Debra is co-founder of the Michigan Lean Consortium and has held senior leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Exide Technologies. She co-hosts The Leaning Edge on Michigan Business Network.
Debra has been teaching lean at the university level for 15+ years and currently runs a consulting practice focused on strategic planning and leadership development. She was raised in a lean household where she first learned about the principles from her parents.
The “Lean” philosophy refers to engaging and involving all levels of employees in development of ideas to provide value to customers by aiming for high quality, low cost and short lead time. A specific kind of leadership style is seen in successful lean organizations which includes rewarding experimentation and developing people into problem solvers.
