Adam Ward has an uncanny ability to extract high levels of performance from the teams he works with. He is a natural teacher that breaks down complex topics in the simplest terms. He is an inspirational leader who tells stories with powerful examples that inspire innovative action while staying grounded in the state of the business. Healthcare became a passion for him, eventually leading to him writing the bestselling "Lean Design in Healthcare," a book about establishing systematic innovation within healthcare delivery organizations and its accompaniment, The Healthcare Innovator's Workbook. He continues to consult independently across multiple industries.
As the Innovation & Strategy Principal at Simpler (an IBM company) Adam was responsible for executive coaching of clients. His client list included the US Air Force, Mayo Clinic, Harvard University, Atrius Health, ThedaCare, the Veterans Administration, EnerSys, Lockheed Martin, Legacy Health, the Gemological Institute of America, Northwestern Mutual, Denver Water, and others. He has established innovation teams, improved product development output, coached c-suites on innovation, and helped develop corporate strategies. After IBM acquired Simpler, he was chosen to create integrated services combining Simpler’s proven operational excellence system and IBM’s artificial intelligence, blockchain, and IoT technologies.
Previously, as the Product Development Strategist at GE Healthcare, Adam worked for the Chief Technology Officer of the $16B company. He was key in creating and implementing multiple, transformative initiatives including the Product Leader program for the twelve, Diagnostic Imaging divisions and the Disruptive Cost Workout, which saved tens of millions of dollars during its launch year and went across other GE units as the standard.
Prior to working at GE Healthcare, Adam was a Design Leader for Honda R&D Americas. He was responsible for the electrical system of vehicles, routinely leading cross-functional teams of 50+ individuals with project capital budgets more than $100M and material spend exceeding $1B annually.
Adam holds an MBA from The Ohio State University and a BSME from the University of Maryland. He has served on several non-profit boards, led capital campaigns, and speaks regularly at conferences. He has been interviewed by several podcasts and quoted in multiple online publications. An accomplished Ironman with multiple finishes, Adam has competed twice in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships and is an Ultraman World Championship qualifier. He is a student coach and lecturer for the MBOE program at Ohio State.
