Colonel (Retired) William A. Guinn

During his U.S. Army career, COL (Retired) Bill Guinn served in a variety of command and staff positions both in the United States and overseas.  Among his command assignments, he commanded a company in the 7th Infantry Division and commanded the 1st Armor Division’s Main Support Battalion in Bosnia, Croatia, and Germany.  COL Guinn’s staff assignments include Headquarters, Department of the Army Staff in the Pentagon as well the Deputy J4 (Logistics) for the United States Pacific Command in Honolulu and East Timor.  His last military assignment was as the Commander of Letterkenny Army Depot.

While serving as the Commander of Letterkenny Army Depot, COL Guinn led that depot’s Lean transformation.  During his command, Letterkenny became a Department of Defense depot of choice, increasing annual revenues from $150 million to over $450 million.  Letterkenny’s Lean transformation reduced customer costs, repair turn-around times, and substantially improved quality.  During his command, Letterkenny returned over $20 million dollars in Lean savings to their DoD customers – a first for any depot.  Letterkenny Army Depot was recognized for these unique achievements as the U.S. Army’s first and only winner of the 2005 Shingo Prize for LEAN excellence. 

Upon retiring, he joined Analytical Services Inc as their Director of Lean Enterprises.  In that capacity, he is working with many U.S. Army organizations and with several private businesses as they navigate their LEAN journey.  Additionally, he is also working with the Army Science Board, Ohio State and MIT researchers to document how Letterkenny’s LEAN transformation was implemented. 

COL (Retired) Bill Guinn holds Masters of Science Degrees from Iowa State University and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.