Ric Van Der Linden

Ric Van Der Linden is the Principal Consultant for ProgressivEdge, Inc. www.ProgressivEdge.com , a consulting business based in Southern California focused on the applications of Continuous Improvement techniques to any business type (private and public, service, technology, manufacturing, military…). His career has focused on Continuous Improvement. For the past 21 years he has led and supported business growth including the start up of two large manufacturing operations which included facilities, equipment and staffing. He has managed production operations and for the past 10 years has had a full time dedication to Continuous Improvement through the application of Lean and Six Sigma.  His most recent years have targeted administrative and the service industries.

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 400 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 Six Sigma. He served 2 years as the President of the San Diego Chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, he provided two years services as the Lean and Lean Six Sigma Program Advisor to San Diego State University, he serves as the Voice of the Customer Chair with ASQ and he is a Lean and Six Sigma Instructor at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego.