David Verble is a faculty member at the Lean Enterprise Institute for almost 15 years and he teaches the A3 management process, change agent skills and coaches executives on lean leadership. David co-developed the 2 day in person Managing to Learn workshop with John Shook. David learned the A3 process from leaders at Toyota, where he worked for 14 years in Japan and USA. David was responsible for bringing the A3 management process from Japan to North America and created the first A3 training program for Toyota in North America. David has accrued 30 years' experience using the A3 process and teaching it to organizations in diverse industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and services.

Karen has over 30 years’ experience leading, training, and coaching high-performance teams of staff and executives in rapid-growth environments. Most recently, as regional director of licensed operations at Starbucks Coffee Company, she built a consistent track record of growing the number of retail stores along with the continuous improvement capabilities of people. As Team Leader, Karen oversees Operations and Personnel at LEI. At Starbucks, Karen made recommendations on the creation of an operating system model line, then led the first application in a working store and provided feedback necessary for a broad, global implementation. She also led a team of coaches responsible for teaching problem solving and mentoring skills to regional executives, directors, and district managers responsible for implementing the lean operating system. Karen led the growth of Starbucks’ New England market, adding 20 new stores annually for five years while hitting profit and return-on-investment goals. Previously, she held management and executive posts in operations, marketing, and training at large restaurant chains, a retail consulting company, and a technology startup preparing for an initial public offering. To view Karen's articles and publications, visit: https://www.lean.org/WhoWeAre/LeanPerson.cfm?LeanPersonId=363