Regional Capability Ecosystem
Our Experience
Practitioners Supporting the Regional Capability Ecosystem
The Regional Capability Ecosystem is being launched with the support of a team of practitioners who bring decades of experience in operational excellence, workforce development, industry collaboration, and economic development.
Our role is not to run the ecosystem long-term, but to help catalyze its formation, provide the tools and experience needed to launch it successfully, and support local stakeholders as they build a sustainable, employer-led system.
We believe the most effective workforce systems are industry-led, locally shaped, and built through collaboration.
Our Role
Our team is helping facilitate the early formation of the ecosystem and the employer-led consortium that sits at its center.
This includes helping stakeholders:
• design the structure of the consortium
• align employers, education systems, and workforce partners
• establish the operating layer that coordinates the ecosystem
• support the launch of pilot programs and training initiatives
• create a system that can sustain itself over time
The long-term goal is for the ecosystem to become community-owned and industry-led, with governance and direction coming from participating employers and stakeholders.
Our Approach
This initiative is being developed using a collaborative “build together” approach.
Rather than presenting a finished solution, we are working with employers, schools, workforce partners, and community leaders to shape the ecosystem through early input and feedback.
This approach allows the system to reflect the real needs of businesses, students, and communities, while building shared ownership among stakeholders.
Our role is to bring experience, structure, and facilitation to the process so that the ecosystem can launch successfully and evolve over time.
Meet the Team
Ryan Allen
Program Coordinator | Chief Performance Officer | Total Systems Development
Ryan Allen brings over 20 years of experience helping organizations implement lean systems and operational excellence practices. His work has supported numerous successful transformations across manufacturing and service organizations through hands-on coaching that spans from the shop floor to executive leadership.
Ryan is the architect of CIWerx, a practical approach to lean implementation designed specifically for lower middle-market businesses. His work focuses on helping organizations build internal capability, develop leaders, and sustain continuous improvement cultures that drive long-term performance.
John Allen
Workforce Development Expert | Founder | Total Systems Development
John Allen has over four decades of experience in lean systems implementation and workforce development. He served as Training and Development Manager during the launch of Toyota’s Georgetown plant and has played a key role in developing lean leadership and personnel development systems across multiple industries.
His work has focused on helping organizations integrate operational excellence with workforce capability development, including contributions to the development of the Ford Production System.
Ken Carroll
Economic Development Advisor | President | KY Advanced Manufacturing Professionals
Ken Carroll has played a central role in shaping workforce development initiatives across Kentucky. His work includes helping expand the Bluegrass State Skills Corporation (BSSC) and co-founding the Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (KY FAME), one of the nation’s leading industry-led workforce training models.
Ken has helped launch more than 40 industry-led training consortia and brings deep expertise in bridging policy, education, and industry collaboration to create sustainable workforce systems.
Sam Matsumoto
Consortium Mentor | Director | Consortium for Business Excellence
Sam Matsumoto is the founding director of the Consortium for Business Excellence, where he has led regional initiatives focused on lean implementation, peer learning, and workforce training.
Over the past 25 years, Sam has trained more than 2,000 employees and helped launch over 15 industry partnerships. His work demonstrates how collaborative consortium models can strengthen operational capability while supporting workforce development across multiple regions.
Supporting a Community-Led System
The Regional Capability Ecosystem is designed to be industry-led and community-supported.
Our team’s role is to help launch the system, facilitate early collaboration, and provide the experience needed to build a sustainable foundation.
Over time, the ecosystem will be shaped and guided by the employers, educators, workforce organizations, and community leaders who participate in it.