Jim Luckman

Jim has had the unique experience of leading three separate lean transformations: as a plant manager, as a director of a research and development center, and as a CEO of a small startup company. During these contrasting leadership roles, Jim realized that an effective lean transformation required understanding how to manage knowledge creation and how to lead for maximizing engagement and organizational creativity. Lean leaders must practice these behaviors in order to develop the environment for problem solving and learning by all the people in the organization. Jim has consolidated his personal experiences and is now helping clients see a more complete picture of what is required to lead a lean transformation. Jim is the past president and CEO of iPower Technologies, a company serving the distributed generation market of electrical power. He has 34 years of experience working in the auto industry at Delphi Automotive (formerly part of General Motors). He held several positions as chief engineer for engine components.
Today, Jim is focusing his efforts on leadership coaching, application of lean in R&D, and application of lean to software development. A partner in the Lean Transformations Group, he currently coaches companies interested in companywide lean transformation and often is asked to reengage companies who have seen a decline in their lean efforts. Jim holds a BS from Tri State University in Electrical Engineering and an MS in computer engineering from Case Western Reserve University.