Lee Eckert Email & Phone Number

Product Development, Innovation, Program Management, IP, and Business Consulting for private clients.

Oldsmar, Fl, Us

Drive customer-centered innovation, product management, product design, and development of retail loss prevention solutions. Staff includes mechanical, electrical, embedded design engineers. Report to President/CEO⇨ Create, direct, execute roadmap of innovative loss prevention solutions for OEM’s and retail customers⇨ 25-30 concurrent projects, 15-20 product releases per year, including Titan, Titan L2QD, CR338, Encore v2, Duo v2, Omni, custom security solutions, etc.⇨ Implemented use of a common visual brand language to ensure new products share a family look.⇨ Pioneered custom high security for costly folding devices, driving strong pull-thru sales.⇨ Protected revenue with intellectual property – 2023 Lawyer Magazine recognized VPG as a top innovator in Tampa area, a first for the company.⇨ Identified and qualified new global suppliers.⇨ Stabilized mechanical and electrical/embedded engineering team, reducing turnover.⇨ Balanced NPD and Sustaining during global supply chain challenges affecting core products.

Dublin, Ireland, Ie

Direct and execute technical strategy including research, NPD, IP management, sustaining engineering, VA/VE and quality initiatives for the Division. Lead multiple-site staff of electrical, software, embedded firmware, mechanical, regulatory, SaaS support engineers and managers. Report to GM/Global VP⇨ Improved organizational capability, alignment, NPD delivery across (3) US sites by driving communication, accountability across all business functions⇨ Assisted in creation of strategic plan, product and technology roadmaps.⇨ Leveraged Eaton technology, operating synergies by partnering globally to advance innovation⇨ Launched (26) new life safety products and systems⇨ Solved significant software and hardware challenges in legacy systems, creating a stable platform⇨ Implemented electronic NPD gate approvals process, improved documentation and metrics tracking

Provide technical leadership and organization for crisis turn-around of late-stage US startup division to become profitable, growing. Solve complex electronic & mechanical problems, organize & strengthen engineering organization, implement design control processes. Drive communication and collaboration. Leverage capabilities of the Chinese parent company, RATO, Lead staff of 25. Report to CEO.⇨ Restructured engineering organization to be more effective, implemented design control processes.⇨ Overcame complex system failures to successfully re-launch Raven MPV at Lowe’s with nearly 300 design & process improvements, achieving market-low quality defect rates.⇨ Implemented tollgate process, quickly developed additional new products

Durable goods product development consulting⇨ Focus on identifying and removing barriers to accelerate development of ideas from raw concepts to generating revenue⇨ Consultation may include situation assessment and implementation of a structured cross-functional NPD process tailored to the client's business, assistance with tools to select, prioritize and balance the development portfolio with respect to revenue, innovation and resource constraints.⇨Additional client services include organizational analysis and design, technology assessment, problem solving, and strategic IP portfolio management.

Thorofare, New Jersey, Us

Lead global new product design and development for the $140M leader in retail loss prevention. Manage IP portfolio and advanced R&D. Staff of 20 including mechanical, electrical, RF, embedded firmware engineers and software developers. ⇨ Generated $135M in ’09-’12 incremental revenue from 25-30 new products introduced each year including SpiderWrap, Keeper, CableLok, EASyGuarde, BugTag, NanoGate, and ShowSafe.⇨ Led advanced development of ultra low power wireless asset management technology with RTLS, Active RFID, electronic price label, cloud and server applications⇨ Led Checkpoint with up to 46% of sales coming from new products, doubling Alpha revenue in < 5 yrs⇨ Grew Alpha’s global Intellectual Property portfolio to nearly 50% of total Checkpoint patent filings driven by Alpha R&D innovations.⇨ Hired external ID firm to create Alpha Visual Brand Language, and drove implementation across product lines.

Thorofare, New Jersey, Us

Led global new product design and development for the $140M leader in retail loss prevention. Manage IP portfolio and advanced R&D. Staff of 16 including mechanical, electrical, RF, embedded firmware engineers and software developers.

Gerlingen-Schillerhöhe, Baden-Wuerttemberg, De

Led Accessories Engineering Organization for $300M US BU for new product development, cost reduction, advanced development and quality improvement for drilling, driving, threading, hole saws, circular saw blades, router bits, router tables, and woodworking accessories.⇨ Established new engineering organization in Chicago, drove down direct costs 25%⇨ Launched best-in-class Bosch Power Change hole saw, RapidFeed Spade bits, Auger bits, six router tables, Bosch Construction and Pro lines of circular saw blades,⇨ Reduced development cycle time by more than 50% while achieving 60% category share⇨ Re-engineered $60 million in product lines to support global manufacturing consolidation

Gerlingen-Schillerhöhe, Baden-Wuerttemberg, De

Led engineering organization for $190M Skil core power tools including circular saws, jigsaws, router.⇨ Delivered new Skilsaw and Jigsaw programs on time, under cost, with higher margin and market share.

Gerlingen-Schillerhöhe, Baden-Wuerttemberg, De

Led Time To Market Initiative for North American Power Tools (Skil, Bosch, Dremel).⇨ Installed Time-To-Market tools and metrics⇨ Reduced schedule slippage, improved speed to market, and with greater reliability – 19 of 22 active projects completed in 2001 vs. only 4 of 22 in 2000.

Master Of Business Administration (M.B.A.), International Business - Southeast Asian Business Systems

Bachelor Of Engineering (B.E.), Mechanical Engineering - Machine Systems