Director, Global Six Sigma,   $500 Million Global Manufacturer,  SE Coast, USA

Opportunity Introduction                  

(download PDF>>)   Director_Global_Six_Sigma-2

We’re looking for an experienced Six Sigma leader with broad business acumen, global perspective and experience, and the ability to drive, facilitate and sustain change in a fast-paced, highly entrepreneurial environment.  

The selected individual will become our client’s Director, Global Six Sigma, and leverage her or his outstanding leadership, communications and technical skills to create significant and lasting impact and value at all levels of this organization.  

And yes, it’s going to take an ambitious, determined and committed “A-player” to reap the rewards of success in this demanding role.  But what business transformation worthy of that designation wouldn’t be a major problem-solving opportunity, and a challenge of such caliber that it rigorously tests the mettle of even the best Six Sigma pros in today’s competitive manufacturing world?  

Could you be up to this challenge?    

The Position
 If you’re the right person for this position it’s going to be pretty obvious to us both that you’ve already done a lot of this once or twice before.  Negotiated, developed and set company-wide improvement objectives and goals. Led the corporate and site-level strategy and tactical teams. Championed and facilitated DMAIC and DFSS initiatives. Developed and led the Black Belt project teams. Built and tracked metrics, and then improved, rebuilt and retracked them again.  Trained, coached, counseled. And demonstrated that you, individually and together with the teams you led, could deliver the goods.

So, why then, might this position interest an expert like you?  Why could this be the right “next step” in building your career? And why must you take a closer look? 

Here’s Why

Company Background

Our client is a leading global Tier Two supplier to the automotive industry, as well as a supplier to USA broader industrial and medical markets.  With revenues of approximately $500 million and over 2500 employees worldwide, the company has five manufacturing facilities in the US, two in the UK, and one in France.  China is next.  A private company, our client is owned by a major New York-based private equity firm which also holds controlling or significant minority interests in companies around the world that generate over $60 billion in annual revenues.

Conclusions -

1. You experience top management visibility and impact opportunity in a business that’s a size you can really get your hands around
2. You do hands-on international management in Europe and Asia
3. You receive exposure to private equity management issues and build direct understanding of how private investor-owned business leadership works
4. You have a shot at career growth opportunities here and also within other portfolio companies 

Real-World Six Sigma Commitment

This company is about Six Sigma Quality in everything it does. Perfection is the target.  They understand that conformity and consistency are critical to their customers.  Every associate is involved in the pursuit of Quality and continually strives for excellence and ways to pass cost savings to the customer.  Manufacturing Excellence is delivered through:  

• Philosophy of Lean Enterprise 
• Focus on process efficiencies through Six Sigma techniques
• Real-time data for real-time decision making
• Cost-down and cost-out culture throughout the organization 

Conclusions  –

1. You already have the core corporate support you need for your Six Sigma success
2. You won’t need to reinvent the Six Sigma wheel; build on the foundation, and make it even better, and take it to the next level
3. You’ll  develop the business skill sets and senses to drive Lean Six Sigma at broader and deeper operational and executive levels 

Opportunity

“Best people” is where it all begins. Our client’s commitment to quality, innovation, sales and service begins with their people (possible you?). Attracting and retaining talent is key to the company’s success, and because they want only the best, they deliver exactly that in return:  competitive compensation, a healthy benefit package, additional opportunity for rewards, and always career growth possibilities.

Conclusions  –  Please draw your own.  And if you are indeed among the best-in-class Six Sigma practitioners today, perhaps an image of your possible next step on the career ladder is already forming in your mind. 

Some Additional Details

The position of Director, Six Sigma reports to a company Vice President who is personally very strong and hands-on in continuous improvement, and also holds other major operational responsibilities within the business. He in turn, works directly for the CEO, who has also been personally and directly (Gemba level) involved in Six Sigma and Lean throughout his career.  You’ll be in good company.

