Columbia Business School's Deming Center Awards 2022 Deming Cup to Tim Steiner and Kathy Warden

NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Business School's W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness announced Tim Steiner, CEO and co-founder of Ocado Group, and Kathy Warden, chair, CEO and president of Northrop Grumman, will receive its 2022 Deming Cup for Operational Excellence Award at a ceremony in Columbia University's Low Library Rotunda on October 25.

Since 2010, the Deming Cup has recognized leaders for operational excellence and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within their organizations. The 2022 award honors Steiner and Warden for driving operational excellence and continuous improvement across their organizations and positioning their companies for growth and long-term success.

The co-chairs for the award's 41-member judging committee, comprising of eminent figures in industry and academia, are Terry Lundgren, founder of TJL Advisors, retired executive chairman, former president and CEO of Macy's, Inc., and 2012 Deming Cup recipient, and Sam Palmisano, former chairman, president and CEO of IBM and recipient of the 2010 Deming Cup.

In his congratulations to Steiner and Warden, Professor Nelson Fraiman, director of the Deming Center, applauded them for "exemplifying the Deming principles in leading breakthrough solutions within their industries." By honoring Steiner and Warden, "we not only salute the spirit of W. Edwards Deming, but we also celebrate his legacy as we pass it on to our students, the next generation of industry leaders."

Steiner's founding goal for Ocado Group was to change how people shop for groceries by developing an unrivaled online customer proposition through a model that would drive hyper-efficiency and profitability. To achieve this, he drove the business to create unique and cutting-edge technology, solving some of the most complex challenges facing grocery retailers in the age of e-commerce and pioneering new approaches to logistics in a sector that had been resistant to change for decades.

Nothing embodies Steiner's approach to inspiring and leading people more than the quote from W. Edwards Deming; "it's not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best."

On receiving news of the award, Tim Steiner said: "I am delighted to receive the Deming Cup. This award is an acknowledgment of the extraordinary journey Ocado Group has been on and the innovative spirit embodied every day by colleagues across our business." He added, "when we founded Ocado two decades ago, we were a small and determined start-up in an industry that was heavily resistant to change. Today we are a global leader in technology and logistics, partnered with some of the biggest retailers in the world's largest grocery markets. I'm honored that our commitment to quality and bringing new solutions to old challenges have been recognized by the Deming Center."

Warden has always been passionate about fostering a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence. Even before she became Northrop Grumman's chair, CEO and president in 2019, Warden launched "Operational Excellence" as a company-wide call to action on new methodologies to enable continuous improvement in quality at all levels. With these processes in place, Warden motivates employees to deliver mission-critical solutions that advance human discovery, like the James Webb Space Telescope, designed and produced by Northrop Grumman, and ones that protect national security, like the B-21 aircraft. Warden exemplifies what it means to be a leader and role model through four fundamental company values she introduced in 2021: "we do the right thing, we do what we promise, we commit to shared success, we pioneer."

Upon receiving news of the award, Warden thanked the selection committee. "I'm honored to accept the Deming Cup on behalf of the entire Northrop Grumman team.  Our culture values people, innovation, and operational excellence.  We strive for continuous improvement and challenge the status quo to provide our customers with the advantage necessary to support their highest-value missions. This award is a meaningful recognition of our team's accomplishments and a powerful motivator to keep pushing forward," she said.

Founded in 1993 at Columbia Business School, The W. Edwards Deming Center promotes operational excellence in academia and business by sponsoring applied research and curriculum creation, disseminating best practices, and providing professional development opportunities for practitioners.

Previous winners of the Deming Cup include*: David Abney, chairman and CEO of UPS; Juan Ramón Alaix, CEO of Zoetis; Douglas Baker, chairman and CEO of Ecolab; Mary Barra, chair and CEO of General Motors; David Cote, chairman and CEO of Honeywell; Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express Company; Toby Cosgrove, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic; Janet DiFiore, chief judge of the State of New York; Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health; Ken Frazier, executive chairman of the board and former president and CEO of Merck; Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE;  Brent James, chief quality officer of Intermountain Healthcare; H. Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson & Son, Inc.; Hubert Joly, executive chairman of Best Buy; Ellen Kullman, chairman and CEO of DuPont; Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy's, Inc.; Sergio Marchionne, chairman and CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo; Samuel Palmisano, chairman, president and CEO of IBM; Paolo Rocca, chairman and CEO of  Tenaris S.A.;  Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International; Kevin Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System; Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons; Craig Thompson, president and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and Stef Wertheimer, founder of ISCAR, Ltd.

*Titles of awardees are for the year they won the Deming Cup.

Media contact: Keshia Mark, [email protected]

SOURCE Columbia Business School