“The speakers who are presenting keynotes this year are a cross section of the leading minds at the forefront of lean thinking and it’s an honor to have them,” said Joe Fisher, conference chair. These thought leaders in lean include the following four industry innovators:
Jim Womack, founder and senior advisor to the Lean Enterprise Institute, has addressed the evolving facets of lean through his series of books and articles. Womack’s academic career spans decades, ranging from his work at the University of Chicago and Harvard in the 70’s to advanced research with MIT in the 80’s. His years of experience and academic study provides a unique and storied perspective that anyone interested in lean principles will find incredibly valuable.
Dan Jones, founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Academy in the U.K., has applied lean process thinking to businesses around the world. A successful writer and publisher of several notable lean-centric books, his presentation will offer valuable insight from an influential management thought leader and mentor who has directed the future of lean first hand through his work.
John Shook, chairman and CEO of Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), learned about lean management first hand while working for Toyota for nearly 11 years. While at Toyota’s headquarters he became the company’s first American kacho (manager) in Japan. In the U.S., Shook joined Toyota’s North American engineering, research and development center as general manager of administration and planning. His presentation will address the principles of lean he helped implement and develop.
Mike Rother will bring his many years of experience studying and refining Toyota-style management to his presentation, where he will expand upon the connection between the academic world and the factory. His investigationextends across fields that include engineering, management, social science and psychology, and has helped executives and managers develop new patterns of thinking and acting in their organizations.
Other esteemed speakers include Robert Chapman, chairman and CEO of the Barry-Wehmiller Companies; Jason Ryan Dorsey, an acclaimed keynote speaker, bestselling author and award-winning entrepreneur; Gerry Price, president and CEO of E.H. Price; Peter Sheahan, founder and CEO of ChangeLabs; and Ray Tanguay, chairman of both TMMC and Toyota Canada Inc., as well as president of Canadian Autoparts Toyota Inc.
“Like the continuous improvement that lean emphasizes, we believe in constantly refining the foundations of lean itself,” Fisher added. “We’re excited to hear the speakers who are at the forefront of that refinement discuss the future of lean thinking at our conference.”
Participants can register online and via fax or e-mail. Complete details about the conference and registration are available at www.AMEToronto.org.
About the Association for Manufacturing Excellence
The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) is the premier not-for-profit organization dedicated to the journey of continuous improvement and enterprise excellence. AME’s membership is composed of a trusted network of volunteers who are committed to leveraging the practitioner-to-practitioner and company-to-company shared-learning experience. Through engaging workshops, seminars and plant tours, and industry-leading conferences, AME members are continually discovering and implementing new continuous improvement strategies and best practices. AME offers its members a multitude of valuable resources to help them stay abreast of current industry developments, and improve the skills, competitiveness, and overall success of their organizations. For more information, visit www.ame.org or email info@ame.org.
