Expert Details
New Product Conception and Innovation, Industrial Design, Brand Strategies, Hand Tools, Housewares
ID: 725750
Connecticut, USA
His product designs at The Stanley Works grew the business from $2.3B to $4.0B in eight years.
He is a recognized expert in consumer product design and featured in national TV and press.
The design process, new inventions and new product innovation are the most talked about business elements, but the least understood. He has taught numerous international companies the secrets of successful design and the innovation processes.
Real success is not starting with an innovative "solution" but an "innovative" problem. From there the process becomes easy. An invention only becomes an innovation when it is applied to a product and used.
He is a recognized expert in innovation. He has been granted over 100 patents world wide. He lectures regularly on successful innovation and design. He has been quoted and appeared on: The History Channel, CBS Evening News, ABCs 20/20, Fortune Magazine, Business Week, Industry Week, New York Times, Wall street Journal, as well as speaking at numerous universities, the International Architectural Awards, and Lightfair.
He created the first ergonomic position and test lab for Black & Decker. Products were reviewed for physical as well as perceptual usage.
At Stanley/Bostitch he developed the Anti-Vibe hammer to help reduce professional carpenters arm problems. This created an entire line and moved Stanley into the #1 spot in sales. His Tripod flashlight invention and design freed the end users hands and became Stanley's most successful new product line.
He is a leader in household appliance designs. He conceived the game changing Spacemaker line for GE house wares, which later became Black & Decker house wares. He led the design direction of the Snakelight and the development and redesign of the Dustbuster. He conceived and designed the first cup-at-a-time coffee maker and the B&D Gizmo twist-mixer.
He created the strong new brand image for all Stanley products. A combination of darker, richer, yellow and black made a strong point of purchase differentiation. Tri-lingual graphics, with clear end user benefits, made it one of the key business turn around elements. The packaging was tied directly to the product design to become a total cohesive branding.
All products that he has designed have been designed for the highest quality and the lowest cost. Innovative new low cost product designs have enabled Stanley tools to go from $72M in sales to$300+M in just five years.
Many of his designs and innovations are based on creating a unique and useful new device. His patents range from the filter for the DustBuster, the Stanley Instant-Change Utility knife, the control valve of a Coleman gas canister, and pressure washer designs for Briggs & Stratton. Expert has over 100 patents.
He has created, developed and taught the FreeFall (TM) ideation system used at Black & Decker, DeWalt, Bostitch, Stanley, Coleman, American Safety Razor, Sunrise Medical, etc. The day long system is a proven means of brainstorming and ideation. It forces the user to not just look for "solutions" but to question and search out what the real problem is first. Then the ideation leads to the innovative solutions.
The success of any new product innovation, design, and development is as dependent on the importance of the problem being solved, as it is on the quality of the design solution. A problem perceived as important by the end user can have a marginal design solution and still be relatively successful. Expert has become well known for both the quality of his innovative problem identification as his innovative design solutions...the Helium wheelchair (the lightest wheelchair in the world), the Stanley Tripod Flashlight, the Instant Change utility Knife, etc.
He helped to grow The Stanley Works from $2.3B to $4.0B in eight years, in large part organically with new product innovation and design. New product sales increased from $72M to $300+M in his first five years with the company. He created the FatMax line, the AntiVibe Hammer line. He invented, designed and sourced the MaxLife flashlights, their most successful new product line introduction ($20M sales in the first year).At GE/Black & Decker he created the highly successful SpaceMaker line of products that mount under the upper kitchen cabinets. He directed the design of the SnakeLight at Black & Decker, their most successful single new product launch. He established the first Industrial Design and Package Design teams in Stanley's 160 year history, winning 13 IDSA/Business Week design awards in just nine years. He is retained by the world’s largest wheelchair manufacturer to create their next generation designs, including the award winning "Helium" the world's lightest wheelchair.
In just one year he created 12 patentable, new, innovative products for American Safety Razor. This greatly increased their intellectual property value. He created the design direction of DeWalt tools, leading them from being the manufacturer of a saw, to being the number one power tool company in the world. Since 1/2006 he has been the owner of an Innovation & Design consulting company. He has consulted with major global clients, such as Sunrise Medical, Briggs & Stratton, SC Johnson and Lancer Corp. He has also mentored new start-up companies such as EZ Ice, and ARIX Corp.