The position is based on the Southeastern Coast of the US in a college town which is also known for its attractive seaside resort areas. Lifestyle is appropriate to the setting with scenic beaches and seafood abounding, and with ample cultural, educational and entertainment opportunities available as well. 

Travel should amount to no more than 50%, and a good portion of that would be considered local (not necessarily over night).   

Requirements

You’ll need to be a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt from a recognized program, with at least a BS/BA in Engineering from a top university (an MBA would weigh strongly in your favor). 

We’d like to see a minimum of 10 years Six Sigma operations improvement leadership experience with proven results, leading major change initiatives (multiple Black Belts, multiple locations, globally).

You must also show a few years of hands-on operations (manufacturing)  or plant management experience at some point in your career.  While some consulting background could be beneficial, our ideal candidate will most likely have built the bulk of his or her expertise while excelling as an internal agent of change.  

Finally, you should genuinely believe in change, continuous improvement and growth, both professionally and personally. 

Connect with Us

Please connect with me in whatever way is most convenient for you. We share no information about you with anyone outside our firm until we’ve agreed on this with you. 

No resume?  That’s OK.  If you feel very strongly that you meet all our criteria, let’s talk first.  Call me… 

And, lastly, if you know someone who is absolutely the perfect candidate for this outstanding position, please let them know about the opportunity, or refer them to me in total confidence.

Adam Zak, CEO,  Adam Zak Executive Search 

 az@LeanRecruiter.com  http://LeanRecruiter.com 

+1 (847) 304-5301 direct

Adam Zak Executive Search - Executive Recruiters for the Lean Enterprise

Take a personal stand.  Live your values.  Help transform health care.  Today!    (register and apply here)

No, not in Washington, D.C.  In northern Iowa.  Where what you’ll do isn’t just about adding value. It’s about truly making a critical difference by using your passion for Lean and your dedication to process excellence.  In a place where you can become the driving force for improving the quality of people’s lives. Saving those lives.  Every day. Why not take a closer look?

Why You Want this Position

• You relish an opportunity to combine your professional career objectives with meaningful work that also reflects your personal values and beliefs (respect for people).
• You are personally and professionally obsessed with safety, quality and excellence.
•  You want the excitement of working with talented, visionary teams in one of the most highly-respected professions, within an innovative health care organization that “gets it” about process excellence.
• You thrive in a fast-paced yet collegial environment, where your daily decisions make a direct, clearly visible impact on the operational effectiveness of your organization, and beyond.
• Your mother tells you she always wished you’d gone to medical school…

Introduction

Our client is a faith-based, not-for-profit community health care system that offers comprehensive health care services for people residing throughout northern Iowa and southern Minnesota. Their mission is to continue the healing ministry of the Church, promoting the well-being of people in the communities they serve by living the values of Compassion, Respect, Excellence, Stewardship, and Concern for those who are poor. Our client adds value in the communities it serves by striving to provide each individual with the best personalized care and healing experience in the nation. 

Our client launched its Lean Process Excellence journey approximately three years ago. Slowly at first, and now more quickly and deeply with each passing day, the Process Excellence team is converting the skeptics, broadening the buy-in, and demonstrating measurable results with their systemic approach to Lean transformation.  The CEO is 100% onboard, as are key directors and community leaders (mayor, city council members).  It is, indeed, a partnership with a broad group of committed stakeholders who are passionate about delivering better health care outcomes in a compassionate way.   

And at the moment, there are simply too many transformational opportunities just waiting to be addressed. Hence the need for this Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist.  

The position will be based in a comfortable, warm and welcoming community in central northern Iowa, about equidistant from Minneapolis, MN and Des Moines, IA.  It reports to the Director of Process Excellence and is considered a highly-collaborative individual contributor role.  It is also a highly visible (CEO level) position, one with exceptional growth potential in an industry critical to America’s future.   

