About BizEx Consulting

Stephen O'Brien

BizEx Consulting was established in January 2026 by Stephen O'Brien, following almost 30 years' experience across manufacturing industries in senior engineering, operations, and leadership roles.

From Barefield, Ennis, Co. Clare, Stephen graduated from the University of Limerick in 1996 with a First-Class Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering, receiving the Fredrick Barnes Waldron Prize for graduating top in the School of Engineering.

After graduation, Stephen worked in Japan as a Design Engineer in the automotive industry, gaining first-hand experience of Japanese manufacturing culture, Lean thinking, and the Toyota Production System.

He returned to Ireland in 1998 and joined Honeywell Aerospace in Waterford, manufacturing aircraft engine components. Over the next 22 years, Stephen progressed through engineering and operations roles, becoming Plant Manager / Site Leader in 2011 at just 36 years of age, a role he held for 7 years until becoming EMEA Regional Director for Manufacturing Engineering, NPI, and Capital Expenditure. During his time with Honeywell, he achieved Lean, Six Sigma, and leadership certifications, and led the Waterford site to become the first European Honeywell site to achieve OPEX Silver certification in 2015.

In 2020, Stephen joined Sulzer Pumps Solutions in Wexford, progressing from Operations Manager to Plant Manager, and later Head of Manufacturing Strategy & Engineering. Business Excellence and Operational Excellence were key enablers through the 6 years in Sulzer, delivering significant end-to-end supply chain performance improvements.

As a practical operations leader, Stephen has experienced first-hand the impact a realistic, well-deployed Business Excellence system can have on Performance, People, and Culture. He founded BizEx Consulting to bring this same level of structured excellence support to SMEs, helping them achieve sustainable improvement in a practical and effective way.