Peter Ward

Peter participates frequently in executive education programs in the US and internationally, including developing several successful certificate programs in lean management. He is the founder of the Lean Education Academic Network (LEAN), a global community of university educators dedicated to teaching systems thinking in universities. Peter is founding director of Fisher’s Master of Business Operational Excellence (MBOE) program, an innovative degree program aimed at mid-career professionals involved in transforming their organizations through operational excellence. Peter recently retired from Fisher College of Business, where he was Professor of Operations Management and held the Richard M. Ross Chair in Management.

Peter is Academic Director of the Center for Operational Excellence at Ohio State, a consortium of forty organizations dedicated to excellence and thought leadership in operations. He currently serves on the boards of the Lean Enterprise Institute (board chair), the Center for Lean Engagement and Research in Healthcare (UC Berkley), and Catalysis. Within Ohio State, Peter has served as chair of the Department of Management Sciences (12 years) and, more recently, Senior Associate Dean (4 years). Peter has served as a member of the advisory board of Ford Motor Company's Lean Resource Center and as a judge for Industry Week's America's Best Plants Program. Peter has served as a consultant to a number of leading corporations.

Dr. Ward's research has resulted in numerous articles which have appeared in leading operations management journals and he has been recognized with a number of awards including the 2007 distinguished operations management scholar from the Academy of Management, Shingo Prize for research, and Fisher College’s Pacesetter Research award, and the Bostic-Georges Pacesetter Award for Service. He is a fellow of the Decision Sciences Institute. He has been invited to join the Shingo Academy. His research focuses on gaining competitive advantage through operations.