Former Toyota Executives and Members Driving Your Operational Excellence Journey
Our team brings over decades of combined Toyota and manufacturing experience to every client engagement, ensuring you benefit from authentic expertise that cannot be found in generic consulting firms.
Each team member has lived the Toyota Production System at the highest levels, implementing TPS across forty countries and navigating diverse industries, cultures, and economic conditions with remarkable success. We have walked the path you are embarking upon and understand what it takes to achieve sustainable operational excellence.
Our collective experience spans automotive manufacturing, aerospace, defense, healthcare, logistics, energy, and government operations, giving us the versatility and wisdom that only comes from decades of real-world practice. We are not consultants who studied Lean from textbooks or workshops. We learn from actual experience.
Tim serves as Project Leader and Lead Advisor for American Kaizen, bringing over 32+ years of manufacturing, operations, quality, and safety experience across the automotive and furniture industries
Al serves as Project Leader and Lead Advisor for American Kaizen, bringing a distinguished career spanning General Motors and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, where he was a key individual
Rocky serves as Project Leader and Lead Advisor for American Kaizen, bringing 40+ years of experience leading operational excellence across Toyota, NUMMI, Gestamp, and other leading automotive
Patty serves as Project Leader and Lead Advisor for American Kaizen, bringing 32+ years of experience leading operational excellence across Toyota locations in North America. Her journey began as a production team member in the Plastics department at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky
Monica serves as Project Leader and Lead Advisor for American Kaizen, bringing 30+ years of experience at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, where she held key roles in safety, Human Resources, and production leadership. Her career began as a production team member, providing
Angie spent 14 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, including a role on the Paint Pilot Team during the Lexus Paint startup.....
Angie spent 14 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, including a role on the Paint Pilot Team during the Lexus Paint startup.....
Ray brought 24 years of experience at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky to every engagement, including his role as Bumper Paint Group Leader managing.....
Ray brought 24 years of experience at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky to every engagement, including his role as Bumper Paint Group Leader managing.....
Stanley’s 33-year career at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky included serving as an Assembly Team Leader guiding a five-person team to consistent KPI achievement.....
Stanley’s 33-year career at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky included serving as an Assembly Team Leader guiding a five-person team to consistent KPI achievement.....
Vic’s path at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky moved from Production Team Member through Production Team Leader and into Human Resources giving him a rare, well-rounded view of both floor operations and people development.....
Vic’s path at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky moved from Production Team Member through Production Team Leader and into Human Resources giving him a rare, well-rounded view of both floor operations and people development.....
Tim’s career bridges Toyota and outside industry, giving him a broader lens on how TPS principles translate beyond a single plant. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he supported the Lexus Start-Up as a Sensory Skills Trainer......
Tim’s career bridges Toyota and outside industry, giving him a broader lens on how TPS principles translate beyond a single plant. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he supported the Lexus Start-Up as a Sensory Skills Trainer......
Jay spent nearly three decades as a Production Team Leader at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky before joining American Kaizen in 2021. His experience centers on General Assembly — Trim, Chassis, and Final .....
Jay spent nearly three decades as a Production Team Leader at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky before joining American Kaizen in 2021. His experience centers on General Assembly — Trim, Chassis, and Final .....
Eric’s nearly 30-year career at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky took him from Assembly Team Member all the way to Group Leader and Conveyance Group Leader, including leading the logistics group to ISO 9001 certification.....
Eric’s nearly 30-year career at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky took him from Assembly Team Member all the way to Group Leader and Conveyance Group Leader, including leading the logistics group to ISO 9001 certification.....
Ken is a plant-turnaround specialist with a track record of measurable financial impact. As Plant Manager at Toyo Seat, he led a full plant turnaround, cutting annual labor costs by nearly $3 million, eliminating overtime, and implementing.....
Ken is a plant-turnaround specialist with a track record of measurable financial impact. As Plant Manager at Toyo Seat, he led a full plant turnaround, cutting annual labor costs by nearly $3 million, eliminating overtime, and implementing.....
