Russ Farquhar

About Russ Farquhar

I am a Manufacturing Operations Leader with 20+ years at DuPont and Chemours improving operational performance through Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, and disciplined execution. My experience spans operations, maintenance, reliability, and manufacturing technology, which gives me both the hands-on understanding needed to run the work and the CI capability to make it run better.Much of my work has involved applying CI inside operations to solve real performance problems and move results in a meaningful way. I’ve used CI both as a practitioner and as an operations leader, applying structured problem-solving and data to drive gains in safety, quality, delivery, inventory, and productivity. The work is hands-on: diagnosing, prioritizing improvement opportunities, and executing roadmaps that move performance forward.Now completing an Executive MBA, I am expanding how I connect operational execution to business strategy and long-term value creation. If you are strengthening operational discipline, scaling performance improvement, or building systems that help teams succeed consistently, I’d welcome the conversation.

Experience

1. Manufacturing Technology Leader & Six Sigma Black Belt

   DuPont

   Nov 2024 — Present · Buffalo, NY, US

   I lead the site’s Business Technology Implementation Plan (BTIP), technology improvement initiatives, and execution of a 100-project portfolio that advances safety, reliability, capability, and productivity across the plant. I also support Operational Excellence and CI strategy deployment to ensure improvement work is aligned, prioritized, and executed with discipline.• Lead the BTIP portfolio of 100+ active capital, PSM, and improvement projects, aligned with business strategy and supported by a $10.4MM annual budget• Lead a $2.1MM OEE/FPFQ improvement program; initiated Value Accelerator to diagnose constraints and now driving delivery through accelerated PMO cadence• Deployed a single integrated project execution system, aligning improvement work through a Kaizen Funnel–based prioritization platform for visibility and accountability• Achieved 18% scrap reduction in color reject losses, delivering $250K in annual benefit• Reestablished the Six Sigma Green Belt program, launching two cohorts and driving $1.5MM annual impact with quarterly leadership project reviews• Coach and mentor 15 active Green Belts to develop capability and strengthen CI maturity across the organization

Education

• Ohio University

  Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Chemical Engineering

  2001 — 2006

• University of Rochester - Simon Business School

  Executive MBA (Expected Graduation: May 2026)

Skills

• Process Engineering
• Operations Management
• Green Belt
• Process Simulation
• Lean Manufacturing
• Six Sigma
• Manufacturing
• Engineering
• Process Safety
• Chemical Engineering
• Lean Tools
• Process Optimization
• Manufacturing Operations Management
• Root Cause Analysis
• Black Belt
• Continuous Improvement
• Chemical Process Engineering
• Process Improvement