The Competitiveness Improvement Company’s Professional Staff List

John Martin, President

John Martin is President of The Competitiveness Improvement Co., which specializes in a full range of customized management and professional development services. A skilled group facilitator and experienced speaker, John has designed and delivered corporate training and consulting services in subjects such as Sales and Marketing and Customer Service.  He has presented seminars at over 16 colleges and universities in the US, including Boston University’s Corporate Education program in the areas of Dynamic Strategic Thinking, Continuous Quality Improvement for Project Management and Service Quality for Market Driven Organizations.

Richard Engelman, Senior Associate

Richard Engelman has a solid background in industrial engineering and management, with over 30 years experience in manufacturing organizations. As a professional leader with the ability to mold and motivate a strong management team, Dick provides comprehensive training in Strategic Workforce Development. He has worked with many companies in implementing strategic training initiatives and successfully guided companies through the training process.  Dick’s operations and industrial engineering experience is invaluable in addressing challenges such as efficiency, cost reduction, documentation, quality and effective training programs.

Dick has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from (RPI) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Business Administration from Penn State, has graduated from the Harvard Business School of Management – Development Program and is a registered Professional Engineer.

William Driscoll, Associate

William Driscoll has over thirty years of operations management experience in the high-tech and metal fabrication industries, including manufacturing and operations positions at the Foxboro Company and General Electric.  He has served as a small-business consultant and member of the adjunct faculty of Northeastern University, Stonehill College, and Boston College, where he currently teaches. As an effective leader and trainer throughout his career, Bill has developed an expertise in such areas as Supervisory Development, Continuous Process Improvement, Customer Service, Supply-Chain Management and Lean Manufacturing.

Bill received his Bachelor of Science in Business and his MBA from Northeastern University.  He also holds certificates from the Manufacturing Management Program at General Electric and the Exceptional Management Practices Program at the Foxboro Company.

Lawrence Overlan, Associate

Lawrence Overlan graduated from The University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in history and later received a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from his Alma Mater. He has been teaching Operations Management at Stonehill College for the past ten years. He has taught courses in all areas of business, including accounting, statistics, international business and marketing.

Prior to teaching, Larry worked as an engineer at Textron Corporation in Wilmington, MA and as a spacecraft analyst at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. In both positions, he worked in program operations, including real-time satellite operations. He has also worked as Case Manager at Babson College’s Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship; and written cases and teaching notes for Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and the University of Massachusetts' Donahue Institute.

Susan Bosco, Ph.D., Associate

Susan Bosco has had extensive experience in the banking industry as well as in management education.  She is capable of bridging theory and practice due to the combination of skills developed throughout her careers.  For the past 17 years Susan has taught at several colleges and universities, including Bryant College, Providence College, and Roger Williams University, where she is currently an associate professor of management.  Topics have included Business Enterprise, Organizational Behavior, and Managing Workplace Diversity. She has published several articles and presented at national and regional conferences as well.

Susan has a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University, a Masters in Business Administration from Bryant University, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island.

James Burke,Associate

James Burke has over 35 years of experience in facilitating and leading teams in operations management and has provided many individuals with skills development in the area of continuous improvement, leadership, business process documentation and strategic thinking.  He has successfully lead major projects, applying tools such as process mapping, project management and performance improvement.  Jim is an effective leader and trainer who shares his background and expertise gained from working with companies like Raytheon where he worked for over 22 years.

Jim has Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and is a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College.  Jim also taught courses at Bristol Community College.