The Role

As a Lean Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist  on the Process Excellence Team, you will assist in guiding our client’s Lean/TPS initiatives.  You will be internal coach and mentor to a wide cross-section of medical/clinical and support staff at every point within the organization. From Hoshin planning and deployment events, to nursing station and laboratory value stream mapping and problem-solving activities, you will be there.

What You Bring to the Table

• You have demonstrated deep-dive, hands-on Gemba problem solving and coaching expertise, as well as 30k-foot strategic-level Lean Hoshin perspective and sophistication.
• You offer a proven track record driving operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives, focused on safety, quality, customer satisfaction and cost, utilizing Lean Thinking (Toyota Production System) methodologies.
• You have successfully managed something (plant, focus factory, operational group, etc.) where you also drove a Lean transformation resulting in sustained improvement and positive culture change.
• You have outstanding communications skills.  This enables you to interact with senior management executives and influence their decision-making, as well as to effectively partner with the other exceptionally talented people broadly across this organization. 

Travel  -  Generally limited to local communities within the hospital network. Unusual to be away from home overnight, except for Lean conferences, benchmarking visits, and maybe a trip to the Shingo Prize Awards Conference. 

Compensation  -  Competitive, based on your qualifications;  consisting of base salary, sign-on bonus, partial relocation assistance.

Connect with Us    -  Please connect with me in whatever way is most convenient for you. We share no information about you with anyone outside our firm until we’ve agreed on this with you. If you don’t have a resume, that’s fine. Let’s talk first. 

Adam Zak, Principal  -  Adam Zak Executive Search

Amazing Amazon Kindle

Why You Want this Position   (and here's where you can respond...)

• You crave the excitement of working with the visionary team which created the hottest consumer electronics gadget of the century. And, there’s more to come! 
• You are obsessed with excellence and quality. This company is already attaining a level of world-class quality metrics that other consumer electronics makers would die for. Your mission: take your passion for quality and make it even better!
• You thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial start-up environment where your daily decisions make a direct, clearly visible impact on the operational and financial performance of the company. You relentlessly pursue your personal and professional expectations for performance and results.
• You hunger for meaningful work with an exceptionally talented team, where it’s all about clear and open communication, genuine collaboration, and exceeding customer expectations  - across the whole business.     

Introduction

Our client creates highly engaging and innovative consumer-centric electronic product solutions. The business has grown rapidly in size, scale and scope but still retains, at heart, the start-up mentality which has fueled its wild success. This outsized growth rate requires our client to massively scale-up many of the systems, process and procedures (and their functional leadership) so vital to support the company’s continued advancement into new products and global markets.  Hence this new position, Director, Product Quality. 

The position will be based in the Silicon Valley, California metro area and will report remotely to the company’s Vice President, Global Supply Chain, who is based in Hong Kong.  All product design, development and support functions are performed in California, while manufacturing is currently done on a contract basis in Shenzhen, China. Our client is the wholly-owned subsidiary of highly successful and profitable Fortune 500 parent company, which is also located on the West Coast.  

The Role

Define, lead and take ownership of the product quality organization.  Develop world-class quality thinking and the programs, systems, principles and processes through which quality manifests itself throughout the company.  The results of this effort will be threefold:  exceed customer expectations in every way; reduce total warranty costs across all product lines, and; build the culture and supporting structures to ensure continuous improvement in both.  

What Your Bring to the Table

• You have demonstrated both deep-dive, hands-on experience in shop-floor quality problem solving, and 30k-foot strategic-level quality issues perspective and sophistication.
• You have demonstrated the ability to rapidly and scientifically assess and deal with day-to-day quality correction, while simultaneously anticipating, developing and implementing the quality philosophies, infrastructure, and practices critical to the company’s future success.
• You offer a proven track record driving operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives, focused on product quality, utilizing Lean Manufacturing (Toyota Production System) and Six Sigma methodologies.
• You have outstanding communications skills.  This enables you to interact with senior management executives and influence their decision-making, as well as to effectively partner with other exceptionally talented people broadly across the organization.
• You have recently worked in a high-volume 3C (computer, communication, consumer), fast-moving product lifecycle  electronics organization and have extensive on-the-ground experience in mainland China. 
• Chances are your resume will include the names of other word-class consumer electronics companies such as Apple, Palm, Philips, Sony, Nintendo, Nokia, Cisco and more.  

