Don't miss this opportunity to draw on the wealth of experience that two lean leaders, Jerry Bussell and Helen Zak, have accumulated after decades of practical application, in both manufacturing and service environments.
Each year, AME recognizes individuals for their long-term contributions to the body of knowledge and the community of practice of enterprise excellence. This interactive session allows attendees the opportunity to get ‘up close and personal’ with the 2017 Hall of Fame inductees, Jerry Bussell and Helen Zak. Each will be sharing their Top 5 learnings from a combined 70 years of experience. They will then engage in what is expected to be spirited Q&A sessions as they meet with smaller groups of attendees. Come with your questions and be prepared to get engaged!
Jerry Bussell has been formally recognized as one of the top lean practitioners and leaders in North America, with a strong track record of leading and advising companies in numerous industries on how to implement highly successful lean transformations. He is a graduate of St. John’s Fisher College (BA) and Baylor University (MBA) and has enjoyed a highly successful career in operations for 46 years. His career includes tenures at Kraft Foods, International Hydron, Allergan, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Medtronic. Bussell led the operations group for Medtronic Surgical Technologies, serving as VP of both global operations and operational excellence. Under his leadership, Medtronic’s Jacksonville facility received several awards for operational excellence. Industry Week recognized it as one of North America’s 10 best manufacturing plants (2002). It also received the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence (2003) and the Shingo Silver Medallion (2010). Bussell received Medtronic’s Wallin Award (2003) for creating a national model for lean manufacturing, and was inducted into the Shingo Academy for Outstanding Contributions to Operational Excellence (2005). Since Medtronic, he has served as an executive advisor for Underwriters Laboratories and was honored with the Shingo Research and Publication Award (2013) for his book, “Anatomy of a Lean Leader.” He continues to guide companies on their lean journeys, serving as the executive director of the Jacksonville Lean Consortium and president of Bussell Lean Associates. www.busselllean.com 
Helen Zak is chief development officer of Catalysis, a not-for-profit educational institute with a mission to transform the health care industry using lean thinking. She has 32 years of lean leadership experience in the automotive, capital equipment, and health care industries, including engineering roles at General Motors and plant management roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Zak served as COO of the Lean Enterprise Institute where she worked with Jim Womack to spread the topic of lean throughout the world and to every industry. She has contributed to 20 published works, helped design numerous educational programs and is a frequent speaker on the topic of lean.Zak helped to establish the Lean Education Academic Network, The Lean Global Network, the Catalysis Healthcare Value Network and the Center for Lean Engagement and Research. She serves as faculty at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, a coach for the Master of Business of Operational Excellence Program at Fisher College of Business at Ohio State and an examiner for the Shingo Prize. www.createvalue.org
