JON LEFEBVRE
Charleston
Summary
Operations and strategy leader known for transforming culture and performance by building execution systems that put people first and make accountability real. Progressed from engineering, through operations leadership, network-wide lean and strategy design and implementation, to culture leader and full P&L site ownership. Recognized for turning underperforming operations into top-tier performers through operating systems, leadership development, and execution discipline.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
Work History
Plant Manager
James Hardie
Summerville
08.2023 - Current
- Full P&L leader accountable for safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people performance for a manufacturing site.
- Led transformation of the worst-performing plant in the network into a high performing site within ~18 months.
- Increased net hours (uptime metric) from 126 to 149 through operating system discipline and reliability improvements.
- Reduced annualized turnover from ~40% to ~10–15% by rebuilding leadership systems and culture.
- More than halved yield losses: rejects reduced from ~2.0 to ~0.8 and sludge loss from ~2.0 to ~0.4.
Senior Lean Process Engineer – Central Operations
James Hardie
Remote
06.2022 - 07.2023
- Designed and implemented the company’s manufacturing operation system for strategy deployment across all plants.
- Built, launched, and implemented the framework used to align central and plant strategies, how to conduct strategy deployment, and how to execute, manage and adapt the system throughout the year.
- Supported knowledge transfer, documentation, and training for continuous improvement initiatives through strategy.
- Developed operational systems, global standards, and trainings to build knowledge and enable application.
- Supported Plant Managers, Department Managers, and Engineers in execution systems, problem solving, and leadership routines.
- Regional ownership for lean systems and growth – Deliver sustained results the right way.
Production Manager
James Hardie
Peru
01.2021 - 06.2022
- Owned daily production performance, staffing, output, and schedule attainment for multi-shift and line operations.
- Increased net hours (uptime) from ~140 to ~154 by attacking both scheduled and unscheduled downtime.
- Drove continued reductions in quality rejects and delivered significant plant yield improvement.
- Reduced employee turnover materially by stabilizing leadership routines, staffing models, and expectations.
- Implemented daily management systems, tier meetings, and KPI-driven accountability.
Quality Manager
James Hardie
Peru
03.2020 - 01.2021
- Owned site quality systems, audits, customer issues, and corrective action processes.
- Cut plant reject rate by ~50% through root cause analysis, systemic corrective actions, and prevention systems.
- Significantly reduced facility quality claims and customer-impacting issues.
- Built cross-functional ownership of quality performance and prevention systems.
Engineering / Lean Lead – Engineer III
James Hardie
Peru
07.2019 - 03.2020
- Led site continuous improvement roadmap and transformation initiatives.
- Delivered improvements in throughput, labor productivity, and scrap reduction.
- Led site through its early adoption of lean manufacturing – Now the company benchmark.
Engineering Development Program to Engineer II
James Hardie
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Progressed from Associate Engineer to Engineer I to Lean Manufacturing Coordinator (Engineer II).
- Improved performance through process and project engineering while in engineering development program.
- Developed and managed improvement roadmaps and debottlenecking activities at the facility.
- Built process engineering role expectations, standard work, and tool creation to facilitate the role across the network.
- Designed, piloted, and launched standard work for operators at the facility which was then adopted across the entire network.
- Supported the lean manufacturing launch at the Wax, TX facility and lead the lean manufacturing launch at the Summerville, SC facility.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
North Carolina State University
Skills
- Culture Transformation & People-First Leadership
- Strategy Deployment
- Strategy to Execution
- Building Scalable Operating Systems
- Performance Transformation & Stabilization
- Leadership Development
Websites
Timeline
Plant Manager
James Hardie
08.2023 - Current
Senior Lean Process Engineer – Central Operations
James Hardie
06.2022 - 07.2023
Production Manager
James Hardie
01.2021 - 06.2022
Quality Manager
James Hardie
03.2020 - 01.2021
Engineering / Lean Lead – Engineer III
James Hardie
07.2019 - 03.2020
Engineering Development Program to Engineer II
James Hardie
01.2017 - 01.2019
Bachelor of Science - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
North Carolina State University