BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION – James M. Weispfenning

James Weispfenning is an experienced technologist, an operations and technology executive and a Project Manager, with a wide range of technical and managerial skills and expertise. Under a diverse set of circumstances and situations, he has managed several complex technical multi-location, multi-national projects to their successful completion. He holds BSEE and MSEE degrees from North Dakota State University, an MBA degree from Winona State University, and is a PMI-Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a member of the Project Management Institute.

Weispfenning began his career with IBM in 1978, as an electrical engineer, circuit designer and integrator in Rochester, Minnesota. Over time, various job roles expanded to include magnetic recording components characterization and integration. Subsequent responsibilities progressed to managing first one, and then several departments of electronic hardware, software and standards development teams.

In 1989, Weispfenning accepted a two-year assignment to IBM Fujisawa, Japan, as Manager of the Recording Technology development team in Fujisawa and as Project Manager of the Recording Technology transfer effort from IBM US to IBM Japan. While there, he managed several departments of Japanese engineers and technicians, led the technology transfer effort, which involved teams from IBM UK, IBM Germany, and several locations from IBM US. While in Japan, he helped to establish a development Class 100 clean room, for build, and for chemical failure analysis in support of the overall effort.

Upon returning from Japan, at IBM Rochester, Weispfenning successfully directed all business and technical aspects of a 24/7 continuous-flow chemical plating and polish operation for IBM’s computer disk-drive recording media. During this period, approximately $75 million of capital equipment was justified, approved and installed in the factory to increase the production capability to meet all of IBM’s recording media volume and technical and quality demands. To support the manufacturing growth, overall staffing was increased from 125 to over 600. Weispfenning also supported the effort for this factory to become ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Standards compliant.

Since leaving IBM in 1997, Weispfenning has directed Recording Technology and Advanced Electronics at Western Digital Corporation, and at Seagate Technology, he was the Lead Architect for recording systems while also directing Advanced Recording Technology labs in Bloomington, MN and Fremont, CA. He is currently an Adjunct Professor for St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, teaching several Project Management courses (including Global Project Management) in support of their Project Management Master of Science program.

In summary, Weispfenning can bring the following skills and know-how to a business advisory and/or operational initiatives contract role:

1. Extensive in-depth engineering development, quality and management skills, including development processes, six-sigma, statistical analysis, design of experiments, competitive analysis, intellectual property, benchmarking and many other technical and non-technical problem solving techniques.
2. Operations experience in managing a continuous flow 24/7 high volume factory.
3. In-depth familiarity with state-of-the-art VLSI electronics design and processes.
4. Proficiency in dealing with domestic & international suppliers and customers.
5. International experience, as expatriate and as a seasoned international business traveler to Europe and Asia.
6. Domestic and international certified Project Management Professional skills.