History

HKPO is a Small, Woman-Owned business founded in 2006 with a mission to train and support our clients on how to continuously improve and Change for the Better using Lean Six Sigma Methodology. Over the past 15+ years, we've served every major industry, including the public sector, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, commercial industrial, energy, retail, pharmaceutical, medical device, technology, and nonprofits. Across each of these complex environments, HKPO resources have trained over 75,000 individuals in Lean Six Sigma, Agile, Innovation, Project Management, Problem Solving, and Leadership. HKPO has helped our clients save over $3 Billion while improving customer satisfaction and employee performance.

HKPO is a Licensed Affiliate and Certified Facilitator for the Shingo Institute. The Shingo Institute is the home of the Shingo Prize, which is seen as the equivalent of the noble peace prize for manufacturing companies.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

HKPO is pleased to announce our official partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense Sponsored SkillBridge Program! After working alongside our country’s service members over the past 15+ years through various collaboration projects, we are excited to be able to give back in such a unique way. Through the SkillBridge Program, HKPO will provide valuable civilian work experience and upskilling through industry training in Lean Six Sigma methodology during servicemembers’ last 180 days of service and at no cost. Our goal is to give back to those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom and our country by helping to ease the transition between military service and civilian careers. Are you a military servicemember transitioning within the next year? Contact info@gohkpo.com to learn more about how we can help you!

HKPO Values

T

Teamwork

is at the heart of all we do
H

Honesty

with our customers and each other
R

Respect

for ourselves and others
I

Innovate

to stay ahead in the marketplace
V

Visionary

strategies to drive growth
E

Empower

ourselves and others
S

Sustainability

for a better future
We empower our customers to thrive and innovate by helping them Change for the Better using real-world experience alongside the best business methodologies. Our values ensure every organization and individual we work with THRIVES. We help our customers and their teams exceed expectations and goals by sticking to our core values.
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Jennifer Ralston
Chief Executive Officer

Jennifer Ralston is recognized as a global leader, coach, and mentor in the process improvement and quality management space. Mrs. Ralston has worked with Fortune 100 and 500 companies (Intel, Merck), prestigious universities (Georgetown, University of Maryland), federal agencies (HUD, USPS), leading non-profits (American Red Cross), and several branches of the United States Military (Navy, Army) to help them continuously improve, change, and evolve. She is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Lean Sensei as well a licensed affiliate, certified facilitator, and examiner for the world-renowned Shingo Institute. Mrs. Ralston’s comprehensive suite of skills and certifications, coupled with her varied industry experience make her uniquely qualified to lead any company in their process improvement efforts.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Lean Enterprise & Standard Work Replication
  • Lean Six Sigma & Design for Six Sigma
  • Business & Strategic Planning
  • Innovation Methodologies
  • Supplier Management & Procurement
  • IT & Project Management
  • Regulatory Compliance, FDA Experience
  • Process and Product Design

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

  • Pharmaceutical
  • Health Care
  • Government
  • Defense
  • Food & Beverage
  • Automotive
  • Gaming
  • Insurance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Electronics
  • Aerospace
  • Music
Nekol Tseklenis
Chief Operating Officer

With over 25+ years of experience and multiple achievement awards, Nekol has a wealth of experience working in fast-growing, highly competitive organizations. She has consulted with Fortune 1000s and many elite global brands. Nekol prides herself on her stellar track record of working directly with senior-level executives and the C-Suite to ensure the strategic implementation of Enterprise SaaS Technology Solutions, specializing in Learning and Talent Management. Nekol’s goal is to ensure the alignment of technology and online content with business objectives that upskill key talent while improving efficiencies and driving profitability. 

As an innovative leader who knows how to execute the strategy, Nekol has successfully built many high-performing teams that consistently exceeded revenue targets. She embraces an agile philosophy, leading change management while ensuring excellence and market growth in fast-growing organizations.

As Co-owner and COO of HKPO, Nekol joined to digitally transform HKPO and redefine our company’s go-to-market strategy. She changed our revenue model to recurring and introduced a new division called Sensei On Demand. Sensei On Demand is an engaging and powerful platform built to drive the success of continuous improvement leaders and cause positive disruption in the learning space. The program is built to engage and develop the next generation of business leaders using micro-learning, activity books, knowledge checks, community, and real-world examples that incorporate gamification and other tools to inspire and empower participants. Participants are also given timely live access to Sensei’s, who provide coaching and mentoring to ensure positive project results with proven ROI for their organization.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Enterprise Software-as-a-Service Solutions
  • Business Development & Go-To-Market Strategies
  • Sales Team Leadership and Productivity
  • Commercial Sales Strategy and Leadership
  • Revenue Growth Strategy and Execution
  • Digital Transformation
  • Educational Technologies and Online Content
  • Contract Negotiations
  • IT & Project Management
  • Regulatory Compliance (FDA/EH&S/Ethics)
  • Building Operational Standards
 

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

  • Technology - SaaS
  • Financial Services
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Health Care
  • Manufacturing
  • Government
  • Education
  • Retail
Gordon Ching
Master Black belt

Gordon Ching is a multifaceted leader with unique blend of experience in Lean Six Sigma, process improvement, process engineering, project and program management, change management, and cost optimization. Gordon has 40-years-experience working in the food processing/wine industry, serving in roles as Master Black Belt, continuous improvement manager, process engineer, and plant engineer. In his most recent role as a Master Black Belt at E&J Gallo Winery, he was the sought-after facilitator to lead cross-functional teams which involved implementing SAP, implementing Lean on new Bottling Lines, leading major winery capacity increases, and solving complex problems affecting production in different areas of the value stream.

