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Karen Rawson


Karen Rawson Background

Karen has 18 years of experience in large-scale high-tech manufacturing corporations. Holding leadership and technical positions in Manufacturing and Sales Operations, Karen has supported divisional and executive leadership teams in developing and deploying business improvement strategies that resulted in significant improvements in cost, quality, and customer satisfaction.

During her 5 years with a major mobile phone manufacturer, Karen worked closely with both Global and American leadership teams to improve business operations and align strategic projects. As the company's representative to the QuEST Forum, she contributed to the development of the TL 9000 Requirements Handbook. She initiated the organization's drive to achieve a TL 9000 compliant management system for the design and manufacturing of mobile phones, and brought all North and South American operations under a common ISO 9001 certification. Later, working closely with business leaders who earned the European Quality Award, Karen developed business improvement strategies and balanced scorecards based on the Malcolm Baldrige criteria. Karen also developed and implemented an internal leadership coaching program for Sales and Marketing professionals.

Prior to working in the telecommunications field, Karen worked for 8 years in medical device manufacturing. She specialized in Quality Management and was responsible for leading internal audit teams and responding to corporate and external audits. Additionally, she was a process owner, author and trainer for a broad range of operating procedures. She managed a team of quality engineers who had signature authority for design changes and who interacted heavily with the supply chain to assure product quality. Earlier in her career, Karen also held positions in production supervision, industrial engineering and materials management where she was effective in reducing costs and improving cycle times through the use of various lean manufacturing and quality improvement methods.

Specialties

Karen excels in developing and delivering formal presentations that explain complex concepts and that win acceptance for strategic initiatives. She has developed business improvement training modules and delivered them to all levels of organizations. Karen coordinated the introduction of process-based audits in manufacturing operations, from the initial acceptance by divisional leadership teams through the implementation and follow-up by local operations groups. She is skilled in presenting to corporate leaders and in facilitating problem solving and project planning meetings.

As a quality manager in the Telecommunications and Medical Products fields, Karen has had frequent interactions with local, corporate, and external audit teams. She has been recognized for her effectiveness in identifying and responding to operational deficiencies and risks. She has consulted with manufacturing, service and R&D teams to assure the effectiveness of corrective and preventive actions. She has considerable experience in writing and editing policies and procedures to guide compliance with regulatory requirements.

Credentials

MBA, University of Dallas, Quality Management concentration (with highest honors)

BS, University of California at Berkeley, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, 1997

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