Travel  -  Because even the best video communications technology has its limitations, the Director, Product Quality should expect to travel frequently, at times on very short notice, to China.

Compensation  -  Excellent base salary, sign-on bonus and restricted stock units (RSUs).  Equity awards consist of stock in our client’s parent company and are historically a major, continuing preferred form of executive compensation. 

Connect with Us  -  Please connect with me in whatever way is most convenient for you. We share no information about you with anyone outside our firm until we’ve agreed on this with you.

Adam Zak, Principal,  Adam Zak Executive Search    +1 (847) 304-5301 direct

 resume@LeanRecruiter.com      az@LeanRecruiter.com

Follow Adam at   http://Twitter.com/LeanThinker    Our primary Web site  http://LeanRecruiter.com

High-Tech Electronic Assemblies

Chatsworth, CA

Background

Our client is a world-class manufacturer of complex and sophisticated electronic devices being incorporated into some of the highest technology systems and platforms for today’s defense, aerospace and medical applications.  As one of the top proprietary electronic manufacturing service (EMS - modules, hybrids, MCM, chip-on-board products) companies in North America,  our client’s successful growth and profitability are a result of its commitment to innovation, quality, customer service and, now LEAN operations.  

The company has launched a major LEAN initiative and is undergoing a complete LEAN Manufacturing transformation. To build and sustain this LEAN focus we require a new Lean Production Manager who can take full charge of day-to-day plant operations while also helping drive the company’s LEAN improvement effort.

Why You Should Consider this Position

·         Create immediate personal, visible impact on the business

·         Run your own manufacturing show

·         Experience extensive customer and supplier interaction

·         Play pivotal role in LEAN transformation

·         Enjoy dynamic, collaborative team environment,   energetic and rewarding work experience

·         Earn rewards based on personal performance  and  your ability to help your team succeed

·         Explore wealth of career growth opportunities  to reach your full potential

·         Develop true leadership strengths  via  people and technical challenges

Key Accountabilities

·         Make product:  responsible for all day-to-day manufacturing operations with focus on safety, quality, cost, and on-time delivery

·         Ensure plant goals and objectives are directly aligned with both customer and manufacturing objectives

·         Lead the plant operational improvement efforts with clear goals for improving on-time delivery, productivity, and inventory turns

·         Lead by example and create atmosphere of accountability in the workplace

·         Provide hands-on leadership and development of direct reports, teams

·         Provide overall guidance for Lean Manufacturing initiatives

Critical to Success Factors

·         Thorough knowledge of, and experience with, production in Lean Manufacturing environment

·         Can-do/do-it-now mentality combined with ability to overcome technical and people obstacles

·         Excellent written and verbal communication skills, business process improvement knowledge, and ability to train others with diverse backgrounds and education levels

·         Demonstrated ability to support teams in a hard-charging work environment

·         Demonstrated track record in implementing change in an organization, with the ability to understand and work within existing systems prior to planning such change

Position Requirements

·         Minimum seven to ten of years hands-on manufacturing leadership experience

·         BS/BA technical  degree

·         Strategic thinking with detailed analytical skills

·         Ability to connect and engage with existing work force

·         Experience in contract manufacturing

Please note that our client is NOT ABLE TO RELOCATE FROM OUTSIDE THE LOCAL AREA 

Please contact Sheila Cunningham or Adam Zak at resume@LeanRecruiter.com or (847) 304-5301

Premier Financial Services Organization

Chicago North-Suburban

Lean Solutions Implementation, Sr. Manager - PDF

The Company

Our client, a $6 billion+  financial services organization, is best known for issuing its own-brand of credit cards which are used by more than 50 million members at some 4 million merchant locations worldwide. The company also has a payment-processing network, owns an EFT ATM network, and in 2006 entered the debit card arena, allowing banks to offer house-branded debit cards. More recently, our client forged reciprocity alliances with card issuers in Japan and China, and just a short while ago agreed to acquire Diners Club International from Citigroup, a business which will add significantly to its international network.

