Management Team
Chief Executive Officer
Ron Keith brings more than 24 years of operations experience to Riverwood Solutions including engineering, manufacturing and executive management positions at Westinghouse, Wavetek, Rockwell, Alcatel and Flextronics International. Ron has a reputation as an innovator, team builder, creative problem solver and strategic thinker who delivers straight talk and strong results to Riverwood's clients. He has run international EMS operations with annual sales in excess of $1.4B and has managed manufacturing, product development, and program management personnel in numerous countries.
Ron has advised more than four dozen companies on their manufacturing operations, supply chain, and outsourcing strategy including more than a dozen Global Fortune 500 companies. He has previously consulted for four of the top 10 EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) companies and has advised hedge funds, private equity funds and strategic investors on a number manufacturing services related investments. Ron has published more than 30 articles on various manufacturing, technology and business related topics including strategy, operations, quality management, technology trends, and supply chain management.
Prior to founding Oreamnos Partners and Riverwood Solutions, Ron served as Vice President and General Manager at Flextronics International, where he started and ran several divisions in both the EMS and ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) spaces during his more than eight year tenure. He worked with, and ran manufacturing operations for, a number of leading OEMs at Flextronics including Cisco, Motorola, JDS Uniphase, Nortel. W.L. Gore, Kyocera and others.
Ron has undergraduate degrees in both Electronic Engineering and Manufacturing. He received an MA in International Management and an MBA in Operations Research from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he also completed the majority of coursework towards a PhD in Organization, Strategy & International Management (OSIM).
He is a member of the Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals and a member of the editorial advisory board of the Manufacturing Market Insider. In March 2011, Ron was named one of the top 100 "Pros to Know" in Supply Chain Management by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine. In October 2011, Ron was named to Globalization Today’s “Powerhouse 25” list of the most influential people in outsourcing.
Vice President, Operations & Global Supply Chain Services
Mark Medlen is a career operations, engineering and supply chain professional with more than 23 years of global operations experience. He has held operations and engineering roles at numerous companies including Texas Instruments, Micron, Abbott Labs, and Flextronics. Mark has managed a number of technology manufacturing plants around the world, producing an incredibly diverse array of different products ranging from miniature optical components to massive pieces of factory automation.
Over the last few years, Mark has spent the majority of his time in China managing various EMS and ODM activities for some of the world's leading OEMs. Mark has managed outsourced production operations and ODM programs for more than a dozen major companies including Cisco, Applied Materials, Motorola, Quantum, Tyco, Apple, Dell, HP, Nokia and Sony Ericsson. He has led numerous international product transfers, offshore product introductions, and substantial product development and industrialization programs in the U.S., Mexico and Asia.
Prior to joining Riverwood Solutions in 2008, Mark spent more than 10 years in various management and executive roles at Flextronics, including serving as General Manager for several different operations. Most recently Mark served as Senior Director of Global Operations for FlexPower, a wholly owned subsidiary of Flextronics that provided ODM power solutions to more than 50 of the world's leading OEMs.
While at Abbott Labs, Mark received numerous awards for his work in improving new product introduction processes including the prestigious Abbott Labs Chairman's Award. He currently holds eight U.S. patents for various manufacturing processes and production technologies. Mark has a BSME from Purdue University and did his graduate work at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
Vice President, European Operations
Andrew Berger joins Riverwood Solutions with 21 years of executive leadership and international business consulting experience in a wide range of areas including technology, supply chain, and innovative "C" level management strategy. Andrew has a strong track record delivering successful changes in large organizations and in small venture start ups. His business acumen is strengthened by his early career experience as a Captain in the British Army, where his service as an operation intelligence and security specialist with Airborne and Special Forces instilled the discipline needed to succeed in managing in highly complex and challenging environments.
Andrew spent 12 years at Andersen Consulting/Accenture, where he became partner in just five years and delivered over $50 million in client projects. He led a team of 60 supply chain experts in Europe, and was instrumental in the implementation of major supply chain change programs for customers including BP Chemicals, BOC Group, ICI, and Kodak. He also provide consulting services to Marconi, NatWest Bank, Pioneer Electronics, 3M, Sony, BAT, National Power, BT, and Royal Dutch Shell. Andrew was responsible for leading complex change programs for customers in procurement, financial shared services, e-Commerce, post merger integration, call centers, integrated marketing, and corporate venturing.
