Achieve lasting success with Lean consultants who understand your business

Simpler’s team of advisors has over 1,200 years of combined experience guiding organizations like yours through business transformation. Our advisors are trusted, reputable partners who are invested in your success.

We’re experts. We find solutions to your toughest problems, develop your team’s talents, and expand your capabilities. We’re passionate about your continuous improvement.

Across 30 countries, Simpler’s experienced professionals have helped more than 400 clients transform their businesses — yours could be next. Start your Lean transformation with a complimentary consultation today.

Meet our leadership team

These experts chart the course for Simpler and its global team of advisors.

Michael Chamberlain

President

Mike has spent the last two decades helping organizations develop and operationalize strategic plans that keep their businesses thriving. Since he joined Simpler in 2001, he has guided hundreds of organizations around the world through transformational change, resulting in millions of dollars in savings.

A trusted advisor and executive coach, Mike guides C-suite leadership as they navigate the complexities of business transformation. He is an expert in transformation in diverse industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, military, banking, construction, government, finance, and insurance.

Mike’s personal expertise in strategy, innovation, and business operations makes him a sought-after speaker at conferences worldwide. He is a frequent source for media on the topic of enterprise-wide transformation.

Denise Logan

CTO

Denise is a global information technology leader with more than 25 years of experience who develops go-to-market strategies that enhance Simpler’s consulting offerings with technology solutions. She is passionate about innovation and client transformation. Her areas of focus and research include cloud technologies, workplace transformation, data analytics, and IoT.

Before joining Simpler in 2009, Denise built her expertise in business process improvement, collaboration platforms, communications, and infrastructure build-out running her own consulting firm. Her background includes IT leadership, strategic partnerships, market research, and engineering. Denise holds a B.S. in information technology from the University of Phoenix.

Kyle Freeman

Managing Director, Simpler North America Healthcare

Kyle has over 20 years of experience in healthcare technology and services, having driven transformations with health plans, academic health centers, large integrated healthcare systems, community hospitals, and physician organizations.

His key areas of focus include population health management, value-based care enablement, patient flow, provider engagement, and revenue cycle management. Previously, Kyle was director of global partnerships for IBM Watson Health’s provider business

Before joining IBM, Kyle held the position of regional vice president for Lumeris and spent 13 years with McKesson. He holds a B.S. in business information technology from Virginia Tech.

Pauline Carter

Vice President, Operations

Pauline has more than 25 years of experience leading enterprise transformations. She runs Simpler’s management system, drives the continuous improvement of Simpler’s transformation processes, and supports the ongoing development of our consultants.

Her experience includes consulting in the public, commercial, and healthcare sectors, and coaching senior leaders in establishing a culture of continuous improvement. Pauline is passionate about employee engagement both at Simpler and at client sites and has helped build a strong focus on inclusion.

Since joining Simpler in 2004, Pauline’s roles have included executive consultant, director of client services, and manager of continuous improvement and new product development. Previously, she ran successful manufacturing operations and worked as a national accounts manager. She earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering and industrial management from Clemson University.

Nathan Hendrix

Managing Director Industrial North America

Nathan Hendrix joined Simpler with over 20 years of Lean and General Management experience, spanning a wide range of industries. Beginning his career in the automotive sector, Nathan has since worked in diverse fields such as building products, electromechanical assembly, wire and cable, medical, aerospace, and metal fabrication. This breadth of experience has equipped him with a unique perspective and the ability to adapt to different business environments.

Nathan’s journey in Lean began at Delphi in Flint, Michigan, where he was mentored by a sensei from Toyota, a role he later took on himself. He actively participated in various Lean improvement efforts, including a stint at Ambrake, a joint venture in Kentucky. Nathan's leadership skills shone at Tapco International, where he not only spearheaded the materials management launch of a greenfield facility, leveraging lean techniques and methodologies, but also mentored and inspired his team. He also earned a Master Black Belt in Six Sigma and various company Lean Certifications, further demonstrating his leadership prowess.

Between 2007 and 2011, Nathan took on leadership roles in Operations and Sales at Danaher and then Belden. He harnessed the power of Policy Deployment and other lean tools to deliver impressive results, including a 45% increase in working capital turns, a 50% reduction in OSHA safety recordable rates, and an 80% reduction in sales quotation lead time. These tangible outcomes not only underscore Nathan's ability to drive significant improvements but also provide concrete evidence of his effectiveness and success in his roles.

