Rick L. Barnett, Principal, brings industry experience spanning roles of Director of Training, New Model Coordinator, Industrial Electrician, Maintenance & Production Supervision, Maintenance Planning and Management, Plant Engineering, Electrical/Control Engineer, Safety/Ergonomic Coordinator and Manufacturing Engineer. He implemented new products and processes in the USA, Mexico and Europe. Rick has worked within Steel, Electronics, Sheet Metal, Plastics and Automotive industries for companies such as Trinity Industries, Motorola, Neaton Auto Products, and Ford/Visteon. He transferred foundational principles from this experience to lead the transformation of local and state organizations. Rick capitalizes on his creativity and deep insight to launch organizations, improve processes and invest in people.
Kristina Bowman Smart, Principal, brings her academic expertise in curriculum development and facilitation techniques to the FreePlay organization. Ms. Bowman is the Assistant Director of Assessment at Chancellor University. Her concentrations are Management/Organizational Leadership and Human Resources Management. Ms Bowman also enhances operations with her extensive professional experience. Prior to her tenure at the university level, Kristina was an Account Executive for United Parcel Service. She has also experienced the manufacturing world firsthand during her time working in an Indiana steel mill while pursuing her Master's degree. Ms. Bowman is currently pursuing her doctorate in Business Administration.
Larry Hinkle, Principal, began his career in the automotive sector - employed first with General Motors and then Ford Motor Company. During his 34 year tenure at Ford/Visteon, Larry held various engineering, supervisory, managerial and executive positions at (9) different automotive components manufacturing plants. His experiential base includes launching new manufacturing operations and organizations not only in the United States, but in Mexico, India and Europe. In one of those assignments, he was the Managing Director of Ford Hungary where he directed the establishment of Ford's automotive sales and components manufacturing operations in Central Europe. Larry most recently held the position of plant manager of Visteon's Climate Control Division's components manufacturing plant in Connersville, Indiana. Throughout his career, he has exhibited a talent for organizational design, development, and implementation. Mr. Hinkle received a B.A. in both mathematics and solid-state electronic physics at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky and a M.A. in Business Administration from Central Michigan University.
Dr. Jim Maley, Principal, "grew up" in the automotive, electronics and defense industries delivering industrial engineering technical solutions. As a technical specialist, Jim led production process design, improvement and implementation projects in North American, Europe and Asia. He managed business development, industrial engineering, training and production departments. Jim led lean manufacturing transformation across an organization with responsibility for changing culture and increasing profitability. He is dedicated to study, research, discover solutions, make connections and implement results. Jim earned a doctorate in Industrial Engineering at Purdue University and is a licensed Professional Engineer.
W.E. (Bill) Stackhouse, Sr. Associate, graduated with a BS Degree from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. His extensive background spans more than 40 years. He has held several top-level positions in such companies as Divco Wayne Corporation and DeMoulin Inc., where he served as Vice President of Sales and Vice President and General Manager. He was CEO of Imperial Marketing and later, Stacks Inc. Bill was responsible for P&L and developing systems that improved productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, sales and profits. In addition, Bill was a senior associate for TH&A, an operations improvement consulting firm (implementing Lean philosophy and principles). Bill has also served on the board of directors for several companies. He knows the value of lean process improvement both on the shop floor and in the office.
