Peter Peterka
President
Peter Peterka is a Master Black Belt of Lean Six Sigma with extensive experience across multiple industries. As the Principal Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS methodologies, Peter has 20 years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt and an additional 25+ years of experience as an expert-level improvement specialist and engineer. Having worked with numerous companies, including 3M, Dell, Dow, GE, HP, Intel, Motorola, Seagate, Xerox, and even the US Men’s Olympic Team, Peter is a highly respected Process Improvement expert. Holding an MS degree in Statistics from Iowa State and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue, Peter worked for 3M for over 10 years and gained extensive experience in applying Lean Six Sigma Methodologies to a variety of processes.
Svetlana Rubtsova
Partner – Six Sigma Russia, Consultant
Our official partner in the Russian Federation and CIS countries, the company Shest Sigm LLC was founded in October 2012 in Moscow. Svetlana became the head of the Russian office. She is currently working on the development strategy and enlarging the presence of Shest Sigm, LLC in Russia and CIS. All of the programs were adapted for the Russian-speaking audience. Svetlana is a certified Master Black Belt and consultant. Svetlana became a Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt in June 2015. In Svetlana’s MBB qualification presentation she listed 37 mentored Lean Six Sigma projects. Svetlana continues to deliver Lean Six Sigma programs and has recently focused her attention on expanding course offerings for online self-paced programs.
Maria Mora
Operations Manager
Maria joined SixSigma.us in 2015 to provide customer service support with a focus on the Latin America Market. Maria has continued to expand her responsibilities demonstrating leadership in all areas of business operations and the customer experience. Prior to SixSigma.us, Maria excelled with over 10 years of experience in administrative management and operational oversight. Maria exhibits an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction–both internal and external customers. In Maria’s role as Operation Manager, she is responsible for the alignment and direction of SixSigma.us resources to assure operational excellence of SixSigma.us processes.
Jason Behr
Sales
Jason has been working with SixSigma.us since May 2005, demonstrating his commitment to the success of the company. Jason is a professional results-driven sales manager with over 20 years of experience. Jason demonstrated success in developing relationships with a wide variety of customers and managing B2B corporate sales providing support to clients worldwide.
Joseph Peterka
Online Account Manager
Joseph has been working as our Internet Training/Advertising Manager since September 2011. Joseph is responsible for providing support to the Online program students worldwide, using a one-on-one approach. Joseph has proved his commitment to providing support to customers worldwide while promoting SixSigma.us in the Online community.
Brion Hurley
Consultant
Brion joined SixSigma.us in 2017. He is a Lean and Six Sigma consultant with over 18 years in the aerospace industry and has experience in healthcare, sports industry, service/office processes, and nonprofits. He has degrees in Statistics, Quality Management, and Environmental Sustainability. He is based in Portland, Oregon, and primarily supports training and consulting opportunities along the west coast. He has a strong passion for using these skills to help address environmental and social issues. He volunteers his time to help nonprofits in Portland implement process improvement to further their mission.
Bruce Gilbert
Consultant
Bruce has been working with SixSigma.us since it was founded in 2001 as one of the leading consultants on Lean Six Sigma. Bruce has a Master’s Degree in Applied Statistics & Research Methods and is a Master Black Belt. His consulting work began in 1998 as a Certified Instructor with Motorola. His work since Motorola has taken him throughout the US, overseas to Southeast Asia, and to multiple countries in Europe.
George Woodley
Consultant
George has been working with SixSigma.us since 2005 performing as a Master Black Belt with over twenty-five years of experience in the discipline of customer-focused root cause analysis (problem-solving), mentoring and project management of continuous improvement teams; designing and implementing employee training programs for Lean and Six Sigma manufacturing and transactional organizations. He has excellent communication and instructional skills to present technical information in a style that is precise, clear, and accurate. George is able to provide a comfortable learning and working environment in the classroom and in real-world environments and he is highly motivated and results-driven during the process of leading, mentoring, and managing projects in a timely, yet feasible manner. He delivers programs all around the world in English, French, and Hungarian.
