Vice President - Research, Design & Technology at Newell Rubbermaid
Greater Detroit Area
- Current
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- Vice President - Research, Design & Technology at Newell Rubbermaid
- Past
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- Vice President & General Manager at Key Safety Systems, Inc.
- Vice President - Engineering & Operations at Key Safety Systems
- Vice President - Global Engineering at Key Safety Systems
- Director at Breed Technologies, Inc.
- Senior Sales & Program Manager at Federal Mogul
- Manager, Engineering at TRW
- Project Manager - Group Leader at TRW VSSI, Mesa, AZ
- Development Chemist at ADCO Products
- Education
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- University of Phoenix
- University of Michigan
- Romeo High School
- Recommended
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10 people have recommended Robert - Connections
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190
connections
- Industry
- Automotive
- Websites
Robert Block’s Summary
Seasoned and versatile international executive with 20+ years of wide-ranging expertise in technical and operational management, research and development, product development and launch, and program management for world renowned, multi-billion dollar corporations. Exceptional communicator able to train, develop, and motivate personnel as well as present to boards and at international forums.
Robert Block’s Specialties:
Proficient in product development and R&D, technology planning, innovation, customer service and support, capital equipment design and installation, plant start-up, manufacturing, cost reduction, sales, customer applications, client relations, and skilled in the creation of strategic, tactical, and financial plans as the leader of global divisions with facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Robert Block’s Experience
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Vice President - Research, Design & Technology
Newell Rubbermaid
(Public Company; NWL; Consumer Goods industry)
June 2009 — Present (2 months)
Responsible for developing new products that drive new business as well as for increasing revenue from company's current product lines. Develop a high performing organization. Perform comprehensive assessment of consumer insights, new and existing technologies & competitive offerings to identify market opportunities. Develop and manage a comprehensive strategy to drive innovation by utilizing consumer insights, technology, materials and human capital to bring new products to market on cost, on time and with superior quality.
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Vice President & General Manager
Key Safety Systems, Inc.
(Privately Held; 5001-10,000 employees; Automotive industry)
June 2008 — November 2008 (6 months)
Function as the Chief Technology Officer for the company. Lead the Corporate Technology Council. Oversee the selection of research projects to insure that they have the potential to deliver breakthrough technology and add value to the company. Participate in government, industry and academic groups where there are opportunities to promote the company's reputation and to capture valuable data. Leverage core technologies in multiple business units and drive technology across the businesses. Develop and protect intellectual property. Orchestrate internal long and short-range and strategic technical plans. Directly manage all internal technical services, design, laboratories and system engineering functions.
· Created a new profit center/business unit to position the company as a technical solutions provider including all elements of Sales & Marketing, Engineering, etc. Full Global P&L responsibility. Generated business plan for 100% revenue growth in 16 months. -
Vice President - Engineering & Operations
Key Safety Systems
(Privately Held; Automotive industry)
December 2007 — June 2008 (7 months)
General Manager of new spin-off business unit. Brought in to specifically address operational deficiencies. Led Operations Management, Engineering and all associated P&L functions. Helmed manufacturing operations and engineering centers in Florida, Mexico, Italy and China utilizing TPS and Lean manufacturing methodologies. Achieved TS19649 certification. Employed 750 with operating revenue of $150M.
· Reduced scrap from 8% of revenue to 2.5% by identifying and correcting quality system and process equipment and control deficiencies.
· Developed and launched new technology adaptive inflator, first technology of its kind on the market. Was awarded R&D 100 award for most significant new technologies of the year.
· Reduced inventory by $2M and increased inventory turns by 20% through aggressive management of finished goods and raw material days on hand.
· Launched new wholly owned factory in China. Was intimately involved in all aspects of facility construction and start up. -
Vice President - Global Engineering
Key Safety Systems
(Privately Held; Automotive industry)
May 2003 — December 2007 (4 years 8 months)
Responsible for all product research, development and launch and the leadership of 4 engineering centers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Led all activities for Product Engineering, R&D, Value Analysis/Value Engineering, Six Sigma, Program Management, System Engineering, CAD/CAE, APQP, Test labs, and Prototyping as the manager of 6 engineering directors and 300 indirect technical staff reports. Key member of 3-person team charged with the technical, operational, commercial, and financial success of the company. Accountable for the revenue intake and subsequent P&L as part of overall responsibility for the financial performance of the Divisional Overhead.
· Analyzed the potential of emerging technologies to become new products or services, continually assessing the research projects for value add possibilities. Valuated the technology portfolio of mergers and acquisitions.
· Represented company within the industry and to the trade media, promoting company products and publicizing its technology and strategy plan.
· Tripled divisional EBITDA by bolstering efficiency and slashing overhead expenses while boosting production. Administered a global budget of $30M.
· Originated a tool to manage engineering resources, including work breakdown structure, workload and manpower planning ultimately selected for worldwide use as a “company benchmark best practice”.
· Pioneered and streamlined such functions as the VA/VE, Gold Standard product development as well as the Stage-gate processes resulting in dramatic overhead savings, speedier production turnaround times and lower ED&D expenses. Instituted additional new processes and tools for engineering commodity management, design review, document control, program management, work breakdown structure and manpower loading, and value analysis to drive increased competitiveness, benchmark engineering disciplines and create value. -
Director
Breed Technologies, Inc.
