Tom Root is the Co-Founder of Maker Works Ann Arbor and Managing Partner at Zingerman’s Mail Order, where he serves as Zingerman’s Lean Guru, championing the power of continuous improvement across teams and industries by making Lean thinking engaging, accessible, and impactful. Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Tom developed a passion for entrepreneurship early on and went on to graduate from Miami University. He became a certified business counselor for the state of Michigan, advising startups—particularly in tech—on business plans and capital acquisition, before bringing his expertise in open book finance and Lean philosophy to Zingerman’s, where he has led process improvement efforts for over a decade.