Letter of Introduction Mr. Giuseppe Ravazzolo

My name is Giuseppe Ravazzolo, I was born in Brescia –Italy on June 10, 1977. From my sixteenth birthday, during the summer months, I approached the world of work at family company supporting the Quality Department in the management of manufacturing controls and documentation concerning ISO certification.

In 1996 I got my diploma at the State School for Business and Land-Survey of Brescia-Italy, my town.

My educational background continued at the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Brescia, abandoned after one year, due to various reasons and causes ranged from wanting to satisfy my thirst of independence, to attend the draft, to the need of wanting to pit myself with the market. Such important choice enabled me to set up my life, trace a path, never too obvious, laying a solid foundation for my future that is today represented by my current position.

In 1998, in fact, I found the right key to match dreams and needs, and started my career while continuing the university career ended after 4 years by obtaining a degree in Economics and Marketing at Miami University, (USA).

My uncommon start, as blue collar labourer, in the family company that was run by my father as CEO and partner, committed to the manufacture and assembly of gas appliances - www.fiorentini.com - enabled me to be familiar with a work vision that even today allows me to deal with any business, starting from where activities take place: the Company.

Between 2002 and 2003 I attended the Master in Management of Small and Medium Enterprises, at ISFOR 2000, school in Brescia, achieving at the year-end the Master’s degree. The course consisted in morning sessions of classroom supplemented of work activity in the Company.

The strong-willed spirit that distinguishes me, together with the passion and the speed of learning, have fostered a rapid survey, allowing me to leave the production line on which I worked initially, moving to Quality Control Dept.

Late 2000, the meeting and collaboration, with Mr. John Black and his staff - http://www.shingijutsuamerica.com , was essential to start my way down the Toyota Production System.

In 2001, I spent a few months in UK, in order to improve my English at a college and widen my work experience at the UK branch of the Company I worked for, as product and technical support of Logistics and Service activities.

Enthusiast and curious about the different dynamics and the "lean" structure that characterizes international companies, I left for the U.S. for an intensive training at "Lean" Companies. I started in Mexico, at the INVENSYS - http://www.invensys.com - attending the transformation "from classical company to lean company", concepts and textbook definitions, such as Kaizen and Kaikaku, found their statement in practice.

In Seattle, I started my short course at GENIE INDUSTRIES - http://genielift.com/en/ where I played an active role in several "Kaizen Weeks". In particular, I would like to mention one kaizen week in which the goal was to convey effectively and efficiently some components of the main body of the vehicle, thus respecting the criteria of Takt Time and quality - the goal was achieved thanks to a great teamwork played with the same operators and managers of the department.

A key factor that allowed me to change my vision from classical to "lean", was the presence of the COO during the activity of improvement, who actively participated, as each of us: a clear approach to drive setting the example; This moment generated in me, the development of fundamentals that today characterize me.

Further important element in my learning process, was the habitual attendances of friends John Black, Mark Barnett and John Sutter, Lean Senior Consultants, who gave me the opportunity to confront and to become familiar with "Lean" tools, through the participation and management of several Kaizen weeks (2001-2008 over 100)

Lastly the Japan. In June 2001, I was at Shingitsu Co - now divided into two branches: http://www.shingijutsu-global.com/en/managementteam.html - http://www.shingijutsu-global.com/en/managementteam.html where the teachers of the best-known organization in the world of Toyota Production System, as well as disciples of Taichi Ohno, led me to learn all Lean tools through a crash course.

I had the opportunity to work with the greatest experts on Lean, Sensei NAKAO and Sensei NIWA.

I learned the concepts of the Toyota Production System and, at the same time, the real meaning of discipline.

I got confirmation of the results of my learning when a took an internship at Hitachi Air Conditioning Production Department, where we focused improvement activities on a line of industrial air conditioners, achieving these goals:

• Reduction of lead time by 10%

• Increase productivity by 5%

The objectives were achieved at the end of 5 days of intense Kaizen and presented in the afternoon session to the Hitachi Management - attending the event the President and CEO of Hitachi.

The Japanese experience was the turning point, leading me to move my business and personal goals to:

"Giving our customers what they need providing the price and the required quality through the relentless research of waste, continuous improvement with full respect for people."

Share and transfer Lean concepts and proven slimming activities together with my team, led us to multiply ten times the turnover maintaining EBITDA at levels far higher over the Italian standard. In Company I played different functions, roles and levels of responsibility, ranging from the business manager, where I understood the meaning of "value and customer need," until Kaizen Promotion Office (Organization dedicated to Continuous Improvement) tending to the constant improvement; in addition I worked as support of the technical office, becoming a significant sustain for the tooling, ending my career as Chief Operating Officer of the plant (70 people involved), also delegated as Sales Manager of subsidiaries and distributors.

The different job opportunities, carried out at all levels, allowed me to reach the current level, significant both in terms of personal satisfaction and professional, consolidating my knowledge of the Toyota Production System.

Hereinafter the list of the courses taken during the years: • TRIZ Method Course - Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, invented in 1946 by Genrikh Altshuller with Professor VICTOR FEY, student of Genrikh Altshuller. • Communication Training Course - PNL • Time Management Course – il Sole 24 ore • Team Building" Training Course. • Master in "Management of Small and Medium Enterprises" • Hoshin Kanri Course with Thomas Lindsey Jackson - Rona Consulting Group • Certification of Six Sigma Black Belt In 2009 I opened my Consulting Company - www.wtco.it - focused on application of tools that enable businesses to grow and travel the long path of continuous improvement through constant waste reduction. The areas in which we work and we are still working, ranging from mechanical engineering to the luxury sector, through service companies. For privacy reasons, we do not like to make public the names of our clients. Among other related activities I report the following shareholdings:

• WTCO LeanDiscovery Holding – C.E.O – Holding of the Group – www.wtco.it • Lean Discovery s.r.l. – C.E.O – Consulting Company focus on Developing RPIW, Kaizen

week and educational training across travel at the "World Class Manufacturing" Companies in USA, KOREA, INDIA, UK - as well as consultancy activity at international level

• Founder Of C-Level Club – www.c-level.it • Speaker at HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW POLSKA

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROqMIGTQsPk&list=PLGYFq_mLCGvwCZLbfCiPSCUNUpPBiRvWC&index=7

• Teacher at LUISS BUSINESS MASTER SCHOOL – Rome • Dept in: Poland – Poznan / Turkey – Istanbul / USA – Atlanta /USA –

Portland

As of today, I can declare that I participated in more than 550 RPIW (Rapid Process Improvement Workshop) and more than 140 Kaizen weeks, with success.

I authorize the processing of personal data contained in my curriculum vitae based art. 13 D. Decree 196/2003