Peter Ward, COE Academic Director, Inducted as Shingo Academy Lifetime Member

We are excited and proud to announce that COE Academic Director, Peter Ward, has been inducted as a life member to the Shingo Academy, an honor bestowed upon individuals with distinguished careers in organizational excellence.

The honor was to be presented in a live ceremony during Shingo Academy’s March conference, which has been postponed due to COVID-19. Instead, Peter will be honored with a live presentation of the award at their next in person conference.

This honor recognizes outstanding contributions to operational excellence – of which Peter Ward has many. Over his 30+ year career, Peter’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. Peter currently is Professor of Operations Management and holds the Richard M. Ross Chair in Management at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business.

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.

Additionally, Peter 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, a non-profit organization focused on educational programs and resources designed to transform the healthcare industry. 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 also served as a member of the advisory board of Ford Motor Company's Lean Resource Center, a judge for Industry Week's America's Best Plants Program, and a consultant to a number of leading corporations.

When asked about receiving the honor, Ward said,

“Being inducted into the Shingo Academy really recognizes the many amazing lean thinkers and doers who have taught me about the meaning of lean management. The induction also recognizes the great opportunity that I have had to influence a new generation of lean thinkers through my teaching and research.”

We thank Peter for his lifelong commitment to the operational excellence community as well as the legacy he’s crafted within the Center for Operational Excellence, and congratulate him on the honor of being inducted to the Shingo Academy as a lifetime member.