Past Event - December 2004
Companies face intense global competition that has changed the way they must compete. There is a greater recognition that the heart and soul of a company is its products and services and there must be great focus on product innovation and quality to remain competitive. For many companies, this requires a revolution in their product development process -- a process that for many is not even well defined or documented.
Companies can become design factories through lean product development translate customer needs into product innovatively and quickly. The design factory is a blueprint for a company's product development process optimized for its current business objectives. It is an investment in people, process and technology that delivers sustainable competitive advantage.
Companies must use every asset in the world to deliver their products efficiently and at low cost. Are you making the right investments to be competitive? Are you a design factory?
Joseph B. Costello, Chairman and CEO, think3
Highly regarded for his business acumen and bold moves in the high-tech industry, Joe Costello is making history again, leading think3's mission to revolutionize the product development process of mid-size manufacturing companies.
Before taking over the helm at think3, Joe served as President and CEO of Cadence Design Systems Inc. for more than a decade, where he built it into a billion dollar company. Under his leadership, Cadence became the world's leading supplier of EDA software and services and one of the top ten largest software vendors in the world. Chief Executive Magazine named him the top performing CEO of all publicly traded companies in North America and Upside magazine included him in its "Elite 100" list of top executives leading the digital revolution.
Joe Costello also currently serves as chairman of Barcelona Design, BravoBrava!, Catena Networks, NextNet Wireless, Soliloquy Learning and Zamba (NASDAQ: ZMBA), and is on the board of Santa Cruz Networks.
Joe holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and Physics from Harvey Mudd College, and Master's Degrees in Physics from Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley.
