Who We Are

Gregory C. Alexander, Ph.D., P.E.

Founder, Real World Quality Systems

“The objective of the enterprise is to make money and have fun doing so.” – Bill Gore, Founder, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., and inventor of GORE-TEX® fabric.

After his 40 years working in industry and graduate school, Greg decided to refocus and start his own business. He gets his energy from helping people get more done while having more fun. His extensive experience in manufacturing, process improvement, product and process innovation, and lean six sigma makes Greg an ideal business partner in your quest to improve profit by both increasing top line growth and reducing cost.

Greg started his career spending 3 years as a process improvement engineer in manufacturing and then obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in order to pursue a career in R&D.

Following graduate school, Greg held industrial positions of increasing responsibility in technical service, product and process development, and R&D management. Some of the projects that he either led or coached at Eastman Chemical Company included achieving a 15% increase in capacity for 12 M lb/year solution acrylic plant, successful transfer of problematic powder coating resins production between sites, and development and commercialization of more environmentally friendly coatings resins.

During his last 10 years in industry, he honed his expertise and skills in innovation, project management and continuous improvement in his roles as Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt, specializing in Design for Six Sigma. He achieved his Black Belt certification in Design for Six Sigma at Eastman Chemical. After Eastman sold the business, Greg subsequently obtained additional certifications as an Operations Black Belt and Master Black Belt at the resulting Hexion Specialty Chemical Company. During his six sigma tenure there, Hexion was awarded a Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Award. The company was selected as having the best achievement in implementing Six Sigma for business improvement in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, based on judging by a panel of independent business improvement experts and practitioners.

Greg delivered multi-million dollars in margin and in cash flow benefits through Blackbelt and (mentored) Green Belt projects in supply chain, manufacturing, and R&D improvement projects. He developed training curriculum for DfSS (Design for Six Sigma) which he subsequently delivered in multiple countries. He was lead instructor for multiple waves of black belt classes, and served as six sigma representative on two business teams, contributing to strategy development and execution.

Greg graduated cum laude from Rice University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, and obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware. He lives in the Chicagoland area, but maintains his loyalty to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. He has served on the board for the McHenry County Music Center and regularly volunteers with Nathaniel’s Hope and Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley.

Testimonials

Art Yerger

Global Supply Chain Director at Arizona Chemicals

“Greg…taught me a lot on how to improve supply chain processes in the chemical industry. We had partnered several times on very complex challenges and with his deep knowledge we would always deliver a pratical solution that all could use and would save significant dollars. Greg would also focus a lot of time on change management because he understood the need to make a project successful requires getting buy-in of the people.”

Steve Statham

Six Sigma Master Black Belt at Hexion, Inc

“I’ve known Greg for 10+ years, and had the pleasure of working with him and being trained by him. In addition to his extensive knowledge in all things DMAIC and DMADV, he is truly an expert on how to design and deliver effective training. Greg has always demonstrated the utmost integrity and shown sincere desire to make me successful whether I was a customer, colleague, student, or mentee.”

Damiano Beccaria

Project manager in Eastman

“I worked with Dr. Alexander during and after the integration of Syntech into McWhorter Technologies. We were both R&D managers and had responsibility to coordinate projects in our laboratories in US and Italy. He was a real team player, respectful of cultural differences, and a valued collaboration partner. He was always eager to share what he knew and to learn from others. I would welcome working with him again.”

Alla Hale

DFSS Black Belt at Hexion, Inc.

“For more than 4 years, I have had the pleasure of working with and being mentored by Greg. I received DfSS and Six Sigma Black Belt training from him, and credit him with my successful application of Six Sigma methodology to the projects I lead. Not only is he an expert on so many Six Sigma and Project Management concepts, he is able to convey the concepts he teaches in a practical and applicable way (and with a bit of humor, too). When running projects, he selects and implements only the tools that are necessary to achieve the goals, without over complicating or over simplifying the problem.”

Steve Dudek

Regional Director of Process Improvement at Quest Diagnostics

“I highly recommend and endorse Greg Alexander for any Six Sigma, continuous improvement, strategic deployment, product development, and project management needs. Greg is a subject matter expert in these areas, and after working with him for over a decade, I observed first hand his ability to apply these concepts in numerous settings to achieve organizational goals and objectives. In addition to his solid technical skills, Greg is an excellent verbal and written communicator who communicates effectively at all levels of the organization. He successfully coaches and mentors teams toward impactful results, all the while imparting to them new skills and capabilities to take forward in their future assignments. Whether the project is big or small, I am confident that Greg will bring a tailored and customized approach that meets your specific needs and produces the results you expect.”

Doug Rahrig

Vice President Technology, ICP Construction

“I had the good fortune of hiring Greg into McWhorter Technologies. We were implementing a formal new product development process with project management at the time, and he quickly recognized that we were asking our staff to manage projects, but had not given them the training to do so. He developed a project management course and training tools and initiated training classes that prepared our staff for the new challenges they were facing. In the years since I worked with Greg, he has continued to grow and add skills that have only enhanced his effectiveness.

Greg is a constant learner with a servant-leader attitude. He brings content expertise, problem solving talent, a process orientation, and a passion for teaching and training people that allows his genuine interest in their success to shine through. He also has a wonderful sense of humor that keeps it all fun.”

Let us know how we can help you.