David built his career supporting some of Toyota’s most technically demanding launches. As a Group Lead at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas and .....
David built his career supporting some of Toyota’s most technically demanding launches. As a Group Lead at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas and .....
Ray brought 24 years of experience at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky to every engagement, including his role as Bumper Paint Group Leader managing.....
Ray brought 24 years of experience at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky to every engagement, including his role as Bumper Paint Group Leader managing.....
Lori’s expertise centers on driving results through Kaizen leadership — as a Quality Circle Leader, she led process-elimination initiatives that improved safety, quality .....
Lori’s expertise centers on driving results through Kaizen leadership — as a Quality Circle Leader, she led process-elimination initiatives that improved safety, quality .....
Freida spent 20 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, moving from Production Team Leader to Quality Team Member across Trim, Final, and the .....
Freida spent 20 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, moving from Production Team Leader to Quality Team Member across Trim, Final, and the .....
David B is a Certified Smooth Motion Kaizen (SMK) Trainer, having completed nine months of training and certification under a North America Master Trainer, and has since delivered more than 40 SMK classes to Group Leaders and above.....
David B is a Certified Smooth Motion Kaizen (SMK) Trainer, having completed nine months of training and certification under a North America Master Trainer, and has since delivered more than 40 SMK classes to Group Leaders and above.....
Jeff brings a rare specialization in lean maintenance systems. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he supported daily plant equipment operations and preventive maintenance programs.....
Jeff brings a rare specialization in lean maintenance systems. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he supported daily plant equipment operations and preventive maintenance programs.....
Jimmy’s 25 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky spanned Trim and Final assembly, where he consistently met daily quality and productivity targets and applied FMDS and 5S principles to strengthen workplace organization.....
Jimmy’s 25 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky spanned Trim and Final assembly, where he consistently met daily quality and productivity targets and applied FMDS and 5S principles to strengthen workplace organization.....
Mike’s career reflects deep expertise in Toyota’s logistics and supply chain systems, spanning more than two decades in Production Control. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he managed North America External Logistics, Foreign.....
Mike’s career reflects deep expertise in Toyota’s logistics and supply chain systems, spanning more than two decades in Production Control. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he managed North America External Logistics, Foreign.....
Roger specialized in internal logistics process improvement as a Production Control Logistics Operations Analyst at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, where he managed yard operations and applied TPS principles to direct, main, and sequence routes......
Roger specialized in internal logistics process improvement as a Production Control Logistics Operations Analyst at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, where he managed yard operations and applied TPS principles to direct, main, and sequence routes......
Heather brings a distinctive perspective: applying Toyota Production System principles outside the automotive industry entirely. She implemented the first Sports Medicine concept at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, integrating athletic trainers into the plant’s safety culture.....
Heather brings a distinctive perspective: applying Toyota Production System principles outside the automotive industry entirely. She implemented the first Sports Medicine concept at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, integrating athletic trainers into the plant’s safety culture.....
Renae spent 32 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, serving as Group Leader across Plantwide People Development, Quality Control Assembly Inspection, and the Quality Control Safety Team. She coordinated mandatory training scheduling plant-wide.....
Renae spent 32 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, serving as Group Leader across Plantwide People Development, Quality Control Assembly Inspection, and the Quality Control Safety Team. She coordinated mandatory training scheduling plant-wide.....
Jamie P has led Lean transformation initiatives for manufacturing organizations, consistently delivering 10–20% productivity improvements through waste elimination and process redesign. As a Model Change Specialist at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky.....
Jamie P has led Lean transformation initiatives for manufacturing organizations, consistently delivering 10–20% productivity improvements through waste elimination and process redesign. As a Model Change Specialist at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky.....
Gary has spent his entire career in the automotive industry since 1979, including 28 years in the Assembly Department at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky. That depth of tenure reflects a rare, ground-level understanding of how TPS principles hold up over .....
