Past Events

From one-day seminars and breakfast networking events to our virtual webinar series, COE maintains a busy slate of opportunities for members to hear from key business leaders on the latest in lean, supply chain management, women in leadership, op-ex in technology, and more. Our recent events have included:

Virtual Event: The Integral Leadership Model

3/20/24: In this webinar, David Veech organized a set of key leader behaviors into an Integral Leadership Model and offered strategies and tools to help leaders become the leaders we need them to be. This session wove together elements of servant leadership, level-5 leadership, short-interval leadership, and charismatic leadership and discuss a 6-step approach to help us craft more effective leader development programs.

Virtual Event: Knowing Where Your Dollars Really Go - Activity-Based Costing

3/13/24: Grange Insurance's Kevin Yania and Anna Sturgeon drew from their experience with Activity-Based Costing to describe what a tool traditionally used in the manufacturing industry can offer in an office setting. They walked through a call center use case for Activity-Based Costing and shared how to apply these learnings to your organizational design with a Lean Six Sigma mindset.

Virtual Event: Streamlining Success with Lean Product & Process Development

2/21/24: Lean product and process development (LPPD) is a management philosophy and set of principles that emphasize creating value for the customer while minimizing waste in the product development process. In this webinar, Frank Paluch and Lara Harrington explored how LPPD provides an essential framework for achieving OpEx, driving innovation, and fostering seamless collaboration across the product development lifecycle.

In-Person Event: John Glenn Columbus International Airport Operations Tour

2/7/24: On this special tour, participants had the opportunity to learn more about the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, tour TSA’s in-line baggage handling system, and visit the airfield maintenance facility.

Virtual Event: How to 5X Your Success at Transformation

1/24/24: In this webinar, experienced executive coach Adam Ward covered five key areas that organizations often miss when undergoing transformations. These areas provided rich insights for any organization’s transformation, whether it’s focused on OpEx, digital, DEI, or beyond.

In-Person Event: Value Stream Mapping and Simulation Workshop

1/18/24: Value Stream Mapping and Simulation are vital tools to detect inefficiencies and plan optimal workflows. This workshop was designed to empower leaders with the expertise and practical tools to leverage these methodologies to their fullest potential. Through practical exercises and a 'learning by doing' approach, participants gained hands-on experience, ensuring they can readily apply their new knowledge in real-world settings.

Hybrid Event: Women's Leadership Forum

1/10/24: This Women’s Leadership Forum focused on how women can increase their salary and rise through the workforce. As Chief HR Officer for Designer Brands, Karen Cho shared realistic methods to get promoted, make more money, and have a life! She also discussed how to recognize when it makes sense to look elsewhere in order to move up the ladder and the best ways to get connected.

Hybrid Event: Artificial Intelligence

12/8/23: This event featured diverse perspectives to bridge the gap between academia and industry. First, Ohio State faculty presented research and case studies on the possibilities and ethical risks of AI. Then, a panel of industry leaders from Nationwide, JP Morgan Chase, and Narwal shared how they’re operationalizing emerging AI technologies in real time at their organizations.

Virtual Event: Building Corporate Support for Supplier Diversity

11/15/23: In this session, Vincent Wiggins described the recent launch of La-Z-Boy’s first supplier diversity program with a focus on inclusion and integration. Attendees learned about the necessary steps for sustaining a strong supplier diversity program, including effectively communicating the business case and collaborating with departmental leaders.

Virtual Event: Growing with Columbus

11/8/23: Hosted in collaboration with Fisher Impact Day, this webinar explored the dynamic intersection of economic development and corporate community engagement. Columbus City Councilmember Nick Bankston provided a behind-the-scenes perspective into recent economic and community development investments in the Columbus region.

Virtual Event: Global Supply Chain Forum

10/18/23: This event provided government and academic perspectives on global supply chain collaboration opportunities and challenges with East Asian countries and was presented in collaboration by The Ohio State University Center for International Business Education and Research, Center for Operational Excellence, and East Asian Studies Center.

In-Person Event: The Lean Office Workshop

10/4/23: InBox^® Lean office simulation is a participant-driven simulation that teaches how to apply Lean concepts to transactional processes. With InBox, associates of all levels can practice the tools of Lean and Six Sigma in a risk-free setting. This kind of practice builds individual capability and, ultimately, organizational capability.