(Privately Held; Automotive industry)
January 2001 — May 2003 (2 years 5 months)
Administered $3M budget as part of overall global accountability for the North American and European airbag Research and Development and Core Engineering operations as the manager of 7 direct and 40 indirect personnel. Performed technology needs assessments and rightsizing tests to ensure a high rate of commercialization for specific emerging technologies, ultimately expanding the group size and responsibility. Doubled employee efficiency and production beyond previous levels by molding personnel into highly talented, creative contributors. Developed a structured review and approval process for all R&D and advanced development projects.
· Championed new product developments and implementations to global OEM clients in North America, Europe, and Asia as company’s primary technical representative for new technology.
· Revamped and streamlined company’s intellectual property assets, instituting a new patent process for international filings, annuities, inventor recognition and infringement strategy. Oversaw company’s patent strategy and portfolio administration. Conducted all patent reviews.
· Penetrated the emerging knee airbag market and captured $20M in revenue in 12 months as part of a large-scale research project participated in by several well-known universities and hospitals to invent a cutting edge lower extremity protection device. Beat the competition in performance at half the cost. -
Senior Sales & Program Manager
Federal Mogul
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Automotive industry)
August 1998 — January 2001 (2 years 6 months)
Platform Manager, responsible for all commercial efforts, product costing and recovery, program budgets, EVA, sales, program timing, warranty, tooling, problem solving, and engineering design and performance. Sourcing and managing all Tier II suppliers. The main interface between all Federal-Mogul functions and the OEM customer assembly plants, purchasing, engineering, quality and warranty personnel. It was my responsibility to lead the program team by focusing on clearly understanding, defining and communicating customer requirements and deliverables, and driving open issues to closure. I handled all customer and supplier contact, open issues, timing, program costs and pricing. Duties included customer APQP, PSO, and open issues meetings, RFQ, cost reduction, program launch coordination, program schedules, quarterly Sr. management program reviews, and new and existing program quotations. Also, responsible for annual sales forecasts and budgets.
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Manager, Engineering
TRW
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; TRW; Automotive industry)
August 1990 — September 1998 (8 years 2 months)
Managed a department to identify, develop, track, and implement engineering and manufacturing VA/VE projects across multiple disciplines. Responsible for six plant locations in Michigan, Tennessee, Arizona and Mexico. Developed and refined VA/VE process. Provided hands-on training seminars and workshops to all employees. Conducted advanced product planning.
• Developed and implemented new function analysis based VA procedures, tripling historical savings metrics. -
Project Manager - Group Leader
TRW VSSI, Mesa, AZ
(Automotive industry)
1992 — 1996 (4 years)
Group Leader, Applications Engineering
Departmental supervisor for team of product development engineers. Design manager for all technologies of airbag inflator programs. Start-up of new UK inflator manufacturing facility. Coordinated new smart restraint technologies. Direct liaison to domestic and international OEMs. New product launch coordinator. Responsible for departmental budgets, policy and direction. Extensive experience with Toyota, Mitsubishi, GM, Chrysler and Ford.
Project Manager, Project Team
Lead engineer and manager for the design, construction and startup of plant upgrade. Responsible for budget, scheduling, process design, equipment specification and procurement, construction interface and system integration. Develop "best solution" process improvements and capacity upgrade criteria, implementing them through design, drafting and construction. -
Development Chemist
ADCO Products
(Public Company; Chemicals industry)
October 1987 — August 1990 (2 years 11 months)
Research and develop new specialty chemicals and products for the Consumer Goods, Tire, Roofing and Automotive industries. Production design and scale-up of necessary product manufacturing equipment. Supervision of laboratory technicians and production personnel. Technical service to new and existing customers.
· Researched, developed and implemented line of innovative, environmentally friendly, water based coatings and adhesives to replace VOC based products
· Company expert in Taguchi DOE design for robustness and problem solving.
Robert Block’s Education
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University of Phoenix
MA , Organizational Management , 1993 — 1995
Selected as The Outstanding Student in the Program
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University of Michigan
BS , Chemical Engineering , 1982 — 1987
Received UofM Alumini Scholarship
- Activities and Societies:
- Alpha Sigma Phi
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Romeo High School
Additional Information
Robert Block’s Websites:
Robert Block’s Interests:
New Technology, organizational management, innovation 10k runs
Robert Block’s Groups:
Board of Directors, AORC
Board of Directors, KHIC
The Wilderness Club
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Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity, Inc. -
CEO Club -
Innovation Management Group -
University of Michigan Alumni -
Front End of Innovation -
Automotive Management Professionals -
CEO/ CIO/COE/COO/CFO/Head/VP/ Director/President Level - Senior Leadership Group -
Global Executive Exchange -
TRW Automotive Alumni -
Ex-Breed Technologies Employees
Robert Block’s Honors:
Featured speaker: 2005 Airbag and Seatbelt Technology Conference
2007 SAE Congress
2007 Hong Kong International Conference, Asia Pacific Automotive Industry
2007, 2008 Wards Auto Interiors Show
Robert Block’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- expertise requests
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
