Lean Advisory Board | FactoryDNA™

FactoryDNA has put together a technical advisory board to help ensure that LeanDNA™ continues to be the best practices platform for Lean Manufacturing operations.
The key areas represented by the board include:

Lean Manufacturing
Lean Manufacturing Software and Multi-tier Distributed Computing
Lean Manufacturing Business Strategy

Takao Kasahara
Managing Director
Streamline Strategy Japan, Inc.

Takao Kasahara is Managing Director of Streamline Strategy Japan. He is an internationally recognized expert in lean manufacturing implementation and strategy. Prior to founding SSJ, Mr. Kasahara was Managing Director and a partner in Management Technology Japan for 17 years where he worked in industries including automotive, auto parts suppliers, heavy machinery, consumer goods, electronics, medical, and others. In addition to consulting for companies worldwide, Mr. Kasahara currently teaches manufacturing and information technology courses at Wasada University.

Prior to joining MTJ, Mr. Kasahara worked with Toyo engineering for 12 years, where his responsibilities included overall design and construction of major manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Mr. Kasahara also served as a Director of CTC Engineering, a software design and engineering firm that focuses on process and control systems for manufacturing.

Dr. Gene Lowenthal
Executive VP, Growth Capital Partners

Dr. Gene Lowenthal is currently an Executive Vice President with Growth Capital Partners, a middle market investment banking firm. He has served on the boards of 11 privately-owned technology companies.

Dr. Lowenthal received his doctorate in Computer Science at the University of Texas in 1971 while helping to establish MRI Systems Corporation as one of the early successful software startups in Austin. After Intel Corporation acquired MRI, he became Director of Strategic Planning for Intel's Systems Division and crafted the division's long range business plan. In 1983, he joined the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) as its first technical Vice President. Many of the projects that he managed have spawned successful companies in the Austin area. After leaving MCC, Dr. Lowenthal was Vice President of R&D for Cooperative Computing (now known as Activant), and then Executive Vice President of LIM International, which is an MCC spin-off.

Dr. Lowenthal has participated in the rapid growth of the computer and communications industry in the Austin area over the past 35 years. He served on the Advisory Board of the Austin Technology Incubator and was a Board member of American Youthworks from 1994 to 2000.

John McCook
Former Executive and Board Member of Multiple
Unilever Group Companies

John McCook has over 27 years of experience with both domestic and International Unilever Personal Care Companies. Mr. McCook served as Senior Vice President for Elizabeth Arden, a Division of Unilever PLC, between September 1991 and March 2000. In this position, and as a member of the Board of Directors, Mr. McCook directed worldwide Research and Product Development activities at the state-of-the-art Elizabeth Arden Research Laboratory in Trumbull, Connecticut.

Immediately prior to joining Elizabeth Arden, Mr. McCook was Vice President, Research & Development at Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. He also has held several management research and development positions at Chesebrough-Pond’s culminating in Director of International Research and Control.