Shingo Academy & Rising Star Recipients Named for 2026

The Shingo Institute, a program in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, has announced the 2026 inductees into the Shingo Academy and recipients of the Shingo Rising Star Award.

The Shingo Academy is a community of professionals who have dedicated their careers to advancing organizational excellence. Honored for their leadership and contributions to industry best practices, academy members serve as ambassadors of the Shingo Institute, promoting the Shingo Model and championing cultures of continuous improvement. Through speaking, research, mentorship and resource development, these individuals actively help organizations progress on their journey toward excellence.

Alongside welcoming new academy members, the Shingo Institute is also recognizing emerging leaders with the Shingo Rising Star Award, which is given to individuals who, though early in their careers, have already made meaningful contributions to the Lean community. These recipients have demonstrated a deep commitment to Lean principles and have significantly influenced their organizations using the Shingo Model and the mission of the Shingo Institute.

“Together, the Shingo Academy and the Rising Star Award represent the full spectrum of excellence within the Shingo community,” said Ken Snyder, executive director of the Shingo Institute. “The academy honors those who have made lasting, influential contributions to organizational excellence, while the Rising Star Award celebrates emerging professionals who demonstrate remarkable commitment to the Shingo Principles early in their careers. We are thrilled to recognize both our newest academy inductees and our Rising Star recipients at this year’s Shingo Connect.”

These individuals will be recognized at the Shingo Connect Awards Gala in San Diego, California, on March 19. To learn more about the event, please visit https://shingo.org/events.

Shingo Academy Inductees

Stephen Dargan

Stephen Dargan is an enterprise excellence leader with over 30 years of experience in financial services and mining. Dargan is known for driving large-scale process and cultural transformations grounded in Lean Six Sigma, governance and the Shingo Model. His Shingo journey, which began in 2013, has shaped his systems-focused leadership approach, including driving major productivity and cultural improvements at Bankwest and pioneering virtual Shingo assessment work within the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Now a Senior Leader Coach at BHP’s Centre of Excellence, Dargan supports more than 50 senior leaders and has led the deployment of the BHP Operating System, a Shingo-inspired, purpose-driven cultural framework that has contributed to record production years and sustained leadership mindset shifts.

Brad Jeavons

Brad Jeavons is a globally recognized advocate for enterprise excellence and has senior leadership experience across technology, supply chain and manufacturing. In addition to working with companies and government agencies worldwide to apply the Shingo Model and strengthen organizational systems, including BHP, Santos and PepsiCo, Jeavons founded the Enterprise Excellence Podcast and leads a global learning community. An author and speaker, Jeavons continues to advance understanding of enterprise excellence through his books, thought leadership, and ongoing research. He believes that aligned cultures of continuous improvement and innovation build stronger organizations and contribute to a better future.

Don Tracy

Don Tracy retired as the vice president of DENSO in January 2022 after a 33-year career with the organization. As the director of one of the world’s largest automotive parts manufacturers, Tracy was responsible for the ongoing success of the Body Electronics Division. He joined DENSO in 1989 and eventually led the company to receive the Shingo Prize in 2007. In addition, Tracy was responsible for leading the Tennessee site through its cultural transformation and changing leadership behaviors and practice, which led to improved business results year-on-year in an ultra-competitive market. He has worked in America and Japan to develop world-class Lean organizations, and he served on the Shingo Executive Advisory Board from 2015-2021.

Shingo Rising Star Award Recipients

Richard Campbell

Dr. Richard Campbell, MD, has served as a steadfast leader in vascular surgery for more than 20 years, inspiring curiosity and creative thinking in both his peers and mentees. He has held multiple leadership roles and is regarded as the regional expert in the evaluation and treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome. As assistant physician-in-chief of surgical services at KP Sacramento, Campbell has been instrumental in developing a strong partnership with Kaiser Foundation Hospital leaders. He also provided pivotal guidance in capital planning for the Sacramento Railyard Hospital and well as visionary leadership in creating the Ambulatory Surgical Hub in Natomas. Using his situational leadership style, outstanding communication skills, and relationships across departments, Campbell develops solutions that balance the needs of physicians, patients and the organization.

