Rashad in Conversation

Ian McCabe is a leading expert in Quality 4.0 and the evolving landscape of assurance in the age of emerging technologies. With a deep understanding of how digital transformation is impacting traditional quality practices, Ian's work alongside colleagues from the Oakland Research Institute and The Chartered Quality Institute has focussed on understanding how quality management practices and the profession must evolve in order to thrive in this new era.Ian, has worked closely with Professor John Oakland, Professor Chew Yew Wong from Leeds University Business School and the CQI's Head of Profession, Mike Turner to define Quality 4.0 and the CQI's Eight Quality 4.0 Principles as well as frameworks and strategies to address the challenges of assuring complex systems, extended enterprises, and AI-driven processes. This research has highlighted the critical need for proactive, ethical, and data-driven approaches to digital transformation and assurance.He is committed to educating and empowering professionals to navigate the future of assurance with confidence. His insights can help organisations build trust, mitigate risks, and unlock the full potential of Quality 4.0.

Darren O'Neill, a Chartered Quality Professional, started his career in Quality in 2007, since then has worked in scientific, laboratory and data centre environments each bringing their unique learnings and applications of Quality Assurance. Part of the Surrey and Sussex Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) branch and a big supporter of the work of the CQI.

Catriona Large is a Quality and HSE Advisor at Viridien. She began her career as an apprentice in the Quality department in June 2020 at the age of 18. After transitioning into the HSE group, She became involved in QHSE. Although her apprenticeship concluded in 2022, She remains committed to continuous learning and professional development, as she believes in the value of expanding her knowledge.In 2023, Catriona was awarded the winner of the Emerging Talent at the International Quality Awards, which stands as a significant achievement in her career to date. She is still expanding her expertise in the Quality profession and is excited for the opportunities ahead.

Jill is a quality professional with 25 years experience in adult social care. She is currently Head of Quality for Milewood, a provider of adult social care services, and previously Quality Lead, for Achieve together which is one of the UK's leading providers of support for people with learning disabilities, autism, and complex needs. In this role, she works closely with the leadership team to support quality and compliance. She is experienced in identifying poor care and embedding quality improvement, policy and safeguarding to achieve real change in people's lives.

Bianca is a Dynamic professional with over 10 years of expertise in quality audit, research, risk management, and innovation in social services. Skilled in strategic planning, quality assurance, compliance, and stakeholder engagement, she holds an MSc in Psychology, ISO 31000 and ISO 9001 lead certifications, and is PCQI certified. Currently serving as a Quality Audit, Research, and Lead Risk Manager, she oversees quality assurance processes and manage risk frameworks. Her passion lies in fostering communication and collaborative approaches in organisational settings, ensuring that diverse perspectives are integrated into decision-making processes. Alongside her professional achievements, Bianca enjoys exploring storytelling through reading and writing sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and psychological thrillers. An avid gamer, she immerses herself in intricate narratives and complex problem-solving scenarios. Her investigative and curious nature drives her interest in quality and risk, enabling her to approach challenges with a unique perspective. Committed to continuous improvement and effective problem-solving, she blends her professional expertise with creative pursuits to foster positive change.

Thank you very much for tuning in this year. 2024 was truly remarkable and my guests shared insights I was able to use and benefit from in my own job. I chatted with professionals from different sectors in academia, automotive, construction, project management, customer experience and manufacturing.  I hope you enjoyed the podcast. Here are the highlights.

Dr David M Williams is an internationally respected scholar-practitioner of the Science of Improvement. With 25 years of experience in Quality Improvement, he has worked with leaders and teams worldwide to develop people's abilities to make rigorous, results-driven improvements and adopt quality as an organizational strategy. Dave coauthored Quality as an Organizational Strategy: Building a System of Improvement. His writing on improvement is also found in many books and published papers. He was a senior leader at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, where he was responsible for leadership and improvement science and methods. His other past roles include chief quality officer, university faculty member, board leader, consultant, Baldrige examiner, and paramedic. Dave holds a B.S. in Emergency Medical Services Management from Springfield College, an M.S. in Emergency Health Services Management from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a PhD in Organizational Systems from Saybrook University. You can connect with Dave on LinkedIn and check his website here

Martin Spackman is an accomplished Quality Manager with over 16 years of experience in the automotive sector, six of which have been dedicated to leading quality management initiatives for companies such as BMW, Vauxhall, and Faurecia. Previously, Martin held logistics and quality roles for BMW Mini, and Supplier Quality roles at Vauxhall, overseeing quality operations at key facilities in Ellesmere Port and Luton. As Quality Manager for Tevva, Martin's career focus shifted toward the hydrogen and electric vehicle sectors, as he oversaw the production of 7.5-tonne electric trucks. As Quality Manager at Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS), Martin maintains high-quality standards, as well as identifying high-value supply chain strengths. His expertise in this area helps to unlock opportunities that align with HVS' mission to decarbonise the Heavy Goods transport industry. Martin is an active member of the Chartered Quality Institute (Practitioner Level) and the SMMT Quality Network Group.

