Dave Anderson is a co-founder of The ProAction Group. Dave specializes in supply chain operations, with an emphasis in sourcing, logistics, cost accounting, and process reengineering.
In this role, Dave has led clients through numerous engagements to assess operations, identify opportunities for improvement, and implement changes. Dave also served as the general manager for a client, responsible for strategy, sales, marketing, finance, and operations of an internet group purchasing organization. Dave helped create this business and led it to profitability. Dave has experience in manufacturing, distribution, and service industries.
Prior to forming The ProAction Group, Dave spent eight years in operational consulting, including developing Arthur Andersen’s methodology and software tools for activity based costing.
Dave is involved in a number of industry groups, and has spoken on supply chain management principles at the national conference level.
Dave has a BS in Business Administration and Accounting and an MBA from the University of Kansas.
Greg Bashford
Greg Bashford has over 25 years of Lean Manufacturing experience using the Toyota Production System in training, product development, just in time, standard work, Kanban and manufacturing.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Greg worked for Lexington Metal Systems as the General Manager. Greg's responsibilities at Lexington Metals System were working with the Sales Department on forecasting and New Products and with Engineering on New Product launches. Also Greg worked with Manufacturing on producing product in a Just-In-Time environment using the Lean Manufacturing tools from the Toyota Production System and with Finance (Controller) on all plant budgets.
Greg also trained his staff at Lexington Metals on the Toyota Production System and managed continuous improvement throughout the system. Greg and his staff also moved 4 manufacturing locations into one location.
Greg has trained manufacturing facilities in Lean Manufacturing Process tools for continuous improvement like Delco Engine Re-Manufacturing, Morey's Seafood, Ford and others. Some of the Lean tools he implemented were Kanban, 5 S, Quick Changeover, Block scheduling, Standard Work, One Part Flow, Error Proofing, and Sales and Operation Planning.
Greg's additional Lean Manufacturing experience comes from Metalforming Technologies Inc., Lean Manufacturing Consulting, RWD Technologies Inc., and Johnson Controls, Inc.
Gerald Batsford
Gerald Batsford is a veteran executive with over 25 years of experience in supply chain, strategic planning, scheduling, demand forecasting, transportation, inventory management, and systems design and implementation for consumer goods and industrial markets.
While at GEMM Logistics, Gerry executed a supply chain assessment for a $1B pharmaceutical manufacturer and generated process improvements that yielded reductions in inventory of 30%, warehouse operations of 33%, and product returns of 50%. He also implemented strategic sourcing for MRO purchasing at a $2B diesel engine manufacturer in which he developed a forecasting and inventory planning process for all MRO items and implemented 14 point-of-use dispensing machines for 650 MRO materials.
Gerry was also a key executive of a team that accomplished a turnaround and business restructuring that eliminated all North American manufacturing and transitioned the company to importing all products from the Far East. This effort led the company to achieve U.S. market share leadership at $310 million in revenues while making a net profit for the first time in a decade.
Gerry did graduate work in Operations Management at Syracuse University and holds a BA from St. Lawrence University.
Doug Blanchard
Doug Blanchard is an experienced executive with over 30 years of progressive management experience. Doug has applied his leadership skills and experience on numerous client engagements in various areas of business operations, including all aspects of lean enterprise management, business and operations strategy, sales and operations planning, quality systems, new product development, cultural change and organizational development. Additionally, Doug has been a leader in acquisition due diligence assessments and the development of value creation strategies for the M&A segment of our business.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Doug worked for Lexington Home Brands as COO/Executive Vice President of Operations, where he was responsible for a $450 million division with 15 plant locations. Prior to that, Doug worked for Emerson Electric, where he had P&L responsibility for a $300 million division. Doug also has experience at Darling Store Fixtures, Tenneco Automotive, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber.
Doug has a BS in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Akron.
Scott Brewer
Scott Brewer is a CPA and a senior executive with over 20 years of industry and strategic sourcing experience. His focus is helping clients transform underperforming supply chain and procurement organizations into leading functions in the company. He has led consulting engagements in the US and Europe while working with suppliers around the world. His expertise primarily pertains to strategic and low cost country sourcing (including direct production materials), contract negotiations, spend analysis, procurement transformation, executive training, and change management.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Scott led the strategic sourcing consulting practices for various consulting firms. In those roles, he developed and implemented sourcing strategies for manufacturing clients. A key aspect of Scott's approach is to first assess a company's sourcing organization and approach, and to then quantify the impact of a recommended sourcing approach. In addition, to handle the volume of engagements he sold, Scott developed methodologies and training materials to prepare his staff and clients to replicate his work.
