Jim Knutson Email & Phone Number

Greater Atlanta Area

Direct and oversee a team of Engineers managing product bench marking, performance and safety testing. Lead team to achieve on time delivery of programs for new private brand product for Home Depot. Includes various departments and product categories such as electrical devices, home electronics, interior and exterior lighting, bulbs, ceiling fans, landscape and outdoor lighting, motion and security lighting, wire and connectors, paint supplies and applicators, adhesives, tape, plumbing supplies, pipe and fittings pumps, fans, and more. Work with global engineering and sourcing teams to validate product performance in order to meet high customer expectations. Work with 3rd party service providers to create testing methods and testing plans for new product validation.

Greater Atlanta Area

Lead a team of engineering to ensure new products meet in-store dates through planning and prioritizing multiple projects. Includes working with global engineering teams and suppliers to provide information for product requirements and testing requirements during test validation process. Work with service providers to meet deadlines and improve test requirements for increasing customer satisfaction.

Covington, Ga

I drive for a culture of high performance and accountability in all aspects of the engineering department and company. I coach, mentor, motivate and supervise project team members and influence the to take positive actions and responsibility for their assigned work.I manage engineering resources to deploy new processes and equipment as maintain or improve existing processes. I manage BOM's, routers and engineering drawing standards to world class requirements. I proactively manage budgets, timelines and resources to achieve aggressive growth and product targets. • Lead new product development, applications engineering, BOM and routings engineering and product testing team. Achieved 30% increase in productivity in the engineering department to date.• Establish and control the engineering budget for labor, resources, travel, R&D and all included expenses• Manage the product teams that are located in 3 locations in North America• Productions facilities in North America, China Mexico and Taiwan supporting global markets.• Develop and own product line road maps, KPI projects and reporting, BOM and process routing accuracy and improvements, ECO control, regulatory compliance, PMO and team development.• Developing and implementing engineering standard processes for all facets of the department.• Implemented standard work for all areas to identify and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the all resources. • Improve the efficiency of the engineering department by using “Plan-Do-Check” methodology and continuous process improvement.

Highland, Il (St Louis Area).

Leadership of the new product development, value engineering, sustaining engineering and product testing teams. Product teams located in North America, China and India which support global markets. Member of the product leadership team with a team of 26 and an annual expense budget of $4.8M. Owner of multi-year product line roadmaps, product line vitality, material productivity, ECO control, regulatory compliance, PMO and team development. Utilized my knowledge of Lean, VOC and creativity to build sustainable NPD engine. Developed and implemented strategy to increase vitality from 16% (2011) to 29% (2014).Implemented the internal strategy for an internal world class prototype and testing facility, $2.2M investment.Led the startup of a Seismic Engineering team in Corona, CA to provide quotes, engineered and approved solutions, and product sales for seismic bracing throughout the US. Drove sales and quotes to exceed the projections for the first year and continue to grow the team to achieve revenue targetsTransformed New Product Development and realigned team, OTD: 35% (2011) to 76% (2013). 2014 est. 82%. The team has received four product of the year awards and 24 patent submissions, 5 co-authored individual patents.

Director of Engineering July 2010 – April 2012• Responsible for the research, understanding and planning of new products based on current product trends.• Support goal to be in market and position products/designs to penetrate opening price point segment.• Led team to work across operating companies using common platforms to bring Maxon product to market.• Identified product extensions enabling us to sell deeper into existing projects. Including add-on products that come from other operating companies or from outside HNI.• Improved manufacturing and administrative processes and controls to insure product integrity.• Responsible for ensuring products contribute to company financial objectives (cost reductions, warranty reduction, material utilization, etc.).• Product Management responsibilities included: current product line maintenance, updates on finishes and accessories to stay fresh with the current product line-up.• Analysis of product performance versus targeted competitors including, product pricing strategies, price book presentation and field sales.• Product design software liaison for updates and changes.• Work directly with Marketing in the launch of new products, including oversight for all product related information.• Major Accomplishments/Results: Sales of New Products grew from 10.5% to 60%; tenure.Cost to List ratio on products decreased from 28% to 17.8%.Shortened product development cycle from 18 months to 9 months.Reduced SKU's from just over 15,000 to 5,700 while adding more options for customers.Transitioned 8 product lines to a new manufacturing plant while completely redesigning two of the lines in 9 months.Achieved improvement in cost, quality, and productivity while leading over 60 Lean Improvement team events.

• Managed the development of new product life cycle. Market research, incubation, implementation and Sales Team training.• Led Engineering Team, working with Director of Product Management to create new products, determine product life cycle plans. Leveraging customer interaction, focus groups, vendor relations, tooling, process design and evaluation, and product training for Sales and Customer Service.• Relocation from the Seattle Corporate office to the Salisbury Plant to work more directly with the Operations team.• Managed the Corporate Engineering and Product Management departments for Maxon (former BPI, Inc and Panel Concepts Inc.).• Responsibilities included budgeting, long-term strategic planning, product development cycles, product life cycles, and member development.• Utilized performance management system of goal driven results via a team-based culture.• As a member of the senior management team reporting to the President of the company, had input and responsibility for strategic planning and long term decision making.• Worked directly with Sales Managers and Dealer Sales Reps to understand market needs and determine product solutions to meet expressed and latent needs.• Direct responsibility for training of new product brand and function.• Worked with Manufacturing in the research, development and implementation of new processes and materials.• Dedicated Engineering resources from the corporate level to be involved in Rapid Continuous Improvement activities and training.• Led team in the selection, development and implementation of new BOM and configuration system. Major Accomplishments/Results: • Sales of new product as a percentage of total sales went from 10.3% in 1997 to 25% in 2002.• Led numerous teams in Product Preparation Process (3P) and Rapid Continuous Improvement (RCI) events within Maxon and other HNI facilities. These events have created millions of dollars of cost, quality, and productivity savings.

Lead a team of engineers in product development, product improvements, and new material and process research.

P&L responsibility for manufacturing location and 3 state sales territory. Lead the sales, customer service, manafacturing, and HR departments for the Washington location of Chandler Attwood. Work with independant reps to increase top line sales. Had manufacturing, customer service, AR/AP, and HR functions reporting to me as a site manager. Had direct responsibility for manufacturing with a factory manager reporting to me. * Improved productivity (+40%) to achieve hours per unit targets. * Improved sales by 20% through direct interactions and program implementation with key dealers.

Developed and implemented new products and product revisions from Concept to Launch. Included design, development, cost analysis, testing, and implementation on the factory floor.

Leader of a production group responsibible for producing made to order office furniture. Implementation of Lean Manufacturing practices and principles to reduce leadtime and increase productivity.

Designed, quoted, installed HVAC and plumbing systems in residental buildings. Trouble shooting and repair on HVAC and Plumbing systems. Customer support in lumber yard and hardware store (including delivery of materials to job sites). Worked with suppliers and vendors on price, delivery, and leadtime requirements.

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Industrial Technology - Emphasis In Mechanical Engineering And Business Management

Activities and Societies: Society of Manufacturing Engineers;, Alpha TauGraduate Cum Laude.

As - Environmental Systems, Environemental Systems