Jason Feng

Jason Feng has more than 18 years of experience driving Lean and Six Sigma transformations across industries, including medical devices, aerospace and elevators, and leads Global Lean and Six Sigma for Abbott’s Rapid and Molecular Diagnostics Division. He has advanced strategic operational excellence initiatives rooted in the Shingo Model and played a pivotal role in Abbott RMDx Hangzhou’s Shingo journey, culminating in the site receiving the Shingo Prize in 2025. As Abbott’s first certified Industry 4.0 SIRI Assessor and an ASQ- and PMI-certified professional, Feng integrates digital transformation with Shingo principles to deliver sustainable results and inspire high-performing teams across regions.

Jasmin Kollar

Jasmin Kollar is the manager of global operational excellence at Abbott Diagnostics, where she leads a global network of three transfusion sites and drives divisional initiatives that embed operational excellence at the core of business strategy. With a Ph.D. in biology and a career spanning scientific research, manufacturing, compliance and global transformation, she applies rigorous, people-centered, systems-focused leadership grounded in the Shingo Guiding Principles. A strong advocate for modern applications of the Shingo Model, Kollar integrates operational excellence with digital innovation to shape new behaviors, inspire engagement and build purpose-driven cultures.

Elvis Abad Miranda

Elvis Abad Miranda is an industrial engineer specializing in operational excellence and Shingo-based cultural transformation. He currently serves as superintendent of operational excellence at Consorcio Minero Horizonte, where he leads the design and deployment of the company’s Shingo-inspired SUMA model. He has driven major transformation initiatives across the mining sector, including at Minsur, Marcobre and Glencore, and played a key leadership role in Minsur Smelter and Refinery in Pisco achieving the 2023 Shingo Bronze. With extensive training in operational excellence, leadership and coaching, he supports professional development through the Community of Excellence Peru (COMEXO) and EducaTEC, helping leaders design systems that model ideal behaviors, strengthen culture and generate sustainable value for people and organizations.

Samantha Squires

Samantha Squires is the manager of mine surface production and continuous improvement at BHP’s Olympic Dam in South Australia, where she leads more than 200 employees and contractors and manages a $160 million operational budget, sponsoring one of Olympic Dam’s most transformational capital projects. Known for her inclusive, authentic and purpose-driven leadership style, Squires has become a role model in the deployment of the BHP Operating System (BOS), shifting BOS from a tool-driven approach to a people- and purpose-led system aligned with the Shingo Guiding Principles and reigniting momentum at one of BHP’s most complex operations. Her leadership has driven measurable improvements in safety, diversity and productivity, helping reposition Olympic Dam as a reliable and sustainable copper producer. Recognized as a South Australian Premier’s Award Young Achiever for Energy and Mining, Squires exemplifies how values-based leadership and operational discipline can deliver lasting excellence in mining.

Emily Swaney

Emily Swaney is the senior director of the Lean Promotion Office at OhioHealth, where she is responsible for ensuring OhioHealth's Lean Roadmap is driving toward an advanced management system. Under her leadership, OhioHealth has received international recognition for their focus on creating a culture of 35,000 problem solvers. With 15 years of continuous improvement experience in healthcare, Swaney is highly skilled in kaizen facilitation, A3 and executive coaching, Lean Daily Management, Hoshin Kanri and enterprise roadmap development, and she frequently collaborates with leading Lean organizations to share insights through publications and presentations. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and owns Advance Lean Consulting LLC, coaching and inspiring organizations to build a more mature and impactful cultures.

Fabiana Trevizani

Fabiana Trevizani is the operational excellence manager at Vale, where she leads continuous improvement efforts across railways, ports, mines and plants, translating corporate strategy into actionable plans and developing aligned, capable leaders. Since joining Vale in 2014, Trevizani has supported Six Sigma, Agile and Kaizen initiatives; conducted internal and ISO 9001 audits; and driven improvements in efficiency, quality and operational performance. With a background in civil engineering and a specialization in quality management and IT, Trevizani combines technical expertise with people-centered leadership to foster cultures of innovation, discipline and sustainable results.

Chase Wachendorf

Chase Wachendorf serves as the leader of operational excellence at Discount Tire, driving transformative change across more than 1,150 retail locations. Wachendorf has advanced through multiple leadership roles, building expertise in developing and integrating systems that strengthen safety, quality, delivery and cost performance. He also applies his continuous improvement skills in his role as a paralegal in the Army Reserve. Wachendorf has a Master of Science in Management with a specialization in Organizational Leadership and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from Colorado State University. He is committed to building systems that empower people, eliminate waste and enable high-performing teams to thrive.