Steffan Speer joined Morgan Sindall in 2007 and has held a variety of roles within the construction industry including commercial and project management. Through the experience of delivering projects as commercial, project and preconstruction lead, Steffan has gained invaluable experience in helping teams and customers successfully deliver projects in an efficient manner. Within his role, Steffan is responsible for developing change strategies across our operations to help improve the performance of the construction division. Steffan has a passion for delivering quality, and implementing technology and manufacturing principles to help improve operational efficiency across construction. Steffan is the chair of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) Construction Special Interest Group (SIG), chaired the Constructing Excellence Club in the Yorkshire and Humber Region and is a committee member of the South Yorkshire CIOB Steering Group.

Colin Campbell is an Associate Director in the Improving Project Delivery team with the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). The Scottish Government established SFT in 2008 to act as an independent centre of expertise to deliver improvements in the public sector's planning, innovation, delivery and management of infrastructure. Colin's work within SFT has been focused on improving construction quality since 2018. He is a chartered civil engineer, a member of the Association for Project Management and has over 44 years experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining SFT he was involved in the delivery of projects across the UK and in Singapore, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He is currently co-chair of the Construction Quality Improvement Collaborative (CQIC), a sector wide campaign for improving construction quality, with a reach across Scotland. 

Megan A. Speight, M.S. has worked in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors in Communications, Culture and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In her current role as Culture, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion(DE&I) Manager at Project Management Institute, Ms. Speight leads and works with cross functional teams to advance PMI's work in this space. In this role, Ms. Speight promotes a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture, and positions PMI as a growing force in the DE&I space by integrating it into the different components of the organization, profession and global community. Megan is a native of Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, USA, but resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Springside School, obtained her B.A. in Communications from George Mason University and her M.S. in Public Communication from Drexel University. Ms. Speight has her Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from eCornell and is the first ever recipient of the DEI Champion Award from Women of Project Management. She is Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Project 440, Chair of their Marketing Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Junior League of Philadelphia. Check the podcast page: www.theprojectedit.com

Sarah Haroon Sualehi is a doctoral student in the Workforce, Adult, and Lifelong Education program at Texas A&M University. She has a master's degree in International Education from New York University and brings over a decade of work experience in education across cultures and geographies. Sarah also serves as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M University. She uses data and evaluation to improve the services that TCALL provides and co-leads publishing efforts to further develop the field of adult education and literacy.  Sarah's research interests include transformational learning in nontraditional settings, South Asian, Eastern, and Indigenous epistemologies, and cross-cultural approaches to adult education and digital literacy. Her analytical lens centers concepts such as belonging, justice, and south-south transformation. She has recently been selected as a 2024 Gaines Graduate Scholar in recognition of her hard work.

Hussain Ali MEng CQP MCQI is a Senior Quality Manager with a track record in Construction and across different industries, Hussain is currently working on the Qiddiya Project, a key 2030 vision GIGA projects, in Saudi Arabia. Previously worked on the Super Sewer Project (Tideway) in London, Heathrow Airport, and helped to build two new power stations in South Africa with Eskom. Hussain has actively participated  in different working groups within the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI), focusing on developing specialised training for construction industry quality professionals and helping to develop robust model for the Cost of Quality. He is also a mentor, guiding other Quality Professionals to achieve chartered status with the CQI. His career is rooted in a commitment to elevating the role of a Quality Manager, beyond the current expectations, and driving impactful change within the realm of Quality Management.

