Derek Steele Email & Phone Number

Waltham, Ma, Us

Charlotte, North Carolina, Us

Directed global quality operations for five core HTS sites in four countries (totaling 1150 employees, 20 quality associates) and provided indirect support for four partial HTS sites. Accountable for key performance metrics, customer concerns resolution, and development of long-term plans to drive improvement and address systemic shortcomings.Key Achievements⦁ Immediate focus on team building, with individual development and cross-site networking⦁ 43% reduction in customer PPM in first six months, due to focus on key failure modes⦁ Developed three-year strategic Quality roadmap to address key improvement areas (organizational alignment, automotive quality tool deployment, QMS enhancements)

Mayfield Heights, Oh, Us

Providing leadership for quality operations across eight global sites (500+ employees) and a team of more than 50 quality associates, including engineering, inspection, and laboratory functions. Responsible for division performance to quality objectives across a broad product profile that includes materials and services for the medical, automotive, and electronics industries.Key Achievements⦁ Quality leader for multi-site, international acquisition, including management of projects related to ISO certification, equipment moves, and customer qualifications.⦁ Drove customer complaints from a peak of 4.1% in 2012 down to sustained levels of less than 0.5% in 2021 through aggressive determination of root cause and application of systemic corrective actions.⦁ Conducted an improvement program on a key evaporation material product line, resulting in best-in-class performance, improved customer yields, and market share growth.⦁ Directed several cross-functional ERP (SAP) improvement projects including automation of product labeling, improvements to router design that allowed for improved costing and operator repeatability, and division-level COPQ (Cost of Poor Quality) reports.

Mayfield Heights, Oh, Us

Oversight of quality operations for a multi-site metals manufacturing facility. Accountable for the planning and execution of quality improvement programs, design reviews, and engineering change management for high purity sputtering targets used in the thin film applications/ semiconductor industry. Promoted from the position of Quality Engineer in 2009, with the primary goal of improving communications and relationships with key customers, including the management of issue resolution and engineering concerns.Key Achievements⦁ Led a team of quality and IT professionals in the implementation of an automated SPC data collection package, dramatically increasing data availability to engineering personnel and customers.⦁ Directed a cross-functional team in the development of production processes for a new industry-disruptive product, resulting in “first to market” status with capable processes.⦁ Served as the QM Technical Lead for multi-site SAP installation.

Oslo, Oslo, No

Promoted from Quality Engineer and prior positions to the position of Manager, Quality and Engineering, with full responsibility over internal and external quality system activities for the region, including multinational manufacturing plants (totaling 500 employees) and on-site customer representatives. Directed activities of materials testing and inspection, process auditing, supplier quality management, ISO certification, and quality-customer interface.Key Achievements⦁ Technical Lead for the Quality Module (QM) in an eleven-site national SAP installation.⦁ Led a project team to establish groundbreaking drawn shape technology from customer inquiry to production.⦁ Achieved first regional QS-9000 certification in company, defining the approach to quality management system registration for the corporation.⦁ Reduced average monthly in-process scrap by 33.5% in 2003, 10.4% in 2004, and 7.2% in 2005.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Business Administration And Management, General

Lean Sigma Black Belt Certification

Executive Leadership Program