Tom Johnstone, President and CEO of SKF has been recognized with the ISSSP (the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals) Six Sigma Premier Leader Award for his work on committing the company to continuous improvement. Tom Johnstone is the first European corpor-ate leader to receive the prestigious award and shares the honour with well-known CEOs such as Jack Welch of GE and Chad Holliday of DuPont.

ISSSP President Roxanne O’Brasky presented the award at a ceremony in Amsterdam during the 6th annual Six Sigma summit. She stated:

“The leadership of Tom Johnstone is central to the success at SKF. The SKF example shows that companies can use Six Sigma to benefit their shareholders and their employees, as well the environment and the communities in which they operate. SKF sets a strong example for Europe and the world.”

Tom Johnstone’s vision is “We need to set a new standard in the market place and Six Sigma contains the pro-cess, the tools and way of working that will help us move to that level.”

About the ISSSP Six Sigma Premier Leader Award

Receiving the ISSSP Leadership Award is an honour bestowed on those business executives who have led the world’s largest, most successful Six Sigma deployments. The award has been given six times in North America.

North American Six Sigma Premier Leader Award recipients:

2001Larry Bossidy, Allied Signal

2002Jack Welch, General Electric

2003Dan Burnham, Raytheon

2004Jim McNerney, 3M

2005Bill Swanson, Raytheon

2006Chad Holliday, DuPont

Six Sigma is a transformation platform across all business segments. Measurable goals are developed from company strategies. The process is renewed regularly. Six Sigma is promoted and recognized as a valuable skill set. Six Sigma leaders are characterized by their committment to caring and honouring the small things. They have received Six Sigma training. They lead with a common language and established metrics.

ISSSP is committed to promoting the adoption, advancement and integration of Six Sigma in business. It is Six Sigma’s only membership association. ISSSP and its members promote Six Sigma advocacy and awareness efforts, professional recognition and development and improved dialogue among Six Sigma companies, professionals and service providers.