Some examples of Scott's work include developing and implementing short-term and long-term sourcing strategies to address service gaps, supply constraints, and organization support resources for an automotive parts manufacturer. As part of this engagement, Scott managed and executed multiple online RFP's and auctions, led the negotiation efforts and, in the end, reduced costs by over $5,000,000 and 17% of the total spend. Scott's solid leadership and sourcing skills helped manage an engine manufacturer's global strategic sourcing program, yielding in excess of $20 million in annual savings (21% reduction in purchase material cost). In addition, the new sourcing strategies added value by reducing cost and inventory, increasing quality and capacity, and outsourcing internal manufacturing operations.
While working at Gibson & Associates, Inc., Scott secured $200 million in cost savings for multiple clients. He implemented strategic sourcing, service enhancements such as vendor managed inventory, cooperative engineering, and reduced carrying costs. He led a global strategic sourcing program that involved direct materials, OEM products, and logistics for a national power tool manufacturer. Scott's work at the client successfully increased inventory turnover, reduced obsolete inventory, increased payment terms, and annualized cost savings of $24 million.
Scott has an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University & a BS in Accounting from Southern Illinois University.
Wes Dearbaugh
Wes Dearbaugh is a seasoned business leader with experience running public and private companies. Wes has deep capabilities in developing growth strategies, marketing, sales, acquiring and effectively integrating add-on companies, and all areas of operations.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Wes was President and Chief Operating Officer of FinishMaster, a publicly traded distributor of automotive paint and body shop supplies. Wes was also President of ATC Distribution Group where he led the organization through significant change and growth and was instrumental in building the $200 million division of ATC into North America’s largest transmission parts distributor. Prior to joining ATC, Wes was a partner with an independent distributor of Cummins diesel engines and parts.
Mike Dempsey
Mike Dempsey is a results oriented leader with a variety of unique manufacturing experiences. Mike's experience includes the following: industrial engineering, quality systems management, plant relocations and plant start-ups, Six Sigma Black-belt certification, Lean manufacturing/ training, and plant management.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Mike worked for L. A. Darling where he had P & L responsibility for a $100 million Division, and also implemented a very successful Lean Business Enterprise initiative over a period of 5 years. Prior to this, Mike worked for Drexel Heritage Furniture as Corporate Vice President of Quality and Continuous Improvement with responsibility for a division containing 11 plants with annual sales in excess of $250 million. Mike also has 20 years of diversified engineering, materials, and quality systems experience in 3 divisions of Emerson Electric.
Mike has a B. S. in Mathematics and Statistics from Southeast Missouri State University.
Perry Hall
Perry has more than twenty-five years experience in lean manufacturing working with clients and their endeavors to implement Lean Manufacturing He has 12 years of Lean experience from Toyota Manufacturing in Georgetown, Kentucky, managing production operations in the body weld department. He has developed extensive training materials and delivered the materials on the production floor through consulting and coaching companies such as SME, Caterpillar, GM Power train, Ford, Dana/Spicer Axel, Siegel - Robert, Intuitive Surgical, Nike, Harley-Davidson, Bose, Turner Power Systems, and the U.S. Air Force.
Prior the joining The ProAction Group, Perry became a program manager focusing on the Ford Production System, working with Ford Power train Lima Ohio and Cleveland Engine and the Shingo Prize effort. He was also a lean engineer for GM Power train, responsible for implementing lean in the 22 North America power train plants.
Perry is also a contributing author in Lean Manufacturing: A Plant Floor Guide published by SME.
Carolyn Henson
Carolyn Henson is an accomplished professional focusing on standard of work documentation, value stream mapping, and conducting inventory and operational analysis for clients. She has experience conducting and analyzing benchmark reports and guiding companies through the request for proposal process.
Carolyn has worked closely with several companies in the health and medical industry and other sectors streamlining and documenting the procedures necessary to complete day-to-day work. Her detailed and organized approach to documenting standard work has helped streamline processes of billing, customer service, shipping, maintenance, and other departments. These clients have seen an increase in efficiencies, a decrease in errors, and possess detailed training materials.
