KURT JENSEN
Business Strategy, Engineering, Operations and Technology Executive
KURT JENSEN
A leader of people and processes with over 20 years of demonstrated management excellence in Operations, Engineering, Business Strategy, Program & Project Management and Customer Support.
Engineering Management |
Business Strategy |
Operations Management |
Contract Management |
Customer Service Excellence |
Project & Program Management |
Analytics and Critical Thinking |
Creative Problem Solving |
Teamwork, Collaboration, Influence
Pittsburgh, PA
My Value Proposition
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Technically savvy, value-oriented Business Leadership
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Converting abstract Vision into Strategy, Roadmap and Executable Plans
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Build and Coach teams and develop leaders
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Develop Product Strategy and Business Plans
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Deliver Excellence in Customer Service
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Create Structure in Organization and Processes to maximize efficiencies in dynamic and complex business settings
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Identify and implement Solutions for improved Quality, Efficiency and Safety
Who I Am. Where I Am. Where I’m Going.
PERSONAL PROFILE / PROFESSIONAL OUTLOOK
Proud father of a double-major college graduate and a medical professional. Enjoy traveling and has done so extensively for work and leisure. Passion for quality education, healthcare and technology that improves people's quality of life and the environment. Enjoy music and an amateur drummer myself. Active soccer player, passion for photography, composition and functional aesthetics. Handy around the house and workshop with many home improvement projects under my belt.
Significant international experience with multi-cultural understanding from working around the globe - Europe, Middle East, Asia, Pacific Rim. Living experience from Europe, Australia and USA.
I approach each challenge with the same enthusiasm, desire to learn, and positive attitude you would expect to find in any high performer. I lead from the front and would not ask anybody to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Guided by integrity, ethics and value orientation, I strive for excellence in everything I do and aim to deliver quality and value to my organization.
WORK EXPERIENCE
My Career
SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER
(6/2018 - Present)
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Reporting to the COO and member of the leadership team
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Owner of life-cycle management of Autonomous Mobility and Logistics products, from ideation to production
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Owner of Production
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Maturation and productization of concept products and engineering prototypes
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Development of tools, processes and infrastructure for effective management of product life-cycle
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Identification of market opportunities
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Development of product requirements specifications
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Project Manager and Program Manager for significant company product initiative
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF APPLICATION & SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND QUALITY
(2/2018 - 5/2018)
DIRECTOR OF APPLICATION AND SYSTEM ENGINEERING
(4/2015 - 1/2018)
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Reporting to the President and CEO. Member of the executive strategy team for product and market strategy in the rapidly evolving consumer electronics business.
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Responsible for global customer application and system engineering support, new product qualification, internal & customer system design
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Reduced engineer operator time by 90% and overall test time by 75% by automating test platform
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Owned technical sales and support to global tier 1 consumer goods manufacturers . Contributed significantly to 300% growth.
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Hired, trained, coached and mentored global team
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Recovered $3M in lost revenue by solving customer's platform issue
From 2/2018:
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Quality and Reliability management of 6-9M products shipped monthly
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS (1/2014 - 3/2015)
DIRECTOR OF MANUFACTURING (1/2011 - 12/2013)
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Reporting to the President. Responsible for all aspects of Manufacturing Engineering, Re-engineering, Production, Supply Chain, Logistics and Export Compliance.
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Built and tested more than 100 autonomous vehicles.
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Reduced build time by 50% through 5S, improved workflow, material flow, processes and tools.
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Improved by 10X, the reliability of the core vision technology through improved materials and assembly processes.
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Took ownership of design for manufacturability of a new autonomous vehicle. Shipped first delivery on time.
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Owned the success of the OEM business with Raymond Corporation: Enabled and trained Raymond Corp. staff in assembly, configuration, calibration and test of Raymond vehicles, with Seegrid navigation kits.
DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER SUPPORT
(2/2009 - 12/2010)
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Established mission-critical customer support department for deployment, support and service of autonomous vehicles.
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Developed service contracts and service & maintenance manuals.
