Michael Cory is a principal consulting engineer with VPMEP's partner in the Tidewater area, the Virginia Applied Technology & Professional Development Center (VATPDC) of Old Dominion University. Michael came to VATPDC with over 25 years of business/manufacturing experience. He held management positions in the disciplines of manufacturing engineering, facilities and environmental engineering, quality assurance, design engineering, marketing, materials, production/inventory control, and operations. Additionally, he is a Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt and a certified NIST Lean Instructor. He has been dedicated to the practical implementation of the Lean/Six Sigma ideology for the past 20+ years. This real-world experience allows him to apply his knowledge and consulting expertise to the following areas: Lean/Six Sigma techniques, organizational assessment, business cycle reengineering, design for manufacturing, product introduction and design development processes, kaizen/continuous improvement, and teaming environment.

Prior to joining VATPDC, Michael worked for companies such as Dana Corp., Rockwell International, Giddings and Lewis, and J.I. Case. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Quality from Marian College, Fond du Lac WI.