Gary has spent his entire career in the automotive industry since 1979, including 28 years in the Assembly Department at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky. That depth of tenure reflects a rare, ground-level understanding of how TPS principles hold up over .....
Angie spent 14 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, including a role on the Paint Pilot Team during the Lexus Paint startup — one of the most demanding launches in the plant’s history. Her expertise spans vehicle body weld and paint, Floor Management Development System (FMDS), and 5S, with a strong track record in structured problem solving through Quality Circles, A3, and PDCA. As a certified TPS Trainer, Angie has led Jishuken activities and Kaizen events while managing paint quality inspections and work-in-process flow. She combines a sharp eye for KPI improvement with a genuine commitment to workplace safety and ergonomics — the kind of floor-level discipline that only comes from two decades inside a Toyota plant.
Ray brought 24 years of experience at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky to every engagement, including his role as Bumper Paint Group Leader managing teams of 20 to 30 members. A specialist in Value Stream Mapping and vehicle quality across lab, line, and shipping, Ray built his reputation on structured problem solving — A3, 8D, PDCA — paired with JKK (built-in quality with ownership). He’s led Jishuken activities and Kaizen events, applied FMEA for risk analysis, and used Six Sigma and DMAIC methodologies to reduce process variation. Ray’s blend of predictive maintenance know-how and rapid improvement leadership makes him a go-to resource for teams looking to eliminate waste without sacrificing safety or productivity.
Stanley’s 33-year career at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky included serving as an Assembly Team Leader guiding a five-person team to consistent KPI achievement, and later as a Pilot Assembly Team Leader in the Trim Section, where he evaluated process changes, developed standardized work, and trained production team leaders through new model launches. His toolkit includes FMDS, 5S, Jidoka (error-proofing), and structured problem solving through Quality Circles, A3, 8D, and PDCA. As a trainer with the Manufacturing People Development Group, Stanley delivered training and conducted FMDS compliance audits, while his work on Element Instruction Sheets and standardized work documentation helped keep body weld operations consistent and defect-free.
Vic’s path at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky moved from Production Team Member through Production Team Leader and into Human Resources — giving him a rare, well-rounded view of both floor operations and people development. He led daily production, developed team member skills, and coordinated across management, maintenance, and tool & die teams, while also instructing employees on Visual Controls, the TPS House, FMDS, and Change Point Control. In HR, Vic supported team members on medical restrictions and ensured safe, compliant job placement. Notably, he redesigned a turnover box to prevent blanks from falling out, reducing blanking line scrap by 12% — a simple fix with a real bottom-line impact.
Tim’s career bridges Toyota and outside industry, giving him a broader lens on how TPS principles translate beyond a single plant. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he supported the Lexus Start-Up as a Sensory Skills Trainer, led grassroots Quality Circle initiatives that grew into 30 new circles involving roughly 200 members, and trained around 200 team members on Lockout/Tagout and sensory safety skills. He later served as Unit Level Quality Manager at Leggett & Platt, overseeing quality across three factories in Kentucky, Florida, and Mexico for about 800 team members — and cutting the defect rate from 7.64 to 0.34 in just 18 months. Tim’s leadership across Trim, Chassis, and Final Assembly reflects a career built on measurable, sustained improvement.
Jay spent nearly three decades as a Production Team Leader at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky before joining American Kaizen in 2021. His experience centers on General Assembly — Trim, Chassis, and Final — where he worked alongside Pilot Team Leaders through numerous vehicle model changes, developing standardized work and managing takt time changes with precision. Jay is known for his command of One Piece Flow, Heijunka (workload leveling), and waste identification, and for balancing work content to minimize work-in-process inventory. Since joining American Kaizen, he’s led client engagements including the Dakkota project (preparing two locations for Toyota audits) and the Ideal Honda project, improving 5S implementation and service department throughput.
