LEAN FOX SOLUTIONS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- SENIOR CONSULTANT
- President of Metal Innovations
Mr. David Herber is President of Metal Innovations, an industrial sales representative entity specializing in the marketing and sales of engineered components to a variety of markets and customers including the Tier 1, 2, and 3 automotive, agricultural, hardware, and consumer products industries.
Mr. Herber has had over 30 years of "hands on" direct experience in the management of the entire industrial sales process, including marketing strategies to locate and develop new prospective customers, selling strategies to current customers, web based and printed media development, trade show deployment, establishing effective request for quote (RFQ) processes, pricing and work center overhead rate strategies, contract negotiation strategies to automotive and non automotive customers, marketing as a "solution based enterprise," management of company direct sales personnel and the development and management of independent manufacturers representatives.
Prior to founding Metal Innovations, Mr. Herber spent 20 years with Trans-Matic Mfg., Holland, MI (USA) in the positions of Customer Service, Estimating, Account Management, Director of Sales/Marketing and Vice President of Sales/Marketing. During his 12 years of direct sales activities, corporate sales increased in excess of 250% from $14 million to $48 million. Mr. Herber's sales entity Metal Innovations has experienced similar growth as over $25 million of new sales have been generated to Metal Innovation's partnered firms.
Mr. Herber has held numerous positions within the Precision Metal Forming Association (PMA), Independence, OH (USA) including West Michigan District Director and West Michigan District Chair positions. He has been a member of the PMA Strategic Marketing Committee. He has been a board member with Fleetwood Group of Holland, MI (USA) and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hope College, Holland, MI.
Mr. Richardson sold his interest in a company that he co-founded in the fall of 2001. His company was cited in Managing Automation cover story February 2001 as one of the top 25 emerging technology companies in America to watch. During that venture Mr. Richardson was cited in Quality Magazine, Automotive News and a number of other publications.
He currently serves as a partner in Global Lean Institute. He leads companies acting as interim CEO. His experience has been with Tier 1 Automotive suppliers and Aerospace. He has worked in plastic injection molding, stamping, tool & die, investment casting, steel foundries, assembly plants, and machine building companies. He has also worked with banks and legal counsel in various roles of receiverships and bankruptcy issues.
He has 20 years experience in the manufacturing environment holding Plant Manager and Operational Manager positions. He has assisted with several Japanese transplants and has had extensive training and implementation in Lean Manufacturing. He has performed over 100 Kaizen initiatives implementing pull systems, 5-S, TPS, TPM, Poka Yoke solutions, and Kan Ban systems. He has also been involved with several QS and ISO implementations from inception to external audit review.
His work has centered on solving complex problems and defining opportunities for organizations. His leadership has resulted in well-documented improvements on the manufacturing floor as well as the performance of individuals and teams. He has worked closely with companies helping develop organizational structure and leadership groups to assist in the growth of these companies. He has worked in China, South Korea, Canada and Mexico.
Mr. Richardson earned a B.B.A. from Grand Valley State University in 1988 and an M.M. from Aquinas College in 1995.
Todd Sperl is an enthusiastic, creative leader who can look beyond today's problems to find tomorrow's solutions. He is an out-of-the-box thinker not bound by the status quo. In addition to his role at Lean Fox Solutions, he is an Adjunct Professor for the Oakland University Executive MBA Program. Todd has co-authored three books on Lean Healthcare and the first iPad app for Lean Healthcare. He has presented at numerous regional and national conferences on Lean Six Sigma, change management and human resource assessment.
Prior to founding Lean Fox Solutions, Todd spent over fifteen years managing projects for Fortune 500 clients and major hospital systems throughout the U.S. and Canada. His extensive training and coaching skills have benefited leaders at all levels, in Lean, Six Sigma, Change Acceleration, Executive Coaching, and Leadership Development. Todd is a GE-trained Master Black Belt and Master Change Agent. He received his BS in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin - River Falls and a MS in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX.