Meet the Team
Launched in 2005 by the Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC), the LCS helps organisations and individuals develop adopt lean thinking more effectively. Here at the LCS, we strive on offering the best service when it comes to providing our customers with your LCS qualifications and accreditations.
We are also proud of our strong community of professional practitioners and work hard on making sure we always provide the most interesting and engaging events exclusive to our LCS community. Subscribe to our newsletter to find out more about what is coming next.
Simon Elias
Simon Elias, Director
Simon is the director of Lean Competency Services Ltd. He was previously director of the LERC, which he joined in 1997 and was involved in a range of research, knowledge transfer, engagement and executive education projects, programmes and initiatives, as well as LERC marketing and strategic development and was the chief architect of the Lean Competency System.
Simon previously worked for Thorn EMI PLC, Grand Met PLC, The Automobile Association and Johnson Controls Inc. in a range of research, planning and marketing roles.
Simon was educated at Swansea University, Wales and The City University, London and has professional diplomas in marketing and market research.
John Homewood, Manager
Dr John Homewood spent over 18 years in the electrical steel industry, from research through operations, technical and improvement management, in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.
John’s vocation in business improvement began in 1999 and later, as Manager Lean and Continuous Improvement, he began working with the Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC), contributing to ‘Staying Lean: Thriving, not Just Surviving’ [2008] and other research areas.
Through LERC, John began supporting the Lean Competency System in 2011. Since then he has worked closely with the LCS Level 3 system and its candidates, as well as contributions towards network events, conferences and other developments on an associate basis. During this period, he has also been a Research Fellow at Cardiff University School of Engineering. Following his appointment,
John manages the delivery and development of LCS Level 2 & Level 3 Approved Prior Learning & Experience (APLE) products and LCS Practitioner Membership services while also supporting LCS assessments, organisational LCS accreditation and development of research themes and projects with LERC.
Rose Sgueglia, Marketing & Administration Coordinator
With extensive experience in developing customer relations, PR and communications and in digital marketing, Rose supports all the existing accredited organisations from a marketing, CR and administrative point of view.
Rose graduated from Cardiff University’s BA in Journalism, Film and Media and PG Diploma in Magazine Journalism in 2008 and 2009. She also took a Diploma in Digital Marketing in 2015 and has worked as a marketing and PR consultant for several companies in Cardiff and the rest of The UK including Trendy Products, Sedna Lighting and Flubit.com.
She is a freelance journalist for different publications including GQ, Yahoo UK, La Repubblica and more recently, WI Life (Women’s Institute magazine). Rose is also a professional writer, author of The Real Coco Chanel by Pen & Sword and The Real Leonardo da Vinci (August 2021, Pen & Sword).
Joep van Nieuwstadt, European Business Development Associate
Based in the Netherlands, Joep supports existing accredited organisations and help develop the LCS presence in northern mainland Europe.
Joep has a strong reputation in the world of certification and accreditation. He was the general manager of a Dutch training provider for informatics (1977-1991), associated with the University of Tilburg and later of EXIN, the Examination Institute for Informatics. As the CEO of EXIN, from 1997 until 2010, he was responsible for the international exploration of EXIN that changed from a typical Dutch Organisation to a global player for IT Certification.
From 2010 Joep became Director of Nieuwstadt Consultancy and in this role he was contracted by different Organisations in Europe and the US, including PeopleCert, Quint Wellington Redwood, IACCM, IASSC, TüV Akademie Germany and others.
Stewart Humphreys, Business Development Associate
Stewart is a consultant supporting people, businesses, and organisations through operational and personal change. Stewart has extensive experience having delivered within multiple sectors, from Sales and Marketing, through to Operations and Manufacturing.
Stewart also has stakeholder engagement at all levels, supporting operational effectiveness including coaching and mentoring. Following university, Stewart studied Sales and Marketing Management and has continuously focused on personal development; constantly evolving his knowledge around business improvement techniques, Leadership and Coaching.
Currently studying system thinking to compliment his accreditations in Lean and business analysis, for which he is an accredited trainer/ examiner of the BCS Foundation level. Stewart is a trustee of Kidney Wales charity and passionate about all sports, particularly golf. He is also partial to wine, holidays and enjoying life!