Eric’s nearly 30-year career at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky took him from Assembly Team Member all the way to Group Leader and Conveyance Group Leader, including leading the logistics group to ISO 9001 certification. He later served as PC Department Manager at International Crankshaft, Inc. Eric holds an Andon Kaizen Master Certification, has completed Critical Element and Toyota Business Practices training, and led waste-reduction initiatives at Toyota plants in Mississippi and Baja California. A three-time Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Assembly Champion (2015, 2016, 2017), Eric has mentored more than 40 team members and team leaders into higher-level roles — proof that his impact extends well beyond his own results.
Ken is a plant-turnaround specialist with a track record of measurable financial impact. As Plant Manager at Toyo Seat, he led a full plant turnaround, cutting annual labor costs by nearly $3 million, eliminating overtime, and implementing a 4×10 schedule. At HTNA, he led four successful model launches that increased sales by 40%, cut scrap costs by 30%, and dropped employee attrition from 30% to 5%. At Nippon Piston, he led a startup that boosted annual production by 900,000 units while cutting scrap costs in half. Ken also reduced labor costs on a main filler line by $950K annually and improved a Martinrea business unit’s efficiency from 74% to 86% through TPS deployment. His safety leadership includes launching Safety Gemba Walks that resolved nearly 700 concerns in a single year.
David built his career supporting some of Toyota’s most technically demanding launches. As a Group Lead at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas and Georgetown, he verified vehicle parts and created work sequences for pilot builds. He later supervised the engine retrofit for the 2022 Toyota Sienna Uber Autonomous build at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana and in Ann Arbor, Michigan, training teams on disassembly sequences and quality standards. Across 27 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky — including selection for the Lexus plant startup — David developed Japan-based training materials and standardized work documentation. His skill set spans project management, build book development, torque and quality tracking, and cross-functional collaboration with engineering, suppliers, and production teams.
Lori’s expertise centers on driving results through Kaizen leadership — as a Quality Circle Leader, she led process-elimination initiatives that improved safety, quality, cost, and productivity simultaneously. As Kaizen Team Captain, she directed inventory-control projects that improved material flow and inventory accuracy, and as Mutilation Team Captain, she led scrap- and task-reduction efforts focused on waste elimination. Lori has served on Quality Gate teams to ensure standards were met before production advanced, and as a TPS and Standardized Work Trainer, she has developed and delivered training that keeps process consistency and quality at the center of daily operations.
Freida spent 20 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, moving from Production Team Leader to Quality Team Member across Trim, Final, and the Instrument Panel line. She performed engine room and rear interior inspections, diagnostics testing, and vehicle quality verification, while coaching team members on TPS principles and standardized work. Freida served on the Mutilation Team for special quality-improvement projects and led initiatives that cut mutilations (scrap and defects) by 10%. She also created the IP Line E-Stock Process, significantly reducing production downtime. Her career reflects a consistent throughline: building a culture of accountability and continuous improvement wherever she led.
David B is a Certified Smooth Motion Kaizen (SMK) Trainer, having completed nine months of training and certification under a North America Master Trainer, and has since delivered more than 40 SMK classes to Group Leaders and above. Over 11 years as SMK Team Leader, he led continuous improvement initiatives in the Final and Trim sections and directed more than 20 takt time changes as Trim and Final Section Lead. David B holds eight U.S. patents and received the Grand Champion Quality Circle Award in 2019, an honor that included presenting at the Global Quality Circle Conference in Toyota City, Japan. His deep expertise in Jidoka, Body Weld support, and Standardized Work documentation reflects a career built on precision and built-in quality.
Jeff brings a rare specialization in lean maintenance systems. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he supported daily plant equipment operations and preventive maintenance programs, working directly with Allen-Bradley, Modicon, and Toyopuc PLCs. He later served as a Team Leader and Group Leader at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, where he helped establish TPS maintenance systems during a new plant startup and developed Standard Operating Procedures for the Toyota Corolla 626 model. Jeff has coached maintenance teams to build stronger troubleshooting capabilities, applying lean maintenance principles to improve equipment reliability and performance — the unglamorous, essential work that keeps a plant’s TPS systems running without interruption.
