Ken Flaherty serves as the President of The Kensei Group, a consulting firm that creates sustainable change in organizations by coaching them in the principles and tools of Lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement methods that accelerate an organization’s culture.

Starting his career in submarines as an electro-mechanical engineer with the US Navy, Ken progressed through senior director-level, financial, supply chain, and program management roles and transitioned from the military after serving 20 years as a Naval Officer. In 2008, Ken became Corporate Operations Executive in charge of Operational Excellence for Home Depot, a leading logistics provider and supply chain market leader with $5B in throughput.

Other roles and achievements include:
∗ Led San Diego’s largest aerospace Operational Excellence Program that was recognized as a center of excellence
by corporate benchmark standards and won the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence
∗ Directed the nation’s largest wholesale distributor’s process improvement program that garnered the American
Society for Quality Gold Medal International Team Excellence Award
∗ As a Chief Operations Officer, he ran a Lean Healthcare and strategy deployment program for one of California’s largest health care systems generating $26m new revenue, $18.7m productivity savings, and $54m cost avoidance in 3 years
∗ Multi-industry strategy and continuous improvement consultant for Fortune 100 international companies
∗ Currently working with Riverside County Departments in Lean Transformation
Ken is a Certified Lean Sensei Coach and Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. As a lifelong learner and teacher,

Ken serves as an Adjunct Professor of Strategy, Organizational Design, Operations, Supply Chain, and Innovation.

He holds several degrees and programs from the following Universities: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Chapman University, Southern
Illinois University, Boston College, and U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School.

Area of Service: California