From 2011 through 2015, Nathan assumed senior leadership roles in medical device, aerospace, and metal fabrication companies. In these high-mix, low-volume organizations, he led the implementation of lean tools such as Kanban, 3P, and strategic policy deployment; double-digit gains were achieved in key metrics, including safety, quality, and delivery. Nathan consolidated facilities at an aerospace company, saving $1.8M annually through productivity improvements and reduced SG&A.

From 2015 through 2018, Nathan assisted a commercial client with transformation across the insurance and investments value streams, achieving breakthrough results and executing substantial leadership development through mentoring and coaching.

From 2018 to 2021, Nathan was the President of a mid-size, privately held metal manufacturing company. There, he launched a comprehensive Lean transformation with Strategy Deployment, executing a plan that achieved 25% year-over-year revenue and a 300-basis point margin improvement. Quality PPM decreased by 45% during this time, and productivity improved by 25%. With the high mix, low volume portfolio, he utilized SMED and improved scheduling techniques to reduce setups by 30%.

As a Managing Director, Nathan has guided the business transformation of a Food Manufacturing company, leading to improved employee engagement, 3X ROI in Year 1, and over $5M in cost savings.

Nathan is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and holds an MBA from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He resides in Michigan with his wife and two children.

John M. Rubio

Partner, Healthcare North America

John leads Simpler’s healthcare consulting in North America, which covers provider, payer, imaging, oncology, and life science services. He’s a Master Change Agent with over 30 years of experience in large-scale lean transformation in the healthcare, manufacturing/industrial, service, and public sectors.

Prior to his current role, John held positions as a corporate continuous improvement manager responsible for 23 plants, plant management GM, director of manufacturing, and vice president of operations. John joined Simpler in 2001.

He attended California State University — Stanislaus, majoring in business administration and production operations management, as well as executive educational programs at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration. John has been a west region board director for the Association for Manufacturing Excellence since 2005.

Richard Carr

Managing Director - EMEA

Richard Carr joined Simpler in November 2016 and has over 20 years of leadership experience supporting successful large-scale transformations across a broad range of industries and companies: engineering and construction, health care, local government, and industrial. Richard is the EMEA Managing Director.

Richard’s transformation journey began in the publishing industry. There, he led a radical shift in the commercial, production, and marketing elements of educational products in UK schools. Later, he made a career transition into organisational change and leadership coaching. As Managing Director of a specialist leadership and transformation business, Richard led some of its largest client engagements, including supporting complex collaborations for $500M+ infrastructure projects.

In his current role at Simpler, Richard is working on major healthcare transformations, often involving multiple disciplines from different organisations. He is enabling care pathway transformations by supporting these diverse groups in establishing sound governance and strategy deployment methods and building the leadership capacity to drive change. He is also helping clients adapt and adopt lean principles and methods to improve patient flow and staff experience.

Outside work, Richard has led a multi-academy education trust, managing a group of elementary schools mandated to transform by the UK government. As Chair of the Trustee Board, Richard helped guide the organisational leadership to establish robust governance structures and build an inclusive approach to performance improvement.

Richard has a master’s from the University of Cambridge and an Executive Coaching qualification from the Institute of Leadership and Development. He and his wife live in Hertfordshire, near London.

Todd Middleton

Vice President, Healthcare Sector

Todd Middleton joined Simpler in 2008 and has over 27 years of leadership experience in the delivery of successful Lean transformations in healthcare and commercial organizations. He held wide ranging leadership positions within the HNI Corporation at both the HON Company and MAXON Furniture, in addition to mentoring healthcare clients such as Denver Health, Mountain States Health Alliance, Emory Healthcare, and a five-rural hospital collaborative in western North Carolina including Caldwell Memorial Hospital.

Todd’s experience in health care has included event activities in clinical and non-clinical areas ranging from the emergency department to radiology to the business office, reducing waste and delivering value to patients. His clients have saved over $100 million, seen capacity increases greater than 40%, had patient satisfaction improvements of 50%, and experienced dramatic improvements in patient care.

Todd earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and was formerly an examiner for the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing.

Join our team of skilled transformation professionals

At Simpler, we’re seeking the best and brightest minds dedicated to helping our clients succeed.

See all Simpler opportunities or email us at careers@simpler.com

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