Ric Van Der Linden

Ric Van Der Linden is the Principal Consultant for ProgressivEdge www.ProgressivEdge.com, a consulting business based in the Southern California area focused on the applications of Continuous Improvement techniques to any business type (private and public, service, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, military…). His career has focused on Continuous Improvement. For the past 24 years he has led and supported business growth including the start up of two large operations which included facilities, equipment and staffing. He managed production operations and for the past 14 years has had a full-time dedication to Continuous Improvement through the application of Lean Six Sigma and other improvement approaches as Owner and Principle Consultant for ProgressivEdge.

As a Champion of Lean and Six Sigma, he has developed Lean Strategies and Six Sigma programs that have become “best practice”. He has driven results through Lean and Six Sigma in all aspects of business. Along with project leadership, he has also trained, mentored, and certified over one thousand Lean/Six Sigma individuals that have resulted in a 5 year accumulation of $50 million savings. He has a BS in Manufacturing Engineering, a Masters in Organizational Management, is a certified Lean Expert and Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. He has held board positions with the American Society for Quality, Institute of Industrial Engineers and other non-profit organizations. Recently he was Advisor/Instructor at San Diego State University for Lean and Six Sigma. Currently he is the Lead Instructor at University of California, San Diego for Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.