About Us

Acuity Institute represents the standard for Six Sigma Training and Certification.  Over the past several years Acuity’s Six Sigma Experts have worked with many companies and thousands of individuals to achieve Six Sigma success.  Our mission is to provide cost effective Six Sigma Training and Certification options that are designed with the highest standard of expertise.

Our expertise stems from years of practicing Six Sigma tools and techniques with organizations across a wide variety of industries.  All of our Six Sigma Experts were involved in the front lines of early Six Sigma deployment efforts while employed with global companies like General Electric.  Our team of certified Six Sigma practitioners has a proven track record while serving as Six Sigma Certified Black Belts, Six Sigma Certified Master Black Belts, and Six Sigma Trainers.

Acuity Institute has been approved as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), 1760 Old Meadow Road, Suite 500, McLean, VA 22102.  In obtaining this approval, Acuity Insitute has demonstrated that it complies with the ANSI/IACET Standards which are widely recognized as standards of good practice internationally. As a result of their Authorized Provider membership status, Acuity Institute is authorized to offer IACET CEUs for its programs that qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standards.

Our main office is located in Denver, Colorado, USA. We also have a second office located in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Acuity Institute's Expert Six Sigma Course Instructors    

Brent Drever - Over the course of the past 12 years Brent has partnered with many top organizations to achieve measurable Six Sigma business results through process effectiveness and efficiency, unparalleled customer satisfaction and superior market performance. His ability to leverage his deep expertise, outstanding partnering skills and his bias for results has yielded millions of dollars of benefits to the bottom line for his clients. His primary focus is on the strategic deployment and execution of business performance improvement methodologies with a specific emphasis on the application of Six Sigma.

Brent has national and international business experience with all sizes of companies across a range of industries. His primary client list includes: AIG Insurance, Argus Realty Investors, CyberSteel, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity Investments, Getty Images, Harleysville Insurance, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Services, Level 3 Communications, Ocwen Federal Bank, Point B Solutions Group, Real Office Solutions, and Rhythms NetConnections. Partnering with his clients, Brent has managed and coached numerous complex Six Sigma initiatives in various disciplines, including: finance, information technology, operations, product development, marketing, sales, human resources, and legal.

Leveraging his expertise, Brent routinely develops and delivers a wide variety of Six Sigma tools and techniques. He specializes in strategy planning, business process improvement, project execution, project and executive coaching, voice of customer, and organizational change management. Brent has led the deployment of multiple Six Sigma initiatives and delivered a variety of Six Sigma training programs, including: Black Belt, Green Belt, Executive Champions, Sponsors, Yellow Belt, Awareness and various Design for Six Sigma tools and techniques. He has delivered Six Sigma training to over 2,000 executives, managers, and associates.

Brent is the President and CEO of QPM Solutions, a Six Sigma consulting company. Prior to founding QPM Solutions, Brent held management positions at GE Capital, PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consulting (now IBM Business Consulting Services), and various other businesses. During his tenure at GE Capital, he worked with a number of business units to achieve measurable improved business results through managing and coaching multiple Six Sigma project teams. At PricewaterhouseCoopers, Brent specialized in managing client programs focused on strategic planning, project and executive coaching, Six Sigma performance improvement, organizational change management, and training.

Brent is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Master Black Belt and has a Bachelors of Science degree in Architectural Engineering. Brent is a Board of Directors member for Goodwill Industries of Denver.

Kris Brazeal - Kris has over 11 years of experience in Six Sigma and related Business Performance Improvement methodologies across various industries.  Kris has served in many Six Sigma roles throughout his career which include Process Owner, Coach, Trainer, Project Team Member, Certified Black Belt, and Certified Master Black Belt.  He specializes in process design and management, project management, operations management, process improvement coaching, fact based management design and application, dashboard development, and design and implementation of organizational training modules and quality management techniques.

Kris has vast experience leading and managing complex business improvement projects with Green Belts and Black Belts across the US and Europe.  These projects have increased both customer and business satisfaction and saved millions of dollars in cost to clients.  Kris has designed and led the deployment of enterprise-wide program efforts.  He has developed and delivered Six Sigma training to over 700 associates, Green Belts, Black Belts, and company executives.  He has also coached many Green Belts and Black Belts to Six Sigma certification.  He has worked with respected companies such as Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Services, Fidelity Investments, American International Group (AIG), ConvaTec (a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb), Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and Harleysville Insurance.

Kris is the Director of QPM Solutions, a Six Sigma consulting company. Before joining QPM, Kris spent over 5 years in General Electric’s Six Sigma program.  Kris provided a full array of Six Sigma services in areas of project management, organizational assessment, training, process design, and coaching.  He managed and coached project improvement efforts in sales, finance, customer service, information technology, and general business operations.  In his role as Accounts Payable Manager, Kris managed the successful implementation of a process improvement initiative that increased productivity by 125%.

Debbie McCarthy - Debbie McCarthy is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Change Leadership Expert.  Debbie brings 14 years of Process Improvement , training, coaching, project management and facilitation experience to the Acuity Institute.

Her passion is understanding clients needs, customizing curriculum and coaching clients to achieve results through the right methodology. Debbie has  experience in Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, Lean, Change Leadership, Train the Trainer, and Developing Teams. She  enjoys developing curriculum,  training, coaching and mentoring clients to achieve results.  

Background
Debbie is highly recognized for her skills in facilitation and driving change throughout organizations, abilities that are often commended by her clients .

Debbie got her grounding in process improvement, systems implementations and change when she started her career with Accenture as part of a team that implemented large scale technology improvements.

Debbie became a Black Belt at General Electric, where she was responsible for leading several strategic Six Sigma projects and training initiatives.  In 1995, she was recruited by General Electric’s Financial Assurance division in the U.S.  There she led a large scale transactional projects,  which was recognized with an Outstanding Quality Award for saving over $1 million in net income.  Debbie and her team was selected to present the project to Jack Welch and his leadership team.

As a certified Master Black Belt, Debbie coached more than 20 teams and trained more than 150 Green Belts at GE.  In addition, she became a certified Facilitative Leader and began teaching team facilitation and coaching skills, a critical element in the success of any Six Sigma initiative.

In 2000, Debbie was promoted to Vice President of e-Commerce for GE’s Auto Warranty Services division.  In this role, she championed major strategic Six Sigma projects that reduced cycle time for insurance contracts from 21 days to 45 minutes. 

Debbie Moved back to South Africa from the USA in 2001 and started her own company Training Leadership Consulting through which she continued to work with General Electric training and coaching GE’S Change Acceleration Program (CAP) and Six Sigma to GE Medical Systems and Power Systems. In addition, Debbie has worked with Break Through Management Group for 6 years, as a Master Black Belt helping large organizations in South Africa and internationally implement Change.  Debbie’s passion is Curriculum Development and she has created and facilitated courses in Change Leadership, Train the Trainer, Leading High Performing Teams, and Lean Six Sigma

Debbie is a partner in the Acuity Institute and brings her experience in working with executives, deploying six sigma, and facilitating change to this learning organization.

EDUCATION / CERTIFICATIONS
Debbie holds a B.S. in Business Science with honors in Finance from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

• GE Capital, Medical & Power Systems
• African Bank
• Aunde
• Continental Tyre SA
• Distell
• Medscheme
• Shurlok
• Siemens Power Generation
• Sovereign Health
• SAPPI
• Mittal Steel
• Somta Tools

Acuity Institute... The standard for Six Sigma Training and Certification