Welcome and Opening Remarks / Technical Achievement Award / Call to Action

Pound brings more than thirty years of experience in product development, heavy fabrication, high volume manufacturing, construction and supply chain management.

As a recognized pioneer in the development and application of Operations Science including being the lead author of Factory Physics for Managers, he has advised executives and managers in aerospace, construction, electronics, pharmaceuticals, cloud infrastructure development, consumer retail, medical devices, healthcare and engineer-to-order capital equipment.

Pound earned an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, a Master of Engineering Management degree from Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University, and Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama.

H.J. James Choo, Ph.D is Chief Technical Officer of Strategic Project Solutions, Inc. and a member of the Technical Committee for Project Production Institute (PPI).

He has been leading research and development of project production management and its underlying framework of Operations Science knowledge, processes, and systems to support implementation of large capital projects globally since 2001.

James has worked with high profile organizations in oil & gas, life sciences, heavy industrial, civil infrastructure, aerospace & defense and other industries.  He has also worked with many manufacturing companies to improve their service levels by reducing lead times and optimizing inventory through the use of Operations Science.

James is a frequent contributor to research and curriculum for Texas A&M University, University of California at Berkeley, and California Polytechnic State University.

Prior to joining SPS, his experience included roles as a construction site engineer, research associate at research institutes, teaching assistant at universities, and software developer. He has been developing computer systems for implementation of Lean Construction since 1997 during his Ph.D. studies at UC Berkeley.

James has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Yonsei University, Korea.  He holds a Ph.D. in Construction Engineering & Management from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of University of California at Berkeley.  He is also certified as a Master Factory Physicist from Factory Physics, Inc.

Phil Kaminsky is a Senior Principal Scientist at Amazon, where he leads the Transportation Marketplace Science Team, and the Earl J. Isaac Professor Emeritus in the Science and Analysis of Decision Making in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at UC Berkeley.

Gary Fischer is the Executive Director of the Project Production Institute (PPI) and Chair of the PPI Energy Working Group.  He has over 40 years of experience in all aspects of capital project development and execution across downstream, chemicals and upstream in Chevron. As GM of Chevron’s Project Resources Company, he was responsible for Chevron’s project management system, a supporting team of subject matter experts, an early concept development group, and Chevron’s decision analysis function. Before retiring he took a special assignment to deploy Project Production Management and digital transformation across Chevron’s global portfolio of capital projects.  Gary’s prior experience includes project leadership roles in engineering, construction, and project management spanning across all segments and many locations. He also served as the upstream director of capital projects for Eurasia, Europe, and a gas to liquids venture with Sasol.

Gary holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Colorado State University and is a licensed Professional Engineer.