Rose Heathcote, new Senior Lecturer in Operational Excellence and Head of Lean, School of Business

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Rose Heathcote to the role of Senior Lecturer in Operational Excellence and Head of Lean within our School of Business.

Rose Heathcote was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. With a background in Industrial Engineering, she has been privileged to research, apply and teach Lean Thinking and Operational Excellence for close to 25 years, in both the public and private sectors. Rose is personally dedicated to organisational transformation and developing the capacity for solving problems.  She has coached 120+ micro through to multinational enterprises across most sectors in Africa, United Kingdom, India and the Middle East. She continues to seek fresh ways of applying tried and tested principles.

In 2001, Rose moved to Birmingham for practical mentorship with the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (Industry Forum). She took the learning back to South Africa, where she was instrumental in developing government-supported supplier development programmes for the automotive sector. The aim of these programmes was to help them survive and thrive among the global competition.

In 2003, Rose was mentored through the Confederation for Indian Industry in Delhi, Pune and Chennai, intensifying her personal development in Lean Thinking in the automotive sector. She has been trained in Kaizen methods through Nissan Japan, the Toyota Production System, Six Sigma and Corporate Learning and Development. These opportunities enabled her to personally grow and to share her experiences with other Lean learners and the organisations she worked with, in a variety of landscapes.

Rose recently held the role of CEO for the Lean Institute Africa. She represented Africa in the Lean Global Network – a non-profit group consisting of 33 members globally, founded by Dan Jones and Jim Womack.

She has published books and articles on Lean Thinking and Lean Leadership. She is currently authoring a book dedicated to our current turbulent times with seven Lean experts from Norway, the United Kingdom and France. She is an active member of Lean Sensei Women and believes in the strength of teams and leaders enabled through workplace diversity.

We are sure that with this wealth of experience and expertise, Rose will be an excellent addition to our team.