Ed Wright
Consultant
Ed is a Master Black Belt and certified Black Belt with ten years of Sales experience and nine years of IT experience while in R&D. He has held key positions throughout his career, including positions as Regional Operations Manager, Lead SCM Engineer, and Professor of Management, before applying his knowledge to the practical issues facing businesses today.
Frank Adler
Consultant
Frank joined SixSigma.us in 2013 but had previously been its partner since 2001. Frank is an accomplished leader and executive with over 19 years of progressive, international experience in multi-site Operations & Supply Chain Management, General Management, and Quality Management. Frank delivers programs worldwide in English, German, and Finnish.
Greg Foster
Consultant
Greg Foster is a Senior Consultant with 6Sigma.US consulting. His diverse background in a number of public and private organizations makes him uniquely suited for his role as a performance improvement consultant. He holds a BS in European Studies, French from the United States Naval Academy, and is a certified Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Master Black Belt. Greg began his career as a U.S. Navy destroyer officer and transitioned into roles manufacturing as a Process Engineer and internal process improvement consultant, transitioning to a transactional process focus during the last 17 years. He has served as a Program Manager, leading various teams of process improvement resources while serving in his last several positions. He has trained hundreds of Green and Black Belts and Senior Leaders in the LSS/DfLSS methodologies. In addition to LSS, Greg also brings expertise in the areas of Systems Thinking/Dynamics and Emotional Intelligence and has developed internal quality improvement resources in these areas.
Jaclyn Waldrop
Consultant
Jaclyn believes in optimum utilization of LEAN principles to plan, perform, and implement process improvement initiatives to drive business excellence and improve customer satisfaction. She has the responsibility to oversee all Six Sigma projects, provide and teach problem-solving methodologies, mindsets, and behaviors to improve safety, quality, and operating efficiency. She holds the key role to train, mentor, and assist process owners, champions, performance improvement project specialists (Green and Black Belts), and front line project teams in the use of process improvement tools and methodology to ensure timely completion of projects with expected internal and external customer results. She has vast experience of working with senior-level executives to determine and prioritize projects.
Joe Wexler
Consultant
Joe has been working with SixSigma.us since 2004 as Master Black Belt. He was one of the members of the team charged with setting up a Six Sigma Initiative that saved a Fortune 50 company over 250 Million USD within three years. Joe masters Process Benchmarking and Quality Improvement methodologies and have a National Quality Award for training and consultation. Joe created a Supplier Quality training and consulting function in China.
Juan Pablo Aragon
Consultant
Juan Pablo has been working with SixSigma.us since 2006 as a Master Black Belt Instructor and Consultant. He is oriented to optimize profitability, productivity, and customer satisfaction by performing “Lean Six Sigma” continuous improvement methodology. Juan Pablo has extensive experience in Lean Six Sigma deployments in manufacturing and service / transactional companies. He has delivered programs in more than 20 countries in English and Spanish and 200+ companies.
Ken Ille
Consultant
Ken has hands-on Six Sigma experience with Six Sigma US, Verizon, and GE, in coaching/mentoring all levels of belts (MBB/BB/GB) in the Six Sigma process and tools. He has led training for Business Leaders to be effective in their Champion roles and to drive the culture of Six Sigma. He has coached Black Belts and Master Black Belts in utilizing effective tools in each phase of the DMAIC and Lean processes and has facilitated project pipeline Summits to identify potential Black Belt and Green Belt projects that drive the company’s goals. Ken is certified as a Master Black Belt and certified as a Black Belt with GE. He has extensive commercial experience working directly with customers in both understanding the customer’s needs and in negotiating the terms and conditions of the contracts.
