OUR TEAM
Meliora Consulting Group solves each client’s issues by providing customized process improvement solutions through our team of Six Sigma Master Black Belts.
Michael Bauer
Managing Partner
Michael is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of Meliora Consulting. Prior to founding Meliora Consulting Michael worked with leading private equity firms to design process improvement systems for corporate turnarounds. He has worked with dozens of companies across both manufacturing and service industries to develop cutting-edge business improvement platforms and execute targeted improvement projects. His systems and projects have delivered over $300MM of direct financial benefits to clients. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Lauren Brugger
Partner
Lauren joined Meliora Consulting in 2017. Lauren specializes in continuous improvement education and project execution. Prior to joining Meliora, Lauren was a business process improvement manager for Philadelphia Energy Solutions, where she earned her Six Sigma Master Black Belt and helped build their training program and project infrastructure from the ground up. Lauren’s experience includes roles in product launch supply chain, GMP manufacturing, and refinery technical operations.
Michael Bauer
Managing Partner
Michael is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of Meliora Consulting. Prior to founding Meliora Consulting Michael worked with leading private equity firms to design process improvement systems for corporate turnarounds. He has worked with dozens of companies across both manufacturing and service industries to develop cutting-edge business improvement platforms and execute targeted improvement projects. His systems and projects have delivered over $300MM of direct financial benefits to clients. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Shari Kiesow
Partner
Shari is responsible for the training platform at Meliora, designing and delivering customized programs for companies looking to systematically enhance their skill set through process improvement and leadership development.
Shari has worked with a wide range of companies across three continents providing facilitation, leadership development, and project coaching to over 1000 students. She has co-authored a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt curriculum for use by one of the top private equity firms in the US and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and DDI (Development Dimensions International) Facilitator.
Lauren Brugger
Partner
Lauren specializes in continuous improvement education and project execution. Prior to joining Meliora, Lauren was a business process improvement manager for Philadelphia Energy Solutions, where she earned her Six Sigma Master Black Belt and helped build their training program and project infrastructure from the ground up. Lauren’s experience includes roles in product launch supply chain, GMP manufacturing, and refinery technical operations.
Tim Cunningham
Partner
Tim is responsible for our national office operations. Tim’s expertise includes corporate strategy deployment, continuous improvement projects, and implementation of Lean Six Sigma within large organizations.
Prior to joining Meliora, he served as the director of process engineering as well as the director of continuous improvement at Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES). During his 20 years in the refinery industry, Tim has held various leadership roles at PES and Sunoco, including area operations manager of the Girard Point Refinery, business process improvement manager, operations superintendent, and lead process engineer. Tim holds a degree in chemical engineering from Drexel University. He is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Ralph Jeswald
Partner
Ralph brings a unique expertise to Meliora, specializing in the design and implementation of custom performance management and improvement solutions. Ralph has significant experience using and teaching the Lean and DMAIC tool sets, strategic planning, activity-based cost/management, performance measurement, and other related performance improvement methodologies. He has been published in the NYS CPA Journal and Canada's Chartered Accountant, and has been a featured speaker at events such as the Financial Tracking for Six Sigma conference. In addition to his CPA designation, Ralph is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Patrick Salemo
Partner
Pat brings over 15 years of experience in oil and gas and manufacturing. He has held various leadership roles in engineering, economics, finance, and continuous improvement. By leveraging data and analytics modeling, he has improved financial forecast accuracy and net income at Delta Airlines' Monroe Energy, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, and Sunoco. Pat has published findings from his root cause analysis and has presented at national conferences. Pat holds an MBA and Master’s in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University. He is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Marissa O'Leary
Principal
Marissa O’Leary joined Meliora Consulting as a Lean Six Sigma MBB. Marissa’s previous role was the Financial Project Manager at Philadelphia Energy Solutions where she was responsible for initiating and leading process improvement initiatives supporting P&L and cash flow management. Prior to her work in Finance, she was a Reliability Engineering Manager charged with developing and implementing a risk based approach to managing refinery assets.
With over 15 years experience in oil and gas, Marissa has held various roles in Project Management, Reliability Mechanical Integrity Engineering, and Process Safety Management. Marissa holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and an Executive MBA from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. Marissa is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Jim McDermott
Principal
Jim McDermott joined Meliora Consulting as a Principal working in the national office. Jim supports all tenets of Meliora's Continuous Improvement System: Strategy, Execution, and Training.
Prior to joining Meliora, Jim worked in the beverage alcohol industry for over 25 years in many roles including Director of Brewery Operations, Brewmaster, Laboratory Manager, Sensory Specialist and Business Process Improvement Manager. He was a part of the continuous improvement team during the successful turnaround at a large regional brewery and has most recently led a smaller craft brewery through a doubling of production while improving quality, productivity and safety metrics.
Jim is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Lisa Krug
Process Improvement Specialist
Lisa is responsible for developing project documents and client deliverables and implementing and maintaining internal processes and procedures to support the delivery of Meliora services. Lisa’s background includes extensive experience in human resource management and consulting, technical project management and training and development, as well as experience running her own business.
Lisa holds a Master of Science in organizational communications and development from Canisius College; a Bachelor of Science in industrial and management engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and a Professional of Human Resources (PHR) certificate. Lisa is a certified DiSC trainer.
Jack Kiesow
Process Improvement Specialist
Jack joined Meliora as a process improvement specialist. He is responsible for providing operational and analytical support to ensure that tactical and strategic client objectives are met. Jack's background includes experience in private and grant-funded research development, data analytics, and administrative duties.
Jack is earning an MBA with a concentration in Accounting from Bowling Green State University and has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University at Buffalo; a Business Analytics Certificate from Cornell University; and his Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification. Jack is currently pursuing his Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification.
Rachael M. Brown
Director of Business Development
Rachael brings over 15 years of experience in business development and investor relations to Meliora Consulting and their sister company Employer Services Corporation (ESC). Rachael is responsible for creating, executing, and overseeing business development and marketing strategies to grow market share in Western New York and throughout the US. She works directly with business owners and executives to identify opportunities to increase capacity and eliminate waste utilizing Meliora’s team of Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belts and custom-developed strategies.
Rachael is active in the Western New York community and currently serves on several boards and committees, including the Amherst Chamber of Commerce Board, Buffalo Niagara Sales & Marketing Executive Board, United Way Leadership Society, and Leadership Buffalo Alumni to name a few. Rachael has been recognized numerous times for her contributions to the community, including Buffalo Business First’s 2017 40 Under 40 award, The Amherst Chamber’s 2017 Small Business Advocate award, and Child & Family Services’ 2018 Susan T. Siwiec Distinguished Donor Award.
