Jared is host of the Global Lean Summit and the Virtual Lean Summit, which he started in 2020 as a response to help small businessowners struggling as a result of the COVID lockdowns. Demand for an in-person event has led to this first global summit. Jared has worked as a Lean consultant for companies like Nike, Mercy Corps, Alaska Airlines, Daimler Trucks, among others, and currently works in government applying Lean.

Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, professional speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur. He builds upon a deep education in engineering and management with practical experience working with executives and frontline employees in multiple industries to synthesize and practice methods including Lean management, continuous improvement, statistical methods, and people-centered leadership approaches.He has learned, practiced, and taught these methodologies in settings including manufacturing, healthcare, and technology startups. Working independently since 2010 and in partnership with other consulting groups, Mark enjoys working with organizations looking for better ways to improve, with leaders willing to lead that charge. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the software company KaiNexus. 

Tracy O’Rourke is the Co-author of "The Problem-Solver's Toolkit"; Co-Founder of the Just-in-Time Cafe, The SoCalLeanNetwork Chair, A member of the AME Western Region Board, an instructor at UC San Diego for the Green Belt and the Lean Six Sigma Leadership Course, and lastly, Tracy is a self-proclaimed process improvement ZEALOT!

Paul is the founder and president of FastCap, a product development company with distribution in over 40 countries. FastCap, based in Ferndale, Washington, launches 30+ new innovative products each year and is regarded as a model Lean manufacturer.

The grandchild of Greek immigrants, Paul was born and raised in Southern California. At the age 14 he became an Eagle Scout, at 16 he built his own guitar and earned the attention of guitar builder Bob Taylor, who mentored and eventually put Paul to work for Taylor Guitars.

Paul graduated with honors from Biola University and then went to work in Pasadena restoring historic homes and teaching High school industrial arts.

In 2000, Paul discovered Lean manufacturing or Toyota Production System (TPS). This newfound knowledge helped him and his wife Leanne take FastCap from a small start up in their garage into the successful product development company it is today.

In 2010 Paul ran for the US Senate in Washington State on a Lean platform of transforming government by developing Lean thinking as a key strategy for all government organizations.

Paul is an avid outdoorsman and 2 time ironman that surfs, runs, swims, bikes, and has summited many 14,000 foot mountains, including Mt. Kilimanjaro, and trekking to Everest Base Camp. He is also an instrument-rated pilot and has flown his plane all over the world, including 3 North Atlantic crossings in a single engine aircraft.

Paul is an energetic speaker whose core passion is helping people discover their full potential and showing others how to implement Lean in their business and personal life. Paul’s passion for Lean has taken him around the world to over 70 countries to work and speak.

Paul has written 5 books, "2 Second Lean", "Lean Health", "Lean Travel", Lean Life, and "Banish Sloppiness".

Sam McPherson retired in 2004 as the U.S. Army Special Forces director of training and private sector operational leadership in 2007. In 2011, he co-founded the Lean Leadership Academy to help organizations develop their organizational leadership pipeline and properly implement TPS as a comprehensive system to achieve business and organizational excellence.

Sam Yankelevitch maintains he is too old to grow up, too young to stop learning and delighted to give back.

As a former global operations executive in the automotive sector, Sam has a few lessons to share. Whether as a Linkedin Learning instructor, book author or speaker, Sam provides thought provoking experiences related to culture change, communication, project management and problem solving, from before the word Lean was coined. By bridging communication with Lean, Kaizen and quality principles, he opens a hidden gate to help reduce a common source of waste caused by human misunderstandings. Sam’s online courses have been viewed by almost 600,000 learners worldwide. BMW, John Deere, and GKN aerospace, are a few of the companies Sam has worked with. Walking the invisible Gemba, Lean Potion #9:
Communication - The Next Lean Frontier and An Interview with Failure are his latest publications, along with some new Linkedin Learning courses, which integrate Lean, communication and culture.

After publishing his first fiction novel, Sam is often thought of as the guy who interviewed failure. He has spoken internationally at conferences and corporate events and is fully bilingual in both Spanish and English.

