Lean Enterprise Institute Expands Services to Growing Lean Community

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 5 -- The nonprofit Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), a leading provider of books, research, and training for implementing lean thinking, today announced a major expansion to better serve the needs of a growing Lean Community in manufacturing and service industries.

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LEI also announced that it has moved to larger offices and training space at One Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA, 02142.

"LEI is introducing new programs, led by new people, at a new location to improve the practice of lean, the search for lean knowledge, and how we share the knowledge across the world," said James P. Womack, LEI founder and chairman. Based on customer research, LEI has formed into four units -- Lean Learning Materials, Lean Education, Lean Enterprise Partners, and Lean Events -- to align with the needs of the Lean Community, Womack said.

Lean Learning Materials will expand the depth and breadth of LEI's publications and training materials to functional areas beyond operations, including product development, supplier management, policy management, and the consumption process from the standpoint of the customer. It also will develop materials for senior executives leading lean transformations.

Lean Education will expand LEI's popular workshop series to include all functional areas in enterprises while developing lean leadership courses for senior managers in a wide range of industries.

Lean Enterprise partners will form consortia of traditional manufacturing companies attempting to apply lean methods across the entire enterprise and also will work with partner firms pioneering lean applications in a range of service industries from retail and healthcare to maintenance and financial services. The experience and insights gained from these activities will provide the basis for future LEI publications on lean management. Lean Events will produce public conferences and private seminars for senior managers to explore the implications of lean enterprise.

"The leaders of these units have responsibility for getting our four product value streams -- learning materials, education, events, and enterprise partners -- to flow horizontally across our organization," Womack said.

Michael Brassard

Michael Brassard is president, Lean Learning Materials. Prior to joining LEI, he was a partner in Brassard & Ritter, LLC, a publisher of business improvement resources. Before that, he was project director and founding staff member of GOAL/QPC, an international research, training, consulting, and publishing organization. In 20 years with GOAL/QPC, Brassard served as senior consultant, trainer, and author as well as director of learning events and product development. He also is the author, co-author, or editor of eight books on organizational improvement systems and tools, including many of the titles in the Memory Jogger series that has sold over eight million copies worldwide in a dozen languages.

Michael received a B.A. from St. Anselm's College and a M.A. in Public Administration from the University of Rhode Island. He has addressed conference audiences in North and South America, Europe, and Australia.

David LaHote

David LaHote is president, Lean Education. Most recently, he served for five years as general manager of Parker Hannifin's Climate Systems Division, where he led a lean transformation. Previously, LaHote held a wide range of senior management positions within Eaton Corporation and Aeroquip-Vickers Corporation, a diverse $2 billion manufacturing company, where he headed a lean implementation effort. He also has held a variety of senior management positions in business development, operations management, management development, human resources and sales and marketing. Early in his career, LaHote founded a marketing communications company.

LaHote holds a B.A. in liberal arts and a M.A. in Organization Development from Bowling Green State University. He has taught executive education classes on lean manufacturing, strategy development, among other management topics.

David Logozzo

David Logozzo is president, Lean Enterprise Partners. Most recently, he was executive director, Engineering & Manufacturing Operations and Lean Enterprise for Delphi Corporation, where he was responsible for implementing lean principles at Delphi's 200-plus manufacturing and technical centers worldwide. During 37 years at GM and Delphi, he was production manager and chief engineer for the AC Rochester Division, international operations manager for the Delphi Energy Division, and business line leader of Delphi's Exhaust Business. His responsibilities also included supply chain partnerships and leading several new product introductions to major automotive manufacturers.

Logozzo received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Kettering University and an M.B.A from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College. He is a member of the Shingo Prize Board of Governors and a lifetime member of the Shingo Prize Academy. He has served as a guest seminar lecturer for various universities and professional organizations.

Helen Zak

Helen Zak, LEI's chief operating officer, also will serve as director of Lean Events. Before LEI, she served as vice president of operations and as a value-stream manager at Thermo Spectronic, an analytical instrument maker, where she applied lean to transform the business. Prior to Thermo Spectronic, Zak held various engineering and operations management positions at Alstom and Delphi.

Zak has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Marquette University and two M.S. degrees from Kettering University in manufacturing management and operations management, respectively.

  New Contact Information for LEI
  Address: One Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA, 02142
  Phone: 617 871-2900
  Fax: 617 871-2999
  LEI's web site remains http://www.lean.org/.

  About the Lean Enterprise Institute

The Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit training, publishing, and research center founded by James P. Womack PhD, in August 1997 to give people simple but powerful tools that enable them to apply a set of ideas known as lean production and lean thinking, based initially on the Toyota Production System and extended to an entire Lean Business System. The institute's global mission is to be the leading educator for maximizing value and minimizing waste. To accomplish this goal, LEI develops and advances lean principles, tools, and techniques designed to enable positive change. LEI disseminates this knowledge with the Lean Community through books and workbooks, public and on-site training, its web site, and global affiliates. For more information visit the LEI News page at http://www.lean.org/WhoWeAre/LEINews.cfm.

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