Bruce Hamilton brings hands-on experience to GBMP as a manager, teacher, and change agent. He has spoken internationally on Lean Manufacturing, employee involvement, continuous improvement and implementing change, and has contributed to numerous texts on reliable methods ranging from visual control to variety reduction.

Prior to joining GBMP, Mr. Hamilton was General Manager of United Electric Controls Company, recipient of the coveted Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. He led efforts at United Electric to transform its production from a traditional batch factory to a single piece flow environment that has become an international showcase. His expertise covers both the technical side of lean manufacturing and the equally important soft skills needed to engage and inspire employees and managers.

Chris Martin brings 20 years of Sales and Operations experience to GBMP. He has been a student of lean for the last 10 years and has visited hundreds of companies. Chris is the first point of contact to our programs and approach and has introduced many companies to the value of Continuous Improvement tools. Chris has helped Massachusetts companies capture over $13 million in Workforce training grants and works with companies from start to finish with the grant process. Prior to joining GBMP, Mr. Martin held positions in Sales and Operations positions in the hotel and computer industries. He coordinates the Northeast Shingo Prize and works with The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) on a regular basis on Lean education and also coordinates networking and benchmarking among local lean companies.

Patricia (Pat) Wardwell has over 20 years of experience in manufacturing. Prior to her association with the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership, she was Vice President of Operations at United Electric Controls Company, a 1990 winner of the Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence. Pat has been involved with continuous improvement efforts on the shop floor and in support areas since 1987 and has been a speaker at many regional and national conferences on related topics.

In the mid 1990's, when United Electric stepped up its emphasis on the use of the Toyota Production System, Ms. Wardwell coordinated much of the related education program. In 1997, Ms. Wardwell became the manager for the company's first Office of Continuous Process Improvement. In this role, she led a group of experienced employees who were 100% focused on training and helping operators to make improvements. She has led numerous cross-functional improvement teams in areas ranging from shipping to assembly, and machining. She was also project leader for a team that selected and successfully implemented a new, company-wide business information system, which had to support a company in transition from batch to lean manufacturing. Pat was co-leader of a successful ISO9001 implementation team and is an experienced ISO lead auditor.

She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Maine and an MBA from Bentley College. She is APICS Certified in Integrated Resource Management.

Lela Glikes holds a BS in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management from Penn State University and has completed all of her coursework towards an MA degree in Psychology from Harvard University. Prior to joining GBMP, Ms. Glikes held positions in Operations Management and Marketing in the hospitality and medical device industries. As Program Manager for GBMP, Lela works to promote GBMP’s mission to help New England companies become more productive and competitive through superior educational events and resources. She is also the Conference Coordinator for the annual Northeast Shingo Prize Conference.

Tiffany Haines received an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Bay State College and has a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Currently she is in charge of receivables, aiding in the execution of all public workshops, and works closely with Lela and Chris to make sure our members and clients receive the best possible service we can provide.

Dan has over 20 years of experience in manufacturing which includes 20+ years of Continuous Improvement experience. Prior to becoming a GBMP CI and Lean Manufacturing trainer 8 years ago, Dan was Operations Manager at United Electric Controls Company, where he was a 1990 winner of the Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence. Dan worked with Pat Wardwell and Bruce Hamilton on United Electric's transformation as a Manufacturing Engineer, Production Manager and Continuous Improvement Manager where he was part of the team that led the very successful implementation at UE. Dan has been learning and applying the principles of the Toyota Production System for over 20 years as a practitioner, educator and speaker. Mr. Fleming holds a Bachelors Degree in Engineering from Northeastern University.

Bruce McGill has over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. His last 11 at the executive level implementing lean manufacturing methods in 3 different companies, each of which had significant improvements in service levels, inventory, and profitability. Bruce was employed by United Electric Controls for seven years and was instrumental in getting there “Lean Journey” off the right start. Bruce has been involved with continuous improvement efforts on the shop floor and in support areas since 1983. Bruce is another of GBMP’s hands-on consultants that is comfortable communicating at the executive level as well as with shop floor personnel. Bruce holds a BSBA degree from Norwich University

Ron spent the last twenty years in manufacturing starting his career at the Avedis Zildjian Company in Norwell starting as a Cymbal Smith and ending as Director of Manufacturing. He spent the last 7 years as Director of Operations for Warerite Distributors, a high volume countertop manufacturer. He has spent the last twelve years practicing the Toyota Production System and has a Black Belt in Six Sigma from the Juran Institute and his Master Black Belt from Six Sigma. us in Austin Texas. He received his BS from Northeastern University. All of our Six Sigma Programs can be specifically designed for you company's needs and culture. Each Skill of the Six Sigma "road map" can be taught individually and be created to be taught on site with as many employees as deemed necessary. Please contact Ron for more information.

