Connie Higgins has 15 years of experience as a specialist in operations, finance and process improvement. In particular, she has an intensive background in cost reductions and increased efficiency across a variety of functional and operational areas. Her industry experience includes:

Avionics Distribution e-commerce Finance

Manufacturing Hospitality Printing Medical devices

Ms. Higgins has directed successful projects in manufacturing and business process redesign, information systems design, organizational restructuring, materials procurement, closure of discontinued services and consolidation of sites. She also has experience in plant layout and design, workflow, line balancing and training programs.

Ms. Higgins was the CFO of a medical device manufacturer, where she facilitated two major asset sales and the wind down of the remaining business, resulting in a total or significant recovery for all creditors.

Additional engagements have included:

• Acting general manager of a division of a $100 million, high-end retail fixtures manufacturer; Ms. Higgins supervised lean manufacturing practices, plant consolidation and layout, inventory reduction, plant scheduling and process improvement throughout the facility; she also led efforts that resulted in clear roles and responsibilities for management and staff, the implementation of a performance measurement system and a communication strategy
• As a consultant to a $4 billion hospitality company, she led a mixed client and consultant team in the design and implementation of a global performance improvement program to increase customer retention, enhance revenues and cut costs; the program generated more than $17 million of savings in the first year
• Leader of an engagement to streamline materials procurement at an $800 million manufacturer of heavy equipment; Ms. Higgins improved processes and training programs, led an extensive cleanup of system data and managed a worldwide metrics system, resulting in more than $10 million in annual savings
• As an advisor to a $1 billion distributor of industrial gases in the United States and Canada, Ms. Higgins centralized business processes, consolidated database systems and streamlined purchasing, yielding annual savings of more than $27 million

Ms. Higgins holds an MBA from the University of Dallas and a bachelor's degree in finance from The University of Oklahoma. Her certifications include: Certified Enterprise Integrator, Certified Engineering Manager and Certified Master Black Belt in Six Sigma Processes.