 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Lean and Six Sigma Methodology (Training and Application)
  • Lean & Standard Work Implementation
  • Major event facilitation (Kaizen, 3P events)
  • Major root-cause analysis/problem-solving
  • FMEA’s
  • Process Engineering/Process Improvement
  • Cost optimization
  • Project management

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

  • Food Processing
  • Winery
Drew Butler
Master Black Belt

Drew Butler is a Senior Shingo Examiner, Licensed Affiliate, and Certified Facilitator with over 30 years of operations experience in various roles of increasing responsibility in the Aerospace, Industrial, Consumer Products, and Mining industries with companies such as Curtiss Wright, SPS Technologies, and OC Tanner. During his tenure at Curtiss Wright, Mr. Butler was responsible for leading the development and implementation of the CW Way Lean Operating System throughout the company on a global scale. Mr. Butler has worked with the Shingijutsu Consulting Group for over 15 years as a Senior Lead Examiner with the Shingo Institute in Utah. In this capacity, Drew travels the world evaluating world class facilities in manufacturing, medical devices, and consumer products that have applied for the Shingo Prize.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Shingo Model
  • Lean Enterprise & Standard Work Replication
  • Lean Six Sigma & Design for Six Sigma
  • Business & Strategic Planning
  • Supplier Management & Procurement
  • Process & Product Design

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

  • Engineered Products
  • Commercial Aerospace
  • Nuclear
  • Industrial Products
  • Defense
Tom Deforge
Master Black Belt

Tom DeForge is a Lean Sensei with over 40 years of manufacturing experience in machining, assembly, testing, quality, and engineering with such companies as Pratt & Whitney a United Technologies company, where joined the KPO, Kaizen Promotion Office. Mr. DeForge was part of a high-powered team implementing Lean Manufacturing tools, techniques, and methodologies under the tutelage of the Shingijustu sensei’s. Over the past 30 years, Tom has been featured in several articles and seminars on the subject of Lean Manufacturing implementation. Tom has also studied Lean Principles in the United States and Japan with the originators of the Toyota Production System and has facilitated numerous Improvement workshops in the United States, South America, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, and Central America.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Lean Sensei
  • Operational Excellence
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Continuous Improvement/Kaizen
  • Process Improvement

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

  • Aerospace
  • Aviation
  • Manufacturing
  • Engineering
Tom Voss
Master Black Belt

Tom Voss is a results-based executive with over 30 years of operational and consulting experience implementing lean production systems, improving business processes, performing operational due diligence, and leading turn-around projects. Extensive operational and administrative consulting experience in aerospace, medical device, chemical, and finance. Mr. Voss has worked with the Shingijutsu Consulting Group for over 8 years; he is a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and holds his MBA.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Lean Six Sigma
  • Supply Change Management
  • Quality & Productivity
  • Operations Management
  • Advanced Planning
  • Coaching
  • Program Management

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

  • Aerospace
  • Medical Device
  • Chemical
  • Finance / Accounting
E. George Woodley
Master Black Belt

E. George Woodley is an ASQ certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt trainer and an IASSC certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt practitioner. He has spent over 25 years in the discipline of customer-focused root cause analysis, mentoring, and project management of continuous improvement teams. He designs and implements employee training programs for Lean and Six Sigma in both manufacturing and service organizations. Mr. Woodley is our CEO’s Coach and Mentor, and we are actually Welcoming George back to the team, as he was a founding team member of the HKPO Team in 2006.

Gerhard Plenert
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt

Dr. Gerhard Plenert, former director of executive education at the Shingo Institute at Utah State University, has more than 30 years of professional experience in organizational change helping companies and government agencies strive for enterprise excellence by utilizing the Shingo Model to drive cultural transformations. Dr. Plenert is an internationally recognized expert in supply chain management; Lean/Six Sigma; quality and productivity tools; and in working with and creating leading-edge planning and scheduling methods. His experience includes significant initiatives with Genentech, Johnson & Johnson, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Shell, Aramco, Sony, Cisco, Microsoft, Seagate, NCR Corporation, Ritz-Carlton, the US Air Force, and numerous other branches of the US Department of Defense.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Shingo Model

  • Lean Six Sigma & Design for Six Sigma

  • Supply Change Management

  • Quality & Productivity

  • Operations Management

  • Advanced Planning

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

  • Defense

  • Hospitality

  • Technology

  • Oil & Gas

  • Aerospace

  • Pharmaceutical

  • Healthcare

Small Women-Owned Business
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