Richard Lebovitz is a Partner at Streamline Strategy Japan and Managing Director of LeanDNA. He is a manufacturing expert focused on developing and deploying service-based applications for Lean Manufacturing. His unique experience bridges the world of shop-floor manufacturing and supply chain with on-demand software to support analysis and execution. He has managed multi-disciplinary teams that have led lean conversion projects in the United States, Argentina, Africa, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, India, United Kingdom, Belgium, France and Germany that involved converting traditional enterprises to Lean manufacturing.
Mr. Lebovitz was the founder and CEO of Austin based Factory Logic, Inc. (acquired by SAP), which he started in 1997. He built Factory Logic into a leading provider of software that models the Toyota Production System, and won theShingo Prize for Manufacturing excellence in 2001. Currently, Mr. Lebovitz serves as the Southwest Region Vice President at the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), and is an Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Instructor for The University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to founding Factory Logic, Mr. Lebovitz was a partner in Management and Technology Japan (MTJ) for 7 years. MTJ was founded in 1984 by a manufacturing partner at Japanese Management Association who had also worked with Honda and Toyota. MTJ specialized in total conversion from a traditional manufacturing approach to Lean/flow manufacturing. Mr. Lebovitz has worked extensively in the auto industry as well as personal products, food, textiles, consumer goods and heavy machinery. Before joining MTJ, Mr. Lebovitz was the Director of Business Development for Teknekron Advanced Automation Systems. This was a start-up company funded by Teknekron Corporation located in Menlo Park, CA and Incline Village, Nevada. Mr. Lebovitz holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Takao Kasahara Managing Director
Takao Kasahara is Managing Director of Streamline Strategy Japan. He is an internationally recognized expert in lean manufacturing implementation and strategy. Prior to founding SSJ, Mr. Kasahara was Managing Director and a partner in Management Technology Japan for 17 years where he worked in industries including automotive, auto parts suppliers, heavy machinery, consumer goods, electronics, medical, and others. In addition to consulting for companies worldwide, Mr. Kasahara currently teaches manufacturing and information technology courses at Wasada University.
Prior to joining MTJ, Mr. Kasahara worked with Toyo engineering for 12 years, where his responsibilities included overall design and construction of major manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Mr. Kasahara also served as a Director of CTC Engineering, a software design and engineering firm that focuses on process and control systems for manufacturing
