Biographies
- Dr. Sime Curkovic is a Professor of Supply Chain Management at Western Michigan University receiving his undergraduate degree in Management Systems from Kettering University and his Ph.D. degree from Michigan State University. Dr. Curkovic has taught several courses in sourcing, operations, logistics, process, environmental, and multinational management. His research interests include environmentally responsible manufacturing, green purchasing, total quality management, supply chain management, and integrated global strategic sourcing. Dr. Curkovic's publications have appeared in the Journal of Supply Chain Management, the IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, the Decision Sciences Journal, the International Journal of Operations and Production Management, the International Journal of Production Research, the Journal of Quality Management, the Journal of Operations Management, and the International Journal of Production Economics. His professional memberships include ASQ, APICS, DSI, INFORMS, ISM, and POMS.
- Mary Lu Harding, CPM CPIM CIRM, is a principal of Harding & Associates , and specializes in consulting and education for business and materials management. She co-authored the textbook, Purchasing , published by Barron's Press and is a contributing author to the C.P.M. Study Guide, 6th & 7 th Editions and The Purchasing Handbook, 6 th & 7 th Editions. She is also a frequent contributor to InfoEdge and Inside Supply Management magazines. She authored a video on systems contracting and served as a writer and reviewer of questions for the C.P.M. certification examination.
As a purchasing manager, she was a member of the team that led Digital Equipment Corporation's Burlington , Vermont , facility to Class A MRP II certification. After attaining Class A, she developed training in Just-in-Time philosophy and techniques that were implemented throughout the operations. She also trained and coached many of the first teams started in the plant. She works with organizations, small and large, as a consultant and educator during their efforts to implement business process improvements.
- George W Mullins, Jr., has over twenty years experience in internal and white collar fraud investigations, forensics and litigation support. His experience and qualifications in these areas include:
• White Collar and Internal Fraud investigations through the use of forensics and participation in complex civil and criminal fraud and ethics investigations,
• Litigation support through participation as a government and/or company representative in state and federal civil and criminal trials from initial investigation and trial preparation to deposition and trial testimony,
• Sarbanes-Oxley 404 Antifraud Program and Fraud Risk Assessment development and implementation for a $3.9 Billion major healthcare provider with 39,000 employees in 1,000 locations,
• Formulated, developed, implemented and led a project team of 29 investigators for a $56 Billion property and casualty insurer into the fraudulent activities of a medical provider operating in 17 states with revenues of $25 million. Presentations made to and coordination with Company regional and corporate executives, and
• Uncovered and investigated a $1 Million skimming and money laundering operation by a policyholder during the course of an arson investigation involving their business. Comparison of personal and business books, records and supplier accounts showed the disparities. Other experience includes:
• Damages Calculation & Valuations and Business Interruption through first and third party individual and commercial insurance claims,
• Instructor: Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Annual Seminar, July, 2004, Red Flags for Internal Auditors and Sources of Information, o Lorman Education Associates, June 2005, What You Need to Know About SOX 404, and o Adjunct Instructor, University of Alabama, Birmingham, spring 2005 and 2006, Fraud Investigation as part of the business school’s minor on Accounting Forensics.
- Dr. Brian Long, is Director of Supply Management Research at Grand Valley State University. From 1975 to 1985, he served as Associate Professor of Marketing at Western Michigan University where he taught industrial marketing, industrial purchasing, and marketing strategy. Dr. Long was a co-foundry of the Marketing and Management institute, a Kalamazoo based seminar and consulting firm. Since 1977, he has conducted hundreds of seminars across the entire nation for such firms as Onan, Cardiac Pacemaker, Northwest Airlines, Siemen’s, Eaton, Standard Oil, Upjohn, Schering-Plough, Boise-Cascade, Detroit Edison, Rockwell International, Parker-Hannifin, Freeport Sulfur, Philip Morris, General Foods, RJR-Nabisco, and I.B.M. Over 25,000 people from over 480 of the “Fortune 500” have now attended his seminars Dr. Long received his Ph.D. in marketing from the College of Business at Michigan State University in 1975. Since then, he has been active doing research in the areas of business cycles, industrial marketing, industrial purchasing, and negotiation. He is co-author of The Win-Win Negotiator, a One Minute Manager style book. For over 28 years, he has edited a survey of local purchasing managers for both the Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids areas, which has proved to be a major economic indicator of current and future business conditions. This survey appears in many local newspapers and regional business publications, and is part of the Federal Reserve's bi-monthly survey of business conditions.
Past Biographies
- Sheri Welsh is the President of Welsh & Associates, Inc., an Executive Search Firm in Kalamazoo. Her career spans over 20 years and includes experience in human resources consulting/recruiting, purchasing, and sales.
In 1998, Sheri entered the executive search business focusing her work in the recruitment of Accounting and Finance professionals. She established Welsh & Associates in 2002, as a full-service regional search firm adding specialties in Engineering, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing Operations. Today the firm is recognized as a regional leader in the professional and executive search industry by companies located throughout Southwest Michigan. Sheri’s success has been built upon a solid foundation of ethical conduct and long-term, trusting relationships with employers and professionals alike.
Sheri holds a BS in Business Administration from Central Michigan University and is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC). She is a graduate of Leadership Kalamazoo (2002) and serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Leadership Kalamazoo Advisory Council, having served on the Council since 2003. Sheri also serves as Chair of the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and has served as a board member since 2003. She currently leads the Chamber’s Workforce Development Task Force, an effort dedicated to helping local companies with talent attraction and retention. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and has been a member of the Kalamazoo Area Human Resources Management Association and the Top Echelon Network for 10 years. Sheri resides in Kalamazoo, with her husband Richard, children Alexis and Spencer, and a spunky Welsh Corgi named Jack.
- Mark A. Morris has more than 30 years experience in tooling and manufacturing as a skilled
machinist, toolmaker, college instructor, technical writer, and quality professional in roles from Quality
Engineer to Director of Continuous Improvement. His expertise lies in dimensional issues, reliability,
maintainability, and quality systems. Mr. Morris’ credentials include undergraduate degrees focused on
manufacturing engineering, industrial education, and metalworking; Master of Education degree from
the College of Technology at Bowling Green State University; CQE, CRE, and CQA certifications
from the American Society for Quality; and Senior Level Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing
Professional (GDTP) certification from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Mr. Morris
also has served as Education Chair for the Ann Arbor section of ASQ, teaching candidates to become
ASQ Certified Quality Engineers. He presently serves as Chair of the Ann Arbor section of ASQ and
as Adjunct Faculty for Eastern Michigan University
Effecitve Problem Solving Presenation