Marc Block
Consultant
Marc has more than 20 years of experience in quality program implementation, management consulting, and project management. He has experience in the implementation of Lean Six Sigma quality including project team training and management activities. Marc’s knowledge of quality management includes strategic planning, electronic meeting facilitation, business process reengineering, metrics development and roll-out, business function assessment, and leadership skills development. He has also served in the U.S. Air Force as an Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) certified project officer, an internal quality consultant, and curriculum evaluator and instructor within the Air University.
Mario Benitez
Consultant
Mario Benítez-Iturbe is a Master Black Belt and continuous improvement professional with over 15 years of experience in a wide range of industries, including business and information systems consulting, pharmaceutical, medical devices, mechanical locks, and flexible packaging manufacturing. During his professional career, he has developed and implemented effective actions to help meet business objectives, using Six Sigma and Lean methodologies and improvement tools. He has also been in charge of planning and managing organizational change towards a culture of continuous improvement, developing the potential of employees through focused training programs. Mario has had international experience participating or leading several projects in U.S., Mexico, Brazil, and Paraguay, either as a consultant or executive in transnational companies, such as Accenture and Merck & Co. He has held senior management positions as Lean Six Sigma Associate Director at two different pharma manufacturing sites in Mexico. He holds a B. Eng. in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Tecnológico de Monterrey, and a Master in Business Administration at IPADE and Ivey School of Business, in Canada. He is a native Spanish speaker, fluent in English and Portuguese.
Marshall Nauck
Consultant
Marshall is a seasoned consultant, Master Trainer, and Design/Lean/Six Sigma Master Black belt with Senior Leadership experience in Fortune 500 companies. This experience includes program management, strategic supply chain management, business strategy development, product and process development, engineering management, operational product line management, and adult education. Marshall enjoys using his rich diversity of leadership experience in developing leaders, enriching organizational value, and enhancing the careers and lives of the next generation.
Peter Usay
Consultant
Peter is a product engineer by trade who moved into process improvement and became a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. His greatest successes are in the functional areas of Engineering, Manufacturing, IT, HR, and Finance by utilizing the best methodology and local subject matter experts. He has worked with Fortune 500 organizations in the government, plastics industry, global petroleum industry, and the automotive industry. His strengths include working with the individual contributors as well as with C-suite Leads.
Richard Lynch
Consultant
Richard has been working with SixSigma.us since 2004 as Master Black Belt. Richard is specialized in advanced Statistical Data Analysis, Design of Experiments, Reliability Modeling, and Sales Performance Data Analysis.
Jeff Jackson
Consultant
Jeff has been working with SixSigma.us since it was founded in 2001 as a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Lean Flow Master. Jeff has significant experience in assisting businesses all around the world to achieve breakthrough improvements and has proved to be one of the best Lean consultants. Jeff has contributed a lot to the success of SixSigma.us.
Rachelle Wilkinson
Consultant
Rachelle has been working with SixSigma.us since 2005. Rachelle has extensive experience in statistical education and training and specializes in the use of Minitab for Six Sigma applications. In addition to teaching, Rachelle has worked as a statistical consultant for both 3M and Intel corporations.
Ivan Martinez
Consultant
Ivan is a results-oriented professional with more than 15 years of experience in manufacturing, process improvement, and sales in multiple industries including high volume manufacturing for medical devices, electric and electronic products, retail and wholesale distribution for information technology products, and international and domestic sales for aftermarket automotive products.
Michelle Brown
Consultant
Michelle is a dynamic, results-driven Lean Six Sigma Champion and Master Black Belt with over 20 years of operational excellence experience in various industries that include: Big Box Retail, Insurance, Health Care, Financial Services, and Oil/Gas. To date, Michelle has delivered over $55M in qualifiable bottom-line savings, designed and implemented multiple enterprise-wide transformational Operational Excellence programs that have engaged up to 1,800 associates, she has coached and mentored over 300 Master Black Belts, Black Belts, and Green Belts to certification and successfully led over 400 DMAIC/DMADV/Kaizen events within various industries and organizational verticals. Michelle’s specialties include: Transforming operations through standardization and process design, engaging associates in creating a culture of organizational change, increasing customer loyalty, and advancing strategic results through project identification, selection, and alignment.
