Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
KEY CAREER RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Affiliations
Certification
Timeline
Generic
GEORGE KALFAYAN

GEORGE KALFAYAN

Roanoke,USA

Summary

Accomplished EHS executive with 35 plus years of experience in global operations, particularly as part of a corporate staff or in a leadership role in global supply chain organizations with expertise in EHS compliance, facility management, risk management, acquisition due diligence, real estate transactions, and environmental sustainability. Desire to be in a strategic leadership position in a corporate environment.

Overview

40
40
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Global EHS Director

CYTIVA, part of Danaher (former GE Life Sciences)
09.2019 - 12.2025
  • Accountable for EHS performance for ~40 manufacturing facilities worldwide covering nearly ~15,000 employees including ~125 EHS professionals. Extensive business travel to multiple Europe countries.
  • Be an effective Business Partner to direct multiple business units & large manufacturing facilities for their strategic implementation of Danaher Corporate and Cytiva’s EHS goals, initiatives, policies & programs to better manage compliance, injury prevention, high risk operations, and human organization performance (HOP).
  • Develop & drive execution of site specific EHS goals and action plans.
  • Measure, track & report on KPI metrics with trend analysis & response actions to executive leadership staff
  • Lead Cytiva’s enterprise wide ISO 14001 program for ~25 certified sites worldwide.
  • Oversee the hiring and professional development of new EHS staff
  • Responsible for Cytiva’s assurance to FM Global (Insurance program Fire, Flood & other Facility claims)
  • Directed Global Occupational Health & Industrial Hygiene programs to assure Wellbeing programs for associates.
  • Apply Danaher’s DBS Continuous Improvement “Lean” tools (Kaizens) & concepts for Problem Solving.
  • HQ: Marlborough, MA; Work Remotely from Texas Home office

Global EHS Director

WABTEC, (formerly GE Transportation)
03.2018 - 08.2019
  • Primarily responsible for the global EHS divestiture project from GE to WABTEC; assimilate our business to the new Wabtec culture and corporate EHS programs & tools.
  • Accountable for EHS performance for ~20 major size manufacturing facilities worldwide covering nearly ~10,000 employees including ~75 EHS professionals worldwide.
  • Directed site Plant Managers & EHS staff multiple business units for their strategic implementation of Wabtec’s EHS goals, initiatives, policies & programs to better manage compliance, injury prevention, & high risk operations.
  • Led our business for OSHA VPP and ISO 14001 programs for certify our sites worldwide by further implementing a continuous improvement based Framework for an EHS Management system.
  • Develop & drive Corporate & company EHS goals & site specific action plans.
  • Measure, track & report on company’s EHS KPI metrics, along with trend analysis; lesson learned shared across the business to prevent recurrence of negative events.
  • Fort Worth, Texas

Americas EHS Director

GE HEALTHCARE
10.2014 - 01.2018
  • Accountable for EHS performance for ~70 manufacturing facilities in the Americas regions covering nearly 15,000 employees including 65 EHS professionals worldwide.
  • Direct the Americas region for their strategic implementation of GE's EHS policies & Programs to better manage compliance, injury prevention, high risk operations, and human organization performance (HOP)
  • Lead GEHC's OSHA VPP program for ~45 certified sites located in the US, Mexico & Brazil
  • Develop & drive EHS goals and present metric status reports with trend analysis to executive staff
  • Oversee the hiring of new EHS staff and professional development
  • Achieved year over year employee injury rate reductions making a safer worker environment.
  • Waukesha, WI

Global EHS Manager - Compliance, Risk and Transactions

GE HEALTHCARE
05.2007 - 10.2014
  • Responsible for all EHS due diligence work globally for acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures & real estate transactions (eg. property purchases/sales and lease entry/exits/renewals), averaged ~400 projects per year.
  • Led EHS integrations for implementing GE's EHS programs for acquired businesses; on average, managed ~10 integration projects globally per year with an annual budget ranging between $3-4M.
  • Global lead for Process Safety Management including our Europe Seveso registered sites and Business EHS Manager for Global Supply Chain, covering Crisis Management for ~200 manufacturing sites.
  • Managed Global EHS Compliance Assurance program which covered ~50 site EHS audits per year, with global team of ~150 EHS Auditors, also interfaced with government agencies.
  • Waukesha, WI

Global Supply Chain EHS Director

DELL, INC.
06.2005 - 05.2007
  • Responsible for EHS & Crisis Management leadership globally for Dell's Manufacturing & Fulfillment facilities
  • Directed and drove EHS goals, strategies, policies and programs to support Dell's Global Supply Chain
  • Managed Global staff of 25 EHS professionals and 30 medical staff as well as onsite medical clinics
  • Led the development & implementation for Dell's EHS policies & programs, particularly on EHS regulatory compliance, high hazard programs (eg. LOTO, Machine Guarding, Fall Protection), Injury Prevention, Ergonomics, ISO 14001 certifications, EHS Training, and Behavior-Based Safety
  • Successfully led Dell's OSHA VPP certification for sites in Austin-Texas, Nashville-Tennessee and Ireland
  • Spearheaded Global EHS Managers' Council who provided EHS updates to Dell executive staff through weekly global EHS reports and presented results at monthly and quarterly Ops Review meetings
  • Managed $5M department budget for staff salaries, consultants, audits, training, digital tools, technical supplies & other administrative expenses;
  • Improved the professional development of the Global EHS and medical team members
  • Winston-Salem, NC and, Austin, TX

