Following an honours degree in Electronics from the University of Glamorgan,
Huw gained extensive experience working within a number of worldwide
organisations including Sony and CandC Electronics.
During his time at Sony, as Product Planning Manager Huw was directly
responsible for evaluating and costing concept ideas, developing training
materials and training of European sales companies. He also took the role of Component Quality Manager, managing Sony supply chain
improvements and initiating training programs to encompass the latest quality
practices.
Huw then became senior product manager at CandC Electronics, and joined
consultancy WIT Systems, specialising in systems for continuous improvement .
Huw is now the product director of WIT Business Systems Ltd offering Supply
Chain and Quality Management Solutions for multinational and SME customers.
He has years of experience of project management, specifically quality
management within supply chains. His is adept at introducing systems to develop
and further quality control, evaluation, preparation and execution of change.
Huw is also director of a separate division within the company entitled 'WIT
Training', focusing on providing Lean and Six Sigma training and consultancy to
organisations.
John Rees
Professor Rees obtained an honours degree in
electrical engineering from Imperial College and a doctorate in image
processing from the University of Glamorgan. Having worked in quality with the
Ministry of Defence and Intel, he has led significant employer focused projects
in the applications of e-commerce and mobile technology for business including
West Midlands Mobile and Wireless, Mobile Technology for Business and TRY3G,
creating the centre of excellence in mobile technology at Staffordshire
University. His work in knowledge management has centred on the identification
of knowledge value in the business, and using the understanding of business
value to apply KM and lean methods to business improvement. He is leading a
research team developing services for industry based on these activities. As a
leading business education specialist, he has served on Advantage West
Midlands' E-business Strategy Forum, ICT Strategy Forum, ICT Workforce
Development Task Group, the West Midlands Transnational Working Group, and
Technology for Learning Task Group, the Intellect UK working group on Knowledge
Economy Metrics, and various government projects in support of small and medium
enterprises. He is currently Dean of Technology at Southampton Solent
University.
Nigel Ward
Before his move into consulting Nigel gained operational
experience within a variety of roles for the Royal Navy. Having held
engineering positions ashore and at afloat he has developed an innate
understanding of operational issues that can be faced by global maritime
operations. As a Change Manager he has successfully implemented and supported
the continuous improvement program within the training environment and
commercial dockyards. Nigel has spent many years working within the British
Defence Sector within different roles. As System Engineering and Management
Trainer in HMS Collingwood he was involved in the design and delivery of System
Engineering and Management Training courses, including the introduction of
innovative delivery techniques across the Training Unit. He later progressed to
creating an internal consultancy team in Portsmouth Naval Base to provide the
leadership and training for the implementation of Portsmouth 21st Century
continuous improvement program which has been rolled out to include other
commercial organisations residing within Portsmouth Dockyard. Nigel's studies
with the Lean Enterprise Research Centre have enhanced his knowledge of the
latest change management techniques being developed specifically for the
service environment. He has in depth knowledge of the latest continuous
improvement techniques and extensive hands on experience of facilitating and
implementing continuous improvement projects. He is an accomplished trainer
with the ability to effectively transfer knowledge to clients. Nigel has
recently been appointed Change Manager and Facilitator for creation and
development of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Tim Carrier
Graduating from the University of York Tim gained experience in a number of
global organisations. Following his Six Sigma training Tim has forged a career
of improving business productivity. With Blue Chip and SME companies in his
portfolio, his straight approach has turned around many businesses across
Europe and in the UK. His early career started in Supplier Quality Assurance
but quickly moved to Procurement leading to Supplier development and has
delivered significant savings through restructuring supply chains. With a
strong Engineering background Tim has also focussed on how new products are
bought to market ensuring sustainability of the benefits. This integrated
holistic approach drives the business to deliver "better, faster, cheaper!"
Tim's ethos is simple "People, Process, Profit" and it is this that has helped
create a step change in a FTSE 250 company's' productivity programme where he
is currently engaged. Effectively doubling engagement throughout the business
the programme has delivered a 14%, year on year, improvement in productivity.
The key to his success is simply to empower people by providing tools and data
to make decisions and effectively managing the change through strength of
leadership.
