Joe Murli has developed the knowledge of lean concepts and principles over the past 18 years while he held senior leadership positions in domestic and international settings. Through extensive coaching by retired executives from Toyota Motor Company in the early 90’s, Joe developed an aptitude for maximizing product velocity and managing operations through simple visual means. This knowledge was further applied as Joe became General Manager of Chengdu Aerotech, China’s first aviation industry joint venture, and was able to integrate the elements of strategy deployment, organizational development, facility design and Lean into one cohesive business management approach. As Director of North American Operations for Ensign Bickford, he led the Company to win the Shingo Prize for operational excellence. He effectively utilized his knowledge of lean manufacturing to help Sterling Collision Centers grow from a startup to a company with 50 locations nationally (now part of Allstate Insurance Company). As Vice President of Manufacturing for the Kamatics division of Kaman Corporation, he restructured operations to double on-time delivery performance while reducing lead times by 88% for 2/3 of products. Since 2003 he has been helping clients achieve superior operating gains through Murli & Associates SP. Joe has undergraduate degrees in Manufacturing Engineering and Accounting from the State University of New York, and Post University respectively. Additionally, he holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut.

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Kathi Hanley is the unique consultant that has actually “been there” and understands the depth of change that must happen in an organization to successfully drive improvement. Kathi combines her knowledge of Lean gleaned from thirteen years at Toyota, consulting experience from Fortune 500 companies, and executive officer experience at a public company. This combination of experience means that Kathi has actually done it, not just talked about it.

Kathi began her career as a social worker with a BS from the University of Kentucky. She brings this knowledge of social systems and basic human motivation to the development of effective culture change strategies. Kathi arrived on the scene at Toyota Motoring Manufacturing in Georgetown, KY during their start-up of operations in North America. Among her responsibilities at Toyota from during her tenure were Quality Control of parts and completed vehicles, Human Resource Development, Organization Development, and Strategic Planning. A major role she played was the creation of curriculum for incoming leadership that where not yet experienced Lean leadership methods and behaviors.

Kathi served as Senior Vice President of Organization Effectiveness for Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE:CRS). In this role she had global functional responsibility for Human Resources, Safety, Information Technology, Lean, and Asset Protection for this $1.8 Billion company. Her efforts at Carpenter contributed to a 12% reduction of SG&A cost to the corporation as well as a $20 million reduction in inventory.

Following her departure from Carpenter Kathi started consulting in order to bring her experiences to top executives of companies to help combine effective strategies in the area of Lean, human resource systems, and corporate best practice to drive critical improvements to their business.

As a senior advisor to the executive group Kathi was instrumental in the development of a quality effectiveness improvement strategy for Ford Motor Company in 2006 titled The Way Forward.

Other clients served include Calloway Gardens, Gates Group Companies, Atlanta Unity Church, and Lee J Howard Entertainment as well as many other companies large and small. .

Currently Kathi is the People Systems Practice Manager for The Murli Group a critical element of the Lean management system. The practice encompasses HR systems and practice, lean leadership behaviors, and problem solving for every level. In her role she conducts research in order to maintain the organization’s curriculum at the leading edge of thought in the field, and assures consistent execution across the organization.