Biography

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of leadership and what makes great companies tick.

Having invested a quarter century of research into the topic, he has authored or co-authored six books that have sold in total more than ten million copies worldwide. They include: GOOD TO GREAT, the #1 bestseller, which examines why some companies and leaders make the leap to superior results, along with its companion work GOOD TO GREAT AND THE SOCIAL SECTORS; the enduring classic BUILT TO LAST, which explores how some leaders build companies that remain visionary for generations; HOW THE MIGHTY FALL, which delves into how once-great companies can self-destruct; and most recently, GREAT BY CHOICE, which is about thriving in chaos – why some do, and others don't – and the leadership behaviors needed in a world beset by turbulence, disruption, uncertainty, and dramatic change.

Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he conducts research and engages in Socratic dialogue with CEOs and senior leadership teams. In addition to his work in the business sector, Jim has passion for learning and teaching in the social sectors, including education, healthcare, government, faith-based organizations, social ventures, and cause-driven non-profits. In 2012 and 2013, he had the honor to serve a two-year appointment as the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Jim holds a bachelor's degree in mathematical sciences and an MBA from Stanford University, and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

He is an avid rock climber, with one-day ascents of the north face of Half Dome and the 3,000 foot south face of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley.

Biography

José Pires serves as the Global Excellence & Innovation (E&I) Leader for Andeavor Corporation, where he oversees the global identification, prioritization and execution of mission critical business improvements and innovations that add value to the company, business partners and external clients in multiple markets.

Prior to his current role, Pires held Excellence and Innovation leadership positions in large, global companies in the electronics (Sony), semiconductor (Cymer-ASML), food (Nestlé) and infrastructure (Black & Veatch) industries. Throughout his career, Pires developed and refined E&I as an award winning program for innovation, leadership development, strategy execution and value creation globally.

Pires is an advisory board leader and keynote speaker for several global conferences on innovation, operational excellence, leadership development, strategy execution, business transformation, customer engagement and growth acceleration.

He holds a Bachelor in Engineering Physics from the University of Kansas and a Master in Business Administration focused in Investment Banking and Entrepreneurship from the University of San Diego.

Biography

Eric Pope serves as vice president of operations at US Synthetic (USS), a leading provider of diamond solutions for the energy industry. Mr. Pope joined US Synthetic in 1990 as a machine operator, with a focus on processing diamond products. He has worked as a production manager, process engineer, and R&D engineer during his time at US Synthetic. In 2001, Mr. Pope worked as an onsite USS customer engineer at Halliburton. He later became the product manger over the USS diamond rock bit and percussion product lines, in 2004.   

Throughout his career, Mr. Pope has been a driving force behind US Synthetic’s move from a typical batch and queue manufacturing system to a world-class, Lean manufacturing facility. As part of senior leadership team since 2006, Mr. Pope has been instrumental in implementing Lean training and techniques at every level of the organization. These efforts helped the company received the world's most prestigious award in 2011 for enterprise excellence, The Shingo Prize. Under Pope's leadership, the company maintains a strong focus on empowering employees and encouraging continuous improvement. This focus helped the company implement more than 34,000 employee-sponsored improvements in 2014. As a result, product innovation has increased and USS customers have been better served with improved delivery times, decreased inventory, and superior quality and performance. Lean improvements have allowed US Synthetic to grow at 23 percent annually since beginning the journey in 2005. 

Mr. Pope holds a Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in mechanical engineering and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Brigham Young University.

Biography

Edward Hanway, also known as Ed served as the Chief Executive Officer of CIGNA Corp. from January 2000 to December 25, 2009 and served as its President from January 1999 to June 2008. Mr. Hanway served as the Chief Executive Officer of CIGNA Health Corporation since January 2000 and also served as its Chief Operating Officer from January 1999 to January 2000. He served as President of CIGNA Health Corporation since January 1999. He served as President of CIGNA HealthCare from 1996 to 1999. He served as President of CIGNA International from 1989 to 1996. He served as Treasurer of Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare from June 2000 to July 2001. Mr. Hanway joined Insurance Company of North America (INA), a CIGNA predecessor company, in 1978 and served as its Assistant Controller, and was appointed to management and executive roles of increasing responsibility through the merger in 1982 of INA and Connecticut General, which formed CIGNA. He has been associated with CIGNA since 1978. He is a leader in the effort to improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of health care in the United States. He is an outspoken advocate at the national level for greater transparency in the health care quality and cost information available to consumers and a strong proponent of national quality standards for health care providers. Through the years, he has been active in a wide range of issues and initiatives associated with children's health, education and international business. Mr. Hanway served as the Executive Chairman of CIGNA Corp. from December 2000 to December 25, 2009. He serves as Chairman Emeritus at CIGNA Corporation. He has been an Independent Director of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. since January 20, 2010. Mr. Hanway served as the Chairman of Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare from July 2001 to July 2002. He has been a Director of the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare since June 2000. He serves as a Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and also serves as a member of The Business Roundtable. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the March of Dimes Foundation, the Board of Trustees of Loyola College of Baltimore and the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships. He served as an Executive Director of CIGNA Corporation since 1999. He served as a Director of America's Health Insurance Plans. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Health Reform. He serves as a member of the Pennsylvania and American Institutes of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Hanway graduated from Loyola College of Baltimore with B.A. in 1974 and M.B.A. degree from Widener University in 1984.

