About

I've spent twenty years inside the rooms where manufacturers decide what to make next. I trained as a mechanical engineer at Michigan State University (M.S., B.S.) and spent fourteen years in corporate and business R&D at Dow Chemical, developing and launching new products across industrial markets.

Along the way I earned seventeen granted utility patents. The patents were never the goal. They came out of work that kept turning into something worth protecting. I'm also a Six Sigma Black Belt, which mostly means I've spent a great deal of time asking whether a decision is backed by data or hope.

I left corporate R&D to become CTO of a venture-backed materials science startup spun out of Kimberly-Clark. The safety net of a corporate R&D department was gone. No established processes, no built-in team, and investors watching the runway. I built the engineering and manufacturing function from a few people and stayed engaged on both the technical and commercial sides of the business — because in a startup, those two things cannot run separately.

I've led teams inside organizations for twelve years, and I've learned that the best product ideas live or die on how the team is led.

I also write for AllThingsInnovation.com on how manufacturers turn customer insight into products that pay off.

Schulz THINK exists for manufacturers who want products that solve real problems, lead their market, and earn their margin.

Based in Appleton, Wisconsin. Working with manufacturers wherever the work needs to get done.