About

A Unique Background

“Dr. Emiliani is an unusual academic in the following way. He worked for 15 years in management and technical areas in industry before leaving industry for the academic world AND he has excellent scholarly skills. Most people are successful at one or the other but not both. Bob was successful in industry and had the opportunity to be at the center of a serious effort to implement the Toyota Production System in a unique environment – that of defense contracting and large customized products namely aircraft engines. Among other things he was taught the state of the art in Lean directly by Shingijutsu, the premier consulting firm of former Toyota managers.”

– Jeffrey Liker, author of The Toyota Way.

“Bob is the embodiment of the consummate professional who displays quiet confidence and demonstrates integrity at all times. He is secure in his own abilities and always looking to improve, himself, situations, and helping others who are interested in doing the same. I had the privilege of working with Bob when we were both first learning from the Shingijutsu Company. If you have the opportunity to talk with or work with Bob, take advantage of the opportunity to collaborate with him, as opportunities like that do not present themselves very often in life.”

– Joe Muraca, Senior Corporate Manager, Global Supply Chain, Canberra Industries

Highlights

• Originated the study of Lean leadership
• 25 years of research in Lean leadership
• 30 years of industry and academic work experience
• Experienced engineering, operations, and supply chain leader
• Hands-on Lean leadership practice in manufacturing and service organizations

• Author of 19 books and 48 research papers
• Dozens of new contributions to the body of Lean knowledge
• 18 years of executive training and corporate speaking experience
• Innovative Lean thinker and practitioner
• Creator of the Lean Teaching pedagogy in higher education

Biosketch

Professor M.L. “Bob” Emiliani is an engineer, researcher, author, historian of progressive management, educational reformer, and executive trainer. He is a long-time TPS/Lean practitioner and was the first to focus on Lean leadership as an area of scholarly study. Prior joining academia, Dr. Emiliani worked in industry for 15 years and had management responsibility in engineering (R&D, new product development) and operations (manufacturing and supply chain). He had responsibility for implementing TPS in his manufacturing ($5M) and purchasing ($110) business units at Pratt & Whitney. He also created the Lean Teaching pedagogy (personalized learning) as a professor in higher education.

Dr. Emiliani is a versatile author whose work spans engineering, social sciences, and humanities. He has authored or co-authored 47 peer-reviewed papers in six separate disciplines (leadership, management, management history, supply chain management, higher education, and materials engineering) and is the author or co-author of 19 books. Dr. Emiliani earned a Ph.D. in Engineering from Brown University, an M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, and a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Miami.

Click here to view Bob's resume and here to read FAQs about Bob.