Sam Windsor
Consultant
Sam has been working with SixSigma.us since 2006 as a Master Black Belt. Sam masters quality improvement strategies and supplier management. Sam has been delivering programs for 15 years all around the world assisting companies in finding solutions.
Rick Ruzga
Consultant
Rick is an executive-level operational excellence and compliance leader with 15+ years of delivering aggressive business results. He has the unique ability to synthesize Engineering, Quality, CI, Manufacturing, Finance, and Customer Operations to improve processes. He possesses a foundational combination of technical and servant leadership skills that drives strategic initiatives, effective communication, and credibility from floor-level team members to executive and board-level officers. He is an innovative and great communicator with hundreds of examples of technical presentations, event facilitation, white papers, technical documents, implemented trade secrets, issued patents, invention disclosures, and Lean Six Sigma projects.
Joe Ficalora
Consultant
Joe has been working with SixSigma.us since September 2010 as a Master Black Belt. Most recently, Joe has been developing innovative business strategies. Joe continues to deploy initiatives for business performance and growth for clients, by customizing and combining Innovation, VOC, Lean, and Six Sigma approaches. Joe has experience working in medical devices, alternate energy service areas, including solar energy services, pharmaceutical companies, and traditional manufacturing companies.
Dag Chyou
Consultant
Dag has been working with SixSigma.us since 2014 as a Master Black Belt. Dag is specialized in Lean deployment and improvement, Operations Excellence, Supply Chain Management, and Continuous Improvement. Dag is a certified Lean Expert, MBB, PMP, SCPro, and ASQ-CMQ/OE. He is also a Certified Purchasing Professional in Taiwan and a certified Project Management Professional in China.
Joe Basala
Consultant
Joe has been working with SixSigma.us since 2006 as a Master Black Belt with extensive experience in quality and business improvement. Joe delivers programs worldwide and has proved his commitment to helping businesses in making changes.
David Zemke
Consultant
David has over 25 years of experience in continuous improvement program implementation, management consulting, and operations excellence. As a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, he consults with various industries and has extensive expertise in the development and execution of continuous improvement programs and systems, utilizing methodologies like Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, Lean, and with Supply Chain. Companies that have used his expertise include ARAMCO, Cargill, United Health Care (UHG), Wipro, Cincinnati Water, and additional industries in the banking and retail arenas. David is also a certified manufacturing engineer, has a BS in Applied Technologies and an MS in Manufacturing Systems from the University of St. Thomas. He brings a balance of hands-on practicality in problem-solving and business process improvements while utilizing broad experience across various industries which facilitates further wisdom and insightful gains. Finally, he has taught several quality and operational classes at the University of St. Thomas, the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, and The Carlson School of Business.
Donna Whittaker
Consultant
Donna joined the 6Sigma.us team in 2018. She retired from the United States Army in 2012 after 24 years of service. Since retirement, she spent the last 5+ years serving as the Lean Six Sigma Deployment Director and Senior Master Black Belt for the award-winning Office of the Surgeon General/United States Army Medical Command Lean Six Sigma Program. Donna holds a BS in Medical Technology from the Medical College of Georgia, an MS in Transfusion Medicine from Duke University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida in Immunology. She is a Certified LSS Master Black Belt, Change Agent, and Balanced Scorecard, Professional.
Scott Ikeda
Consultant
Scott Ikeda is a leader in Supply Chain and Operational Excellence with more than 20 years of experience in Lean, Six Sigma, & Continuous Improvement at three Fortune 200 companies. Scott is certified in LEAN and is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Over his career, his span of responsibility covered Global & matrix teams in Manufacturing, Operations, Human Resources, and Enterprise OE COE (Center of Excellence), along with leading and partnering on programs and initiatives in many areas including Safety, Quality, TPM, S&OP, Engineering, Marketing, Transportation, Planning, and Warehousing. Scott has experience across diverse industries, including aerospace, food & beverage, and telecommunications. Early in his career, Scott held roles within Supply Chain Management where he participated in his first “Kaizen” event and gain interest in LEAN and Six Sigma. Scott earned his BS in Business (Marketing major & Management focus) from the University of Evansville and his MBA from Regis University. In addition, Scott holds a Master Black Belt Certification, Lean Certification, Supply Chain Excellence Management Certification, and Change Leadership, High-Performance Leadership, and Managing for Execution Certifications.
