Learn how organizations are transforming their new product development systems to consistently deliver new products that customers actually want. Hear about the challenges to improving product development processes organizations have experienced and how they worked through them.
Our improvement efforts are too frequently rework for things that should have been designed differently in the first place. Many companies, including those represented on this panel, are taking steps to change this by deeply understanding what customers value, then focusing on designing the product and the processes that bring the product to life together. During this two-hour session, time will be split between hearing from the panelists during a moderator-led panel, then each panelist will join in small group discussions. This will allow you time to engage in longer, more personal conversations with the panelists and the moderator as each rotates from group to group.
Katrina Appell is passionate about supporting organizations in improvement and transformation with 10+ years of coaching, facilitating, training, and team development experience. She is president of Katrina Appell Consulting Inc. and is a lean product and process development coach and faculty member at the Lean Enterprise Institute. She has experience as a senior lean consultant at Liker Lean Advisors and as a lean coach at the University of Michigan Health System. Appell has a BSc degree in general engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MSc degree in engineering and doctor of philosophy in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Howard Kinkade is manager of Products Management, Gas Compressor Business for Solar Turbines Incorporated (a Caterpillar company), accountable for the development and program execution of new and sustaining product strategies. He has 35 years of engineering and product development leadership. Having spent the last 10 years leading organizations through innovative change and re-birth, Kinkade believes in the importance of leadership’s engagement in creating high performing cultural values that continuously evolves and improves toward a common vision. He has an under-graduate degree is in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and is a certified black belt. 
Ken Pyo is a chief engineer at Honda R&D Americas, Inc., Ohio, where he is leading a lean transformation effort to improve processes and efficiencies. He began his career at Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc., starting in a dynamic manufacturing environment of rapid growth and constant change, which was building the foundation of North American manufacturing for Honda. With more than 20 years of Honda manufacturing experience, he transferred to HRA-O to enhance the next generation development flow used for the 2015 Acura TLX. Pyo earned a BSc degree from the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
John Miller has been in new product development for over 25 years, first in automotive product development then at Herman Miller, where he has spent the last seven years helping to implement lean into the NPD process. He has worked primarily in dimensional engineering, new product quality and engineering management. He has supported the development of continuous improvement through practicing and coaching people of all levels, from product engineering, Herman Miller plants, supplier plants and quality function. Miller has a BSc degree in industrial engineering from Lawrence Technological University.
Brandon Linford is a director of product development at Apergy - a leading provider of highly engineered equipment and technologies that help companies drill for and produce oil and gas safely and efficiently. He is leading the US Synthetic drilling technologies segment through its lean product development transformation. Over the past three years, he has helped this segment double the speed of NPD. Linford has held numerous positions during his career, including process engineer, in-house customer engineer at Halliburton, product manager, and value stream leader. Linford holds a BSc degree in manufacturing engineering and an MBA, both from Brigham Young University.
