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 leadership, supply chain management, OpEx in technology, problem solving, and more. Our recent events have included:

 Hybrid Event: AI Excellence Seminar

12/4/25: Our third annual AI Insights from Academia to Industry seminar featured Dr. Jeffrey Dotson, who spoke on Ohio State’s AI Fluency initiative and shared groundbreaking research on AI’s impacts on instructional design and business measurement. In the second session, COE Executive Director Kelly Reo moderated a conversation on AI and continuous improvement with a dynamic panel of industry leaders from Worthington Steel, Nationwide, and Centric Consulting. They discussed organizational AI readiness, leadership models, and how to avoid common pitfalls that lead to confusion, mistrust, wasted resources, and bad processes.

 Hybrid Event: Supply Chain Forum

11/10/25: Cohosted with the Supply Chain Association, this dynamic gathering brought together industry leaders and academic experts for a thought-provoking panel discussion on supply chain problem solving and process improvement. Bath & Body Works' Susanna Zhu and Wexner Medical Center's Hal Mueller unpacked current challenges and emerging trends shaping the supply chain landscape from healthcare to retail manufacturing. 

 Virtual Event: What Would Inventive Problem-Solving Do?

11/5/25: This session introduced a series of tools and techniques known as the Theory of Inventive Problem-Solving. Holly Stein, Director of Operational Excellence at Cardinal Health, shared examples of inventive problems and guided the audience through an exercise to apply inventive principles to brainstorming scenario to create a a higher yield of viable solutions. 

 Virtual Event: Moving from AI Skeptic to Strategist

10/22/25: Marc D. Braun and Tyson Heaton joined Lean Into AI series facilitator Steve Pereira for a conversation on the AI implementation journey. They offered practical ideas for leaders looking to guide their teams through AI adoption with greater clarity and confidence. 

 In-Person Event: Prompt Engineering Workshop

10/1/25: As AI transforms how businesses operate, the ability to communicate effectively with AI tools has quickly become a critical skill. This interactive workshop helped professionals cut down on the guesswork and transform AI into a high-performing business partner. During this three-hour session, participants were immersed in the world of prompt engineering—the art and science of crafting effective inputs to guide AI systems toward useful, accurate, and creative outputs. 

 Virtual Event: The Link Between Energy and OpEx

9/24/25: If you’re not thinking about energy as part of your OpEx strategy, you’re missing out on a substantial opportunity to eliminate waste, cut costs, and improve performance. With growing energy supply concerns and rising costs, energy efficiency is pivotal for achieving operational excellence, as it enhances value while reducing waste. In this webinar, Sarah Cooney drew from her expertise in energy and operations to share how the integration of non-energy benefits (NEBs) into energy efficiency projects can lead to risk reduction, value creation, and cost savings.

 Virtual Event: Leadership reDEFYned

9/3/25: The best leaders are authentic and lean into their strengths and gifts, offering what they have versus focusing on what they don’t. In this webinar, Tami Chapek, founder and head coach of WeInspireWe, guided attendees to tap into authenticity to create a personal leadership vision and create an action plan to inspire transformational change for themselves and others. 

Virtual Event: Optimization Before Automation

8/20/25: To kick off the Lean Into AI series, Purdue Professor Ali Shakouri and Toyota Production System Support Center President Jamie Bonini presented a case study on challenges and opportunities when applying the latest advances in artificial intelligence in a manufacturing setting. They shared insights on the importance of eliminating waste and streamlining processes before applying AI technologies and automation. 

Virtual Event: Boosting Belief 

8/6/25: Fisher College of Business Senior Lecturer David Veech explored how fostering self-efficacy—the belief in one’s ability to achieve goals—can drive innovation, collaboration, and job satisfaction across an organization. Through engaging anecdotes and actionable strategies, participants gained insights on cultivating confidence and autonomy on their teams. 

 In-Person Event: Problem Solving and Creativity Workshop

7/23/25: The Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) is a way to look at an individual’s problem-solving style and creativity. In this workshop, Dr. Mary Rodriguez shared about the KAI theory. Participants explored their own problem-solving style and brainstormed how to use these insights for improved team dynamics. 

