Dr. Keith Schellenberger, LSS EMBB, PME, PMP, Finance Expert in Chapel Hill, United States
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Dr. Keith Schellenberger, LSS EMBB, PME, PMP

Verified Expert  in Finance

Bio

Keith has identified and delivered over $300 million in hard-dollar benefits through management consulting, project portfolio optimization, and strategic improvement projects. He is a results-driven certified Lean Six Sigma Enterprise Master Black Belt with 20+ years of proven success in leading organizations and teams, consulting, training, mentoring, and driving large cross-functional process improvements. Keith joined Toptal to help companies eliminate their most impactful pain points.

Career Highlights

Lean Six Sigma Enterprise Master Black Belt & CEO
Lean Six Sigma Services
Lean Six Sigma Senior Consultant
IBM-Lenovo
Director, Business Process Improvement
Sea-Land Services, Inc

Education Highlights

PhD
Keiser University
Masters of Science Degree
North Carolina State University
Bachelor of Science Degree
North Carolina State University

Certification Highlights

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
SixSigma.us
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Business Transformation
IBM

Case Studies

Work Experience

Lean Six Sigma Enterprise Master Black Belt & CEO

2009 - PRESENT
Lean Six Sigma Services
  • Founded and built my consulting company from the ground up to over $1 million in revenue.
  • Developed a prioritized Pareto analysis of possible transformation projects to reduce cost, increase revenue, decrease cycle time, and/or increase quality. Led the selected initiatives.
  • Built a forecast model for possible transformation initiatives and, for those chosen, estimated with 100% accuracy the impact to each KPI by month to a precision of 0.1.
  • Developed a cost of complexity model to optimize the trade-off of increasing revenue versus increasing costs for different service or product offerings, saving $7 million per year.
  • Mentored a program that reduced expenses by $19.4 million by reducing the unused products created.
  • Led a team that reduced the cost per product for the largest product line by 13%, saving the client $17.4 million per year.
  • Led Hoshin planning sessions with executive teams. Determined fiscal year strategies, success metrics, key projects, and targets and thresholds using statistical analysis that factored in random fluctuations.
  • Developed the plan and drove a client’s consulting organization to a Six Sigma operational status within six months of the start date—a faster ramp than any other organization in that global company ever achieved.
  • Trained, mentored, and developed 100+ candidates to achieve certifications, ranging from Yellow Belts to Master Black Belts. Developed and taught courses, such as Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Green Belt, PMP Certification, and Time Management.
  • Increased the rate of trained-to-certified LSS belts from 15% to 92% using intrusive mentoring.
Focus areas: Analysis, Six Sigma Processes, Process Improvement, Management Consulting, Change Management, Project Management, Team Mentoring, Training, Leadership, Lean Six Sigma, Lean Analytics, Hoshin Planning, Strategic Planning, Process Mapping, Process Design, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Facilitation, Statistical Analysis, Balance Sheets, Complexity Cube, Stakeholder Analysis, Mapping, Transformational Leadership, 5 Whys, Force-field Analysis, Six Sigma, Microsoft Excel, Excel Add-ins, Visio, JMP, Minitab, Financial Analysis, Organizational Leadership, Statistics, Mathematical Modeling, Industrial Engineering, DMAIC, DMADV methodology, Root Cause Analysis, Hypothesis Testing, Program Management, Portfolio Management, Lean, Lean Certified, Statistical Modeling, Statistical Forecasting, Business Cases, Business Transformation, Stakeholder Management, Transformational Change, Lean Project Management, Agile Project Management, Yield Management, Finance Process Improvement, Business Process Re-engineering, Business Analysis, Business Strategy, Business Processes, Business Process Analysis, Business Process Modeling, Operating Models, Omnichannel Marketing, Mentorship & Coaching, Project Leadership, Change Leadership, Data Analysis, Pareto Diagrams, Markov Model, M&A Modeling, Quality Control (QC), ROI, RFQ, Annual Planning, Annual Operating Plans, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Supply Chain, Supply Chain Optimization, Corporate, Communication, People Management, Marketing, Strategy, IT Program Management, Project Management Office (PMO), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), IT Strategy, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), System Integration, Financial Modeling

Lean Six Sigma Senior Consultant

1998 - 2009
IBM-Lenovo
  • Resolved business problems with LSS tools, methodologies, and projects.
  • Developed a cost of complexity model highlighted by Gartner as a supply chain best practice. Used the model to reduce supply chain costs by $13 million and product delivery cycle time.
  • Built and implemented a model that increased forecast accuracy by 106%, from 31% to 64%.
  • Drove cross-functional business improvements: engaged and motivated diverse groups with divergent paradigms and subcultures to embrace cross-functional changes.
  • Trained and mentored hundreds of students who then delivered quantified improvements based on the training and mentoring.
  • Reduced the average cycle time from order to manufacturing by 31%, from 17.5 to 12 hours.
  • Delivered a project $1 million under budget and four months early: integrated a new transportation management system (TMS) with legacy ERP and warehouse management systems (WMS).
  • Consolidated and integrated processes, systems, and legacy software from three merging companies.
  • Led seven multimillion-dollar external consulting engagements.
  • Achieved a 99% success rate for delivering LSS projects early or on time, on-scope, and under or on budget.
Focus areas: Six Sigma Processes, Team Mentoring, Project Management, Program Management, Portfolio Management, Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Lean Analytics, Lean Certified, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Modeling, Statistical Forecasting, Statistics, Process Improvement, Analysis, Business Cases, Financial Analysis, Management Consulting, Business Transformation, Change Management, Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Six Sigma, Microsoft Excel, Visio, JMP, Minitab, Facilitation, Training, Mathematical Modeling, Industrial Engineering, DMAIC, DMADV methodology, Root Cause Analysis, Hypothesis Testing, Leadership, Hoshin Planning, Strategic Planning, Process Mapping, Process Design, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Balance Sheets, Complexity Cube, Mapping, Transformational Leadership, 5 Whys, Force-field Analysis, Transformational Change, Lean Project Management, Agile Project Management, Yield Management, Finance Process Improvement, Business Process Re-engineering, Business Analysis, Business Strategy, Business Processes, Business Process Analysis, Business Process Modeling, Operating Models, Omnichannel Marketing, Mentorship & Coaching, Project Leadership, Change Leadership, Data Analysis, Pareto Diagrams, Markov Model, M&A Modeling, Quality Control (QC), ROI, Annual Planning, Annual Operating Plans, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Supply Chain, Supply Chain Optimization, Corporate, Communication, People Management, Consumer Products, Marketing, Strategy, IT Program Management, Project Management Office (PMO), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), IT Strategy, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), System Integration, Financial Modeling