Her role in value stream mapping events has allowed companies to better understand their processes, visualize their goals, and create detailed plans towards a tangible future state. These events have resulted in clients reducing their non-value added time and increasing productivity on the floor and in the office. Carolyn's attention to detail and ability to dissect data has been instrumental when conducting inventory and customer segmentations.
Carolyn has a BS in Communication Studies with Magna Cum Laude honors from Illinois State University. She is certified in Business and Administrative Communication and Human Resource Management.
Paul Howell
Paul Howell is a supply-chain professional with solid expertise in lean manufacturing, strategic planning, revenue forecasting, and sales and marketing.
Before joining The ProAction Group, Paul held various positions of increasing responsibility at Emerson Electric Co. In his most recent role as General Manager, Paul was in charge of relocating manufacturing from St. Louis, MO to Suzhou, China. This required Paul to develop new operating and customer service systems, and new quality assurance procedures. Due to Paul's leadership, the project was completed on-time and on-budget.
Prior to that, Paul was a Plant Manager in which he initiated and completed a Lean Manufacturing plan where he developed a visual workplace utilizing kanban techniques and a value stream map for each of the major business units. As a direct result of Paul's efforts, productivity increased by 19% in less than two years, delivery performance improved from 49% to 66%, and saved $166,000 in scrap costs in one year.
Paul also served in the U.S. Army for 14 years in a wide range of assignments, including executive officer of The Old Guard, a 250-person company serving the White House and its visiting foreign dignitaries. As an Operations Officer, he coordinated the training and readiness for Reserve forces in 4 states and 5,000 soldiers. And as an ROTC Professor at McNeese State University, he was a Marketing instructor for all ROTC cadets.
Paul has a BS from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduated from the U.S. Army Ranger School, and earned an MA from McNeese State University.
Scott Lahr
Scott Lahr has over 17 years of global supply chain, production planning, manufacturing, inventory and warehousing management, traffic management, corporate quality, customer service, and packaging engineering responsibilities for US and European operations. He has experience creating and implementing sales & operations planning, quality systems, warehouse systems, ERP, strategic sourcing processes, outsourced models, and employee performance and merit review processes.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Scott worked for Turtle Wax as the Senior Vice President of the Global Supply Chain. In that role he led sourcing, manufacturing and outsourcing transformations that resulted in a 40% improvement in EBITDA, over $5MM savings (13%) in annual purchases, a reduction in employee turnover to less than 10%, and improvement in plant efficiency levels by 11%.
Scott was also a Plant Manager for H.B. Fuller Company of St. Paul, Minnesota. During his 9 year term with Fuller, Scott led Fuller's largest glue plant to gaining ISO9002 certification, and later led another plant to the ISO9001 certification. Additionally, he reduced the unit cost of manufacturing 17% in its largest powder coatings plant.
Scott's leadership style grew out of his early career role as a college football coach for Kansas State University and Wabash College.
Scott earned his M.S.M. in Operations Management from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. He has a B.A. from Wabash College where he studied Chemistry and Physics and earned a teaching certificate.
Michael Lemon
Michael Lemon is an experienced professional with a focused background on profitability improvement and global competitiveness. His background includes over 30 years of experience in the areas of International sourcing and manufacturing management for Fortune 500 corporations. Prior to working with ProAction Mike was responsible for growing the offshore sourcing environment at Lexington Furniture Industries from $15mm/year to $50mm/year while favorably restructuring offshore financial agreements with the supply base. As a plant Manager with Henredon Furniture Mike played a leadership role in successfully increasing production by 57% while reducing staff levels by 23% without layoff. Inventories were reduced by 35% in the same time frame. While Director of Materials and Manufacturing Systems at Pitney Bowes Mike lead the effort for his division to become the only recognized "Class A MRP11" division in the corporation.
Mike has aided ProAction with several projects both in Mexico and the United States. These included Kan Ban development and implementation, Manufacturing efficiencies, and international logistics projects.
Mike is degreed in communications from the University of Bridgeport. He also studied International Business at Norwalk Community College and Physics at NY Institute of Technology. He has published 13 papers on various management subjects and was nominated for the Shingo award of Excellence in 1995. Mike also taught Capacity Planning at Catawba Community College and Just In Time Manufacturing at the American Production and Inventory Control Society headquarters in Pittsburg.