Shannon Barrett
Consultant
Shannon Barrett has been in the business of improving processes for over three decades and has served in the role of Operational Leader, Improvement Leader, Consultant, and an Engineer, for a host of national and international companies. Before going out on his own, Shannon led a Global Lean Six Sigma team at a Fortune 150 company, supporting facilities all over the globe. His experience includes Business Management, Manufacturing Operations, Business Consulting, and Engineering. Shannon is considered to be an expert in the field of continuous process improvement, and he has been deployed to organizations around the globe to drive transformation. Over a 30 year career, he has developed a reputation for delivering long-term sustainable results. He has successfully implemented Lean and Six Sigma principles in both manufacturing and business environments in a host of different industries including automotive, electronics, trade shows, consumer products, and government.
Peter Meijnen
Consultant
Peter’s mission is to help companies and organizations implement process improvements using Lean and Six Sigma throughout their operations. He has experience in many types of industries, including special vehicles, semi-conductors, automotive, construction, and aerospace. His projects have taken him across the globe, more specifically into Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. His specialties: are lean Thinking and Doing (production, supply chain, planning, development) at all levels of an organization, using data through Six Sigma to drive improvements, and streamlining supply chains.
David Leiva
Consultant
David joined the 6sigma.us team in 2019. He holds 13 years of experience performing continuous improvement techniques in the automotive industry. David is a certified Master Black Belt and Lean Master with two engineering degrees. His experience includes regional direction in the Continuous Improvement department in several countries leading Lean Six Sigma, Green Belt, and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Projects, Kaizen Workshops, Lean Training, and creating Continuous Improvement Systems. His projects and workshops include improvements in manufacturing, purchasing, HR, EHS, engineering, quality, maintenance, finance departments, among others. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and French, and is currently one of our consultants for the Latin American region.
Jorge Rodriguez
Consultant
Jorge Rodriguez joined 6sigma.us in May 2022. He is an LSS Master Black Belt, certified quality engineer, and reliability and data analytics professional with over 20 years of experience in both manufacturing and transactional processes. His business experience ranges in a wide spectrum of industries such as automotive, pharmaceutical, oil, and renewable energy (Wind, Solar, and Batteries). He has held management positions as a wind reliability manager, Strategy and Innovation Manager, and Manager of Quality and Analytics. During his career, he designed training material for YBs, GBs, and BBs, as well as trained and/or mentored over 300 YBs, GBs, and BBs. He has led predictive analytical projects, kaizen events, and/or lean six sigma projects (including design for six sigma). Some examples of projects led by Jorge are reduction of electricity theft, reduction of high bill complaints, fieldwork reduction, propensity to call, email bill adoption, credit risk, call volume reduction, wind turbine trip reduction, oil analysis lead time reduction, oil blending time reduction, oil laboratory analysis lead time reduction, reduction of crane assembly time for wind turbines, financial month-end closing time improvements, reduction of power plants overhaul time, vehicle assembly defect reductions, lean projects for automotive, inside sale improvements, predictive maintenance, advanced troubleshooting, lead generation to lead conversion improvements, order to cash improvements and many more. He is also knowledgeable in predictive modeling algorithms, including Random Forest, Decision Trees, Binary Logistic Regression, and other Regression techniques. He holds a bachelor’s in industrial engineering at Universidad de Carabobo, and a master’s in environmental engineering at Tufts University. He is a native Spanish speaker, fluent in English, and currently learning German.
