Hammonds, Deputy County Executive and Six Sigma Expert, Rejoins UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Alfred Hammonds Jr., deputy county executive for Erie County and formerly the county's director of Six Sigma, is returning to the University at Buffalo after helping the county become the nation's first large, metropolitan county to implement the quality-improvement program.

Hammonds will serve as assistant director of outreach at UB's The Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE), focusing on business development and economic outreach by promoting business process excellence, engineering solutions and the university as a critical community resource, according to TCIE Executive Director Tim Leyh.

He also will play a key role in UB's new Office of Economic Engagement, working with Vice President of External Affairs Marsha Henderson to facilitate access to UB's programs, services and faculty expertise, with the goal of significantly improving economic vitality in the region and the state.

"We are delighted to welcome Al back to UB," said Harvey G. Stenger Jr., dean of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "His experience and insight from working with Erie County will be invaluable and will further enhance the university's economic development efforts."

Hammonds served as senior project director at TCIE for eight years before County Executive Chris Collins recruited him, in early 2008, to direct the county's new Lean Six Sigma program. The program revolves around a problem-solving methodology that helps businesses grow through greater efficiency. He was later promoted to county deputy executive in September 2008.

He was selected for the Six Sigma position with the county as a result of his work at UB with local companies; his return to UB reflects the Collins administration's philosophy of hiring key people from the public and private sectors in order to lay the foundation for critical programs.

Prior to working for the county and UB, Hammonds held engineering and supervisory roles at General Motors and Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems, where he led continuous improvement programs.

Hammonds earned an industrial management degree from Purdue University. He earned his Six Sigma Black Belt from TCIE, which trained him to identify and reduce process variation, waste, quality problems, needless complexities, delays and other performance inhibitors.

He resides in East Amherst with his wife and three children.

TCIE provides a dynamic link between UB's expert resources and the region's business community. A program of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, TCIE fosters partnerships and manages projects as diverse as the region's businesses, and is a premier provider of Lean Six Sigma training and mentoring. For more information on how TCIE can assist Western New York businesses, go to http://www.tcie.buffalo.edu.

The UB Office of Economic Engagement was created in the fall of 2009 to help facilitate the economic impact of UB 2020 and serve as UB's gateway to the business community.