SDG INTERNATIONAL - Key Persons
AJ is at Purdue University majoring in Industrial Design. While there, he has held internships at Delta Faucet Company and Goldsmith Product Development Group. He is passionate about design and finding new ways to improve and develop concepts and products to help benefit people in their daily lives. SDG is excited the product concepts AJ has already helped to develop in our projects.
Job Titles:
- Director of Research
- Director of R & D
Ally is Director of Research and is passionate about connecting discovered insights into areas of opportunity for each client. With a diverse background ranging from the not-for-profit mental health sector to the skin care industry, she brings a unique perspective to each project. Ally has been with SDG for over 5 years. She started her career as an intern with SDG and is now a seasoned professional with deep experience in the product development process and the unique research methodologies developed by SDG. She has worked on projects with many companies including Delta Faucet, Jarden Home Brands, Brizo, Peerless, IDEO, Masco Cabinetry, SafeGuard, QE3, and others. She has also worked with several start up and not-for-profit companies. She focuses on using creative research and analytical skills to maintain a vast knowledge of current trends, existing products, and solutions available in a wide variety of industries.
Graduating Cum Laude from Hanover College in Indiana, Carrie Miller has been with SDG since its inception. Prior to that she was Director at CMF International, Ass't Controller at SePRO Corporation, and Accountant at Clifton Gunderson. She also holds her Indiana CPA license.
Carrie's passions include working with disadvantaged children (she volunteers at an orphanage!) and her own family. She and her husband, Clay, have five wonderfully active boys! Carrie combines intelligent and careful financial oversight of SDG with much fun and laughter along the way.
As Founder and President of SDG International, Dr. Thomas Foust is an accomplished concept-to-execution leader with expertise in new product innovation and development through to commercialization. Tom's proven ability to drive game-changing results in start-up, growth, enterprise, and global organizations has led to success at all levels. He brings savvy, inventive, deep experience in creating new product/business/service concepts and markets, and turn-around repositioning of products and services for success. He has extensive experience developing systems and approaches that contribute to the success of P&L through category expansion and product/service/business roadmaps, while always with an eye to enhancing customer experiences and improvement on delivery. Tom is known for his straightforward, insightful, and personal style and for orchestrating customer-focused approaches to marketing, sales, and business innovation. He has also built multiple peak performance business teams for his endeavors and for others.
Corporate business, consultant, academic, and speaking engagements have taken Dr. Foust to hundreds of locations around the world including Asia, Europe, and Central and North America. Tom lived in Europe for fourteen years while studying, lecturing in major universities, and training young men and women in leadership positions. He received his PhD at the prestigious University of Birmingham in England, became a lecturer there and a visiting lecturer/speaker at Oxford University and many others. He currently is an associate professor at Indiana University. In addition to his achievements in public and keynote speaking, Dr. Foust has co-authored two books and published several articles for various publications.
Dr. Foust has been responsible for developing business, service, and product concepts for companies all over the world, such as Halliburton, Jarden, Oster, The Home Depot, Masco, Delta Faucet, Brizo, Liberty Hardware, Masco Cabinetry, ClosetMaid, Char-Broil, PetSmart, Franke International, Ames True Temper Tools, Garant, Desa International, Tippmann, Indianapolis Zoo, Catalina Lighting, Eli Lilly, Takeda, eProtex, Medxcel, and many others.
Dr. Foust's passion is helping companies overcome the impossible, whether it be their need to find "the next big thing," strategic thinking and planning, or whatever obstacle is prohibiting bottom line growth.
Jerry's built a career on his ability to overcome the biggest, hairiest challenges they could throw at him. Most of it comes naturally, but his B.S. in industrial engineering from Purdue University and MBA from Ashland University have helped him to apply his gifts to business. Jerry's first successes came during his 14 years working for Whirlpool corporation. He started on the floor of a manufacturing plant in Clyde, Ohio, and worked his way up to corporate headquarters in Benton Harbor, Michigan. His most impressive achievement during his stint at Whirlpool was leading a cross-functional global team in the development of refrigerators to be built around the world. With all odds against them, the project came in under-budget, ahead of schedule, and exceeded all expectations. In other words: he did good. During his time at Whirlpool, Jerry realized he could help other companies achieve massive successes using the same techniques and processes he had learned in his work. That's when he started his first company, McColgin Consulting. Since then, Jerry has started 3 businesses, founded the Greater Indy Innovation Roundtable and Indiana Innovation Awards and generated tens of millions of dollars of revenue for the dozens of clients for whom he's worked.
Kira has extensive experience as manager of office operations for St. Vincent Medical Group Sleep Medicine Department and acted as coordinator for medical interventions and was an insurance authorization facilitator. Kira is in the process of completing her degree at IUPUI with plans to finish a bachelor's of art in December. She intends to pursue a master's degree in marketing. Kira is a new addition to SDG International and will be filling the position of executive assistant. She is passionate about her family and enjoys being a wife to Brandon and mother to almost three-year-old Ellie.
Natalie grew up in Peru, Indiana but moved to the Indianapolis area in 2007. She has extensive experience as manager of office operations for an optometry practice and acted as coordinator of operations for the optical lab. She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Systems in 2015. Natalie is a new edition to SDG International and will be filling the position of executive assistant. She enjoys traveling, being outside, and spending time with her husband, Jared and daughter, Claire, and their three dogs.