Kurt A. Knoth

Kurt has more than 25 years of Lean transformation experience

in a wide variety of industries and sectors. He has led transformation

efforts in automotive, aerospace, high tech, military, and healthcare sectors

spanning eight countries. Kurt began his Lean journey with Donnelly, a

tier one automotive supplier in Grand Haven, Michigan. This transformation

was featured in Chapter 8 of Dr. Jeffrey Liker’s Becoming Lean—Inside

Stories of U.S. Manufacturers. At Donnelly, Kurt worked under the tutelage

of the Shingijutsu Consulting Group and had the opportunity to study kaizen

in Japan. He also consulted for firms including Simpler Consulting—an

IBM Watson Company, Optiprise (Jeff Liker’s Lean consulting firm), and KPMG

Consulting. His clients included The Boeing Company, US Air Force Surgeon

General, ThedaCare, USAF Air Combat Command

Headquarters, USAF European Command, US Army NE Asia (Camp Carroll,

Korea), Gillette (Brazil), UK Royal Navy, US Marine Corps Headquarters

(Pentagon), Lockheed Martin, and Harvard Vanguard.

Kurt received degrees in Industrial Electronics, Plastics Engineering, and

Operations Management from Ferris State University. He is also working

toward a Master’s of Science degree in Management, with a concentration in

Healthcare, at Southern New Hampshire University. Kurt is a certified Lean

Six Sigma Blackbelt, US Air Force AFSO21 certified Sensei, and a certified

private pilot.