John Mills spent 20 years with Shell International and Philips Electronics, initially in consultancy roles and then in factory, development and business management, especially in electronics and mobile communications industries. He joined Cambridge University in 1992 and is based at the Institute for Manufacturing in Cambridge.

Andy Neely is Director of the Centre for Business Performance at Cranfield School of Management and Professor of Operations Strategy and Performance. He has consulted to and worked with numerous organisations including 3M, Andersen Consulting, Aventis, British Aerospace, British Airways, British Telecom, DHL, Diageo, KPMG, NatWest Bank, Pilkington, Reckitt and Colman, and Rolls Royce Aerospace.

Dr Ken Platts spent the first part of his career working in manufacturing engineering and manufacturing management with companies making shoe machinery, ac generators, bicycles and cranes. Following an 18 month Fellowship in Manufacturing Management at Cranfield University, he went on to head the Computer Aided Manufacturing Group at TI Research labs before joining the University of Cambridge where he has just completed a three year term as the Director of the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos BA and MEng programmes.

Huw Richards worked in a variety of roles before studying mechanical and production engineering. After more than 10 years as a freelance consultant in training and communications, he joined a research project at the University of Cambridge in 1992 to develop processes to help manufacturing companies formulate strategy and design appropriate performance measurement systems. He is currently based at the Institute for Manufacturing in Cambridge.