Director, Business Process Improvement

1996 - 1998
Sea-Land Services, Inc
  • Developed a process improvement and project management organization, methodologies, and templates.
  • Aligned process improvement portfolios with organizations' principles, objectives, and KPIs.
  • Led a global corporate work-out project sponsored by the CEO, reducing annual expenses by $40 million.
  • Optimized yield: Analysis included infrastructure, emerging markets, shipping lanes, and equipment balancing. Used a mixed-integer program and identified $31 million+ in yield opportunities.
Focus areas: Analysis, Transformational Change, Change Management, Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Financial Analysis, Portfolio Management, Program Management, Project Management, Lean Project Management, Agile Project Management, Facilitation, Yield Management, Lean Analytics, Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma, Microsoft Excel, Excel Add-ins, Training, Statistics, Industrial Engineering, Six Sigma Processes, Statistical Analysis, DMAIC, DMADV methodology, Root Cause Analysis, Management Consulting, Process Improvement, Team Mentoring, Leadership, Strategic Planning, Process Mapping, Process Design, Kaizen, Balance Sheets, Mapping, Transformational Leadership, Force-field Analysis, Lean, Lean Certified, Statistical Modeling, Statistical Forecasting, Business Cases, Business Transformation, Finance Process Improvement, Business Process Re-engineering, Business Analysis, Business Strategy, Business Processes, Business Process Analysis, Business Process Modeling, Operating Models, Omnichannel Marketing, Mentorship & Coaching, Project Leadership, Change Leadership, Data Analysis, Pareto Diagrams, ROI, Annual Planning, Annual Operating Plans, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Supply Chain, Supply Chain Optimization, Corporate, Communication, People Management, Strategy, IT Program Management, Project Management Office (PMO), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), IT Strategy, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), System Integration, Financial Modeling

Senior Consultant

1993 - 1995
Metasys Inc.
  • Managed the development of optimization algorithms for MetaFreight 2.0.
  • Served as a key member of the consulting team that helped Levi Strauss redesign its supply chain.
  • Received a company-wide Employee of the Year Award for translating Levi Strauss' concerns and needs into the software supporting enhanced supply chain processes.
Focus areas: Management Consulting, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Supply Chain, Supply Chain Optimization, Business Processes, Business Process Analysis, Business Process Modeling, Mentorship & Coaching, Project Leadership, Change Leadership, Data Analysis, Pareto Diagrams, Communication, People Management, Consumer Products, IT Program Management, Project Management Office (PMO), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), IT Strategy, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), System Integration
2013 - 2019

PhD in Business Administration

Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale, Fl, USA

1991 - 1993

Masters of Science Degree in Operations Research

North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC, USA

1982 - 1986

Bachelor of Science Degree in Statistics

North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC, USA

OCTOBER 2006 - PRESENT

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt

SixSigma.us

OCTOBER 2002 - OCTOBER 2024

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Project Management Institute (PMI)

OCTOBER 1998 - PRESENT

Business Transformation

IBM

Finance

Balance Sheets, ROI, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Finance Process Improvement, Financial Modeling, Data Analysis, M&A Modeling

Output Software

Microsoft Excel

Industry Expertise

Consumer Products

Other

Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma, Lean Analytics, Facilitation, Training, Financial Analysis, Organizational Leadership, Six Sigma Processes, DMAIC, DMADV methodology, Root Cause Analysis, Project Management, Change Management, Management Consulting, Process Improvement, Team Mentoring, Leadership, Process Mapping, Process Design, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Stakeholder Analysis, Transformational Leadership, 5 Whys, Force-field Analysis, Program Management, Portfolio Management, Lean, Lean Certified, Business Cases, Business Transformation, Stakeholder Management, Transformational Change, Lean Project Management, Business Process Re-engineering, Business Analysis, Mentorship & Coaching, Project Leadership, Change Leadership, Pareto Diagrams, Annual Operating Plans, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Supply Chain, Supply Chain Optimization, Business Strategy, Business Processes, Business Process Analysis, Business Process Modeling, Corporate, Communication, Strategy, IT Program Management, Project Management Office (PMO), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), IT Strategy, Analysis, Excel Add-ins, Visio, Hypothesis Testing, Hoshin Planning, Strategic Planning, Complexity Cube, Statistical Modeling, Statistical Forecasting, Yield Management, Operating Models, People Management, Marketing, System Integration, Mapping, JMP, Minitab, Statistics, Mathematical Modeling, Industrial Engineering, Statistical Analysis, Agile Project Management, Markov Model, Quality Control (QC), RFQ, Annual Planning, Omnichannel Marketing, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

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