Virtual Event: Leveraging the Power of Leader Standard Work

9/20/23: This webinar explored how Leader Standard Work engages leaders in the work at the frontline, allows leaders to address root causes, and provides a framework for sustained improvements. Emily Jackson drew from her nursing and operational leadership experience at one of the nation’s leading hospitals to provide actionable insights for leaders.

Virtual Event: Understanding HR Analytics

9/6/23: In this session, workforce researcher Nick Anderson shared how organizations with mature human resource analytics capabilities operate and explored research evidence focusing on how age and organizational tenure are associated with performance.

In-Person Event: OSU Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence Tour

8/23/23: A limited-capacity guided tour of CDME’s Manufacturing Innovation Learning Lab took participants through a facility that houses more than $20 million in industrial-scale equipment and employs undergraduate students to complete real customer projects programming robotic systems, developing medical devices, leveraging 3D printing techniques, and more.

Virtual Event: Driving a Future-Ready Company Through Lean IT

8/16/23: By practicing Lean IT principles, IT leaders and their teams can enable the success and profitability of the company and position the business to be more competitive and future-ready. In this webinar, Vertiv's Global CIO Sheryl Haislet shared insights on how to avoid mistakes, eliminate waste, and embark upon Lean IT initiatives the right way.

Virtual Event: Product Returns - A Logistical Problem

7/26/23: Product returns are a growing problem for manufacturers and retailers, driven by rapidly changing customer/market expectations, expanding sales channels, sustainability agendas, and brand protection. DHL Supply Chain's Will Heywood explored the scale of the problem of product returns, covered key considerations for retailers and manufacturers, and assessed the current market outlook in this webinar.

ln-Person Event: 5 Cs to Develop a Team of Problem Solvers Workshop

7/12/23: In this interactive workshop, operations expert Jamie Parker guided participants through skill-building activities to transition from doing problem solving to coaching problem solving.

ln-Person Event: ADS Plant Tour

6/6/23: This event provided an opportunity to see operations in action during a guided tour of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.’s (ADS) London, Ohio, manufacturing plant. ADS is a leading high-performance thermoplastic corrugated pipe manufacturer, offering innovative water management solutions for commercial, infrastructure, and residential markets. The London, Ohio, manufacturing plant has been operating for over 40 years and is responsible for producing both single and dual wall corrugated HDPE drainage pipe.

Virtual Event: Microaggressions 101

5/24/23: This webinar offered a deep dive into microaggressions, microaggression terminology, and the impacts of microaggressions in our everyday lives. DEI Education Specialist Sophia Antoun provided a framework for defining and understanding the harm of microaggressions.

Virtual Event: Making Space for Innovation

5/18/23: In this webinar, Jerome Revish talked about the journey his team has been on to help drive continued digital transformation at Cardinal Health. The topics included how to build effective funding strategies, creating time and space to innovate, capturing appropriate measures and milestones for success as well as establishing strong partnerships across business and functional teams.

Hybrid Event: Sustainable Supply Chain Forum

5/5/23: This hybrid session featured actionable insights from researchers and supply chain leaders on environmental and social sustainability. This event included two panel discussions with experts from DHL Supply Chain, La-Z-Boy, Coca-Cola, and Honda North America, plus faculty from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Virtual Event: Defining Your Leadership Trademark

4/26/23: Technology and Operational Excellence Executive Lisa Rogers presented on defining and understanding your leadership trademark, or the way your personal brand plays out in the social process of leadership. This webinar covered tactical ways to differentiate yourself and broaden your results.

Virtual Event: The Right Environment for Lean Success

3/16/23: In this webinar, Jim Benson presented from his book, The Collaboration Equation, and from decades of experience across industries on how to build a right environment that allows professionals in your company to collaborate, complete work, and continuously improve.

Virtual Event: Creating a Culture of Curiosity

3/1/23: Cindy Leavitt, VP and CIO for The Ohio State University, shared her experience creating a culture of curiosity to drive transformational change in this webinar. She also described how providing individuals with the skills, capacity, and courage to be open to change leads to amazing outcomes.