Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas is a Continuous Improvement Manager with GBMP Consulting Group with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations achieve operational excellence through Lean, Lean Six Sigma, and the Toyota Production System. A Six Sigma Black Belt, Shingo Institute Alumni, GBMP Lean Leader, and TSSC-trained practitioner, Richard believes sustainable operational excellence is achieved by developing people, empowering teams to solve problems every day, and building management systems that foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Prior to joining GBMP, Richard spent nearly 22 years with KARL STORZ, including 17 years as Director of Continuous Improvement, where he led the company's Lean transformation. He facilitated hundreds of Kaizen events, developed Lean and Lean Six Sigma practitioners, and helped deliver millions of dollars in documented savings through enterprise-wide improvement initiatives. His accomplishments include reshoring a global value stream, transforming the company's machining center, and partnering with the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC) to create model production lines that achieved fourfold labor productivity improvements while dramatically improving quality, lead time, and space utilization.

Earlier in his career, Richard held engineering, quality, manufacturing, and operational excellence leadership positions with Corning Incorporated, leading strategic improvement initiatives and coaching Lean Six Sigma practitioners across multiple manufacturing operations.

Richard holds a MS in Applied Statistics and a BS in Business Administration (Industrial Statistics) from the University of Tennessee. He has achieved certification as a Six Sigma Black Belt, Quality Manager, Quality Engineer, and Corning Process Excellence Expert (MBB)

Richard can be reached via email at rthomas@gbmp.org