Virtual Event: Managing on Purpose

7/9/25: In this webinar, Mark Reich shared practical insights on the Hoshin Kanri methodology from his new workbook, Managing On Purpose. The session addressed issues related to horizontal and vertical alignment in organizations when it comes to developing, clarifying, and executing on a strategic vision.

 In-Person Event: Crown Equipment & Agrana Fruit Tours

6/18/25: Crown is one of the world’s largest material handling companies with a reputation for award-winning product design, advanced engineering and technology, and superior after-sale service. Agrana is a world leader in converting agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods. On this special full-day tour, participants experienced operations in action at Crown Equipment and Agrana Fruit facilities in Northwest Ohio. 

Virtual Event: Prompt Engineering & Agentic AI

6/4/25: As AI becomes more integrated into workflows, the ability to craft effective prompts is an increasingly important skill. This webinar equipped business leaders with practical insights into leveraging AI effectively through prompt engineering and agentic AI. This session built on a foundational understanding of AI to focus on prompt frameworks and skillsets for the future.

Virtual Event: Insights from The Future of People at Work

5/28/25: The Future of People at Work (FPW) is a collaborative effort of seven organizations exploring how different improvement approaches can address today's evolving workplace challenges. In this session, lean leader Eric Olsen shared actionable insights from FPW’s monthly community discussions and recent symposium.

Virtual Event: Dealing with Disruption

5/14/25: In this session, strategist Peter Grimm helped attendees learn how to anticipate disruptive shifts in their industry and capitalize on them. Attendees explored the “pathologies” of disruption, the recognizable patterns that can help you discriminate between them, and strategies to take advantage of them.

Virtual Event: The Human-AI Partnership

4/29/25: In this webinar, data analytics expert Dr. John Draper focused on the uses and abuses of GenAI. Through interactive discussion and practical examples, this session explored some of the use cases of GenAI and examined ways in which GenAI can go terribly wrong without deeper contextual critical thinking.

Virtual Event: Building an Intentional OpEx Culture

3/19/25: This webinar focused on developing an intentional culture capable of continuously adapting and evolving. OpEx experts Carol Christobek and Chhevi Sharma described their concept of Intentional Culture and illustrated the classic “culture quadrant” relative to OpEx initiatives. Further, they highlighted the four Culture facets of their OpEx model and discussed how each cultural characteristic fosters a continuously improving organizational culture.  

Virtual Event: Don't Skimp on the Hoshin

3/5/25: This webinar explored how a small investment in hoshin/strategic planning can pay tremendous dividends. Jason and Michelle Risser demonstrated—with evidence—how implementing hoshin helped a small business define its true north, refine its strategy, and observe exponential growth in identified KPIs after implementing a hoshin plan and accountability review.    

In-Person Event: DHL Multi-Use eCommerce Facility Tour 

2/19/25: On this tour, participants experienced a 650,000-square-foot DHL Supply Chain facility that supports three customers under one roof—Rodan + Fields, Lululemon, and Peter Millar. Tour participants had the opportunity to walk through the facility and learn about the unique complexities of each customer, including outbound operations, returns processing, embroidery technology, boxing and kit making automation, and more. 

Virtual Event: Reversing the Mental Health Crisis in the Workplace

2/5/25: In this webinar, clinical psychologist Dr. Andrea Mata explored the youth mental health crisis, its impact on the workforce, and what workplaces can do to take action and make a difference. Attendees learned how to create environments with high expectations and high support to set employees up for success. 

 In-Person Event: The Culture Playbook Workshop

1/22/25: The Culture Playbook Workshop empowered leaders to tackle culture challenges head-on. Participants identified their organization’s culture profile, mapped out cultural strengths and gaps, and explored targeted strategies to better align culture with strategic objectives. Through hands-on exercises, leaders developed practical, actionable plans to foster adaptability, enhance employee engagement, and build a customer-focused, results-driven culture. 

 Hybrid Event: Building Your Brand with Intention

1/8/25: At this event, esteemed nonprofit leader Nichole Dunn challenged attendees to assess the ways our personal brand shapes relationships, to strengthen our influence, and to align with our core values. When we approach our personal brand in this way, we’re empowered to lead lives filled with purpose and clarity.