President, Business Excellence Institute
David McClaskey is an independent consultant, Baldrige expert and one of the few individuals to have the privilege of assisting FIVE companies to win SIX Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards (about 10% of the total winners): University of Northern Colorado Monfort College of Business (2004 winner); Pal’s Sudden Service (2001 winner); OMI (2000 winner); The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (1999 and 1992 winner); and Eastman Chemical Company (1993 winner). He also assisted one company, Florida Power and Light, to be the first company outside of Japan to win Japan’s National Quality Award, the Deming Prize. David served as one of nine Judges for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from 1999-2002. This is the panel of experts, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, which selects the national Baldrige winners. In addition to having served as a Baldrige Judge, he has also served as a Judge for the Tennessee Quality Award (1993-1998; 2004-current) a Judge for the State of Georgia Quality Award (1998-2003) and a Baldrige Examiner (1988-91).
David is co-founder and President of Business Excellence Institute (BEI). Since 1999, BEI has been teaching and helping leaders and managers use Pal’s world-class performance excellence practices to achieve excellence.
As a consultant David works with all types of organizations and companies to help them use Baldrige, Six Sigma, Lean, and other performance management tools to improve their management, work processes and results. This includes designing and executing simple but effective strategic planning processes to help organizations focus on and accomplish their vital few improvement priorities. David has consulted with manufacturing, service, health care, education, small businesses, government, and non-profit organizations. Some of the organizations include: Pal’s, RPM Pizza (largest Dominos Pizza franchisee), The Restaurant Company (highest rated Arby’s franchisee); Poudre Valley Health System; AT&T; Veterans Health Administration (national and VISNs 9 and 20); City of Kingsport; Scott County Virginia,South Carolina State Government; United Way of Greater Kingsport; Sullivan County School Board; John Deere Health Care; Eastman Kodak; University of Northern Colorado; University of Tennessee; University of Florida; and Poudre School District. David is a national instructor for the American Society for Quality (ASQ). He co-developed and teaches ASQ’s, 5-day “Introduction to Quality Management” course that is offered nationally. David is also a Principle Consultant/Instructor for Premier Performance Networks where he teaches and mentors Six Sigma Black Belts and Green Belts for the Navy and other organizations.
Prior to 2007, in addition to doing consulting, David worked for the 1993 Baldrige Award winning Eastman Chemical Company for 34 years. For Eastman, he trained their Six Sigma Black Belts and Green Belts, specializing in Black Belts/Green Belts that worked on non-manufacturing projects, including Supply Chain, Business and Pricing processes, and HR. David, who has also had extensive business training, was responsible for helping Eastman use Quality Management and Six Sigma to get results that helps Eastman to improve its business competitiveness. During his 34 years with Eastman Chemical Co., he has helped design and implement many of Eastman’s Award-winning, company-wide QM systems.
David became the world’s first Baldrige trainer when the U.S. Government and ASQ asked him to develop and teach the initial Baldrige Examiner Preparation Course to the entire original (1988) Malcolm Baldrige Board of Examiners. David helped develop the initial Baldrige scoring criteria and assessment procedures and was a “leading contributor” to improvements in the 1989-91 Baldrige criteria as well as a contributor to the 2001 Baldrige criteria. Since 1988, David has continued to be very active in doing Baldrige instruction. He has taught over 4,000 managers and professionals, in the U.S. and internationally, how to understand the Baldrige criteria and use the criteria to assess and improve their companies. A notable highlight occurred in 1993 when David was invited to teach a Baldrige seminar (one of only two seminars presented) at the World Quality Congress in Helsinki, Finland. David developed the three-day Examiner Preparation courses for both the Tennessee Quality Award (1993) and the Arkansas Quality Award (1995) and trained their initial Board of Examiners.
David is the 1998 recipient of ASQ’s prestigious international E. L. Grant Award for the development and presentation of meritorious educational programs in quality management. In 1993, David received the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Florida’s College of Engineering for his leadership in developing QM practices applicable to higher education. In 1989, David received a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Department of Commerce for “outstanding service to the nation” for his role in preparing the first Baldrige Board of Examiners.
David is a Fellow of both ASQ and the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). He is an ASQ-certified Quality Engineer, Six Sigma Black Belt, Quality Manager, and Quality Improvement Associate; is a licensed Professional Engineer; and has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Florida and the University of Tennessee. The University of Florida established the Leavenworth/McClaskey undergraduate scholarship in 1995.