Education
Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
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Year: 1969 | Degree: BS | Subject: Industrial Design, School of Engineering | Institution: University of Bridgeport |
Work History
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
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Years: 2006 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Founder | Department: Designer and Owner |
Responsibilities:Industrial design and new product innovation consultancy, creating award winning designs, new product concepts, innovation and brand strategy for a diverse client roster that includes consumer, industrial, and medical companies. Clients include Sunrise Medical, Briggs & Stratton (John Deere, GE, Craftsman, TroyBilt, etc.), American Safety Razor, Olympia Tools etc. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1997 to 2006 | Employer: The Stanley Works | Title: Corporate VP, Innovation and Design | Department: Corporate |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for all new product concepts, global industrial design, packaging design and the product research team, with a staff of 21 in the US and additional matrix teams in France, England, China and Israel. He provided creative direction and developed the new total brand Images for Stanley and Bostitch tools. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1996 to 1997 | Employer: The Coleman Company | Title: Sr. VP, Corporate Industrial Design & Engineering | Department: Corporate |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for the direction and strategy for all new product concepts, design and engineering. He worked with all global divisions, Camping Gaz, Powermate, Coleman, etc., through a matrix management system. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1993 to 1996 | Employer: The Black & Decker Corp. | Title: Vice President Industrial Design | Department: Global Products, Idstein, Germany |
Responsibilities:He was the first VP of Industrial Design at Black & Decker. His responsibilities included the design direction of all global power tools, electric lawn and garden products, and household products. He was in charge of four design teams in three countries with annual sales of $1.9B. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1984 to 1993 | Employer: Black & Decker | Title: Director New Product Concepts & Industrial Design | Department: Household Products |
Responsibilities:As the company's first Director of Design, he was responsible for all new product concepts and design for house wares, while directing a staff of 18. He created the company's first Ergonomic Design Team. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1978 to 1984 | Employer: General Electric | Title: New Product Design Manager | Department: House Wares Division |
Responsibilities:His position was created to grow the company. He was responsible for new product concepts and design for all personal care products, irons, kitchen products, digital clocks, fans and home security. His product lines had yearly sales in excess of $200M. |
International Experience
Years | Country / Region | Summary |
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Years: 1993 to 1996 | Country / Region: Europe/Global | Summary: Expert's company moved to Germany, to a new global position to coordinate all global product designs for Black & Decker/DeWalt. He had five product and packaging design teams working for him in the US, in the North and in the South of the UK, Germany, and Italy. |
Years: 1997 to 2006 | Country / Region: Global | Summary: At Stanley Tools, Expert established and headed the industrial design teams in the US, France, UK, Asia and Israel. Product were designed for the global markets. He also lead the global market research teams. |
Years: 1996 to 1997 | Country / Region: France/Global | Summary: Working for Coleman, the outdoor equipment company, Expert was in charge of the design teams in the US and France. He worked directly with the CEO and Exec. VP of Marketing. |
Years: 1986 to 1993 | Country / Region: US / Global | Summary: Expert was the VP of Innovation & Design for all Black & Decker Housewares products. He traveled often to Asia, Europe, and Mexico where the products were to be manufactured. |
Career Accomplishments
Associations / Societies |
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He is a member of the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA). He is a Mentor at The Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, Yale University, and was on the advisory board of The Design Management Institute (DMI). |
Awards / Recognition |
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He has been a consistent IDSA/Business Week "Design Excellence Award" winner with over 25 awards. He picked up 13 awards in just 10 years at Stanley Tools, including the Silver and Bronze awards and the Gold and Bronze. He received "The Distinguished Alumnus Award" from the University of Bridgeport. |
Publications and Patents Summary |
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He has received over 100 patents world wide. He has been featured on TV shows including 20/20, and interviewed in the press in the NY Times, Fortune, Industry Week. |
Additional Experience
Expert Witness Experience |
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He is a recognized expert in design patents, product liability, product design, innovation, and branding. He was deposed in a Black & Decker law suit against Stanley Tools. His deposition stopped the suit. He has appeared in court as an expert witness on patent infringement and product liability. He has been awarded over 100 patents. - Utility patent litigation. Expert trial testimony. US District Court - Trade dress litigation. Expert deposition. - Product liability. 3 days of Expert trial testimony. Index No. (Undisclosed) - Design patent infringement litigation. Expert deposition, Patent invalidity report, Non-infringement report, District of Utah |
Training / Seminars |
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He created the internet seminar (webinar) "Unleash Innovation...Creating Successful Products" for The Design Management Institute; "Power of Innovation & Design" at Lightfair International; "The Power of Design to Affect Transformation" at International Architectural Awards; the "Path to Innovation" at the Hardware Marketing Council; and "FreeFall" a brainstorming system taught to Black & Decker, Stanley, Coleman, Sunrise Medical, American Safety Razor, etc. |
Vendor Selection |
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He provided vendor search and selection for new products at Stanley, Black & Decker, American Safety Razor and numerous other international clients. He established the lighting vendor for Stanley lighting. |
Marketing Experience |
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He led industry trends in power tools, hand tools, and house wares. - He was responsible for the market research Discovery Team at Stanley. - He has been featured on design trends: The History Channel, ABCs "20/20", Fortune Magazine, CBS Evening News, Business Week, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Industry Week etc. |
Other Relevant Experience |
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He is an expert at analyzing and beating patents, inventing, creating world-class design teams, an expert at the application of human factors to products, and creating effective, award winning, global package designs. |
Fields of Expertise
consumer product design, design for manufacturability, high volume, low cost product design, design process, inventions, innovation, consumer product ergonomics, household appliance new product development, consumer product packaging, design for cost, device inventing, ideation, inventology, new consumer product development, new product assessment, new product design, new product development, product design, customer segmentation, business development, consumer purchasing behavior, strategic market planning, consumer survey, stage gate process, market trend, consumer focus group, plastic product development, cosmetic product development, competitive intelligence, consumer product marketing, consumer product label, voice of the customer, intellectual property, fuzzy-control consumer product design, rapid product development, product improvement, product design variation reduction, product manufacturing, patentability evaluation, corporate strategic planning, product development cycle time, new product market survey, household appliance, integrated product development, device product development, product, new product development management, house of quality, legal patenting, patent, human factors engineering, concurrent engineering