Co-Development Red Flags—
And What to Do About Them:
A Special "Ask the Practitioner Experts" Session

ABOUT THE EXPERTS

Naser M. Chowdhury
Global Product Manager
Air Products & Chemicals

Naser M. Chowdhury P.E. is the Global Product Manager for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., located at the company headquarters in Allentown, PA.  With 20 years of experience in product development and Offering Lifecycle Management,  Mr. Chowdhury is responsible for the competitiveness of a diverse slate of products.  Key areas of interest and involvement include third party outsourcing, product development JV & partner alliance.  Chowdhury has a BS in Chemical engineering and is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania. 

Curt Raschke
Sr. Member, Technical Staff
Texas Instruments

Curt Raschke, Ph.D, has twice been the Chair of the New Product Development SIG, served on the NPD SIG board for five years and on the board of the Assembly of SIG Chairs, at the PMI national level. He is a Senior Member, Technical Staff with Texas Instruments and has over twenty years experience in managing new electronic product development projects with co-development partners. He has managed co-development projects, in both the customer and supplier role, in the areas of wireless signal processing, digital printing, electronic countermeasures, terrain following radar, and secure communication. Curt is currently assigned to the Design Quality organization, adapting proven project management techniques and emerging knowledge management techniques to improve the quality and reliability of deep sub-micron integrated circuits. In his previous assignment, he was a charter member of the TI R&D Effectiveness group and helped establish a Project Management Center of Excellence within the mixed signal product business units of TI.

Ralph G. Schmitt
President
Kysor/Warren

Ralph Schmitt is the President of Kysor//Warren.  Kysor//Warren has been providing refrigeration solutions to the supermarket industry for more than 100 years as a leading manufacturer of frozen, medium-temperature and heated display cases, mechanical refrigeration systems, and remote mechanical and electrical houses. Previously, Ralph was with York International, where he had been VP & General Manager for Chiller Products. Prior to that, when he was VP of Engineering for Chillers, Ralph led the introduction of a modern, global product development process and the design of global, modular product platforms. Ralph was with York for nine years and has 30+ years of experience in manufacturing, leading organizations through start-ups, turnarounds, and sustained growth. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving a BS and MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and he received an MS in Engineering from the University of California at Irvine.

Jan Wells
Director, Program Management
GMP Companies

Jan Wells is Director of Program Management for GMP Companies, Inc., a healthcare company that acquires, develops and commercializes novel pharmaceutical, diagnostic and medical device technologies.  Ms. Wells has over 25 years of experience managing product development projects in the medical industry, including over twelve years with Baxter Healthcare and spin-off Allegiance Healthcare a subsidiary of Cardinal Medical.  Throughout her career she has been instrumental in the development and launch of several products and product lines from both global market development and program management positions.  In her current role Ms. Wells is responsible for oversight of all project and program management activities to drive the corporate product development portfolio from concept to market launch through establishment of strategic development, manufacturing and sales partnerships.

Ms. Wells holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management.  She earned Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI), the field's leading professional association.  She has been an active volunteer in PMI serving in appointed and elected positions at the Chapter, Specific Interest Group (SIG) and International levels.  She is currently serving as Vice Chair Communications for the New Product Development SIG.