In an unprecedented move, and as part of its strong belief in actually listening to the “voice of the customer”, our client in 2006 announced it would no longer require retailers to charge customers for using credit or debit cards (common practice among competitors).

Spun off from a major diversified investment banking group in 2007, the company has launched a major growth and improvement initiative across its domestic and global operations.  In late 2007 the company committed to and launched itself on a global continuous improvement journey based on LEAN and principles of the Toyota Production System and Six Sigma.  Which brings us to the creation of this new role, that of Lean Solutions Manager.

Background

According to a recent report by McKinsey & Co., financial services “organizations that focus on operational excellence are more likely than others to please their customers, to combine scale with flexibility in product design and delivery, and to manage productivity as a source of competitive advantage.”   Rapid globalization, continued deregulation, and the rising use of eCommerce are just some of the trends adding to the challenges of today's financial service companies. Never before have speed, efficiency, and quality been more required to do business.  

Our client clearly recognizes the advantages of “Lean Operations”. In early 2007 our client’s COO and CFO committed to driving a Lean transformation, and the COO personally took on the role of Champion for this dramatic culture change.  This is based on a collaborative approach to engaging business unit heads across all functional and profit centers within the organization. 

Extensive introductory Lean training efforts began with the assistance of an outside Lean consulting group, and by late 2007 key executives and business unit leaders had become acclimated to thinking Lean.  This training is now continuing at the VP level throughout the organization.

And, again in late 2007, our client recruited a new Vice President of Lean from the outside and established a Lean/Kaizen Promotion/Project Office (KPO) dedicated to the tactics of spreading Lean throughout the organization.

The Position

This position was created with one key purpose in mind: to execute Lean initiative(s) on a day-to-day basis.  If you’re the Lean expert we seek you’ll know exactly what this involves. You will work with Initiative team members (including Lean experts, unit business experts, technology resources, etc.), collaborating with your team members to understand customer needs, map current states, design future states, define metrics, gather and analyze data, develop and promote solutions and, ultimately, produce significant business results across the board.

Is this what you like to do?  Do you have a passion for LEAN? Does this sound like the kind of commitment and dedication  to Lean you want from the organization where you work?  Should we talk?

Details

Position will report directly to the Vice President, Lean, and will be based in the Chicago north-suburban area.  In addition to working directly with Lean Solution teams, this Lean Manager will also participate in development of training materials and will personally teach skills, tools and processes to frontline team members, managers, etc., across the global organization. Extensive collaboration with human resources, training and communications teams as well. Expect travel requirements of approximately 2-3 days per week on a fairly regular basis.

Requirements

• Demonstrated hands-on Lean/Six Sigma leadership experience (at least 5-7 years) within leading Fortune 500 corporation or top-tier Lean/Six Sigma management consulting firm (or similar).
• Ideally, financial services industry experience – strong preference.
• Excellent analytical, organizational/planning, communications and interpersonal skills.
• Collaborative and persuasive problem-solving talent; ability to pull, not push, lean solutions.
• Process and results focus and orientation; a “get-it-done” attitude.
• BS/BA degree, MBA/MA a plus
• Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent.

 Compensation

Highly competitive base salary, performance bonus, excellent benefits package, and relocation assistance as appropriate.

Contact

Adam Zak, Principal,  or  Sheila Cunningham, Director

Adam Zak Executive Search

Executive Recruiting for the Lean Enterprise

POB 129, Barrington, IL 60011-0129  USA

Direct +1 847 304 5301  Main +1 847 304 5300

resume@LeanRecruiter.com          

www.LeanRecruiter.com