Dawn Armfield

Dawn is Managing Director, COO at Hilco Performance Solutions. She is an accomplished Operations and Engineering Executive with a distinguished career spanning over three decades. Known for deep expertise in lean manufacturing, operations management, and manufacturing engineering principles, she has consistently led transformative initiatives within businesses ranging from several million to several billion dollars in revenue with the most significant emphasis on mid-market manufacturing organizations.

Select experiences from her career include:

• Developed comprehensive set of business processes for California-based $50M specialty architectural feature art production firm that aligned shop floor practices, project management, HR systems, and financial reporting resulting in faster production and vastly improved operational clarity in high mix demand environment.
• Led the planning and execution of joint continuous improvement events for Boston-based pharmaceutical developer and Baltimore-based pharmaceutical manufacturer to reduce lead time and increase production yield of “new to the world” muscular dystrophy drug via use of CEDAC.
• Led evaluation of United States operations for medical device division of $24B Chinese conglomerate with recommendations for business transformation to align to parent company corporate goals.
• Acted as interim Chief Operating Officer for $15M tent manufacturer based in Wisconsin with responsibility for setting vision and direction for Engineering, Technology, Quality, Supply Chain and Production Operations for this high-growth enterprise. Turned around the organization from losing ~$1M annually to profitability in under six months.
• Engaged by Tier 1 automotive supplier to identify and correct gaps in their Quality Management System required by OEM customers. Implemented substantial changes across organization to close gaps and deliver passing audits from two US-based OEMs.
• Led development of the manufacturing operating system for innovative plastics process launched by $15B consumer packaging company. Responsible for process scale up, design of plant material flow, implementation of standard work, and design of information flow. Resulting process and product is now in mass production for multiple CPG clients.
• Retained by $500M building services company to lead the redesign of tool depot system for faster service to operating crews and better inventory tracking. Led multiple kaizen events within a central facility that decreased unfulfilled equipment requests and missing equipment from inventory.
• Implemented Lean Manufacturing, Quality and Manufacturing Engineering practices in an $80M manufacturer that was losing $25M per year. Returned plant to profitability in under 6 months. Supported new product launches enabling growth in annual sales by 50% with no additional labor required due to lean and engineering efforts.

Dawn holds an MBA in Finance and Operations Management from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. Dawn combines academic rigor with practical expertise in driving operational excellence. Overall, Dawn is recognized as a leader in aligning business processes to enhance operational efficiency and profitability. She continues to leverage her extensive experience and expertise to drive meaningful change and transformation within organizations, ensuring sustainable growth and success.