David Jones

David M. Jones is an engineer and business owner turned educator. His speaking, writing, and teaching have helped countless individuals and organizations achieve peak operating performance, which he calls PeakOps.

He is also widely known for his 17-mile overnight trek on foot through the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024 to get to his daughter’s wedding on time to walk her down the aisle.

David has over 40 years of experience in the manufacturing, education, retail, and health care sectors. He has worked for and with many of the world’s most successful organizations including Texas Instruments, Siemens, the Savannah Bananas, and Baldrige winners like Pal’s Sudden Service, K&N Management, Bristol Tennessee Essential Services, and Caterpillar Financial, as well as James Beard Award winner Wade’s Restaurant.

He has taught as an adjunct professor at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels in engineering and business schools at East Tennessee State University and Milligan University. As a business partner and solopreneur, he also knows what it’s like to found and run his own businesses.

David has been a member of ASQ since the early 1980’s and an instructor for ASQ for over 10 years. His performance excellence background was and continues to be forged from a deep commitment to and involvement with the Baldrige National Quality Award Program (13 years) and the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (30+ years). He also has over a decade of first-hand experience with ISO 9001 and some of its derivatives (i.e., ISO 13485 and AS 9100).

He is the recipient of the 2020 McWherter Leadership Award from the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE).

David is a frequent speaker on organizational excellence at national and international conferences.