Dr. Chris Owen has held various operational senior leadership and line management roles in Quality, Manufacturing, Operations, Product Development, Engineering and Supply Chain.
Quality Manager, Perkins Engines Ltd.
Industrial engines manufacturing business, $2.7 Bn annual revenue, 2,200 employees. Full responsibility for the quality, performance and legislative compliance of volume manufactured product. Aspects of the role included product and process capability and the validation and launch of new products into volume production.
Managing Director, Caterpillar Inc.
Industrial machinery manufacturing business $150M annual revenue, 450 employees. Full responsibility for all functions including Finance, HR, IT, Product Design & Development Manufacturing and Supply Chain.
Global Quality Director, Industrial Power Systems, Caterpillar Inc.
Engines business, $3.7Bn annual revenue. 2,800 employees globally. Responsibility for product quality from design through to in-service and warranty.
Product Engineering Manager, Perkins Engines Ltd.
Industrial engines manufacturing business. Responsibility for the Engineering aspects of the NPI Process including the design, development, verification, validation and launch of new products into production.
Director of Manufacturing (EAME), Caterpillar Inc.
38 Manufacturing Locations, 22,000 employees. Responsible for leading the strategic transformation of the order-to-delivery space for several years.
Chief Executive Officer, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Industry Forum
Consultancy business offering services to manufacturing companies in multiple sectors. In addition to his role as CEO, Chris was also a practicing consultant delivering competitive strategy consultancy and training to multiple clients internationally.
Other Industry Roles
Chairman of the UK Automotive Council Supply Chain Competitiveness Working Group
Member of the IATF representing interest of the UK Automotive Industry
Board Member of IMechE Manufacturing Industries Division
Specialist areas of expertise
Vision and strategy
More than six years as a practicing consultant working internationally with a wide range of small and mid-sized businesses to develop and execute distinctive competitive strategies.
Performance metrics and change management
University of Cambridge, Masters Degree in Manufacturing Business with specialist research in the use of business performance metrics in driving cultural change for strategy execution.
Business operating models
Practical experience in understanding and developing the connection between vision, strategy, operating models and performance improvement methodologies.
Competitiveness
Over eight years working extensively in the areas of business competitiveness and productivity. Shaping and executing HM Government’s Industrial Strategy and providing thought leadership on competitive strategy to HM Government’s Economists and Analysts to underpin the development of multi-million pound, cross sector programmes to boost the productivity and competitiveness of the UK’s manufacturing sectors.
