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7th Annual Grand Rapids Lean Summit
Monday, March 17, 2025
GVSU L.V. Eberhard Center, Grand Rapids, MI
Get ready to dive into innovative Lean strategies and connect with fellow professionals dedicated to driving continuous improvement. While we're still finalizing our speaker lineup, we promise a day packed with insightful sessions, hands-on experiences, and valuable takeaways.
Agenda
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Time
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Activity
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8:00 – 8:30 AM
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Check-In and Light Breakfast
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8:30 – 9:00 AM
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Welcome
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9:00 – 9:55 AM
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Keynote: Nigel Thurlow
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10:05 – 11:05 AM
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Breakout Session 1
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11:15 – 12:15 PM
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Breakout Session 2
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12:15 – 1:00 PM
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Lunch
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1:00 – 2:00 PM
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Breakout Session 3
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2:15 – 3:00 PM
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Closing
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☘️Celebrate Lean and St. Patrick’s Day☘️
As luck would have it, the Summit lands on St. Patrick’s Day! Expect a touch of festive fun as we bring Lean and continuous improvement together with a little Irish flair.
Keynote Speaker
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Nigel Thurlow 
CEO | The Flow Consortium
Nigel Thurlow is an expert in organizational design, author, and renowned speaker who serves as a consultant to industry in business agility — and as an expert in the application of cross-disciplinary methods and approaches to accelerate business change.
As the first-ever Chief of Agile at Toyota, he developed the award-winning “Scrum the Toyota Way” and co-created The Flow System™, a holistic approach to delivering customer-first value rooted in The Toyota Production System. Over his career, Nigel has trained more than 8,500 professionals worldwide and authored several notable works, including The Flow System Playbook and The Substrate Independence Theory. His expertise lies in designing effective organizational frameworks that blend Lean, Agile, and complexity science to enable long-lasting, context-driven transformation.
Currently the CEO of The Flow Consortium, Nigel continues to expand the boundaries of Lean and Agile thinking by integrating distributed leadership and team science. He also serves on academic boards, advises Fortune 500 companies, and contributes to publications as a member of the Forbes Coaches Council. With a passion for empowering organizations to become "armies of problem solvers," Nigel remains at the forefront of innovation, challenging traditional methods and driving impactful change.
Meet our Emcee
Brian DeVries
Senior Advisor | Lean Fox Solutions
Brian DeVries is a passionate advocate for Lean principles, with a mission to bring more happiness and empathy into everything he does, both professionally and personally. With over 13 years of experience across diverse industries—including manufacturing, agriculture, food and beverage, golf course maintenance, and insurance—Brian has helped organizations develop Lean strategies and achieve meaningful improvements.
Currently, Brian serves as a Senior Advisor with Lean Fox Solutions, where he focuses on empowering people and teams to unlock their potential and improve their lives through continuous improvement.
Brian’s contributions to the Lean community include serving on the Michigan Lean Consortium Board, appearing on various podcasts, and speaking at notable events like the Lean Six Sigma World Conference, where his team earned the prestigious Project of the Year award. He also hosts his own podcast, Kaizen and the Unusual Suspects, which explores the human side of improvement.
Outside of his professional life, Brian is a dedicated family man. He has been married to his wife, Allison, for 15 years and is the proud father of two energetic boys, Greyson (10) and William (4). In his free time, Brian enjoys playing golf, exploring bourbons, and honing his skills as an aspiring pitmaster.
Brian’s passion for Lean stems from his love of inspiring others, learning from diverse experiences, and celebrating the profound impact continuous improvement can have on people’s lives.
Breakout Sessions
Workshop: Transforming Process Maps into Predictive Models for Continuous Improvement*
Breakout Sessions 1 & 2 | Limited to 28 participants
A personal computer is required for this interactive session.
Static process maps are useful tools for visualizing the ideal state of a process. However, in the real world, processes are rarely static—variation, bottlenecks, and rework create inefficiencies that static tools cannot account for. How can organizations design processes that withstand this variability and validate that proposed changes will improve outcomes before implementation? This hands-on session addresses the growing need for Lean practitioners to move beyond static maps and incorporate dynamic modeling for real-world process design.
*Note: This workshop will replace the first two breakout sessions (10:05 AM - 12:15 PM) and requires a personal computer to participate.
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Peg Pennington
President | MoreSteam
Peg Pennington champions critical thinking and problem-solving as core competencies for all
organizations. She is a team builder, sharing her passion for problem-solving over two decades
of her career. Working as an educator and process improvement thought leader with
MoreSteam's global clients, she loves to share her enthusiasm for building a culture of innovation.
Prior to joining MoreSteam's executive team, Peg was the Executive Director of the Center for Operational Excellence. She helped to architect the Master of Business Operational Excellence (MBOE) program and establish rigorous standards for Lean Six Sigma certification aligned with industry norms. She also was an instructor in the MBOE and MBA programs at Ohio State's Fisher College of Business.
She has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Dayton.
Session: The Cost of Poor Communication
What if the biggest obstacle to your business success isn’t competition but communication? Studies show that poor workplace communication costs businesses an average of $12,506 per employee annually and is responsible for up to $1.2 trillion in losses across U.S. companies every year. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In this compelling keynote, Robert Heath, Sr. reveals how communication isn’t just a soft skill—it’s a hard driver of productivity, profitability, and organizational growth. Using real-world examples and actionable insights, he’ll help you uncover the hidden costs of poor communication and show you how to transform it into a powerful tool for competitive advantage.
Attendees will walk away with:
● A diagnostic lens: Learn how to identify the financial and operational impacts of communication gaps within your organization.
● Actionable strategies: Discover practical tools to foster transparency, accountability, and alignment that save money and improve results.
● A roadmap to growth: Gain insights on leveraging communication as a strategic driver for retaining talent, increasing customer satisfaction, and scaling your business.
Whether you’re a CEO, HR leader, or department manager, this keynote will challenge your thinking, inspire action, and show you how to elevate your organization by mastering the art of communication
Robert Heath, Sr.
CEO of The Legacy Leadership Consulting Group
Robert A. Heath, Sr. is an author, engaging communicator, and leading expert in Empowering Leadership. His work is centered on helping leaders get the best out of themselves and those who work for them. Robert received his JD, cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law. He also holds an MA in Teaching from Christian Brothers University, as well as dual BA degrees in Economics and Speech Communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Robert served for 8 years as a United States Marine Corps Officer and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his leadership as a Commander of one of the largest companies in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Combining the Leadership principles he learned as an Officer and Company Commander in the United States Marine Corps with the personnel development strategies he has mastered over 20 years of leading, teaching, and coaching, Robert works with leaders who desire to increase productivity, initiative, and follow through; reduce stress; and get the very best out of their team on every project, regardless of who they may lead.
Sponsorship
Showcase your organization to a dynamic audience of Lean professionals dedicated to continuous improvement. Sponsoring the Grand Rapids Lean Summit offers a unique opportunity to enhance your brand visibility, connect with potential clients, and support the Lean community.
Parking
Please park in the Fulton Lot as indicated by the map below:
Hotel Block
We’re excited to offer a convenient hotel option for Summit attendees. Reserve your stay at the Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown and enjoy a special group rate exclusively for our event participants.
Details
Booking Information:
Hotel Cancellation Policy
Guests can cancel their reservation without penalty according to the hotel’s standard cancellation policy.
Book your Stay Here
Stay tuned for more details!
New To The MLC?
At the MLC, we do our best to be inclusive at every level of experience, whether it’s a conference, Gemba walk or any other of our membership activities.
An individual or organizational membership gives you a year’s worth of great Lean learning and networking at low- or no-cost!
Summit Registration Cancellations
We understand that plans change. In the event you are unable to attend an event, refunds will be issued in full for cancellation refund requests received in writing via the events@michiganlean.org email at least seven (7) days before the event. Refunds will not be issued when less than a seven (7) day notice is provided. After submitting your cancellation refund request via email, please allow up to ten (10) business days for your refund to be processed. If the event is rescheduled, all purchases will be honored for the rescheduled event date. If the event is cancelled, all purchases will be refunded in full.
