AME Milwaukee 2026 International Conference
Keynote Speakers
Karen Martin
Karen Martin is the president and founder of TKMG and TKMG Academy, which provide advisory services and eLearning to help organizations improve performance through practical applications of lean management systems.
Over the past two decades, she and her team have worked with organizations around the world in nearly every sector to build stronger operating systems, develop high-performing cultures and solve complex business problems — ranging from everyday inefficiencies to mission-critical challenges.
Martin brings a unique blend of operational expertise and deep knowledge of adult learning, grounded in a master’s degree in education. Her work is anchored in a clear belief: organizations improve when people build the right capabilities.
She’s the author of multiple influential books, including the Shingo Award–winning, "The Outstanding Organization," "Value Stream Mapping," "Clarity First," a Porchlight Business Book of the Year finalist, and several other practical guides to business improvement.
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What does respect for people REALLY mean?
This keynote challenges conventional thinking and offers a more complete — and more demanding — definition of respect. It reframes respect not as an intention or value, but as something made visible through leadership behaviors, management practices and work system design.
You’ll learn what real respect demands in practice — and how to make the critical shift from simply engaging people in improvement to intentionally creating the conditions for people to develop their capabilities and enable agency. When you achieve this, respect becomes a powerful driver of business performance, not just a principle.
Heléne Smuts
Heléne Smuts is the founding partner of Credo Growth, a group of global people growth experts specializing in leadership and team and culture developments. With over 15 years of experience, she has worked with organizations across six continents, blending behavioral psychology, advanced coaching techniques and industrial psychology to develop high-performing teams and transformative leaders.
Smuts is the author of "Ditch Mediocrity," a book that empowers leaders to enhance team performance. She is a TEDx speaker known for her thought-provoking talk on self-motivation and has spoken at esteemed events such as the Standard Bank Top Women Conference, Digital Divas Summit, the WiN Festival and Entrepreneurs Organization Global Chapters, where she shares her expertise on leadership, motivation and team dynamics.
A two-time Chairperson Awards winner for Growth Consultancy Business Leader of the Year, Smuts is also a podcast guest, media contributor and member of Entrepreneurs Organization, where she has played a pivotal role in mentoring start-ups and fostering entrepreneurial growth.
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Building resilient teams: The key to high performance
You'll learn:
• Practical tools to implement in each level of the 5 Dysfunction model by Patrick Lencioni
• In depth understanding of how to create an engaged and productive working environment
• Reflection on the type of environment you as a leader have created for your team
sTeve Spear
Steve Spear is a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, principal of HVE LLC, and a senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He is the author of the influential works "Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System," "The High Velocity Edge," and, most recently, "Wiring the Winning Organization." A recognized thought leader in continuous improvement and enterprise excellence, Spear has advised leaders across industry and government, including a U.S. treasury secretary, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs undersecretary for health, a chief of naval operations, a chief of naval research, two U.S. Pacific Fleet commanders, the director of the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force and numerous corporate executives.
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Wiring the winning organization: How the world’s best architect process and products liberate our greatness
They’re winning by rewiring their “social circuitry,” the processes and routines that harmonize individual effort into collective action toward common goals. The point? Make it easier to focus ingenuity on problems for which solutions have value, rather than blowing energy just figuring out what to do and how to get it done. The results are awesome.
Dr. Spear — MIT senior lecturer, author of landmark studies about Toyota’s DNA and founder of the process software firm See to Solve — explains how the best win by making problems easier to see and solve. Drawing on his experience with pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, U.S. Army and Navy commands, technology leaders, and social service organizations such as the Pittsburgh Women’s Center and Shelter, he connects foundational lessons from Toyota to emerging challenges across today’s frontier sectors. Attendees will leave with insight about how they can rewire their organizations to liberate ingenuity and win big, too.
