Rob Kenny

Senior Director Operational Excellence Moderna

Rob is an expert at leveraging OE/CI methods and tools to achieve sustainable business results with twenty years of hands-on experience working with global Life Sciences and Biotech organizations to define operating strategies, mobilize commitment and drive innovative improvements. His experience includes leading major operational transformation programs for Fortune-500 companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and Johnson & Johnson across Pre-Clinical, Clinical, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Medical Affairs and Commercial operations. Rob joined Moderna in 2019 to lead their Operational Excellence when Moderna was a pre-commercial company with about 500 employees. Since joining, he has built a core team of Black Belts and expert OE Practitioners, as well as, established a Lean Six Sigma training program which has certified +500 OE practitioners. Collectively, the OE team has coached and led +100 improvement projects at Moderna ranging from quick-win improvements to major transformation programs including: PV Optimization; and QC Transformation. In addition to his OE/CI remit, Rob led the Commercial Launch 'Day-1 Readiness Control Room' during 2020 -- successfully coordinating the US launch of Moderna's first commercial product (MRNA-1273 / SpikeVax). Rob’s passion is collaborating with high energy teams to deliver innovative solutions by applying Six Sigma, LEAN and other proven problem-solving methods – including IDEO's Innovation Process, Human-Centered Design and Service Design Thinking. Rob holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He is an alumnus of GE’s Manufacturing Management Program (MMP), Aerospace Audit Staff, and Six Sigma programs.