Michael is CX* thought leader and creator of the CX Excellence Framework used by organisations around the world.  Michael spent over a decade in the USA working with GE Health on their world-wide Patient Experience programme. He also worked with USA brands such as Harley Davidson, IBM, Microsoft, MBNA, Citibank, FAO Schwartz, American Airlines, Dell, HP and Miller beer. Michael returned to Ireland in 1994 and set up the Dialogue Marketing agency creating award winning campaigns for organisations across many sectors and B2B/B2C Markets. Michael is passionate about CX and in 2014 launched The CX Company, a CX consultancy and Employee Experience (EX) communications and embedding group.   Michael spends much of his time educating organisations about the benefits of CX and founded The CX Academy in 2019 to provide certified online CX learning. The CX Certificate, Diploma and Essential courses are recognised as the global standard for CX certification and today operate in 90+ countries. He speaks and writes passionately about the CX discipline. He has spoken at conferences around the world and shares best practice insights on CX/EX* Excellence delivery helping companies to have greater success with their projects.

Mohammed Diab is Quality Assurance Manager with over 15 years of experience in quality management systems, quality auditing, welding, and non-destructive testing. He has managed large-scale projects of over than 2 billion dollars in value, and teams of about 160 members. He holds numerous certifications, including ASQ CMQ/OE, ASNT NDT Level III, IRCA Principal Auditor QMS ISO 9001:2018, PMP, and more. Throughout his career, Mohammed has been committed to continuous learning and professional development for himself and those around him. Mohammed is a co-author of two books: one being a mindmap companion book for the ASQ Certified Manager of Quality - Organisational Excellence, and the other is Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) & Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) Practical Guide, which has maintained a customer satisfaction quality level above 94% for over five years.

Kevin Newey (CQP, MCQI) - the driving force behind cutting-edge innovation as the Chair of the Greater Peterborough & Cambridge branch and the visionary Global Head of Quality at Graphcore. With Graphcore's groundbreaking Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU) technology, Kevin is part of a team that empowers creators to forge the future of machine intelligence, unlocking untapped human potential. With a remarkable 25-year journey through the realms of high tech, software, semiconductors, biotech, and pharmaceuticals, Kevin is your go-to expert in business transformation, governance, and assurance. He thrives on his passion to harness technology's transformational power, shaping a brighter and more equitable world for all.

Here are the highlights from episodes with my guests in the previous 12 episodes. I have learned a lot, and I hope you did too.

A values-driven Chartered Quality Professional with a proven pedigree in creating, implementing, and managing best-in-class Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental (QHSE) management systems. A leader in governance and compliance who can coach, mentor, and empower the workforce to create a collaborative culture built on engagement that demonstrates excellence in risk management and sustainable business practice. Susan Samaroo CQI MCQP is the Group Quality Manager at Precision NDT LLC. She is the Vice Chair of the Caribbean Branch supporting Quality Professionals with the Chartered Quality Institiute, volunteers with the Gloucester Branch, and the Digital Transformation special interest group. You can connect with Susan on LinkedIn

Dr. Neda Maria Kaizumi has recently graduated from Harvard Business School in Data science & Business analytics program. She works as VP Business Excellence and analytics in FREYR Battery and is a project member of writing new standard for artificial intelligence ethics & security together with International standard organization. She is enthusiastic, energetic, result oriented and digital forerunner with extensive International experience in strategic planning and leading global teams in multinational organizations and especially in Energy sector, renewable and clean battery. She is also experienced in operational development and organizational structure, Technology, AI, machine learning & Deep Learning. She speaks at various conferences & is an author. Neda is affiliated with the standards body of Norway: Norsk Sertifisering You can connect with Nada on LinkedIn

Erik K. Rueter, PMP, PMI-ACP (he/him), founder and President of Human-Centered Success LLC, has over 20 years of professional experience across diverse industries. He has worked for tech start-ups, colleges and universities, a Grammy®-award-winning production company, and healthcare organizations. He has been a public policy analyst, marketing and public relations director, and now a senior project manager at the American Marketing Association.  He has co-authored two papers on health inequity in oncology nursing and contributed to the book Mastering Solution Delivery. He has lectured at various colleges and organizations ranging from Medtronic to the San Antonio Spurs. He recently founded Human-Centered Solutions LLC, a consulting organization focused on creating more inclusive spaces through servant leadership.  He holds a BA in neuroscience from Wesleyan University, MicroMasters in Design Thinking and Project Management through the Rochester Institute of Technology, and certification in diversity and inclusion from Cornell.  If you enjoyed this episode, please hit subscribe, so you get all recent conversations with professionals from around the world working with Quality.