Skip Quinlivan
Skip is an experienced kaizen leader and lean implementer. He has led improvement efforts for Eaton, Cutler Hammer, Snap On and Copper Tools. He has led events at 40 different Danaher plants as well as more than 200 additional facilities, leading over 1350 Kaizen efforts to date. He has helped companies such as Copeland Corporation triple their output.
Prior to The ProAction Group, Skip received extensive Kaizen training under the direction of Dr. Shigeo Shingo at Utica Tool from 1982 - 1987. He received additional Kaizen training from Shingijutsu's Masters, Chihiro Nakao from 1985 - 1992. While at Danaher and Copeland he developed a corporate SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies) and TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) training program. He has also developed and implemented TPM and Machine Lubrication programs at several plant sites.
Skip is also affiliated with the following Colleges and State Universities: North Carolina State University, The University of Dayton, Saint Vincent College, The University of Alabama in Huntsville and Haywood Vocation Opportunities.
Skip Quinlivan attended Genessee Community College in Batavia, New York and Orangeburg Community College in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He has 36 years of experience as an engineer as well as being a tool and die designer at Utica Tool and Danaher Tool Group.
Mark Sebby
Mark has more than 20 years of experience in leading Quality and Lean improvement initiatives and implementing quality management systems within manufacturing organizations. As a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and expert in Quality Improvement who utilizes Lean, Six Sigma, and other Continuous Improvement methodologies, Mark has successfully led, taught and mentored project teams for multiple companies to achieve desired quality improvement, productivity improvement, and cost-savings goals. Mark has also guided companies in creating and implementing quality management systems, including certifications to ISO9000 and TS16947.
Before joining The ProAction Group, Mark has defined and led numerous process improvement projects and has performed Lean training. Utilizing tools such as DOE, VSM, TOC, and advanced statistical analysis, effective action plans were developed and implemented to improve yield, reduce material usage and reduced waste that included inspection and rework activities. Mark has also led Lean initiatives including Kaizen events, Quick Changeovers, Cellular Manufacturing, Standard Work, and Downtime Reduction to improve overall productivity and yield.
Mark's prior career experience includes positions in Quality Management and Engineering (Supplier, Process and/or Customer), and as a Six Sigma Black Belt, in Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies in the automotive industry, including ARC Automotive, Lear Corporation, and Matsushita Electronics Corporation (Panasonic). Mark has also performed key roles in the start-up of multiple facilities, validating new processes and products, negotiating customer agreements and obtaining customer approvals prior to product launch.
Mark has an MBA from The University of Tennessee, a B.S. in Business and is working towards his Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics.
Robert Sherlock
Bob Sherlock is an experienced executive and consultant with over 20 years of management experience. He has led client assignments in pricing and profitability management, go-to-market launch planning, exploration of new markets, and sales effectiveness.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Bob founded and was CEO of Delivery Station, a venture-funded logistics service provider. Bob previously served as Vice President of Marketing for Wickes Lumber, and held increasingly responsible management positions at General Electric Company (on GE's Corporate Staff and in the GE Supply, Consumer Electronics, and Appliance businesses).
He is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, Marketing Executives Network Group, and the American Solar Energy Society.
Bob has a BA in Economics from the University of Maine, and an MBA from The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.
Pete Stamatis
Pete Stamatis is a skilled and experienced executive with over 20 years of expertise in multiple disciplines, including marketing, product management, sales, supply chain and operations. He has experience in a broad range of businesses, including; consumer, business to business, and service industries.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Pete served as Director, Global Electronic Components Business of Honeywell Power Management and Advanced Magnetics, and held increasingly responsible management positions in GE consumer and industrial businesses. Pete has also held various positions in Centerior Energy Services, MBI Incorporated, and Eagle Industries.
Pete has a BS in Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Skip Steward
Skip Steward is a results-oriented leader with a proven track record for delivering significant contributions to bottom-line profitability, while increasing employee performance, customer satisfaction and improving productivity. Skip has 17 years in business expansions, start-ups, and turnarounds. He is a recognized leader on quality systems including Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
Prior to joining The ProAction Group, Skip worked as the Operations Manager for Emerson Electric where he had P & L responsibility for a $150 million facility. He also worked outside of Emerson conducting private operational consulting to both manufacturing and non-manufacturing businesses. He worked with all levels within these organizations from top management to line workers. He has been recognized for superior project management and communication skills both within and outside of Emerson. Prior to his work at Emerson, Skip worked at L.A. Darling holding a corporate Quality Improvement Specialist position. Under Skip's leadership, companies have experienced double-digit improvement in cost and productivity. In addition to leading improvement initiatives, Skip has led major innovation efforts to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of an organization.
