Jason Thorne Email & Phone Number

Greater Boston Area

Newton, Ma

Key contributor and Driving Force behind new product development for all Shark products produced since 2010. Primary ideas generator for the company, originating 75%+ of the innovations for the Brand and holding 150+ patents.Evolved and implemented an agile speedboat approach to the development department driving growth in all product categories including steam mops, hard floor cleaners, irons, upright vacuum cleaners, cordless sticks, handvacs, robotic floor cleaners, and navigating robots. ■ Spearheaded the creation of a one-of-a-kind team of Design Engineers, in Suzhou, boasting over 400 years of vacuum cleaner experience, and built R&D, ID, and Advanced Development capability in the Boston and London locations to drive new product innovation worldwide (125 Engineers Globally). ■ Grew the Shark brand from $250M to $1.5B+ in annual revenue through relentless focus on the consumer, keen attention to the deliverables, and a never-ending desire to deliver a 5-star customer experience. Enabled the Shark upright vacuum category to capture significant market share increasing from 5% to 33% within six years, culminating with the departure of Dyson from the category. ■ Increased company growth by 20%, year over year, for six years, through the modification of the agile development process reducing the time-to-market for new products to 9-12 months.■ Received promotion from Senior Engineering Manager in Suzhou in 2010 to Senior Vice President of Engineering in Boston, 2014.

Hong Kong

Held engineering responsibility for electric toothbrushes for Colgate and Salton, stationary for Newell Rubbermaid, and the generation of new product ideas for Bissell. ■ Saved $3.5M US through the localization, consolidation, and productivity projects. ■ Achieved a 15%-50% cost savings on customer designs through simplification, budget management, and DFM/DFA. ■ Developed and pitched 20 green-field concepts; successfully sold 3, increasing revenue by an estimated $9M annually.

United Kingdom

Directed all business operations including project ideation through completion, product delivery, financial management, and sub-contract utilization. ■ Provided 80% of the plastic injection tool designs for Mexican mold manufacturer (NPL) with $3M in revenue the first year of operation. ■ Collaborated with start-up Insensys to engineer fiber optic sensors for wind turbines. Attained a 50% reduction in unit cost by sourcing key components in China.

United Kingdom

Successfully created products such as TX patient lifting hoists and a highlite portable overhead gantry for the mobility impaired. ■ Managed all engineering activities, including sub-contractor oversight, project schedules, product verification, and ensuring projects were finished on time and within budget.

Singapore

Managed 30, Latvian and Russian, plastic injection tool designers, CNC programmers, and plastic product designers. ■ Oversaw multi-tool projects, valuing up to $1M US.■ During peak periods of production managed the design of up to 60 tools at a time. ■ Created and implemented a unique and bespoke E-Partner solution able to convey real time status of production online contributing to an increase of sales to $3.5M over a two year period. ■ Set up and managed a 600 m2 state-of-the-art tool and product design office in the first 100% foreign owned (Die-Cast manufacturing) company in the second largest city in Slovenia.

Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

Design of power and data connection systems (cable management products).