Jimmy’s 25 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky spanned Trim and Final assembly, where he consistently met daily quality and productivity targets and applied FMDS and 5S principles to strengthen workplace organization. He supported major model changes for the Toyota Camry at the Toyota Technical Center and the Toyota Sienna at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana, and assisted with the disassembly and reassembly of a Sienna for a special engineering project. Jimmy was also selected for a special safety project in San Francisco addressing potential supplier defects in vehicle wiper switches. Now a Consulting Engineer with Actalent, he continues applying TPS principles to drive continuous improvement in manufacturing operations.
Mike’s career reflects deep expertise in Toyota’s logistics and supply chain systems, spanning more than two decades in Production Control. At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he managed North America External Logistics, Foreign Trade Zone compliance, overseas logistics, and startup parts ordering — maintaining zero discrepancies across daily, weekly, and annual FTZ requirements. Mike improved the seat delivery process through a “slip seat” transportation method that eliminated the need for an entire truck driver route, and he successfully onboarded hundreds of new suppliers without disrupting Start of Production. He also coached three ocean carriers to improve on-time delivery performance and authored Standardized Work Operating Procedures supporting TMMK’s ISO 9000 certification.
Roger specialized in internal logistics process improvement as a Production Control Logistics Operations Analyst at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, where he managed yard operations and applied TPS principles to direct, main, and sequence routes. He developed a new model tire sequencing trailer process and established monthly Frequency by Pallet targets for North Dock 2, meeting or exceeding a 50% efficiency target for 11 of 12 consecutive months. Roger’s trailer route adjustment Kaizens generated approximately $1.4 million in savings over 10 months, and he was dispatched to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi to support internal logistics improvements there — proof that lean thinking on the supply chain side can deliver just as much impact as it does on the line.
Heather brings a distinctive perspective: applying Toyota Production System principles outside the automotive industry entirely. She implemented the first Sports Medicine concept at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, integrating athletic trainers into the plant’s safety culture, before leading the Process Design Group at Lexington Clinic for a decade. There, she built a proactive ergonomics and continuous improvement culture across multiple service lines, introducing Kaizen training and applying A3 thinking, PDCA, and daily huddles in a healthcare setting. Heather holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova University and is a Certified Athletic Trainer — a combination that makes her uniquely suited to helping healthcare organizations apply genuine TPS discipline to patient care and staff workflow.
Renae spent 32 years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, serving as Group Leader across Plantwide People Development, Quality Control Assembly Inspection, and the Quality Control Safety Team. She coordinated mandatory training scheduling plant-wide, supervised QC inspection teams, and coached team members on TPS principles and safety practices. With 28 years specifically in Quality Control — including 9 years as the QC Safety/Early Symptom Investigation Team Leader — Renae built a reputation for rigorous, structured problem solving through A3, 8D, and PDCA. She was selected as the only Safety Leader to participate in TMMK’s Safety Benchmark Activity at Toyota’s Tsutsumi Plant in Japan, helping bring global safety best practices back to Kentucky.
Jamie P has led Lean transformation initiatives for manufacturing organizations, consistently delivering 10–20% productivity improvements through waste elimination and process redesign. As a Model Change Specialist at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, he managed assembly groups through five major and four minor vehicle model changes, developing standardized work and implementation plans each time. Jamie P is skilled in Value Stream Mapping, facilitating Kaizen events, and coaching teams through PDCA and 5 Whys problem solving. As a Production Team Leader across Trim, Chassis, and Conveyance, he led continuous improvement initiatives while collaborating closely with engineering and design teams — experience that translates directly into disciplined, cross-functional client engagements.
Gary has spent his entire career in the automotive industry since 1979, including 28 years in the Assembly Department at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky. That depth of tenure reflects a rare, ground-level understanding of how TPS principles hold up over decades of change — through model launches, process shifts, and evolving production demands. As a TPS Trainer and Lean Consulting specialist, Gary brings a long-view perspective that grounds every engagement in what has actually worked, consistently, over nearly half a century on the floor.
