Advisory Board

OPEX EXCHANGE 2019

ADVISORY BOARD

The OPEX Exchange is an invitation-only strategic meeting of senior Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement and Business Transformation decision makers. An intimate, community gathering of some of the leading minds in the space spanning across industry. 

At the OPEX Exchange we endeavor to create a compelling, impactful agenda for two days to deliver you real tangible take-aways that will result in improved operational efficiencies and process improvement. In our journey to achieve this, we've researched with senior Operational Excellence and Business Transformation executives stretching the depths and breadth of the space.

Every member of our advisory board has been carefully selected for their expertise, experience and knowledge to ensure that the OPEX Exchange is receiving well-rounded advice and delivering you a valuable program for the event. The Advisory Board assist us in researching and developing relevant, timely and thought leading content for the community, as well as guiding us on market trends, industry leaders, high quality contributors and speakers and agenda content for our upcoming 2018 series of events.

 

Dr. Gero Decker     

                                                   

DR. GERO DECKER, CEO, SIGNAVIO

Gero Decker is the co-founder and CEO of Berlin-based Signavio, which offers a business transformation suite for modeling, analyzing, and optimizing business processes. Gero holds a PhD in Business Process Management and co-authored the book “The Process”. Along with 3 colleagues at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute in Potsdam, he developed the first prototype of the Signavio Process Editor as part of a research project and founded the company in 2009. Gero is responsible for Signavio’s product innovation, specializing in collaborative process design and building a BPM solution for all user abilities, from beginner to expert.

Donald Kuk

DONALD KUK, CHIEF TRANSFORMATION OFFICER, MEDNAX

Donald Kuk is an innovative, multiple industry award winning Global Transformation, Operational Excellence and Quality Management Executive with more than 20 years of delivering record setting top line growth, customer and employee satisfaction, and margin improvement leading rapid Enterprise Transformation and Operational Excellence for the world most highly regarded banking, insurance, technology, healthcare and manufacturing industry leaders.

Widely published successes include advanced metrics, analytics, strategy, mission, vision, program, milestones, budget and roadmap development, multi-tiered communication, transformation and improvement program management, quality, training, change and performance management, and results verification for AIG, Ca Technologies, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Telaxis Communications, all Divisions of GE, NBC, Lockheed Martin, Nokia and Acer Computer.

Donald is a frequent invited Chairman, Keynote Speaker, and Session, Roundtable and Tutorial Presenter at CEO, CFO, CIO, CTO, Transformation, Operational Excellence and Enterprise Strategy events worldwide.

Christy Hartner

CHRISTY HARTNER, SVP ADVISORY SERVICES, COMMERCE BANK

Christy Hartner has worked at Commerce Bank for 16 years as Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking Operations and most recently leads the Advisory Services Consulting Group.  She has helped drive the maturation of the Business Process Management (BPM) practice by:   

• Establishing a Benefits Realization Approach
• Creating a Heath Check Protocol 
• Establishing a BPMS Automation Prioritization Plan
• Creating an ROI Model for the BPM Practice
• Providing a Cross-Functional Strategic Consulting Team
• Developing a local BPM Users Group in the Kansas City area (consisting of approximately 40 large companies with an established BPM discipline)

Gregory North   

   

 GREGORY NORTH, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, GLOBE NORTH

 Gregory North has over twenty years of experience leading transformation for global businesses and is founder and President of Globe North, LLC which provides advisory services on process and automation strategy to the private and public sectors.  Mr. North is Principal Advisor to the Outsourcing Institute on Digital Transformation and is frequently featured as an expert speaker on the future of work in the digital age.  Prior to launching Globe North, he was Chief Process Officer for Xerox Services where he was responsible for design, deployment and optimization of their global operating model and for the Enterprise Transformation Office which managed strategic initiatives.   Prior to his tenure as CPO, North was Vice President of Corporate Lean Six Sigma and Business Transformation at Xerox and Senior Vice President of Process Excellence at Fidelity Investments.  He is a certified Master Black Belt, ISO 9001 Auditor and graduate of the College of William and Mary.

 

Clint Westbrook   

CLINT WESTBROOK, VP GLOBAL OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE, ARAMARK

Clint Westbrook is currently the Vice President for ARAMARK’s Global Operational Excellence Division leading the Mobilization and Field Support teams. Clint joined ARAMARK in November 2004 as Vice President of Operations.  He is a veteran in the Hospitality Industry, and he has been associated with high quality Fortune 500 companies, world renowned brands and major venue projects and openings. 