Skip has a BS and MBA from Arkansas State University. Skip also holds the following professional certifications: Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Lean Champion, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) auditor, Certified Trainer for Six Thinking Hats.
Jeff Temple
Jeff Temple is a partner and co-founder of The ProAction Group. He directs the firm's strategy and business development activities and is responsible for managing select private equity and corporate client relationships. With private equity clients, Jeff leads acquisition assessments, develops portfolio company growth and improvement strategies, and helps prepare companies for exit. He also works with company management teams, creating and executing major profit improvement initiatives.
Jeff has successfully led numerous client engagements that involved developing business solutions then turning them from concept to reality. Through these programs, clients are today operating in fundamentally different ways and realizing enduring benefits. Jeff has extensive experience in sourcing and selling to strategic customers. In addition, Jeff has led engagements in strategy development and execution, sales and marketing, manufacturing, inventory management, and supply chain operations.
Prior to forming The ProAction Group, Jeff worked in consulting, helping middle market companies implement profit improvement projects.
Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois.
Justin L. Townsley, Jr.
Justin Townsley has more than 30 years of experience as a Senior Executive, with extensive capability in innovation for organizations as diverse as Fortune 100 service and manufacturing companies and governments of the U.S. and NATO countries. His experience also includes a long and successful history with early-stage organizations, both as subdivisions of existing larger parents, and as independent start-ups. Throughout his experience, there has been significant track record of process improvement, and innovation, particularly involving problems that had previously defied resolution. The projects he has led include professional services, manufacturing, retailing, not-for-profit, and government.
Justin spent the last 10 years as an independent consultant in the areas of his experience, the last 3 as founder and Principal of StarAnchor, a firm exclusively devoted to commercialization of breakthrough innovations, and working predominantly in the industrial product and process, extractive, and energy industries.
He holds a BS (Economics) from the United States Air Force Academy, where he also studied a variety of engineering disciplines. He has an MA (Economics) from the University of Pittsburgh, specializing in Economic Development. He holds ABD status in the Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, where his concentrations were Quality Management, Strategy, and Organization.
Timothy Van Mieghem
Tim Van Mieghem, a co-founder of The ProAction Group, implements projects and delivers services that result in improved clients' operations. Tim specializes in achieving the dual goals of obtaining specific results, whether reducing costs or enhancing services, and training the client to continue the process.
Tim has designed and implemented innovative ways for clients to manage the costs, benefits, and risks of purchased goods and services, logistics, and inventory management and control. These projects include helping clients develop international sourcing organizations and strategies; design distribution networks; negotiate long term alliances with suppliers, carriers, and customers; reengineer logistics and order flow processes; and implement quality and lean manufacturing systems.
Tim is active in promoting supply chain management techniques. His book, Implementing Supplier Partnerships, from Prentice Hall, is the leading text on creating and maintaining world-class supplier agreements. In addition, Tim has published many articles and presented speeches on Sourcing, Logistics, and International Distribution. Tim focuses on the benefits of trust and commitment within the supply chain, the benefits of sharing information with partners and employees, as well as on effective techniques to achieve specific operational goals.
Tim has a BS in Accounting from Marquette University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Paul Winandy
Paul is a technology executive with 25 years of experience managing IT operations, delivering complex software implementations, and leading IT and product development organizations.
Paul has held key leadership roles with multiple firms. As a Chief Operating Officer at SkillSurvey, Inc. Paul was responsible for product management, product development and customer service operations for their web service provider of HR solutions. He also was responsible for design, delivery, implementation and support of KhiMetrics’ (acquired by SAP) pricing optimization solution for multi-national retail accounts as the Director of Strategic Accounts. Paul was a Partner for Solutions Consulting (acquired by Perot Systems) in charge of account management and project delivery for several Fortune 1000 companies, and responsible for growth and management of two consulting practice areas, Supply Chain Management and ERP.
Paul worked in a wide variety of industries including enterprise software, semiconductors, consumer packaged goods, retail, distribution, and transportation. He also provided IT consulting services to the following key clients: AMD, Albertsons, Lowe’s, Avnet, Coca-Cola Bottling, Sears, Cargill, MicroAge, and Church & Dwight.
