Beau Keyte is the founder of Branson, Inc., a management consulting company focused on the application of lean transformation strategies and techniques. Beau began his "lean" consulting career in the mid-80s at the Ford Motor company. He has clients in wide variety of industries such as automotive, healthcare, financial services, pharmaceutical, paper, chemical, refrigeration, distribution, and transportation. Beau has also successfully tied lean initiatives to the "bottom line" through the application of lean cost management techniques.
In addition to assisting companies in implementing lean strategies, Beau also trains organizations in a variety of public and private settings. He is currently a faculty member and instructor for the Lean curriculums at the Lean Enterprise Institute, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he has assisted in the development and implementation of a consistent training program for use within small- and medium-sized manufacturers. Beau has co-authored the book, The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Office and Administrative Processes, which received the Shingo Prize in 2005. Beau received a BSE and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Drew Locher is currently Managing Director for Change Management Associates. CMA provides various Business Improvement Consulting and Organizational Development services to industrial and service organizations. CMA will assist organizations to successfully implement Systems and Quality Management principles within their operations to improve business performance. Since 1986, Drew has been working to implement innovative Business Management strategies in a wide spectrum of business environments. From 1986 to 1990 he worked to develop and deliver Business Improvement programs for General Electric. During this time, he had the opportunity to gain first hand experience in significant business improvement initiatives throughout a large industrial and service company. In 1990, Drew left GE to form CMA. CMA is a consortium of individuals who share a similar business management and improvement vision. They are committed to seeing innovative strategies implemented in all business environments. The CMA approach is practical and application oriented - a 'learn as you're doing and succeeding' approach.
In 1997, CMA partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technologies', Manufacturing Extension Partnership, to develop a "Lean University". For more information, check out the NIST/MEP Lean Website. Since 2001, Drew has proudly been a faculty member of the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), the not-for-profit organization of the co-author of the landmark book "Lean Thinking", James P. Womack. LEI is committed to educating organizations worldwide in the concepts of Lean through its publications and workshops. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Ohio State University delivering Lean related workshops as part of the Fisher School of Business.
In 2004, Drew Locher co-authored book titled, "The Complete Lean Enterprise - Value Stream Mapping for Office and Administrative Processes". In April 2005, the book won the prestigious Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. His new book (2008) is titled, "Value Stream Mapping for Lean Development - a How-to Guide to Streamline Time to Market". Drew received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Delaware in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a Master of Science degree from Drexel University in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has also received a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University.