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Deployed dozens of autonomous vehicle fleets. Customers included Unilever, Whirlpool, Kohler, Jaguar - Landrover.
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Reduced service cost and improved quality and efficiency by transforming service model from field repair to field replacement.
GENERAL MANAGER
(6/2005 - 1/2009)
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Responsibility for a $16M per annum program with 115 staff for technology installation and support for more than 700 locations.
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Managed contractor's performance through KPIs and monthly reviews.
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Wrote business plans; developed improvement initiatives and negotiated contractor’s deliverables.
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Project Managed outsourcing of an in-house equipment repair service performing more than 60,000 repairs annually. Completed the project within 6 months without impact on service levels and response times.
TESTIMONIALS
My Professional Recommendations
When Kurt and I began working together a couple of years ago, I quickly discovered his leadership qualities, for example, how he guided his team to maximum performance. On the technical side of the business, his intelligence, analytical skills and value-driven focus allowed him to understand complex challenges and then, based on input from me and his team, develop a clear strategy and a phased action plan towards a solution, while navigating the constraints of cost, quality and schedule. The resulting system exceeded all expectations.
Robert Whitehouse, Cove Engineering
Robert delivered contract engineering services to Kurt
I had the pleasure of working with Kurt at Seegrid and found him to be an excellent leader and co-worker who is very passionate, professional and results oriented in everything he does.
Kurt has a unique ability to decipher complex issues and can quickly come to a successful resolution. Having the opportunity to work with Kurt on many projects I have found his talents, ethics, knowledge and willingness to do whatever it takes is an example of a true professional in every way.
- Paul Chilensky, Director of Global Customer Success
Paul and Kurt were peers
It is a true pleasure to write this recommendation. Kurt reported directly to me while working at Seegrid Corporation from 2009 to 2014. We worked closely together on a daily basis.
It was immensely satisfying to know that Kurt had operations completely under control, which allowed me to focus on other areas. His ability to drive the business and achieve the company's goals and objectives under very challenging circumstances was exceptional.
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Of course, he did not work alone, but he led his team from the front with skill, purpose and energy and was an inspiration to everybody. He also never shied away from unpleasant or unattractive tasks.
Combine these leadership, technical and business skills with Kurt's great personality, sense of humor, intelligence and people skills, and you have a very valuable business leader.
John Mazock, VP of Manufacturing
Kurt reported directly to John
I worked with Kurt at Circuit City and recognized his intelligence, drive and customer focus. I endorsed him for advancement in the company and his customer focus and leadership ability only made me more proud of my association with him. I would gladly have Kurt on my team in any capacity at any time.
- Eddie Fishburne, Vice President
Kurt reported indirectly to Eddie
"I have had the pleasure of working closely with Kurt on many projects and I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. His pleasant demeanor, initiative and many skills would make him an asset to any organization, and I have no hesitation in recommending him to a future employer.
With his unique combination of solid business acumen, technical expertise and economic understanding, Kurt has shown an excellent ability to analyze and understand business and technical issues and develop a structured approach towards a solution.
He is known among his colleagues for his organizing and project management skills as well as commitment to quality and he is much valued as a friend and colleague."
- Dominic Quai - Director & Founder, Gibson Quai & Associates
Kurt reported directly to Dominic
"Mr Jensen did an excellent job in meeting the requirements of the Australian Government. At all times, he was helpful and courteous. His advice was prompt, accurate, direct to the purpose and technically proficient. He also excelled in taking the initiative to keep the client informed and to suggest alternative approaches."
- Phillip Allnutt - Acting General Manager, Department of Communication, IT and the Arts (DCITA)
Phillip was a customer executive
"....Kurt played a major role in (the development of our corporate communications strategy), driving the completion and acceptance of the communications strategy report, followed by RFQ preparation, approval and release.
Kurt is an extremely proficient communicator both written and verbal with great attention given to accurate detail. This attention to accuracy and detail has formed the basis that has ensured our project timeliness achievement to date."
- Pam Belford, Contract Officer, Ricegrowers' Co-operative Limited
Pam was a customer executive
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