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Ralph A. Gigliotti, PhD

Ralph serves as Assistant Vice President for Organizational Leadership in University Academic Affairs at Rutgers University.��Ralph holds part-time faculty appointments in the Department of Communication (School of Communication and Information), Ph.D. Program in Higher Education (Graduate School of Education), Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), and Rutgers Business School. He also teaches part-time at ����ֱ�� University in both the College of Professional Studies and Department of Public Administration.��

His research and consulting interests explore topics related to leadership, crisis, strategy, team dynamics, organizational communication, and training and development within the context of higher education.

His research appears in numerous books and scholarly journals, and he has authored and co-authored several books, including the following:

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Ralph is president of the Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI). Additionally, he serves as a member of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners (National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States Department of Commerce), co-lead for the New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS) Team Science Core, and co-lead of the Distinction in Leadership in Academic Healthcare Program at Rutgers University. He is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Birkman Certified Professional. He is an active member of the International Leadership Association and National Communication Association, and is the recipient of numerous national and local teaching, research, and service awards.

Tina Agustiady

Tina Agustiady is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Continuous Improvement Leader.�� She is Vice President of Lean Training and Development at JP Morgan Chase.

Agustiady managed Lean Transformation and Business Reengineering programs across the enterprise at MetLife.�� Being part of Lean and Continuous Improvement community of practice Tina is an accomplished professional with a track record of being a Subject Matter Expert on Lean, Six Sigma, Innovation, Design of Experiments and Business Process Management. Over the last 2 years she has added immense value to MetLife across various deployments as part of MetLife Way programs and also as part of leading Sustainability efforts for MetLife Way.

Agustiady was responsible for the strategic and tactical implementation of a lean system deployment and furthering the transformation to a Lean culture to support strategic business initiatives and help drive overall operational excellence within the Continuous Improvement initiative for a $2 Billion manufacturer of construction components by focusing on management of cross-functional teams and improvement of operational metrics and objectives at all levels of the organization.

As Director, Operations Master Black Belt at Philips Healthcare Agustiady drove all continuous improvement projects in the CT/ AMI Operations function, resulting in the highest efficiency and effectiveness levels within Philips Healthcare. She was the transformation leader for the two businesses providing coaching and leadership in the new methodology. She was recently a strategic change agent as a key member of the BASF Site Leadership Team responsible for infusing the use of Lean Six Sigma throughout the organization.

Tina consistently improves cost, quality, and delivery by applying Lean and Six Sigma tools to achieve improvements through a simplification process. Tina is an experienced leader who has facilitated many Kaizen, 5s, and Root Cause Analysis events throughout her career in the healthcare, food, and chemical industries.�� She has conducted six sigma training and improvement programs in the Baking industry at Dawn Foods and at Nestlé Prepared Foods where she held positions as a Six Sigma Product and Process Design Specialist responsible for driving optimum fit of product design and current manufacturing process capability, reducing total manufacturing cost and consumer complaints.

Her many activities and responsibilities include serving as the past Lean Division President and current Technical Vice President of Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE).�� She has served as a board director and chairman for the IISE annual conferences and Lean Six Sigma conferences.

Agustiady is an instructor who trains and certifies students for Lean, Six Sigma, Innovation, Design of Experiments and Business Process Management for IISE, Lean Sigma Corporation, Six Sigma Digest, and ����ֱ��.�� She is a Subject Matter Expert, Professor, and Course Designer for professional certification programs, including undergraduate and graduate degrees at ����ֱ�� University.

Her accomplishments as a writer and author are numerous, including serving as an editor for the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage. She has co-authored "Statistical Techniques for Project Control," "Sustainability: Utilizing Lean Six Sigma Techniques," and "Total Productive Maintenance: Strategies and Implementation Guide."�� She has also authored "Communication for Continuous Improvement Projects" and her recently published book, "Design for Six Sigma: A Practical Approach through Innovation". She serves as series editor for the book series "Continuous Improvement."

She was honored to be a Feigenbaum Medal Winner for 2016, presented to an individual who is 35 years of age or younger (as of October 1 of applying year), who has displayed outstanding characteristics of leadership, professionalism, and potential in the field of quality and also whose work has been or, will become of distinct benefit to mankind.

Finally, Agustiady is the winner for presented to the individual who has authored a distinguished book contributing significantly to the extension of the philosophy and application of the principles, methods, or techniques of quality management.

Agustiady received her BS in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Ohio University. She earned her Black Belt and Master Black Belt certifications at Clemson University.

Ed Hayes

Edward (Ed) Hayes is a seasoned professional with over forty years of experience in business operations and process improvement. A United States Army veteran, he possesses a strong foundation in leadership and a proven ability to drive organizational success.

Following his military service, Ed earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. In the aftermath of “The Great Recession” in 2008, and recognizing the evolving business landscape, he furthered his education by obtaining a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification from ����ֱ�� University. This credential was an addition to his previous Professional in Business Intelligence certificate, which he also earned through ����ֱ��. Supplementing his online studies, Ed became a Certified Change Management Practitioner through Prosci® and using Prosci’s ADKAR framework.

Ed’s career includes a significant tenure as a support manager in a large law firm, where he developed expertise in client accounting, new business intake, data management, and process improvement. Currently, Ed serves as the Finance Data Manager for a prominent international law firm in Richmond, Virginia, which allows him to apply his financial acumen and data analysis skills to strategic initiatives such as revenue forecasting and budgeting. His collaborative approach and expertise in change management have been instrumental in driving successful organizational transformations.

Since 2017, Ed has shared his vast knowledge and experience as an Adjunct Instructor at ����ֱ�� University’s College of Professional Studies (CPS). Ed’s leadership style is deeply influenced by his military background and his lifelong commitment to professional development. As the child of a career U.S. Air Force non-commissioned officer, he continued a family tradition of service graduating from the Primary Leadership Course in Bad Tolz, West Germany, while serving in the United States Army. Since then, he has studied and read extensively on leaders, leadership principles and concepts, and lessons from history. Some of his most impactful life lessons on leadership have come from working for and alongside career military officers and non-commissioned officers, many of whom served during the Vietnam War.

Ed’s commitment to continuous lifelong learning and his passion for leadership exemplify his professional development, self-development, and dedication to developing others through mentoring, career progression, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Ed has conducted numerous joint live lectures on Change Management with CPS colleague and friend Tina Agustiady. He considers this collaboration one of the most rewarding experiences of his tenure as a part-time adjunct at ����ֱ��.

Michael Grossi

With over 30 years of experience across telecom, media and technology (TMT), Michael has led transformative growth strategies across private, public and private equity backed software companies. He is a 4x CEO and currently is CEO and Board Member at Operative, a Francisco Partners backed media software company. Previously, he was CEO and Board Member at Lakeside Software, HealthcareSource, and Ipswitch. Over the course of his career, he has driven both strategic acquisitions and company sale transactions resulting in billions of dollars of shareholder value. Earlier in his career, he was a strategy consultant to many leading media and technology companies (Disney, ESPN, NFL). Additionally, as a wireless executive, he formed many strategic and product partnerships with Broadcast TV and Cable Networks (CNN, Fox Sports, MTV) and OTT providers (YouTube, Samsung) and Digital Platforms and Publishers (Google, Facebook, Warner Music Group, The Weather Company).

Michael started his career as a Captain in the United States Air Force, where he oversaw several different software technology defense programs in the Space and Intelligence Commands. He currently serves on the Provost Board at ����ֱ�� University and previously served on the Dean's Advisory Council at ����ֱ�� School of Business (VSB). He has a BSBA in Finance from ����ֱ�� University (VSB) and an MBA from Bentley University.