Howard Thomas

Chief Operating Officer and operations executive with 15+ years of experience partnering with founders and owners to build the systems, teams, and operating discipline growing companies need. Experienced in leading end-to-end operations, including manufacturing, supply chain, quality, engineering, and P&L management, without the support of a large corporate infrastructure. Known for identifying core issues quickly, earning the trust of ownership, and delivering measurable results in companies ranging from $10M to $70M.

Equally effective in turnaround situations, high-growth environments, and businesses that have outgrown their current systems.

† Transformed a $30M precision manufacturer, added 15% annual growth and $1M in net margin while reducing headcount 29%, improving first-pass yield from 60% to 90%, and securing ISO 17025 accreditation that unlocked new markets.

† Took a $10M equipment company from distribution-only to full OEM manufacturing. Brought two new products to market; generated $2.1M in first-year revenue. Resolved a critical hydraulic failure that had caused machine fires and blocked market entry.

† Directed a $2.4M automation investment at a $70M manufacturer, reduced labor costs 15%, increased equipment uptime 50%, improved yield from 96% to 99%, and delivered zero OSHA recordable incidents.

† Reduced inventory 25% across 7,000+ SKUs through predictive demand planning, recovering significant working capital.

† Built a custom MRP platform from scratch, cut manufacturing lead time by 2.5 weeks and eliminated planning overhead of $120,000 annually.

† Co-founded and grew Lumiere Solar LLC from startup to 5 employees and profitability within Year 1, securing multi-community HOA deployments across Central Florida.

Florida Atlantic University · Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering (BSEE) · Graduated Cum Laude

Illinois Institute of Technology · Mechanical Engineering (4 years of coursework)

AI, Data Science & Advanced Analytics

Applied coursework in AI product design, machine learning, statistical modeling, and marketing analytics through MIT, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Babson College, UC Berkeley, and University of Michigan.

Additional credentials: Wharton School of Business (Operations Management), University of Virginia (Business in Society), LMU Munich (Competitive Strategy), Microsoft (Python for Data Science, ML Essentials).