Following diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in 2006, Roland campaigned for disability rights in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as Diversity & Equality Officer and Learning & Development Adviser. He was elected Chair of the Disabled Staff Network is now a self-employed Consultant. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the Chartered Institute of Management (CMI) as well as the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning (ILM). Author of ‘Ripples from the Edge of Life' (www.ripplesfromtheedge.com), Roland is awarded Best Personal & Professional Coaching Company - South England and Disability & Inclusion Consultant of the Year - Greater London (2016 HR & Training Awards: CV HR Magazine). He co-founded the disability mediation standards for the College of Mediators; and is a finalist in the 2019 National Diversity Awards (Role Model for Disability). You can connect with Roland on LinkedIn and Twitter If you enjoyed this episode, please hit subscribe so you get all the recent conversations with professionals from around the world working with Quality.

Diana Catalina Beltran coaches, consults, and educates hospitality and tourism organizaAons under Astrapto LLC on sustainability operaAons, green team building, procurement, greenhouse gas accounAng, and carbon offse:ng iniAaAves. She teaches online from Europe on various subjects, including quality service, at the University of Southern California (USC) for the Master of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Program. In prior roles, Diana served as a corporate learning and development manager for North and LaAn America at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts CorporaAon. In other posiAons, she managed the development and implementaAon of sustainability-based programs as the Sustainability and InnovaAon Manager for the Wyndham Worldwide CorporaAon. Diana held property posiAons at the Grand HyaP New York and Sofitel Miami in various operaAve roles, including Sustainability Manager and Social Responsibility Manager. She has also taught at Florida InternaAonal University (FIU) and Universidad ArgenAna de la Empresa (UADE).

Firas Mahasen is a Certified Customer Experience Professional and Service Quality Expert within Retail and Banking industries. CXPA Canada Regional Leadership Council member, keynote speaker at the Annual Customer Experience Strategies Summit Toronto 2022, and proud judge at the CX Impact Award. A highly visible leader with a talent for initiating and driving change, specialized in CX/EX (customer / employee experience) Management and strong believer in the power of customers, with a track record of success, he has supported several companies transform to customer centricity and gain service related awards.

John Jones is an IT Management Executive with over 25 years  of experience leveraging technology to drive organisational change by increasing efficiencies and performance. He Acts as a change agent, transforming business strategy through data-driven decisions and Champions innovation with a focus on developing flexible, scalable solutions. His experience is diverse  in both private and public sector with cross-functional, technical and non-technical community groups. John has Extensive knowledge in technology, leadership and project management. He is a Respected leader in both highly-matrixed environments and in the project and program management public sector community.

Susannah Clarke is one of Process Management International Managing Partners. She works closely with clients to plan, design and develop events and programmes to transform their process performance, whilst building the skills and capabilities of their teams. She also hosts 2 podcasts , Leading for Business Excellence and Uncommon Sense. Susannah joins me in a conversation sharing her successes and also giving us a brilliant confession. As one of PMI's Managing Partners, Susannah works closely with clients to plan, design and develop events and programmes to transform their process performance, whilst building the skills and capabilities of their teams. She also hosts 2 PMI podcasts , Leading for Business Excellence and Uncommon Sense. Susannah has worked extensively in the learning and development sector. Prior to joining PMI, she was EMEA Partner Director for Oracle Corporation, an active member of the Oracle Women's Leadership Team and part of the Oracle High Performer programme. In addition to her love of technology and learning, she is passionate about the development of leaders, and partnering with them to help sharpen their performance and realise their full potential. As an Executive Coach, she works with clients to achieve tangible results for themselves and their organisation.

Dr. Claude Khalil An accomplished seasoned pharmacist specialised in the pharmaceutical industry, her career path is paved with sound knowledge of Pharmaceutical sciences, regulations, and quality management systems. Her passion for project management and healthcare was translated by giving back to community in Teaching and Training Pharmaceutical sciences and Project management frameworks in well-known universities. Claude graduated from Saint Joseph University Faculty of pharmacy, Beirut. She holds an MBA degree from Newport University California. She is a Project Management Professional certified from Project Management Institute  Her major strengths are in the wide and deep knowledge of current Good Manufacturing Practices, development of generics formulations, and pharmaceutical and health care regulated environment, with an important experience in Project management for the healthcare sector. In addition, she is accredited for Organizational transformation and Quality Management Systems. She is a speaker at various national and international conferences related to Healthcare and Project management. You can connect with Claude on LinkedIn and Twitter   If you enjoyed this episode, please hit subscribe so you get all the recent conversations with professionals from around the world working with Quality.

