Jim Morgan, PhD
Senior Advisor
Product and Process Development
Lean Enterprise Institute
President, EMC Network
Jim is recognized globally for his expertise in product and process development. His know-how comes from a unique combination of industry experience as a senior executive and rigorous scholarship. His most recent industry role was as the chief operating officer during a critical transition period for Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer. Before that, he was global director of Body and SBU Engineering and Tooling Operations during Ford’s historic, product-led revitalization under then-CEO Alan Mulally. Before joining Ford, Jim served as vice president of operations at TDM, a tier-one global automotive supplier, during a period of rapid growth.
He holds a doctorate in engineering from the University of Michigan, where his original research into product development won two Shingo Prizes for Research Excellence. In addition, he coauthored (with Professor Jeffrey Liker) the award-winning book The Toyota Product Development System (2006) and Designing the Future (2018). He has also authored or coauthored several book chapters on product development and related articles for the Sloan Management Review, The Engineering Management Journal, and other publications.