Inspiring Passion

Delta Stratagem is made up of a team of professionals who are passionate about their drive to restore America’s business greatness, one company at a time.

Tony Mangione (Founder and Cultural Transformation Agent)

“Most people tell you what to do,” says business catalyst Tony Mangione, “but I want to deal first with why.” His vision is to change foundations and basic structures to create rapid, long-term change that drives companies to sustainable success. As founder of Delta Stratagem, Tony transforms companies that are struggling in traditional ways, helping them thrive through a more contemporary philosophy of business, preparing them for the word of tomorrow. He works with people to ignite a passion toward customer satisfaction, while reaching unparalleled levels of performance.

Starting at General Motors, Tony experienced business from the shop floor hourly ranks to being comptroller for GM’s Rochester component assembly facility; from managing manufacturing, to supplier development, to strategic business planning. “I’ve always felt guided,” he says. From the start, that guiding force led him to ask, “Why do we do that?” A decade later, he was traveling the country, applying his modified version of the Lean techniques to GM’s facilities and those of its suppliers. Traditional financially driven metrics and common practices stifled the unleashing of the full potential of the program, and a change was required. This was when the visionary Delta Stratagem Approach to business transformation took form.

A pioneer in transformational approaches, Tony struck out on his own, helping with turnarounds at smaller companies throughout the country, sometimes running them in the role of General Manager or VP of Operations. He also helped to transform plants within larger companies, such as Philips, N.V. and GE. In 1996, Tony formally introduced the Rochester area to manufacturing-oriented training in the Lean methodology through the Rochester Corporate Training Initiative (RCTI) of the Chamber of Commerce. He initiated similar programs with the Manufacturer’s Association of Central New York (MACNY), and helped develop a Lean Certification program for the Lean Institute at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse. Within a few years the Delta Stratagem Approach to transformational change was applied internationally.

Tony’s extensive education complements his experience. He holds an MBA in Management from Rochester Institute of Technology, an MS in Manufacturing Management and MS in Operations Management from Kettering University. He has also attended programs at the Wharton Business School, The Simon Graduate School of Management, the University of Michigan, Harvard and MIT. His training sessions were provided at the Miami University of Ohio, and the University of Dayton and its Center for Competitive Change turned to him as a valued coach and seminar leader, naming him a Senior Fellow. Tony is also a frequent featured speaker for conferences and professional organizations.

The Delta Stratagem Approach is the missing link that connects individual components of organizations into a cohesive force for success. It connects strategy with operational excellence and an integrated workforce that transcends departmental structures and hierarchical levels. Tony Mangione tears down the financial myths and metrics that drive our businesses to self-destruction. Supported by a team of seasoned practitioners, he leads successful organizational transformations by instilling entrepreneurial spirit, encouraging innovative thinking and energizing employees. “I look at current states and lead people to see what’s missing. The goal isn’t to achieve what’s possible, but what one thinks is impossible.”