William is a Senior Quality Leader with 18 years in the Quality and Management system profession. He has worked across 4 different industries and is currently working as a Senior Operational Quality Lead for Inmarsat, where he owns the internal audit programme and is responsible for deploying BS EN 9100:2018 and ISO 9001:2015 across the operational division of the business. In his spare time, he does a lot of volunteering and is the Chair of the global Audit Special Interest Group (SIG) for the Chartered Quality Institute. The SIG recently held an international hybrid conference with over 240 attendees, it is a passion of his to share and learn in such a rich environment. When he is not volunteering, he can be found hill walking or spending time with his wife and new pup! A fun fact, he holds a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is also a classically trained pianist. You can connect with William on LinkedIn If you enjoyed this episode, please hit subscribe so you get all the recent conversations with professionals from around the world working with Quality.

As a coach and leader, Rhian holds integrity, inclusion and relationships at the heart of what she does. Having originally qualified as a nurse, she progressed into the education. She realised quickly that to maximise her potential, and the potential of those she works with, there had to be trust, transparency and compassion, which is integral in positive relationships. Rhian has extensive experience of strategic, structured consultancy, and focus leaders on achievable and realistic targets through effective coaching. Having worked as a leader in the education sector for many years, her aim now is to translate what she has learned, by supporting other leaders. 'I believe that, by focusing on integrity and a relational approach, leadership can change for the better and will maximise potential all round'. You can connect with Rhian on LinkedIn and Twitter

Mark Walsh is a veteran, a Chartered Quality Professional and member of the Chartered Quality Institute who advocates for Quality in Businesses and has since set up his own business. He left school at the age of 16 with no GCSEs and joined the armed forces. He started his career as an 'expeditor' working in the logistics supply chain where he developed his passion to Quality. From there he obtained his qualifications as a Quality Professional, set up his own company and is now supporting clients in the energy (oil, gas and renewables) sector. His company is a boutique consultancy called Q-Sys Solutions, and joins me from Czech Republic. You can connect with Mark on LinkedIn and via his website

Bastien Siebman is the Chief Technology Officer at iDo Clarity company. Bastien is an entrepreneur who is passionate about helping people and making their daily work more productive and hassle free. He followed his dream and now helps organisations world wide implement tools that improves productivity and reduces wasted time. Bastien joins me from France and shares the importance of delegation and how documenting explicit knowledge can help you scale your business. You can connect with Bastien here For more conversations, please subscribe to the podcast: https://theprojectedit.com/rashad-in-conversation/

Sustainability and Sustained Success tie the knot. I am delighted to bring you a special episode of my podcast during World Quality Week this year. The theme this year is Sustainability: improving our products, people and planet But how can we put this in practice and what are quality professionals expected to do to support this agenda. Today I am bringing you a panel of experts in Quality, Business Improvement and Sustainability. Nina, Martin and Mark welcome.

Welcome to my new podcast series Rashad in Conversation.  Quality Professionals strive to make businesses and society a better place regardless of the sector we work in. We do not achieve such efforts single handedly though. We engage with so many people and subject matter experts from around the world.  Having a clear understanding of how and who we interact with makes a successful calibration and helps in driving winning strategies.  Join me this series as I connect with global Quality and Business leaders to better explain how to calibrate with different stakeholders and how to drive success.

Sonia Mills joins the conversation and confesses about the areas in her business she does not have the experience in, and how she finally got over that barrier. She also has a small beef with supermarkets.

When confessions are actually positive…A moment of doubt which turned into one of the key successes of Eyad Bibi. A Quality Professional, international consultant who started in Finance and moved into Construction. He shares his story about turning a challenge into a success when changing sectors.

Jack Naidoo joins me in this episode to share how being a civil engineer helped his journey in Quality a lot, and his experience with Engineers Without Borders taught him a lesson about elephants

From a Scientist to a Quality Professional. Join me this episode as I speak with Jonathan Bishop who shares his journey from being a scientist into the construction world. His confession: ego is really a recipe for disaster!

Janhavi Yadwad: a Quality Professional in India who started her career at the front of the house in operations before moving into the path of improvement projects to improve her customers' experience. Her confession: the fact that her colleagues were humans and not machines.

Thiago Barcelos: a Quality Professional shares his experience in the automotive sector and talks about the importance of making things simple. His confession: a generous round up of costs in his early career

Quality Professionals from around the world talk to me, Rashad Issa, about their career journey and their biggest confessions in their professional life.