Bob Elliott has 25 years experience in manufacturing. He has implemented lean during his tenures at several manufacturing companies where he held shop floor positions as manufacturing machining manager, manufacturing engineer and operations manager.

Bob has been a speaker at the Eastec tool show and an examiner for the Northeast Shingo Prize. He has also been very active with APICS as a board member for "Seminar 1", the training seminar for the Northeast. Bob holds a BS in operations technology from Northeastern University in Boston.

Lesa joins GBMP after 20 years with Toyota North America. Some of her principal responsibilities at Toyota included: Successful creation of new and modified methods for effective implementation of the Toyota Production System (TPS) at North American Toyota plants and certain suppliers. This work included Standardized Work, problem solving, short and long term Kaizen for worksite leaders. When needed, Lesa identified operational issues at plants; recommended corrective strategy and led implementation teams. In addition, she specialized in at-the-worksite support and coaching, utilizing her experience gained as a production manager within Toyota’s Georgetown, Ky. Power train plant.

Prior to joining Toyota, Lesa served on the staff of a US Senator in Washington, D.C. and has been a senior public relations advisor to political campaigns and major manufacturers. She holds both a B.A. and M.A. focusing on international business.

At GBMP, she will apply her experience to product development, training and consulting.

Dave has spent the last 25 years in various manufacturing industries including software, hardware, wire & cable, and promotional products. He has held progressive positions in engineering, management, quality management, and operations management with his last being Director of Continuous Improvement. His initial lean exposure was in 1988 with a set-up reduction effort yielding an 85% improvement and he has been a student of TPS ever since. He has a Black Belt in Six Sigma and has held ASQ certifications as a CQE and CQM/OE. He has instructed the CQE/QEIT Exam Refresher course for several ASQ chapters. Dave is CPIM certified since 1986 and has been teaching all APICS CPIM Review Course modules since 1987 for several APICS chapters and local colleges. Mr. Wesche holds a BS Degree Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Ted has spent the past 15 years, at the executive level, designing and implementing lean manufacturing efforts in four different companies, each of which had widely different operating environments. Each effort resulted in drastic improvements in service levels and gross margins. Mr. Miller has given numerous presentations on how to avoid the pitfalls and achieve the gains associated with implementing the various lean manufacturing tools. Culture and employee attitude is equally as important as the technical knowledge, and Mr. Miller has in-depth experience in both. Ted is a hands-on consultant that is comfortable communicating at the executive level as well as with shop floor personnel.

Mr. Miller holds executive level degrees from The Tuck School at Dartmouth and from Stanford University. His undergraduate degree in BSEE was awarded from Syracuse University with an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Michael Scarpone specializes in strategic planning, management, organizational development and change management. His customized programs target key people within organizations such as: executive management, board of directors and all levels of staff to increase productivity, build skills and help organizations manage change and improve quality. Topics include Team Building, Front Line Supervisory Training, Cultural Diversity, Managing your Team in a Lean Culture, Communications Skills and a number of complimentary topics.

Mike has earned a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, Masters of Science Degree in Counseling Psychology and has completed graduate work in Organizational Behavior and Administration. He has numerous certifications including Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Yale University Training of Trainers, Xerox Selling Skills and Kepnor-Tregoe Decision Making Process.

Oscar Gutierez is a faculty affiliate with 25 years of business and academic experience. He is an associate professor of information systems at the University of Massachusetts. Mr. Gutierrez' background includes many years as practitioner and researcher in the United States, Europe and Latin America in the areas of information management and logistics. Since 1992, he has specialized in business reengineering. Mr. Gutierrez contributes to the multilanguage offerings of the Center by presenting and collaborating with in Spanish company employees.

He has published widely and presented at numerous conferences in the United States and Europe on information requirements analysis and information technology. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Julia is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Providence College. Julia received her BS in Accounting from Villanova University, her Masters in Accounting from the University of Tennessee, and her PhD from the University of Kentucky. Julia is a CPA and previously worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers. She Teaches Taxation and Financial Accounting and has been a member of the GBMP team since 2004.