Bruce Ward Jr.

Address: **** ***** ****, ******** ********, Michigan 48382

Mobile: 734-***-****

Email: ac2ijy@r.postjobfree.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-ward-jr

Specific Job Position

Qualifications Profile

Highly organized, results-driven, and accomplished executive professional with broad-based background in operations excellence and

management; complemented with diverse experience in IT, finance, and automotive sectors. Proactive leader, known for expertise in

developing innovative solutions; analyzing organization’s critical requirements; and identifying deficiencies and potential

opportunities toward client satisfaction, process improvement, and business development. Recognized as a strategic thinker, with

proven ability to drive initiatives for business efficiency, revenue growth, and cost reduction. Armed with excellent communication,

analytical, and interpersonal skills necessary in establishing strategic partnership with key leadership, upper management, and all

levels of individuals.

Core Competencies

Program Management ~ People and Leadership Development ~ Business Transformation

Risk Management and Mitigation ~ Change Management ~ Business Integration Processes ~ Revenue Growth

Six Sigma and Lean Methodologies ~ Conflict Resolution ~ Organizational Leadership and Training

Professional Experience

Flat Rock, MI

Independent Contractor, Program Management, ERP Implementation and Transformation 2017–Present

Independent Contractor, Inventory Management Process Reengineering

Design inventory management disciplines and accompanying procedures for a three-week contract.

Drive companywide transformation effort including implementation of Salesforce.com based ERP and Service apps after a two-week period

of working for the inventory management contract.

Career Highlights:

Expertly restructured inventory management procedures to reduce errors and implement continuous improvement controls to address

material financial losses.

Identified and addressed critical program gaps in first six weeks of program leadership including partnership selection for data

conversion, software implementation, system integration, and automation development.

Significantly enhanced efficiency and controls in future state design of 54 previously undocumented key business processes spanning

sales, accounting/finance, engineering, manufacturing, service, and inventory management.

Encore Capital Group (Former Asset Acceptance) Troy, MI and San Diego, CA

Director, Operational Excellence 2014–2016

Streamlined technology and business procedures for company advancement while reducing cost base.

Conceptualized and implemented a quality vision as a verification of corporate’s conformance with internal policies and regulatory

consent decrees.

Career Highlights:

Effectively headed the reorganization of operational procedures as well as system-driven workflow and automation which resulted in

achieving the targeted 450% operational efficiency improvement.

Developed an account management system with the integration of acquired and existing capabilities while surpassing performance

benchmarks.

Accelerated system conversion timeline by 42% to avoid material business impact while fulfilling project sponsor role on continuously

delayed critical project.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. Warren, MI

Director, Operations 2011–2014

Led the Asset Acceptance Solutions Group, a third-party servicing entity, overseeing client management, budgeting/forecasting

administration, and performance management.

Intuitively governed broad-range of business functions which included operations, accounting, learning and development, analytics, and

compliance with 250 associates within four sites supporting operations across 14 states to deliver profit and loss (P&L) scope of

$112M revenue and $67M expenditure.

Career Highlights:

Developed key operations leaders to create a data-driven, never-content culture that repetitively set production records while

delivering 26 straight months of improved efficiency.

Proactively developed predictive models for account level return on investment (ROI) to increase returns by 10-30%.

Obtained year-over-year growth of 24% and improved cost management by fostering flow-based production culture while enhancing

leadership team.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. Troy, MI and San Diego, CA

Director, Business Transformation 2010–2011

Manager, Business Transformation 2008–2010

Managed program for third-party servicing initiative which required reorganization, client relationship, and system development

efforts to achieve critical adjacent market non-organic revenue streams.

Proactively led an information technology (IT) evaluation while rendering interim leadership support to address system reliability and

development constraints which mitigated material corporate risk.

Career Highlights:

Drove efforts in deploying the enterprise account management platform which involved addressing scalability issues, developing gap

functionality, converting 28 million accounts, and designing and implementing all new workflow to deliver efficiency and compliance

objectives.

Developed capabilities of Activity Based Management (ABM) and Business Intelligence (BI) to align operational initiatives to maximize

investment profitability on $160M yearly expense.

Earned distinction by receiving two President’s Club Awards in 2009 and 2010 for utilizing project management office (PMO), Lean, and

analytics to initiate cost reduction, revenue growth, and diversification strategies.

Ford Motor Company Dearborn, MI

Senior Purchasing Manager, Lean Supplier Optimization 2007–2008

Spearheaded operations focused on improving supply chain health while reducing cost and mitigating risk of price increases by leading

provisional teams of lean specialists and distressed suppliers.

Effectively negotiated with tier 1 suppliers to significantly map tier 2+ sources and subsequently deliver waste reduction actions to

mitigate production shutdown risk.

Career Highlights:

Headed purchasing, product design, and supplier partners in identifying waste within value streams and streamlining cost improvement

actions which resulted in delivering $18M in annual cost savings.

Contributed in leading lean transformations to strengthen distressed supply base; consequently enabling small car production and $6M

cost avoidance.

Improved the alignment and utilization of lean methodology on five commodity group teams by expertly coaching professionals at

multiple levels internally and externally.

Evaluated commodities and initiated long-term waste reduction actions into five-year commodity business plans.

Earlier Career

Ford Motor Company Dearborn, MI

Global Six Sigma Kaizen© and Business Integration Lead

Global Six Sigma Kaizen© Sensei and Master Black Belt

Six Sigma Black Belt, Powertrain Systems

Engineer, Engine Systems

General Dynamics Land Systems Sterling Heights, MI

Automotive Systems Engineer

Education

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Oakland University Rochester, MI

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI

Professional Development

Certifications:

Six Sigma Kaizen© Sensei Six Sigma Master Black Belt Six Sigma Black Belt

Training:

Project Management Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA)

Process Failure Mode Effects Analysis (PFMEA) Six Sigma Train-the-Trainer Lean

Experimental Design 8D and 14D Problem Solving Leadership Facilitation Process Control Methods

Strengthening Your Coaching Toolkit Systems Engineering Power of Micro Messages

Agile Myers-Briggs DISC TDF

Technical Skills

SAS Minitab SQL Salesforce.com Rootstock

Microsoft Office Suite (Work, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, and Access)

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