Andrew has assisted in the set up of global operations, building up sales and service capabilities, and bringing products to market in over 20 countries while serving in executive level positions at a number of technology ventures and start-ups over the last decade. He has published two books ('Supply Chain Cybermastery' and 'Smart Things to Know about Six Sigma') and is a recognized keynote speaker on Innovation Management, Supply Chain and RFID / anti-counterfeit technology. Andrew holds an MBA with Distinction from London Business School and a BSc 2:1 Honours, Bristol University.
Brad Knight
Executive Vice President,
Managing Director – Turnarounds & Special Situations
Brad Knight brings over 20 years of hands on operations, engineering, and supply chain management experience in a wide range of technology, product, and service fields to his role with Riverwood Solutions. Brad has held executive management or board positions at electronics manufacturing, technology, retail, and service start-ups, and turnaround companies such as Flextronics, Metcal, and Adaptix. He has also served in chief executive, board of director, and executive consultant positions for companies such as 1800 Contacts, Erickson Retirement Communites, Retirement Living TV, and Sandisk, and has managed operations projects in numerous countries in North America, South America and Asia.
Before joining Riverwood, Brad was instrumental in developing infrastructure for several start-ups: from design and decision, though planning and development, contract negotiations, marketing, equipment selection and installation, MRP implementation, financial planning, and staffing for Customer Service, Product Management, Manufacturing and Logistics. While at Flextronics, Brad green-fielded a massive manufacturing services facility in Mexico which he grew into a $1B P&L. Brad has a strong track record for driving results and affecting change in turnaround situations. His unique vision, broad strategic thinking, and pragmatic managerial approach has been instrumental in his success with numerous start-ups and turnaround situations.
Brad holds a Bachelor of Science Industrial Technology & Manufacturing from California State University. He has been recognized for creating “One of the Top Ten Places to Work” by Cable World magazine. Brad is a member of the Turnaround Management Association, and is Master Trainer Qualified as an Infantry Drill Instructor.
Vice President, Supply Chain Strategy
Jeff brings over 16 years experience in executive management, strategic planning, engineering, manufacturing and supply chain management to his role at Riverwood Solutions. Jeff has held key positions at OEMs and Electronic Manufacturing Services providers. Immediately prior to joining Riverwood Solutions in 2008, Jeff served as Vice President of Strategic Planning at Flextronics where he was chief strategist for a division comprising outsourced design, manufacturing, and logistics services on four continents generating in excess of $3B in services revenue. Jeff also served as Vice President of Global Account Management at Flextronics where he managed a $1.5B P&L for one of the company's largest customers, overseeing a turnaround in operational performance, customer satisfaction, and account profitability. Jeff was instrumental in developing Flextronics' Contract Design Manufacturing offering (CDM) in the Imaging and Printing space. Jeff's earlier career included manufacturing and engineering project management roles at Flextronics, Electronics for Imaging, Metcal, Compaq, and Graham Packaging.
At Riverwood Solutions, Jeff has advised some of the world's largest tech companies on issues such as supply chain design, supplier selection and management, product portfolio optimization, vertical integration, and value capture strategies. Jeff has identified hundreds of millions of dollars in operations improvements for Riverwood's clients.
Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and both a Masters in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University. Jeff is also a graduate of Stanford University's Executive Program in Supply Chain Management. He serves as Riverwood Solutions' liaison to the University of Texas at Austin's Supply Chain Management Center of Excellence. Jeff has been published in Supply Chain Management Review, and EMSNow, and he was a featured speaker at the Institute for Supply Management's 2009 Global Supply Management conference. Jeff is the holder of a US patent for an electronics assembly device that has been used in more than 25 countries.
