years ago, and has developed skill and experience in a variety of roles, applying TPS principles in Project Management – (new engine introduction and engineering change instructions), all facets of the Supply Chain – Internal and external logistics, materials and parts management, production planning, supplier development, and for the last 2 years running the Toyota Lean Management Centre, applying and coaching lean transformation programmes to a variety of non automotive companies.

Steve Warren – Supply Chain Development Director, AkzoNobel Decorative Coatings

Steve Warren is the Supply Chain Development Director for AkzoNobel Decorative Coatings, the makers of Dulux and Sikkens paints. Over the last 28 years, Steve has held a variety of roles in both R&D and Supply chain which have seen him based in China, America and the UK. Being based in different regions of the world has provided Steve the opportunity to experience different cultures and understand the behaviours of a global company requires too compete locally.

Since 2009 Steve has led the AkzoNobel Decorative supply chain’s Lean Transformation of its supply chains around the world encompassing 49 factories in 34 different countries. Steve is now working on extending the Lean Transformation beyond the supply chain to other functions in the Decorative business and is a key member of the AkzoNobel SC Academy which is working on programs to spread continuous improvement capabilities across all parts of the AkzoNobel business.

James Morgan – President, Emc Network

former Director of Global Body Exterior, Safety and SBU Engineering at Ford Motor Company and co-author of

James Morgan is President at Emc Network, a research and consulting firm specializing in engineering management and product/process development. Before founding Emc in 2013, Dr. Morgan was Director, Global Body Exterior, Safety, and SBU Engineering at Ford Motor Company during the product led revitalization under CEO, Alan Mulally. Prior to joining Ford in 2004, he was Vice President at TDM, a tier one, global automotive supplier of engineering services, prototypes, tools, and low volume parts and assemblies.

Jim holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Michigan where his research on product development won a 2005 Shingo prize for research excellence. He co-authored (with Dr. Jeffrey Liker) the award-winning book “The Toyota Product Development System” as well as several articles on product development. In addition he has developed and taught graduate courses on lean manufacturing and product development.

Peter Ayeni – Research / Design Engineer, Lufthansa Technik

With more than 6 years working as a Lean practitioner within the aviation Maintenance Sector, Peter Ayeni has developed a broad range of capabilities that range from Strategy & Change Management to Process Alignment and Organisational Restructuring.

Along with a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace/Aeronautic Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire, he is currently undertaking a Doctorate (PhD) degree at Cranfield University in Lean Manufacturing and Business Excellence.

Currently based at Lufthansa Technic Landing Gear Services, his expertise has influence on many aspects of the business, from Aviation Quality Assurance to Technical/Design. He has served as an auditor on the Environmental Health & Safety board and also led several Management consulting assignments.

Notably, he played a momentous role in the successful Lean Transformation Programme of the Lufthansa Technik Landing Gear Product Division which ran simultaneously across 3 sites – US, UK and Germany.

His experience, knowledge and avid interest in the application of Lean in Product‐centric service environments, has allowed him to publish articles on the application of Lean in the aviation Maintenance sector.

Phil Mayhew – Director of Business Transformation, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Phil has worked for Solihull Council since 1990 in a number of different roles predominantly in Education and Children’s Services. As Service Director for Social Regeneration and Learning Strategy he was responsible for a number of major projects including the creation of a Children’s Trust; managing a £200 million investment programme in educational facilities for North Solihull; and creating a model of integrated locality based service delivery.

He obtained his MBA in 1994 from Warwick Business School and it was this experience that led to his interest in bringing the lessons of manufacturing to service operations management. When Solihull wanted to introduce Lean he secured the pilot for the Fostering and Adoptions Team and demonstrated how Lean can be used to make significant financial savings but also act as a catalyst for cultural change.

As Director of Business Transformation, Phil has overseen the deployment of Lean Thinking as the core component of the Council’s approach to Commissioning.

Kim Silcock – Head of Lean Transformation, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Kim has worked for Solihull Council since 1993. She has fulfilled a number of different roles within Adult Social Care the Customer Contact Service and the Transformation Division. As the Head of Customer Service Kim managed Council income of £57 million and a service which provided first point of contact for around 150 services through 500,000 customer contacts every year. She is also the Proper Officer for the Council, with responsibility for birth, death and marriages. She represented the West Midlands at a national level to drive change and modernise the Registration Service. She worked with West Midlands Police to open the first jointly operated Police and Council service.

Since 2010 Kim has been responsible for driving forward the transformation programme for the Council. As the Head of Lean Transformation Kim has overseen the deployment of Lean Thinking as the core component of the Council’s approach to transforming services. The focus of the programme is to support the business to improve customers lives through effective and efficient service delivery.

John Kiff – Lean Coach, Lean Enterprise Academy Limited

After an early career in strategic marketing in the car and consumer-durable industries, John joined Professor Dan Jones at the Lean Enterprise Research Centre at Cardiff Business School in 1994 as the Senior Researcher and subsequently Director for the ICDP (International Car Distribution Programme). ICDP was co-founded by Dan Jones and set up not only to study the future directions for car distribution, retailing and after sales but also to investigate how Lean principles could be applied to all the activities ‘downstream of the factory gate’.

From 1994 to 2007 John led ICDP’s research in various areas including After-Sales, Parts Supply Systems, Used Cars, Business Cars, Dealer Standards and Lean Dealer Processes and participated in all its other research projects including studies of New Car Supply and Stocking. His work with ICDP included hundreds of in-depth research interviews with executives in dealers, manufacturers and suppliers all of which have contributed to his considerable knowledge of car distribution.

John has given papers at numerous ICDP conferences, academic conferences and other motor industry manufacturer and dealer meetings across Europe. His papers have been published both by ICDP and in academic journals and include:

  • Parts Supply Systems in the Franchise After-Market, ICDP Research Report 08/98 (with Thomas Chieux and David Simons)
  • The Concept of Customer Fulfilment: Beyond Customer Satisfaction, ICDP Management Briefing 5 (with Prof. Dan Jones)
  • Transformation to a Lean Dealership – Stage One, ICDP Research Report 07/00 (with David Brunt)
  • Customer Fulfilment: Right First Time on Time, Every Time, ICDP Research Report 04/01
  • Transformation to a Lean Dealership – Stage Two, ICDP Research Report 06/01 (with David Brunt)
  • After-Sales and Parts Supply Systems, ICDP Research Report 07/02 (with David Simons)

He has also delivered courses to dealers at Cardiff University Business School, the Catholic University, Lisbon, and for ICDP Australia. He has chaired numerous industry conferences in the UK, contributed to the UK Government’s Automotive Innovation and Growth Team Report and co-chaired its Working Group on Car Servicing and Repair Standards.

In addition to his work with ICDP, John has also carried out numerous individual client research and advisory projects including a series of projects since 2000 in various European countries enabling car dealers to implement Lean principles in their businesses. This experience has led him to co-author a workbook with David Brunt entitled ‘Creating Lean Dealers’ which was published in November 2007 by Professor Dan Jones at the Lean Enterprise Academy (LEA) www.leanuk.org. Creating Lean Dealers was awarded a Shingo Prize for Research and Professional Publication in 2010.

John now spends his time working with firms, primarily in car distribution but also in Sales and Service, to improve business performance through lean transformations as well as carrying out other advisory projects One of John and David’s clients, Jaegerbil in Norway, won the overall Lean Prize for Norway in 2011.

John is a graduate of the University of Wales, holds a Diploma in Management Studies and a Diploma in Marketing. He is a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Institute of the Motor Industry.