Clint’s experience includes 11 years with Darden Restaurant Group, 13 years with The Walt Disney Company as a Director of Resort Operations where Clint participated in 2 major resort openings, the Disneyland Paris Project and the Disney’s 5-star property, the Grand Floridian Beach Resort & Spa.  From 1998 – 2003 Clint was with the renowned Chef Wolfgang Puck as Sr. Vice President of Restaurant Operations that included direct oversight of Operations, Training & Development and Talent Acquisition.  Clint led the acquisition of a restaurant group in the Northwest as part of his experience.  He also led teams in major events that included three (3) Superbowls and two (2) major venue openings. 

Clint graduated from Nova Southeastern University and holds a B.S. in Professional Management. Clint is a past member of the National Restaurant Association Board of Directors and Advisory Boards for Valencia and Webber Colleges in Florida.  Clint served on the Board of City Year Greater Philadelphia for the 5 years.

Aboubacar Cissokho      

ABOUBACAR CISSOKHO, HEAD OF DISCOVER LEAN CENTER OF EXCELLENCE, DISCOVER FINANCIAL 

Aboubacar Cissokho has a track record of successfully completed projects and operational improvement strategies, programs and systems in various organizations throughout the US and overseas in 5 different industries (financial services, steel, airlines, energy and automobile). For over 20 years, he has spearheaded transformational initiatives in the manufacturing and services in leadership positions at Fortune 500 companies such as General Motors, Ford Motor Company, United Airlines, and Discover Financial Services. He is a proven expert in business transformations and project management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a dual master’s degree in business administration and engineering from the University of New Haven in Connecticut. He also holds a Lean Six Sigma Master Black-Belt from Villanova University and a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute.

Dr. E. J. Johnson

DR. E. J. JOHNSON, MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE CONSULTANT, CHRISTIANA CARE HEALTH SYSTEM

Dr. E. J. Johnson is a Managing Consultant in the Organizational Excellence Department at Christiana Care Health System (CCHS) based in Newark, Delaware.  At CCHS she is responsible for driving process improvement initiatives across a complex $1.6 billion dollar healthcare delivery system with approximately 12,000 employees.  Prior to joining CCHS, Dr. Johnson was the Director of Clinical Development Process Improvement at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals based in Sweden.  Dr. Johnson, obtained her PhD, MS, and BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MBA from Wilmington University.  She is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

Dave MacLeod

DAVE MACLEOD, CEO, THOUGHTEXCHANGE

Co-Founder & CEO As CEO and Co-Founder of Thoughtexchange, Dave MacLeod leads a team responsible for changing the face of online consultation. Leveraging the power of group intelligence and the principles of collaborative negotiation, Dave draws on his previous experience as a town hall facilitator and community development consultant, to help leaders – primarily in K-12 education – engage with stakeholders in a way that redefines what’s possible in the public consultation space. Under Dave’s leadership, a team of facilitation experts and software engineers continue to challenge the status quo and overcome the inherent gaps of traditional listening tools, finding solutions for many of today’s critical education and health challenges. Using Thoughtexchange, hundreds of North American leaders have successfully engaged with their stakeholders to inform bond measure development, education assurance models, teacher efficacy and evaluation, and most recently, a public health consultation focused on human rights. With three young boys at home, practicing complex negotiation and mediation is also a big part of Dave’s daily personal life.

Ric Hughes

RIC HUGHES, CEO, SYSTEMS ALLIANCE INC

Ric acquired SAI in 2003 with the goal of building a Baltimore based software and consulting services company. SAI has grown to serve a broad portfolio of commercial, healthcare and state & local government clients with a sharp focus on our Clients, our People and our Firm, in that order. SAI’s business model is based on the delivery of long term, easily measured value to our clients and the company has been favored with long term, durable relationships as a result.

Prior to SAI, Ric lead the US Information, Communication and Entertainment Industry IT Solutions Consulting practice for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to PwC, Ric founded, funded and successfully grew several technology and financial services start-ups in Baltimore.

Alex Bacchetti

ALEX BACCHETTI, COO, AMITA HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP

J. Alex Bacchetti, M.B.A., is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience in consulting and health care operations, clinical integration, strategic planning, business transformation, change management, marketing, business development, physician relations, and post-merger integration.  Currently, he is serving as the Chief Operating Officer for AMITA Health Medical Group, a multi-specialty physician group of more than 500 providers.  Prior to his current role, Alex served as Vice President for Business Transformation for AMITA Health, leading the business transformation and system implementation of a common ERP platform and shared service center across this nine hospital system and medical group, recently formed as a Joint Operating Company between two Chicago area health systems.  Previous roles include executive leadership for Clinical Integration and Population Health, and Strategic Planning, Marketing and Business Development for several Chicago-based health systems, as well as seven years consulting with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Navigant Consulting in the areas of operations improvement, business transformation and health system strategy.  Alex earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.