Director, Supply Chain Management Services & Shenzhen Site Manager
Howell Wang joined Riverwood Solutions with over 12 years of experience in supply chain operations and management, EMS sourcing, materials management, inventory management, purchasing, and contract negotiation. Serving as Commercial Manager for GN Netcom, Howell managed all commercial matters related to manufacturing projects - from concept stage, to end of life. He has driven tens of millions of dollars in cost reduction by sourcing new suppliers, negotiating component pricing, identifying and assessing commercial risks, and ensuring cross functional involvement in critial supply chain activities. His experience at GN Netcom extended to Materials Project Manager and VMI Manager and encompassed handling all aspects of development planning from initiation to mass production; including manufacturing design, bill of material implementation, cost forecasting, and decreasing the cost in the vender managed inventory programs; resulting in a cost savings of $60M over four years.
Howell has also held key management positions directing key supplier relationships at Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturer. He played a key role in the development of the company's wireless network and IP phone business and was instrumental in supporting supply chain activities that allowed the division to increase revenue from $35m to $650m. Howell has also held management roles at other Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) providers including Minxin Electronic Ltd., and Flextronics.
Howell completed studies in English at the Hunan Institute of Humanities, Science and Technology; holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business English from the Beijing Foreign Studies University; and is currently pursuing an MBA program at the New York Institute of Technology. He possess extensive professional certifications in disciplines including Logistics Management, Project Management, and Contract Negotiation.
Managing Director, Riverwood Solutions Mexico
Juan Fregoso has over 12 years of operations management experience in the Electronics Manufacturing services industry. While serving as Director of Program Management for Flextronics in Guadalajara, Juan was instrumental in delivering immediate bottom line results to the customer as the leader of several OEM program transfers from the US, Canada, and Europe to low cost EMS regions. At Flextronics, he has managed supply chain issues on vertically integrated accounts ranging from supplier coordination and logistics, to high-end order management of system integrated products for over a dozen leading OEMs and Global Fortune 500 companies including; Philips, Sony, Microsoft, HP, 3Com, Adtran Siemens, Motorola, Nortel and others. While at Flextronics, Juan drove system integration revenue growth in his division from $150M to $400M. He served as a key member of the management team key that built Flextronics' Mexico operations from a green-field start-up to a $2.5B business with 13K employees.
He has considerable experience negotiating financial incentive contracts with Federal, State and Municipal offices of various governmental agencies in Mexico. Since joining Riverwood, Juan has helped OEMs establish, improve, and optimize their operations and supply chain performance through the sourcing and program management of qualified tier 2 and tier 3 suppliers in Mexico. By implementing "near-shore" transfers of production to manufacturing service providers in Mexico, Juan has facilitated record product ramp up times while generating cost reduction of 35% in assembly services as well as soft tooled mechanicals and machined parts.
Juan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the Pan American University and an MBA in International Commerce from ITESM. (Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education)
Vice President of Procurement
Tom David comes to Riverwood Solutions with over 30 years of executive management experience in supply chain, operations, electronics manufacturing, purchasing, and materials management. He has held executive management positions at Alcatel, Flextronics, Sanmina-SCI, Norvell Electronics, and GSCS. Tom has directed EMS operations and international manufacturing with annual spends in excess of $400M; has managed full P+L responsibilities for a $24M operation; managed supplier negotiations, planning, purchasing, engineering, product design and production, materials, quality and repair. Tom has also had repeated success creating, developing, and implementing operations for electronic manufacturers' entry, execution, and/or expansion into international markets.
Throughout his career Tom has built a strong track record for developing strategic supplier relationships, and creating supply chain strategy and management processes that minimize materials and inventory costs, and optimize cash flow. As Director of Supply Chain for Sanmina-SCI, Tom developed and implemented processes that elevated annualized inventory turns from less than two to more than 10. He designed an organization and the related processes to expedite new product introductions and design change management, greatly improving customers' time to market. Tom has advised OEMs, component suppliers, and contract manufacturers; helping them develop business, operations, and logistics processes that reduce cost and increase plant efficiencies. He has developed logistics programs to support multiple site domestic and international product distribution, reverse logistics, and supply chain management for manufacturers/distributors.
Tom holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from North Texas State University and is a Certified Purchasing Manager.