JOHN HERBSTjohneherbst@wowway.com

Streamwood, Illinois 60107 Cell: 630-401-5056

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT / PRODUCT ENGINEERProduct Development professional with extensive retail and commercial experience. Well versed in bringing a wide variety of products to market contributing to successful business strategies. Very creative, energetic, productive, organized and works well in a highly productive team environment. Demonstrated ability to lead complex projects delivering aggressive milestones. International experience particularly in Asia.

Electronics Electrical UL/CE/FCC/C-Tick

Plastics Sewn Goods Metal

Wood Corrugated Paper Inventor of 10 patents

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Heathrow Scientific, Vernon Hills, IL October 2010 – TodaySenior Product Development Project ManagerResponsibility for development of laboratory products. Directs the complete Development, Design and Sourcing activities. Areas of concentration included all higher technology products including Pipettors and Centrifuges plus tube racks and many others.

Focus Products Group, Vernon Hills, IL 2010Product Manager, Focus Bath DivisionResponsible for Product Management of Shower Rod, Mirror and Small Electric product lines. Additionally directed the procurement and management of engineering services for current and new products. Reported to the division President.

Fellowes Manufacturing Company, Itasca, IL 1987 - 2009Senior Product Development Project Manager 2005-2009Core member of the Office Team that had total responsibility for New Product Design, Marketing and Sourcing activities. Product lines for the Office Team included Desk, Partition and Ergonomic accessories.

Reduced product costs on mature product lines by $1M+. Co-developed an NPD communication process that reduced development lead time by 3 months. Rewrote the NPD process documentation for use as a team teaching tool and reference guide. Developed standard color, paint and texture chip sets to keep consistent quality across multiple suppliers. Led the Science section of the Sustainability Team, developed and presented a Green Product guide. Led the Engineering Module team of 5 people during an 18 month Oracle corporate upgrade. Office Team Lead on corporate Product Data Management project to store engineering files. Developed 25+ new to the world products from ideation through market launch adding $7M in annual sales.

o Concept Phase – Managed the ideation of raw concepts internally and externally External resources were usually top 5 design firms or local and less costly resources. Contracts were

directly developed and controlled. The consultancy supplied Industrial Designers at this point and was given direct detailed guidance for output content and quality over rounds of refinement. Internal resources were cross functional team based idea generation sessions.

Developed competitive analysis of refined ideas with internal Marketing. Creation of competitive feature sets allowed deep dive comparison with competitor’s offerings.

Managed the development and verification of IP using internal legal counsel and web based resources until a patentability decision was made. Work would then be transitioned to an external legal firm.

Managed consumer testing of ideas via the web and focus groups. Developed test materials, product general specifications, pricing and analysis of responses.

John Herbst 630-401-5056 Page twoo Implementation - Managed design, engineering, specifications, packaging and physical testing

Lead the development of multiple and complex projects. Scope and preliminary specification development in a cross functional team environment with Marketing, Supply Chain, Engineering and Sales. Prepared presentation materials for stakeholder Gate buyoff meetings.

Managed the detailed product design by both internal and external resources (depending on timing and capabilities). Generally designs were developed to a point by an external consultancy under daily direction. Communicated needed information between consultancy and supply chain to provide cost quotations. Provided prototypes for validation by cross functional team.

Implemented the transfer of CAD models to internal resources or vendors for further engineering development into a viable product capable of being produced. Monitored daily refinement of engineering progress to keep projects on time, within budget and scope.

Directed the development of packaging with Marketing and external graphics suppliers. Assisted in the selection and qualification of production suppliers when products were outside of

current vendor capabilities. Traveled frequently to Asia for this purpose. Directed the purchasing and design of all tooling. Assisted in the selection of tooling vendors if

vendor was not capable. Directed the testing of product to comply with all product specifications. Directed the Pilot and first production runs with the involvement of Quality and Supply Chain.

o Project Management - Managed budget, timeline, communication and risk Drove projects to be within budget and on time Mandate the use of MS Project to track all projects. Use available slack time to monitor project

status. I am familiar with Earned Value. Notable accomplishments include: The ability to keep communication at a high enough level to

anticipate issues and problems. This allows for discussion prior to major issues becoming serious. Cross function team is always kept aware of risk from the development of the initial scope statement

until the closure of the project.

Senior Product Engineer 1998-2005Computer Accessories / Consumer Electronics Business Team Core member of the CE Team that had total responsibility for New Product Design, Marketing and Sourcing activities. Product lines include corded & RF computer mice and keyboards, touch pads, USB hubs and accessories, surge suppressors, UPS, PC cables and PDA accessories.

Supervised an Engineer and an Engineering Assistant. Developed 44+ products from ideation through market launch adding well over $6M in annual sales. Performed budgeting, communication, project management and product design. Ownership of product

specifications, certifications, testing and packaging. Managed 125 active finished goods and identified and implemented $250K in cost savings. Provided total turn-key engineering services to bring technology products to market. Created a product development process where none existed. Technical liaison between the business team, suppliers and Asian manufacturers. Received “Best New Product of the Year” (2002); and “Best New Product of the Year” (2000)

Product Engineer 1991 - 1998Records Storage Business Team

Managed 5 employees. Developed 500+ new products and managed 340 active finished goods. Implemented a single cost savings of $1M+; 703 Project.

Industrial Engineer 1987 – 1991

John Herbst 630-401-5056 Page three

Lester B. Knight and Associates, Chicago, IL 1983 - 1987Management Consultant

Consulted on projects for Fortune 50-500, small manufacturers and government entities.

EDUCATIONBS, Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Champaign, Urbana, ILSix Sigma – Green Belt

OTHER INTERESTSServed on a local church business council. Served on a local school Board of Directors