Board of Advisors
Sherrie Ford
Steve Hollis
Luke Faulstick
Catherine Greener
Robert Hall
Jacqueline Johnson
Bob Parker
Allan Slovin
Jeff Stone
Randy Sugarman
Fred Thompson
Charles "Gus" Whalen, Jr.
Sherrie Ford
Dr. Sherrie Ford is Power Partners' Chairman and Executive Vice President of Culture. She is at the helm of one of the ten largest woman majority-owned businesses in America as certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. In 1996, Ford founded Change Partners, L.L.P., an organizational consulting company specializing in cultural change, a natural progression for the Center for Continuous Improvement she created for the Athens Area Technical Institute. Ford, who continues to lead Change Partners, is a judge for Industry Week magazine's Best Plant competition, an examiner for Georgia Oglethorpe Award (modeled after the national Malcolm Baldrige Award), past Southeast Regional President for the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, and an acclaimed author and presenter on work-culture, and economic and workforce development.
Steve Hollis
Steve Hollis is the Chief Executive Officer of Power Partners. He is an expert on lean manufacturing and work culture. After more than 20 years of sales, marketing and manufacturing assignments at Georgia-Pacific and other companies, in 1996 Hollis became a principal at Change Partners, L.L.P., an organizational consulting company specializing in culture change, primarily in manufacturing companies. Asset ownership had long been a personal goal for both Hollis and Sherrie Ford, his partner at Change Partners, as well as a strategy for contribution to the industrial base and their community. After working with the management and staff of the ABB Athens plant to improve their processes between 2000 and 2003, Hollis and Ford bought the company in May 2003. Hollis is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Partners and continues to be a principal of Change Partners.
Luke Faulstick
Luke Faulstick is Chief Operating Officer for DJO Inc. He has over 20 years of operational experience in the medical, electronic and photographic industries, and has had senior operating management roles at Tyco Healthcare, Graphic Controls, Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics, Eastman Kodak and his own contract manufacturing company. He is a recognized leader in implementing and managing lean, team-based operations.Catherine Greener
Catherine Greener is a managing director of DOMANI, a sustainability consulting firm headquartered in Denver. Previously she was principal of Rocky Mountain Institute and led RMI's Commercial and Industrial team. She has more than 18 years of experience in industrial quality management and lean manufacturing, and is an engineer and manager with expertise in industrial operations and process design.Robert Hall
Dr. Robert Hall is professor emeritus of operations management, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. He was a founding member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, and he is editor-in-chief of the associations publication, Target. Dr. Hall was one of the first examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Currently, he is a judge for the Pace Award for innovation among auto industry suppliers. He also reviews applications for Industry Weeks Ten Best Plants Awards. He is the author or co-author of six books about manufacturing excellence.
Jacqueline Johnson
Jacqueline Johnson is in the Quality, Audit and Risk Management department of GlaxoSmithKline's Global Manufacturing and Supply division. Previously she served as corporate training director for Dial Corporation, a Henkel International Company, in Scottsdale, AZ. She has worked for Procter & Gamble, where she held industrial engineering and production management positions. She has worked as an independent consultant who helps companies implement lean enterprise techniques. Earlier in her consulting career, she was associated with Change Partners, L.L.C., and Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute. Jacqueline has served on other boards, such as the University of North Carolina's Bryan School of Business & Economics Center for Global Business Education and Research and the North Carolina Child Care Commission.
Bob Parker
Bob Parker spent twenty-five years managing purchasing, transportation, materials and facilities functions at Ford Motor Company and International Harvester, including several years at officer level and six years stationed in Europe and the Far East. In recent years the firm he founded, Parker Management Associates, Ltd., has helped major clients such as Amoco/BP, Chrysler, Harley-Davidson, Motorola and others develop stronger and more mutually-beneficial relationships with key customers, suppliers, carriers, contractors and strategic partners in the U.S., E.U., and Asia.
Allan Slovin
Allan Slovin was the chief operating officer of Power Partners during the first year of operations. He is a career manufacturing executive. He has headed Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics' North American manufacturing operations, been CEO of a Swiss owned manufacturing company, and had senior management assignments at Campbell Soup Company, Allied Signal and IBM. He is currently the CEO of Leading Edge Management Consultants Co.Jeff Stone
Jeff Stone is director of Labor Relations for BASF Corporation. He has a wealth of experience in problem solving, employee involvement, training, safety, OSHA compliance, contract negotiations, staffing, benefits administration and other aspects of labor relations. He has served in a similar capacity for Georgia Pacific.Randy Sugarman
Randy Sugarman Randy Sugarman is the managing partner of Sugarman & Company, a financial consulting company. He serves as a financial consultant in workout and bankruptcy situations, and has run a number of companies on an interim basis. His experience spans a wide range of industries, including advertising, construction, direct selling, distribution, financial services, hospitals, manufacturing, professional services, real estate investment and retail. He is a certified public accountant.Fred Thompson
Fred Thompson founded SunTree Forest Products, which operates two former Louisiana-Pacific plants in Ohio and Michigan and serves as the company's chairman and chief executive officer. He also owns and operates The Thompson Group, a consulting group that provides strategic direction in the areas of infrastructure development, start-up initiatives, fundraising, joint ventures and marketing. The Thompson Group has advised on important projects for companies that include Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Colt Technologies, KerseyBoll Industrial, Avista Corporation and Murphy Plywood Company. Previously he served as president and chief executive officer of Isobord Enterprises. Earlier in his career, he was with Georgia-Pacific Corporation.
Charles "Gus" Whalen, Jr.
Charles Gus Whalen, Jr., is the chairman of The Warren Featherbone Company and directs the efforts of The Warren Featherbone Foundation. In its remarkable 126-year history, Warren companies have been active in manufacturing, banking, agriculture, publishing and philanthropy. Of particular interest to Gus Whalen are education, manufacturing and philanthropy, which he believes have worked together to help strengthen communities across America. Gus is the author of four books. They include The Featherbone Principle, The Featherbone Spirit, The Gift of Renewal and Hooked at the Roots, The Evolution of Featherbone Communiversity, published Spring 2009. Gus serves on Georgia's Workforce Investment Board.