Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Forward is the Baseline! Ever action, plan, or strategic effort starts with a baseline. My goal everyday is that no matter what comes at me or my teams, we look forward as our baseline to improving, conquerong problems, and finding success. My professional experience has taught me that whether it's recovering from a problem project, Initiating tough changes, or growing a new initiative, always finding the next step forward is critical. Looking back can be critical for learning but finding the next step forward is the goal.
Key responsibility is the project cost and schedule ownership of the design and delivery of the first SMR Reactor Pressure Vessel to be built in North America. Aligned engineering teams across customer, vendor, and internal teams and eliminated multiple "full stop" issues into successful forward progress towards on time delivery. Leading the teams building major components for new and existing nuclear power applications
Accountable for $1M+ annual development budget to identify and execute internal innovation projects. Focus was on the innovation happening everyday in operations and new product/capability offerings to support focus on the E-mobility and Battery markets. Implemented key metrics and business tools to control funnel of ideas, IP capture, and selection process. This resulted in projects that allowed capture of new business with existing customers. I developed corporate strategy with the global team including sales and marketing, engineering, and executive to align innovation's role within the organization. I led the M&A process to evaluate commercial fit and terms for bringing in new technology and capability to the organization through acquisition.
Special assignment to take on the implementation of the Planview Project Portfolio Management software across all ATS Industrial Automation sites in North America. Lead a team of IT and both internal and external Planview SMEs to configure the tool to the ATS processes. Guided business process owners across ATS IA to align on core project management processes to align the various processes and tools currently being used at four different sites Guided the steering committee of both the ATS Industrial Automation leadership and ATS Corporate IT leaders through challenges in the implementation process to get support and approval for changes in scope and requirements that were not originally considered but critical to success. Turned final implementation of Planview over to a new global Planview leader to drive final process alignment and monitor conversion of all sites into the new tool.
Seized an opportunity to facilitate and lead the team strategic planning to turnaround a business unit. Target was to return business to growth and focus on product development. Strategic planning provided the opportunity to take over leadership of the ~65 person team and full P&L responsibility for a +$30M dollar operations while a permanent leader was found. Finalized site strategy to focus the business on products and solutions to support the e-mobility, battery, and hydrogen fuel cell markets. Led the change management process from the previous leader, to myself as interim, and finally to the new business leader.
Operations Manager for large material handling equipment and structures for the agricultural and industrial markets
I was presented with the task to answer the question of how to develop a predictable, reliable, operations organization within a fast paced research and discovery organization. There was significant time and effort required to understand and navigate how to implement processes for stability while still allowing for the flexibility and pivots required by a young and nimble startup. Built solid collaboration and partnerships with an incredible technical team, which by nature is resistant to structure, to succeed.
Enjoyed the challenge of testing and refining numerous project management techniques to bring predictability and focus to an extremely complex and rapidly changing R&D program. I am sure there are more complex problems out there, but nanotechnology and semiconductors are incredible! Working with the company leadership and dedicated team leads, we evolved from spreadsheet based goals and targets to using already available project management tools and software to provide visibility to the entire organization. This included finally supporting the transfer of project management responsibility to the technical project leads to eliminate the need for a central project management role to reduce the redundancy and put control in the hands of those that could see challenges and changes first.
Project Management at ATS provided the opportunity to run projects as if you were CEO of your own company. Asking the right questions, negotiating and structuring a team properly to succeed, providing the vision to that team, and managing the cost, risk, and schedule of the project were completely left to you. This allowed for an experience that taught that a successful leader is not at the head of the team, but provides the hub for the team to work around and succeed through. By developing relationships with other stakeholders and company senior leaders, building trust and credibility, and taking accountability and ownership I was able to succeed by building a network of strong engaged players around me that would pickup things that I missed, and help me eliminate roadblocks for others that they could not clear themselves. This made not only my projects successful, but left teams energized for the next challenge and to find ways to get better from what we learned. ATS also taught me the benefit of mentorship and how those relationships are built and encouraged. I had the great pleasure of having mentoring relationships with very senior members of the organization and with those around me that I was able to both give and gain insight from. This exchange drives the great questions that fuel team's desire to grow and take on bigger and more challenging problems.