Chief Learning & Development Officer · Valuecraft Minds

I turn shop-floor Lean into capability that stays.

Master Black Belt in Lean with 26 years running and transforming apparel factories across Asia for brands like Nike, Victoria's Secret, M&S and H&M. Today I design Lean academies and learning systems so teams keep improving after the consultant leaves.

Download CV ↓ Work with me View LinkedIn ↗
Portrait of Lakshman Ranasinghe
Based inKandy, Sri Lanka
Open to regional roles
26+years in Lean & operations
7countries worked in
100+Lean transformation projects
1,000+people developed
$75M+cost savings across 5 organizations
About

Two careers that became one method.

Most Lean trainers have never run a factory. Most plant heads have never designed a curriculum. I have done both, and the combination is what makes improvement stick.

Factory floor

Operator of change

Factory director, operational excellence director and Lean consultant across 13+ facilities. P&L ownership, lead-time cuts, line balancing and quality systems, delivered on the floor.

Classroom

Builder of people

Designed MAS Holdings' Lean Practitioners Program and belt curriculum. Trained team leaders, group leaders and Built-In Quality champions with Lean Enterprise Institute and ex-Toyota mentors.

What organizations get

Capability that sustains

Lean academies, competency frameworks and on-site learning pathways matched to real authority and real work. The goal is internal capability, not consultant dependency.

Kaizen ledger

Before and after, measured.

A selection of results from the factories I have led or transformed.

$25M+

Lean Practitioners Program · MAS Holdings

Kaizen savings from 200+ shop-floor process owners I trained as Lean practitioners. The program was later adopted into MAS's corporate-wide belt curriculum.

Manufacturing lead time

Active Apparel · China
Before95 days
After65 days

Dock-to-dock lead time

Jim Thompson · Thailand
Before7–8 wks
After4–5 wks

Style changeover (QCO)

Hop Lun · Group
Before7–8 days
After3–4 days

Right First Time

Active Apparel · China
Before95%
After98%

Factory efficiency

Line balancing & material flow
Before50%
After65%

Sample development time

Q Collection · Bangladesh
Before20 days
After15 days
Career value stream

26 years, mapped like a value stream.

Each box is a process step in my career, with its data box alongside. The most recent step is at the top.

2025to now
Valuecraft Minds · Sri Lanka

Chief Learning & Development Officer

Lead group L&D strategy, Lean academies and operational excellence programs for corporate clients.

  • Reports toCEO
  • Team16+
  • FocusLean capability
2024to 2025
Jim Thompson · Thailand

Acting Factory Director

Weaving, dyeing and finishing operation. Value stream redesign and SAP enhancements.

  • Workforce470
  • Monthly P&L14M THB
  • Savings2–3M THB/mo
2022to 2024
Active Apparel Group · Ningbo, China

Director, Operational Excellence

Created the Vertical Production System, cut to pack under one roof, for performance and lifestyle brands.

  • Team120 mgmt staff
  • Reports toCEO
  • Savings1–2M RMB/mo
2021to 2022
Q Collection · Bangladesh

Head of Business Transformation

Transformation strategy for M&S, H&M, Target and Next. Launched a digital product development centre.

  • FTT80% → 90%
  • Changeover15 → 7 days
  • Reports toCEO
2016to 2021
Hop Lun · China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Indonesia

Head of Lean System & Industrial Engineering

Transformation across 13 facilities. Set up the first double-shift intimate apparel plant in Bangladesh.

  • Facilities13
  • Lead time45 → 25 days
  • Capacity (ID)+50%
2000to 2016
MAS Holdings · Sri Lanka & Maldives

Operations Manager to DGM, Lean Enterprise

Built the Lean Practitioners Program. Completed an 18-month Master Black Belt project under ex-Toyota consultants.

  • BrandsNike, VS, M&S, Gap
  • Sites5 in 4 countries
  • Kaizen savings$25M+
● current step┆ career lead time: 26 yearsData boxes show team, reporting line and headline results
Programs · Valuecraft Talents

Lean training matched to real authority.

Generic belt training teaches everyone the same thing. These three tiers match what each person can actually change, and about half the time is spent on-site at the gemba.

Tier 1 · LSP

Lean Stewards Program

For operators and team members. Standard work, 5S and problem-solving at their own station.

Scope: own station
Tier 2 · LPP

Lean Practitioner Program

For process owners and supervisors. Value stream thinking and kaizen across an end-to-end process.

Scope: end-to-end process
Tier 3 · LLP

Lean Leadership Program

For managers and executives. Lean strategy, governance and building a lasting improvement culture.

Scope: enterprise-wide
Typical classroom trainingSlides and theory, then back to work with little change on the floor.
On-site at the gembaAbout 50% practical work on your own processes, in manufacturing, banking, healthcare or hospitality.
Credentials

Trained where Lean was born.

Master Black Belt in LeanMAS Lean Academy & TSD USA, 2013
Certified Lean Six Sigma Black BeltThe Lean Six Sigma Company, USA, 2021
MBACardiff Metropolitan University, UK
Toyota Production SystemAOTS, Nagoya, Japan, 2010
Leadership DevelopmentXLRI Jamshedpur, India
Continuous FlowLean Enterprise Institute, 2015–16
Brands servedNikeAdidasVictoria's SecretM&SH&MTargetGapNext
On LinkedIn

Lean Tips from Laki

A weekly series on the hidden side of well-known Lean tools: where they came from, the problem they were built to solve, and what most practitioners miss.

Follow the series ↗
  • KAIZENThe real origin, and the problem it was created to solve.
  • GEMBAWhy the floor teaches what the classroom can't.
  • 5SWhat the fifth S says about your leadership.
Contact

Let's build capability that stays.

Open to Group Operational Excellence, Lean Academy and Head of L&D roles in manufacturing across South and Southeast Asia and Africa, and to on-site Lean programs through Valuecraft.

Emaillakshmanr.kandy@gmail.com
Phone / WhatsApp+94 773 088248
LinkedInlakshman-ranasinghe ↗valuecraftminds.com ↗