Stephen Picone Email and Phone Number

Responsible for ensuring the performance lifetime of all products & designs meet regulatory and customer requirements. Lead the company Culture of Quality; delivered and managed an enterprise Quality Management System (QMS) architecture.● Delivered and managed an enterprise Quality Management System (QMS) architecture. Including Product Development change management, construction QA/QC, Part design revision control, 8D, and Supplier Quality Management & Qualification. ● Developed an ISO9001 compliant document control solution using MS SharePoint. Created and updated Quality polices & procedures to meet ISO9001 standards.

Responsible for various aspects of Corporate Operations, Supplier Sourcing & Quality, Reliability & Test, Continuous Improvement & Change Management, Safety & Facilities, and Engineering. Drive measurable results though a metrics-based approach employing innovation and industry best known methods.● Formed a diverse team of engineers, specialists, technicians, and contractors founded on communication, trust and emotional intelligence. Regularly collaborate on development plans for both personal & professional growth.● Built a companywide Quality Management System (QMS) framework from the ground up based on good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Identified operational needs and delivered global policies & procedures to meet IS09001 standards; developed training to drive adoption.● Reduced margin leakage through second-sourcing, international assembly, and various Engineering redesign initiatives; resulting in 50% material cost reduction. Managed department P&L and quarterly budgets.● Aligned operations through a comprehensive system deployment including NPI & Change Management, R&D, Supplier Quality & Planning, Incident Management, Construction Quality & Standards, Process & Production Optimization, Global Document Control, FRACAS for Reliability, Safety & Facilities Management.● Managed all sensitive customer facing issues ensuring tailored communication and root cause resolution. Led neutralization of 35 issues across 9 suppliers within 20 days with no impact to customer schedule.● Reversed negative company trajectory with a 25% cost reduction by redesigning the core proprietary component and material to mitigate catastrophic serial failure. Ensured company survival and 10x product life expectancy.

Promoted to lead company-wide waste reduction and operations optimization initiatives mandated by executive team. Formed and led a global team of data scientists and operational excellence leaders through development and implementation of cross-functional process improvement programs. Managed multimillion-dollar labor, compensation, and project budgets.● Led a companywide restructuring of business systems, processes, operations, and reorganization to reduce OPEX ($22.5M annual benefit). Resulting in the transition to a global ERP system.● Optimized global manufacturing processes applying LEAN and TOC principles to improve “good parts out”; resulting in an overall 5% throughput increase across all plants.● Developed, led, and managed the Global Quality Operating System tasked with tracking all company waste, managing activity for improvement, ensuring compliance, and reporting to the CEO & Executive Staff ($100M+ pipeline, $11M in realized savings annually)● Developed strategic vision and architecture to introduce and integrate advanced analytics tools into process improvement programs. Founded the Global Analytics Team (12M annual benefit)o Delivered an Advanced Enterprise Analytics solution (SAS). Enhanced the capability in decision based analytics, real-time dashboards, and statistical modeling. $1.5M budget with a $2M first year benefit.● Led the development & implementation of a corporate Continuous Improvement process to enable collaborative change. ($8M annual benefit)

Responsible for developing, implementing and managing operational business, manufacturing processes, and systems to ensure effective and agile execution of key objectives including change management of all aspects. ● Architected and introduced CEO-mandated global change management program to avoid excursion events and optimize production, material, and design changes; ensuring alignment across departments and plant facilities. o Drove global consensus on the approach (phase-gate), system behavior, and governance expectations. Defined all requirements and integrated Six-Sigma methods & quality tools, created all system forms and templates. Developed and executed the global enterprise integration strategy, identified the stewardship team & communication plan, and performed instructor-led training at all sites (1000+ employees trained)o Facilitated 2X acceleration of product & process initiatives increasing solar module efficiency from 9 to 22% within 10 years, enabling increased in revenue.● Simplified and maximized construction’s project planning, change order, and configuration management capabilities by developing an easy to use change management tool ultimately adopted enterprise-wide.● Program Manager for the Battery Storage & Ecosystems initiative increasing solar energy market penetration

Managed a team of Six-Sigma Black Belts and Statisticians responsible for driving a culture of Continuous Improvement throughout operations in North America. ● Developed and implemented Design for Six-Sigma (Robust Design) throughout the organization. Reduced the time-to-market of new products by 40% and the cost of poor quality by 40%.o Delivered a complete organizational skill-up on Design Thinking, Design of Experiments (DOE) and results analysis across the R&D, Manufacturing, and Quality business units. (500+ employees) ● Led & engaged the organization in a “culture of continuous improvement” including process optimization, Lean, Six Sigma, 5S, Gage R&R, FMEA, SPC, DMAIC, VSM, statistical data analysis, and root cause analysis & corrective action. Trained and certified 75+ Six Sigma Green Belts ($20M+ in realized annual benefit)

Recruited to analyze enterprise operations and identify opportunities for cross-functional process improvements; Leveraged Lean Six Sigma tools to introduce new solutions and mitigate quality issues. Implemented training, maintained curricula, and ensured accurate standardized documentation of all problem-solving● Delivered an aligned global PFMEA process to the Manufacturing & Quality organizations. ● Addressed the primary yield-loss manufacturing process using DOE, Improving overall throughput by 3%● Drove 0.5% increase in efficiency and reduced time to market by 3 months, delivering annual value of $1.2M by implementing an asset management solution across global facilities to accelerate rollouts.

Lead implant area engineer responsible for process performance and quality improvement of 14 large-volume manufacturing assets. Worked with a skilled team of technicians and equipment engineers to meet daily production demands and drive area improvements.● Managed area cost reductions and generated $1M in annual savings. Reduced defects by 20% and scrap by 70% after identifying recurring area waste. Converted the area to 0.10um sensitivity and implemented real-time defect detection and control.● Served as Six Sigma Green Belt and FMEA area champion. Applied statistical methods to quality analyses including DMAIC, RSM, PCA, full-factorial, comparative methods, categorical analysis, capability (SPC), and outlier analysis.● Oversaw a $300K project on qualifying 2nd source parts, optimized tool qualification procedures, and wafer reuse procedures.● Drove 100% TS16949 & QS9000 compliance for responsible areas and trusted as Process Representative with high-profile clients Toyota, Visteon, Delphi, Bosch, BMW, Volvo, TRW, & Continental.