Adam Lawrence is the Managing Partner of Process Improvement Partners, LLC. He has 30+ years of experience in process improvement activities, targeted at manufacturing and business processes. Having facilitated 300+ Kaizen events in multiple industries around the world, Adam aligns with leadership, engages teams, and creates sustainable results. Adam has mastered the use of many different process improvement methodologies, allowing him to implement the best strategy for each organization’s goals and objectives. He develops sessions that are fun, engaging, and laser-focused. Adam is 100 percent committed to ensuring the team has a winning result and a fantastic experience. Married to his wonderful wife, Peggy, for over 30 years, they have one son (Tyler, his IT department). Adam grew up in the Washington, DC area and received his BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech. He earned Lean certifications from the University of Michigan. Adam enjoys time with family and friends, loud music, traveling, the many great clients he has worked with (his extended family), and his many business adventures. The Wheel of Sustainability is his first book.

Currently working in the United States Postal Service in their Operational Excellence group, Jewelyn is working to change the culture to embrace Lean thinking. Jewelyn is an experienced senior leader with a demonstrated history in cultural transformation, structured problem solving, team development and operations. Skilled in Value Stream Mapping, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Black Belt, Quality Management, and Industrial Engineering. Strong operations professional graduated from The Ohio State University.

Dr. Mohamed Saleh is a thought leader in shifting cultural mindsets by redesigning business systems.  He has a successful track record anchored in two decades of hands-on transformations with a strong interest in making a global difference by providing distinctive leading-edge Lean-inspired education and advisory services aimed at helping organizations in an array of industries achieve the highest levels of performance excellence.  Mohamed's roles in these companies were centered around Lean transformations with much of his career serving in senior level roles.  He has a PhD in Business Administrations from Northcentral University, with a specific interest in organizational sociocharacteristics, technical characteristics of Lean Implementations, and leadership mindsets in healthcare organizations.

Please contact me if you are interested in learning how to experience significant, sustainable improvements within your company. I have had the opportunity over the years to work with many great global companies on a variety of Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence initiatives. I have also had the opportunity to assess and provide feedback to company leaders on their Lean and Six Sigma efforts (including as a judge for the IndustryWeek 'Best Plants' assessment process). Maybe my 30 years of experience in the Process Improvement arena could help your business achieve improved Customer Satisfaction and significant growth.

Also, be sure to read my articles on the Industry Week web site. www.industryWeek.com/author/john-dyer

Karil has worked in the field of process improvement for 20 years. His journey has taken him through property insurance, information technology, academia, medical devices and public sectors. He has made a career of reminding people that complicated systems are made of  simple components.

Dirk has 30 years experience in Automotive TIER 1 operations. He started learning TPS in 1996. Since then he has always been implementing TPS as a Plant Manager, a General Manager, a VP of Operations and as a COO. Dirk is always had a strong focus on improving QCDSM, to turn around and restructure environments. He is currently the COO of the Huf Group and has been transforming their global operations to embrace a Lean culture of continuous improvement thinking.

Tom Jackson is an economist, strategist and consultant. Tom has been a student of lean enterprise since 1988 when he copyedited Hiroyuki Hirano’s JIT Factory Revolution and Yasuhiro Monden’s Japanese Management Accounting for Productivity Press. In 1992, he abandoned his comfortable professorship at the University of Vermont to start an international joint venture with lean pioneer Norman Bodek. Tom returned to the U.S. to work for Norman as his Vice President of Strategy. He eventually became CEO of Productivity Press and Productivity Inc., Norman’s ground breaking lean publishing and consulting companies. In 2000, Tom left the Productivity family to work for private equity and start a couple more consulting firms, taktX LLC and Rona Consulting Group. Tom has traveled the four continents applying lean principles to the design and production of automobiles, automotive springs, gas products, athletic shoes and apparel, cardboard boxes, semiconductors, elevators, cell phones, window and door seals, refrigerators, washing machines, grain bins, chicken feeders, natural gas regulators and the delivery of healthcare and social services. In 2020, Tom retired to Louisville, Kentucky, where he launched a new venture, GoodStrategy, a consultancy focused on applying hoshin kanri to improve the leadership and management of public and private organizations. Tom’s publications include Hoshin Kanri for the Lean Enterprise, which was awarded the Shingo Prize for Research Excellence in 2006. He is also the series editor of six books of the Lean Tools for Healthcare Series, including Mapping Clinical Value Streams, which Tom authored himself. In 2024, Tom will publish the 2nd edition of Hoshin Kanri for the Lean Enterprise.