Kim H. Pries has four college degrees: B.A. History from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), B.S. Metallurgical Engineering from UTEP, M.S. Metallurgical Engineering from UTEP, and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from Carnegie-Mellon University. In addition to the degrees, he has the following certifications:

• APICS
• Certified Production and Inventory Manager (CPIM)
• American Society for Quality (ASQ)
• Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE)
• Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
• Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE)
• Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB)
• Certified Manager of Quality/Operational Excellence (CMQ/OE)
• Certified Quality Auditor (CQA)

Mr. Pries worked as a computer systems manager (IT), a software engineer for an electrical utility, a scientific programmer on defense contract and for Stoneridge, Incorporated (SRI), he has worked as:

• Software manager
• Engineering services manager
• Reliability section manager

Mr. Pries has provided Six Sigma training for both UTEP and SRI, cost reduction initiatives for SRI. Mr. Pries is also a founding faculty member of Practical Project Management. Additionally, in concert with Mr. Quigley, Mr. Pries is the co-founder and principal with Value Transformation, LLC, a training, testing, cost improvement, and product development consultancy. Mr. Pries also holds Texas teacher certification in mathematics, technological education, technological applications, and special education. Email Mr. Pries at kim.pries@ valuetransform.com. Mr. Pries's first book was Six Sigma for the Next Millennium: A CSSBB Guidebook ISBN-13: 978-0873896566, now in a second edition as Six Sigma for the New Millennium: A CSSBB Guidebook, Second Edition (