Mark Collett

Background

About Mark Collett

For the past twenty years, I’ve worked in increasingly responsible roles in tire design engineering and project management for Michelin. I've always had a penchant for data crunching. While I admit my earlier years in data analysis were built on Excel, that experience helped me build a strong problem solving worldview to find nuggets of wisdom in disparate data sources. In the past few years I've "graduated" to Python based tools and am thankful for a much better environment in which to "play!" Currently I’m leading a multimillion-dollar project that uses my trifecta of skillsets: Innovation, Continuous Improvement, and People Management. Innovation: I’m curious by nature, so I ask questions. “What if?” “Suppose we?” Those questions naturally lead to creative concepts that we then get to design to meet market demand. I especially enjoy discovering insights to these questions in data analysis! Continuous Improvement: When the status quo is inefficient, I ask more questions. “How can this be better?” “What’s the cause of this frustration?” Then I find answers. With my teams, I’ve condensed meetings, questioned the validity of (and then eliminated) certain time-consuming procedures, and used proven collaboration tools for remote workers and international teams. These improvements empower and energize people while increasing the quality of output. People Management: I’ve always been an empathetic person—sensitive to others, interested in their journeys, and compassionate about their struggles. Professionally, this quality was heightened years ago when I taught engineering students at the local community college. Helping potential engineers navigate both the course material and the looming questions of life after college was extremely satisfying. When I began leading teams in the workplace, I made sure I listened first. In my experience, people who feel heard and respected will respond with their best.