Dr. H. James Harrington is one of the world's quality system gurus with more than sixty years of experience. In the book, Tech Trending (Amy Zuckerman, Capstone, 2001), Dr. Harrington was referred to as "the quintessential tech trender." The New York Times referred to him as having a "knack for synthesis and an open mind about packaging his knowledge and experience in new ways-characteristics that may matter more as prerequisites for new-economy success than technical wizardry." He has been involved in developing quality management systems in Europe, South America, North America, Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Present Responsibilities Dr. H. James Harrington is the chief executive officer for the Harrington Institute. He also serves as the chairman of the board for a number of businesses and as the US chairman of Chair on Technologies for Project Management at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Dr. Harrington is recognized as one of the world leaders in applying performance improvement methodologies to business processes. Previous Experience In February 2002, Dr. Harrington retired as the chief operating officer (COO) of Systemcorp A.L.G., the leading supplier of knowledge management and project management software solutions. Prior to this, he served as a principal and one of the leaders in the Process Innovation Group at Ernst & Young. Dr. Harrington was with IBM for over thirty years as a senior engineer and project manager. Dr. Harrington is past chairman and past president of the prestigious International Academy for Quality and of the American Society for Quality Control. He is also an active member of the Global Knowledge Economics Council. Credentials The Harrington/Ishikawa Medal presented yearly by the Asian-Pacific Quality Organization was named after Dr. Harrington to recognize his many contributions to the region. In 1997, the Quebec Society for Quality named their Quality Award "The Harrington/Neron Medal," honoring Dr. Harrington for his many contributions to the Quality Movement in Canada. In 2000 the Sri Lanka national quality award was named after him. The Middle East and Europe Best Quality Thesis Award was named "The Harrington Best TQM Thesis Award." The University of Sudan has established a Harrington Excellence Chair to study methodologies to improve organizational performance. The Chinese government presented him with the Magnolia Award for his major contribution to improving the quality of Chinese products. Dr. Harrington's contributions to performance improvement around the world have brought him many honors and awards, including the Edwards Medal, the Lancaster Medal, the American Society for Quality's Distinguished Service Medal, and many others. He was appointed the honorary advisor to the China Quality Control Association, and he was elected to the Singapore Productivity Hall of Fame in 1990. He has been named lifetime honorary president of the Asia Pacific Quality Organization and honorary director of the Association Chilean de Control de Calidad. Dr. Harrington has been elected a Fellow of the British Quality Control Organization and the American Society for Quality Control. He was also elected an honorary member of the quality societies in Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Singapore. He is also listed in "Who's Who Worldwide" and "Men of Distinction Worldwide." He has presented hundreds of papers on performance improvement and organizational management structure at the local, state, national, and international levels. Dr. Harrington is a very prolific author, publishing hundreds of technical reports and magazine articles. He has authored 33 books and 10 software packages. His e-mail address is
[email protected]. Frank Voehl is the chairman and president of Strategy Associates, Inc. and a senior consultant and chancellor for the Harrington Institute. He also serves as the chairman of the board for a number of businesses and as a Master Black Belt Instructor and Technology Advisor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. He is recognized as one of the world leaders in applying quality measurement and Lean Six Sigma methodologies to business processes. Previous Experience Frank Voehl has extensive knowledge of National Regulatory Commission (NRC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), good manufacturing practice (GMP), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) quality system requirements. He is an expert in ISO-9000, QS-9000, ISO-14000, and Six Sigma Quality System Standards and processes. He has degrees from St. John's University and advanced studies from New York University, as well as a Doctor of Divinity degree. Since 1986, he has been responsible for overseeing the implementation of quality management systems with organizations in such diverse industries as telecommunications and utilities; federal, state, and local government agencies; public administration and safety; pharmaceuticals; insurance and banking; manufacturing; and institutes of higher learning. In 2002, he joined The Harrington Group as the chief operating officer and executive vice president. Has held executive management positions with Florida Power and Light and FPL Group, where he was the founding general manager and chief operating officer of QualTec Quality Services for seven years. He has written and published or copublished over twenty-five books and hundreds of technical papers on business management, quality improvement, logistics and team building, and has received numerous awards for community leadership, service to the third world countries, and student mentoring. Credentials The Bahamas National Quality Award was developed in 1991 by Voehl to recognize the many contributions of companies in the Caribbean region, and he is an honorary member of its Board of Judges. In 1980, the City of Yonkers, New York, declared March 7 as Frank Voehl Day, honoring him for his many contributions on behalf of the youth in the city where he lived and performed volunteer work. In 1985 he was named Father of the Year in Broward County, Florida. He also serves as president of the Broward County St. Vincent de Paul Society, whose mission is to serve the poor and needy. Frank's contributions to quality improvement around the world have brought him many honors and awards, including the American Society for Quality Distinguished Service Medal, the Caribbean Center for Excellence Founders Award, the Community Quality Distinguished Service Award, the Czech Republic Outstanding Service Award on behalf of its business community leaders, FPL's Pioneer Lead Facilitator Award, the Florida SFMA Partners in Productivity Award, and many others. He was appointed the honorary advisor to the Bahamas Quality Control Association, and he was elected to the Eastern Europe Quality Hall of Fame. He has been named honorary director of the Association Venezula de Control de Calidad by Banco Consolidado.