Our team is comprised
Jon founded True North Excellence in 2014 after a decade of management and leadership roles at The Manufacturer/Lean Management Journal, Manufacturing Institute, Shingo Prize and Manufacturing Advisory Service. Passions are Manufacturing, helping people grow, serving customers and continually learning. His personal interest is hill walking with his dogs and anything sci-fi.
Adam has had over 25 years in manufacturing, engineering and Lean Leadership having held positions in Automotive, Drainage Products, Magazine Printing and Aerospace industries.
Having been introduced to Lean during his time as Denso Manufacturing UK Ltd where he spent time as a specialist in Production, Production Control and Logistics, Adam joined GKN Group in 2007 where he has held positions with site, regional and global responsibility in primarily in Lean, Supply Chain Management, Maintenance and Transformation across primarily in GKN Driveline (now Automotive) and GKN Corporate Centre.
Joining GKN Aerospace in October 2018 Adam was responsible for leading the development of their Five Phase Lean Excellence Model, before joining the Lean Centre of Excellence (CoE) Leadership team and building a Lean Intervention team which focuses on providing expert ‘hands on’ support to our site teams where additional focus is required to accelerate delivery of business benefits. Within the Lean CoE Adam also leads key projects and manages external partnerships.
Having been introduced to Lean during his time as Denso Manufacturing UK Ltd where he spent time as a specialist in Production, Production Control and Logistics, Adam joined GKN Group in 2007 where he has held positions with site, regional and global responsibility in primarily in Lean, Supply Chain Management, Maintenance and Transformation across primarily in GKN Driveline (now Automotive) and GKN Corporate Centre.
Joining GKN Aerospace in October 2018 Adam was responsible for leading the development of their Five Phase Lean Excellence Model, before joining the Lean Centre of Excellence (CoE) Leadership team and building a Lean Intervention team which focuses on providing expert ‘hands on’ support to our site teams where additional focus is required to accelerate delivery of business benefits. Within the Lean CoE Adam also leads key projects and manages external partnerships.
Stuart’s multi-sector experiences spreading over 25 years in lean and production systems development provided him opportunities to work in Aerospace, Formula 1, Pottery and Ceramics, Paper and Print, Plastics, Food and Drink, Construction and Public sector environments.
This has provided a solid background for leading operational improvements through the entire value stream, in many cases, worldwide – from product design and development, supply chain development, procurement, Logistics, manufacturing, assembly, sales, and after-sales support.
This has provided a solid background for leading operational improvements through the entire value stream, in many cases, worldwide – from product design and development, supply chain development, procurement, Logistics, manufacturing, assembly, sales, and after-sales support.
A member of True North Excellence’s faculty of expert trainers since 2014 and is a global expert on Kata and Training Withing Industry (TWI). Drew has authored many leading publications and has been the recipient of the Shingo Prize for his two books The Complete Lean Enterprise – Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes and Lean Office and Service Simplified.
An MBA qualified lean practitioner operating at Director level, Alec has over 20 years of change management and Lean implementation experience my passion is delivering results through people. He has successfully led culture change and lean implementation in sectors including Ceramics, Washrooms, Hydraulics, Warehousing & Distribution, Fabrication, Presswork, Chemicals and Social Housing sectors
Melaine brings a wealth of experience to the True North Excellence team, with a dynamic career spanning over two decades in events, travel, and business support. With a passion for creating meaningful experiences and supporting business excellence, Melaine combines operational know-how with a genuine enthusiasm for connecting people and ideas. Outside of work, Melaine is a keen sports enthusiast and can often be found cheering on her youngest child from the sidelines. Her weekends are usually filled with sporting events, reflecting her strong commitment to both family and active living.
Having been a Team GB Commonwealth Games cycling medallist and part of the Team GB ‘Marginal Gains’ philosophy, Jenny has successfully transferred from sports to the world of Operational Excellence.
Adam is responsible for creating the online and printed communications for TNE, a seasoned creative with a happy to help outlook. Driven by passion to create and design I'm a keen photographer and geeky dad with a appetite for sci-fi and an avid 2000ad reader for 40 years. Happy in my work while secretly wishing for the zombie apocalypse.
Mark Davies is a leading expert in operational excellence and Lean transformations. At True North Excellence he brings 27 years of dedicated experience from Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK. At Toyota his senior management roles included Production Control, Manufacturing, and Corporate Functions. Mark was instrumental in the Toyota Lean Management Centre, guiding external clients through business transformations and coaching future Lean practitioners. His extensive experience allows him to effectively coach and mentor individuals at all organisational levels