Chip McDaniel, Partner and Co-Founder

 

Chip McDaniel focuses on integrated asset planning, production and supply footprint configuration, and utilization management, drawing on a 20 year record of operations and planning leadership roles.  He is an integrator, pulling together his experience in operations management, business planning, engineering and corporate development. Chip is energized by helping clients address three critical questions:

 

1. What is the right configuration of assets to best meet our demand profile(s)?

2. How should we operate those assets in order to get the maximum contribution from them?

3. How do we build and sustain the best set of team skills and capabilities to realize that contribution?

 

Chip was a consultant in the Operations Practice at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on performance improvement and transformation.  His work there covered multiple industries, including, pharmaceuticals, food processing, business aircraft, mining and railroads.  Chip also has extensive prior experience in industrial components and automotive.

 

While at McKinsey, Chip’s work included:

 

• Leading multiple teams in identifying purchased material cost reductions in complex electro-mechanical systems for an aerospace manufacturer

• Rationalizing SKU complexity for a pet food production facility

• Conducting a diagnostic for a pharmaceutical packaging operation, identifying actions to double useable production capacity without additional capital investment

• Increasing output 10% at the top performing site in a capacity-constrained food products plant network

• Improving effectiveness and output of field support crews for a major surface mining company

 

Prior to McKinsey, Chip was Director of Business and Operations Planning for Automotive Components Holdings, LLC, where he led teams in developing consolidation, re-sourcing, make/buy and product line strategies for plastics operations.  In this role, Chip led a team that was a selected as a finalist for the INFORMS Wagner Prize for a large-scale purchased part network reconfiguration and consolidation strategy for a distressed $1.5 billion plastics business.  Additional work at ACH included optimal plant sourcing reassignments for a $200 million glass components business, and sell-side due diligence for a $450 million plastics operation.

 

In his earlier career, Chip held multiple management and supervisory roles at Ford Motor Company.

 

Chip holds M.B.A. and Master of Science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Bachelor degrees in Electrical Engineering and English Literature from the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly UM-Rolla).