Master Black Belt, Continuous Improvement Manager

Linda G. Falkenstine

Home: 972-***-**** *** Alfred Drive

Work: 972-***-**** Wylie, TX 75098

Cell: 214-***-**** *****.***********@*****.***

Expertise

Continuous Improvement

• Led division in management of Six Sigma initiative

• Extensive experience with a variety of continuous improvement tools and methodologies

• Technically minded with a strong understanding of business requirements

Project Management

• Managed global improvement projects and teams in diverse cultures

• Developed process performance measures and reported results to executive leadership team

• Instrumental in the success of a new registration system implementation at civil training centers globally

Business Process Management

• Developed and implemented business process owner organization

• Trained business process owners using production simulation technique

• Worked with owners to map and standardize processes for global operations manual

Professional Experience

CAE, DFW Airport, Texas January 2001 to November 2011

Manager, Continuous Improvement; CAE January 2006 – November 2011

Managed Continuous Improvement global initiatives for CAE including aviation training, manufacturing and healthcare segments

• Developed and implemented project selection and prioritization process to ensure continual improvement

• Designed curriculum for ongoing project team and employee training

• Coached, trained and mentored eleven globally diverse DMAIC teams to successful completion with savings of $3 million

• Managed, trained and coached over 25 Kaizen/Quick Hit project teams.

Negotiated agreement between two segments of the business to adopt standardized processes throughout the 26 training centers worldwide which was used as basis for developing new global registration system.

Coordinated with key stakeholders to map business processes to formulate a standard Training Center Operations Manual (TCOM) to be used as a guideline for all operating procedures.

Sales Support Manager; CAE SimuFlite February 2003 – January 2006

Managed Sales Support and Client Service staff of fifteen.

Maintained all systems and processes for the Sales department including Account Executives, Sales Support, Client Services, Regional Sales Managers and Regulatory Compliance.

Utilized Six Sigma methodology to enhance reservation and sales processes to reduce errors and improve customer service including:

• Exceeded revenue goals in FY05 and FY06 by almost $1 million

• Improved COD collection rates from 70% to 90%

• Improved contract rate from 85% to 97%

• Produced monthly sales dashboards, forecasts and reports using Microsoft Access, Excel and PowerPoint.

Process Improvement Manager, Quality Black Belt; GE Capital SimuFlite January 2001 – February 2003

Completed Black Belt training (Wave 1, 2, 3) and passed Black Belt exam.

Taught Green Belt courses and coached two Green Belt project teams.

Managed aged collections team to collect over $9 million in outstanding invoices in 3 months exceeding our goal by 3 months.

Worked with sales team and IT to improve current registration and pricing software system.

Facilitated many workouts and voice of the employee meetings utilizing various quality tools.

Improved productivity, reduced cost and eliminated rework through process mapping and root cause analysis for many processes.

Involved in digitization strategic projects included eRecords, eRegistration, and ePricing.

GE Capital, IT Solutions; Dallas, Texas October 1990 to January 2001

Regional Operations Manager; GE Capital May 1998 – January 2001

Participated in numerous GE Black Belt projects that resulted in business process improvements and cost savings of over $3 million

• Defined opportunities for process improvements on behalf of field sales organization to improve customer satisfaction

• Maintain and developed operations manual, as well as facilitated customer specific control manual outlining customer CTQ's (Critical to Quality)

• Completed GE Quality Green Belt training and certification. Project resulted in over $400,000 in cost savings from rebates claimed.

Managed nationwide projects including system conversion to SAP, distribution center transition and field support consolidation.

Developed training program for new sales and support employees on systems, processes and policies.

Project manager for four office relocations and seven office closures.

Office Manager; GE Capital September 1994 to May 1998

Responsible for all facilities including security system, telephone system, building maintenance and asset management.

Managed branch finances including forecasts, sales reports, accounts payable and purchasing.

Administered insurance, benefit and payroll for the Dallas branch.

Managed corporate mergers including financial analysis, employee orientation, relocation and training.

Provided management staff with operations, marketing and systems support.

Marketing Coordinator; The Future Now September 1991 to September 1994

Created professional proposals and sales presentations.

Organized and presented at seminars, trade shows and customer demonstrations.

Maintained monthly revenue and product reports.

Developed new employee and new product sales training program.

Assisted support staff and sales managers with order processing and order management issues.

Training Specialist; Entré Computer Center October 1990 to September 1991

Performed customer and employee training for all major software packages, networks and operating systems.

Supported customers on systems and applications packages.

Scheduled classes, maintained database and managed classroom inventory.

Uniplex Integration Systems; Irving, Texas February 1990 to September 1990

Courseware Developer/Instructor February 1990 to September 1990

Tandy Corporation; Fort Worth, Texas May 1986 to February 1990

Curriculum Specialist/Instructor; Corporate Support May 1989 to February 1990

Systems Engineer; Area Training and Support May 1987 to May 1989

System Marketing Representative; Computer Center May 1986 to May 1987

Education and Training

North Texas State University, Denton, Texas

Bachelor of Business Administration; Graduated May 1986

Major in Business Computer Information Systems

Lake Highlands High School, Dallas, Texas

High School Diploma; Graduated May 1982

Additional Courses and Certifications:

• Eckes and Associates Six Sigma DMAIC Train-the-Trainer Certified

• GE Quality Six Sigma DMAIC Black-Belt Wave 1,2 and 3; Black-Belt Certified

• MiniTab for Service Quality

• Quality Auditor Training and Certification

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