Brian Klassen Email & Phone Number

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Winnipeg

I currently manage the performance (quality, safety and on time delivery) and cost of the Canadian photo processing lab for Lifetouch Canada and one operations centre producing over 2 million portrait packages and processing over 7 million student images every year.Change Agent: Transformed a long lead-time, high cost plant through planning and execution that reduced overall cost of sales by 16% while reducing lead time by 60%. After learning lean manufacturing principles and techniques, implemented changes on the lean journey to continue annual cost reductions.Coach & Trainer: In a seasonal industry, decreased seasonal turnover by 50% through cross-training, improved supervisory training and job enhancement.Cross-functional Collaborator: Drove strategic change in conjunction with Marketing, Sales and Supply Chain to implement programs such as: online proof viewing and ordering capability for 2M customers, market testing and cost reduction programs.

Winnipeg, Canada Area

My final position was as general manager of this $5.3M division of Kitchen Craft Cabinetry. This was the start of my 'real world' education into managing people, performance management, scheduling, inventory management, attaining financial targets, Six Sigma (green belt) and the importance of understanding customer expectations and exceeding them. Generated a sales increase of 13% in a declining market. Results:- Sales throughout tenure grew from $1.6M to $5.3 million.- Profitability increase of 60% in 2003 (Year over Year to September 2003) on sales increase of only 6%. As a result of streamlining production, expanding products and reducing costs, the company enjoyed annual gross margin increases of up to 49%.- Reduced lead time from an average of 10 days to 3 days.- Implemented and managed the ISO 9002 certification process.

Department Of Management Science

Department of Management Sciences in the Faculty of Engineering - completed course work with thesis component outstanding.

B.Comm (Hons), Production

Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) with a double major in Production & Operations Management and Finance.