Biography

Theodore M. Solso, also known as Tim, served as Chief Executive Officer of the Columbus Ind. from 2000 to 2011. Mr. Solso served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cummins Inc. from January 2000 to December 31, 2011. He served as the President of Cummins Inc. from 1995 to 2000, and its Chief Operating Officer from 1994 to 2000 and Executive Vice President of Operations from 1992 to 1994. He served as Vice President and General Manager of Engine Business after serving in various other executive positions in Cummins Inc. from 1988 to 1992. He served at BP Corporation North America, Inc. He served in various positions with Cummins Engine Company Inc., since 1971. He served for Cummins as Vice President and General Manager of Holset, Vice President of special engine markets and Vice President of Marketing from 1980 to 1988. Mr. Solso began his career with Cummins in 1971 as Assistant to the Vice President of Personnel until 1972 and served as an Employment Director from 1972 to 1974. He also served as Director of Development and Training from 1974 to 1977 and Executive Director of personnel from 1977 to 1980 for Cummins. He serves as chairman, Cummins Foundation. He serves as Chairman of the United Way Campaign-Bartholomew County. He is the U.S. chairman of the U.S. – Brazil CEO Forum. He served as the Non-Executive Chairman of General Motors Company since January 15, 2014 until January 4, 2015. Mr. Solso served as the Chairman of the Board of Cummins Inc., from January 2000 to December 2011. He served as the Chairman at Columbus Ind. He has been an Independent Director of Ball Corporation since January 2003 and its Lead Independent Director since 2003. He has been an Independent Director of General Motors Company since June 12, 2012 and its Lead Independent Director since January 4, 2015. He serves as a Trustee of DePauw University and Manufacturers Alliance. He serves as a Director of Cummins Foundation, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, American Transportation Research Institute. Mr. Solso served as a Director of Ashland Inc. from 1999 to January 26, 2012; Cummins Inc. from 1994 to December 31, 2011; Irwin Financial Corporation from 1993 to December 31, 2006 and Cyprus Amax Minerals Co., since November 15, 1993. He served as a Director of Amoco Corporation. He served as a Director of BP plc and Indiana Economic Development Corp. He is also a Member of the Indiana Academy, a Member of the Business Roundtable and the Business Council. He was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2008; was selected as the national Six Sigma CEO of the year in 2007; and, in early 2009, was awarded the William R. Laws Human Rights Award by the Human Rights Commission of Columbus, Ind., where Cummins is headquartered. Mr. Solso received a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University in 1971 and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Depauw University in 1969.

Biography

Dr. Santamaria has nearly three decades of senior experience in operations excellence, network optimization, business transformation, IT, supply chain, strategic sourcing Information Technology and Lean Six Sigma with Fortune 500 companies. He holds a Doctorate degree, MBA, and BS in International Business coupled with a Mechanical Engineering background. He also is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

Prior to his current role, Rodolfo was VP Supply Chain, Operational Excellecne and Procurement at ADT, and has held various executive positions including Fire & Security Regional Group Director and CIO, comprised of supply chain, operational excellence, information technology (IT), environmental, health and safety (EHS&W), real estate, operations, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and trade compliance for the Retail, Fire, Residential, Small Business and Commercial verticals.

Prior to joining Tyco, Rodolfo held leadership positions at All American Semiconductors, HB Fuller Company, Beauty Group International/Cosmo International Latin America, Deloitte Consulting, Vitro Group and FAA Repair Station, in operations, global supply chain, operational excellence, multi plant management, EH&S, engineering and quality.

Biography

Eric Pope serves as vice president of operations at US Synthetic (USS), a leading provider of diamond solutions for the energy industry. Mr. Pope joined US Synthetic in 1990 as a machine operator, with a focus on processing diamond products. He has worked as a production manager, process engineer, and R&D engineer during his time at US Synthetic. In 2001, Mr. Pope worked as an onsite USS customer engineer at Halliburton. He later became the product manger over the USS diamond rock bit and percussion product lines, in 2004.   

Throughout his career, Mr. Pope has been a driving force behind US Synthetic’s move from a typical batch and queue manufacturing system to a world-class, Lean manufacturing facility. As part of senior leadership team since 2006, Mr. Pope has been instrumental in implementing Lean training and techniques at every level of the organization. These efforts helped the company received the world's most prestigious award in 2011 for enterprise excellence, The Shingo Prize. Under Pope's leadership, the company maintains a strong focus on empowering employees and encouraging continuous improvement. This focus helped the company implement more than 34,000 employee-sponsored improvements in 2014. As a result, product innovation has increased and USS customers have been better served with improved delivery times, decreased inventory, and superior quality and performance. Lean improvements have allowed US Synthetic to grow at 23 percent annually since beginning the journey in 2005. 

Mr. Pope holds a Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in mechanical engineering and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Brigham Young University.

Biography

Christopher Govero has over 15 years of Lean/Six Sigma process improvement experience in a wide range of industries, including Healthcare, Manufacturing Government, Department of Defense, Education and other service industries.  He has also spent time consulting both domestically and abroad.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Missouri Southern State University and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri.  In addition, he also holds an ASQ Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

Chris currently works as the Executive Director of Performance Improvement and Outpatient Services at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s in Belleville, IL. His key responsibilities include leading hospital wide Lean Six Sigma efforts as well as operations in Outpatient and Revenue Cycle departments.