Eric Ethington

Eric Ethington is the coach and program manager of the Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) Initiative. Eric has a passion for lean with over 30 years of work experience feeding his passion. Starting as an industrial engineer with General Motors’ AC Spark Plug Division, Eric learned early that continuous improvement required a balance of technical knowledge and interpersonal skills. Rounding experiences in operations, planning, marketing, engineering, and strategy helped to prepare Eric for a lean implementation leadership position with Delphi’s Energy & Engine Management division in Flint, Michigan.

Beginning in 1998 and coaching engaged cross-functional teams, several brown-field plants in the Flint area underwent significant transformations.  Initially on a list to be either sold or closed, now they were on a path to competitiveness.

In 2001 Eric moved to Delphi’s World Headquarters as the manager of the corporate lean team responsible for supporting Delphi’s six divisions with their lean transformations.  Additionally, this team was tasked with the development, launch and operation of a “lean boot camp” for Delphi’s 650 executives worldwide. In 2005 Eric started the next phase of his career. Taking a position at Textron, Eric earned his six sigma black belt in design while mentoring multiple Green Belts and Black Belts. Afterward, as part of the internal lean consulting organization, he gained experience implementing lean in defense, aerospace, consumer products, and financial industries.

In 2009 Eric founded Lean Shift Consulting, focusing on developing others to be lean leaders and transform their own organizations. In doing so, Eric has expanded his industry experience to include medical equipment, healthcare, software, and distribution. Likewise in 2009, Eric began to support LEI’s Lean Enterprise Partners program by offering coaching services to the companies who were members of the partnership.

In February of 2016, Eric’s role at LEI shifted to managing and growing its Lean Product & Process Development initiative.  This initiative is expanding the under explored science of using product and process development to truly transform the extended enterprise, with the ultimate goal of developing successful value streams. 

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University (formerly GMI) and an MBA in Operations from the University of Michigan, Flint campus.  He serves on the Board of Directors at Goodwill Industries of Mid-Michigan as well as the Alumni Advisory Board for the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering department at Kettering University.  He and his family call Grand Blanc, Michigan home.