Global Health, Safety and VPP Manager

GE HEALTHCARE
10.2001 - 06.2005
  • Responsible for >200 manufacturing facilities and 25 regional service groups for a business of ~42,500 employees. This oversight included leadership on all Health & Safety programs & initiatives across GEHC by coordinating and providing coaching to executive leaders, plant managers and site EHS Leaders.
  • Ensured site conformance to GE's corporate EHS policies & programs as well with local regulatory standards
  • Mentored site EHS leaders by sharing best practices and to drive the strategic direction & implementation of GEHC's EHS programs including 6 Sigma tools and GE's EHS database system (Gensuites) for metric reports
  • Monitored Gensuites to develop trend data analysis reports to review sites' EHS performance towards their annual goals; took appropriate actions to ensure success
  • Reduced global injury rates by ~35% to 0.91 on OSHA Recordables and ~38% down to 0.28 for Lost time
  • Achieved certification for ~16 new OSHA VPP STAR and GE Global STAR H&S Excellence sites, including for Brazil and Mexico Field Service organizations
  • Created an EHS Bootcamp training toolkit for site EHS Leaders to train their management team
  • Supported EHS integration for GEHC's largest acquisition covering >200 facilities & 15K employees
  • Represented GEHC on 7 Corporate EHS Task Forces and assigned to GEHC's Global Crisis Management team to lead Serious EHS Incident investigations including Fatalities, OSHA Compliance and other Crisis events
  • Waukesha, WI

Regional EHS Manager

MOTOROLA, INC.
08.1994 - 09.2001
  • Managed an US regional staff of 22 EHS professionals plus medical clinics with Occupational Health staff for 3 large manufacturing facilities with >10,000 employees; also supported other remote smaller sites; this role involved EHS program management plus department budgetary & administrative duties.
  • Implemented Corporate EHS programs at site level to meet company goal and objectives
  • Reduced OSHA Recordable Injury Rate to 4.88 by 34% for assigned manufacturing sites
  • Led ISO 14001 Certification for assigned manufacturing sites and achieved Illinois EPA's "Partners for Clean Air Award" for assigned Manufacturing Facilities in Chicago area
  • Developed Crisis Management plans & procedures for site CM teams on handling serious incidents, also conducted CM drills, monitored performance through scorecards & audits then reported status to executive staff
  • Led Corporate VPP Committee and mentored all new sites for OSHA VPP Certifications; Corporate CEO EHS Award Winner for outstanding work on VPP
  • Two time Corporate 6-Sigma Competition Winner for Global Total Customer Satisfaction-“Distribution Ergonomics” and “EHS Training”
  • Scottsdale, AZ and, Chicago, IL

Corporate Safety & Health Director

WESTERN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
08.1989 - 07.1994
  • For a private Engineering-Consulting firm with ~500 employees, managed staff of 15 EHS professionals and an asbestos analytical lab. Primary purpose to support clients' needs to identify, evaluate and mitigate their occupational safety & health hazards as well as sampling of site environmental conditions for air, water, waste & soil.
  • Honored as Company Employee of the Year, 1991 and 1992.
  • Phoenix, AZ

Safety & IH Compliance Officer

OSHA, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
09.1987 - 08.1989
  • OSHA Safety & IH Regulatory Compliance Officer assigned to inspect Arizona industries for regularly scheduled inspections or for employee complaint investigations, and for other serious incidents. Conducted >200 site compliance audits in a variety of facilities including several fatality investigations, and also performed IH sampling for OSHA compliance purposes.
  • Phoenix, AZ

Industrial Hygienist

UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATES
09.1986 - 08.1987
  • Staff Industrial Hygienist responsible supporting clients on IH consulting projects including sampling for physical, chemical, radiological and biological hazards, specifically for asbestos, noise & indoor air quality assessments
  • Tucson, AZ

Field Chemist

TRACER RESEARCH CORPORATION
05.1986 - 08.1986
  • Field chemist supporting clients' needs to determine scale of potential groundwater and soil contamination through the use of surface water, surface soil and underground soil gas sampling and onsite chemical analysis.
  • Tucson, AZ

Education

MBA - OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ

BACHELOR OF ARTS - CHEMISTRY

University of Arizona
Tucson

Skills

Achieved a significant reduction in workplace incidents through proactive safety management Enhanced team performance by implementing effective safety training programs Promoted a safe working environment that led to increased project efficiency

Monitored and evaluated behavior-based safety programs to identify areas for improvement and ensure adherence to safety standards

Performed detailed evaluations for hazard identification, focusing on potential risks to maintain a safe working environment

Collaborated with cross-functional teams to investigate incidents, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and improving workplace safety

Achieved significant improvements in employee health outcomes by implementing targeted wellness programs

Conducted facility assessments and developed plans for environmental management to minimize ecological impact

Implemented industrial hygiene protocols to monitor and improve air quality and employee health standards

Conducted regular Process Safety Management audits and assessments to identify and address potential PSM risks

Achieved significant improvements in workplace safety through proactive inspections and risk assessments Drove initiatives that resulted in enhanced compliance with safety regulations Cultivated a safer work environment, leading to increased employee satisfaction and productivity Drove initiatives that fostered a culture of safety and risk management

Contributed to a safer workplace environment through proactive incident management Achieved improved incident response times through effective reporting and analysis Enhanced safety measures by identifying trends in incident data

Coordinated contractor management activities, including selection, onboarding, and performance evaluation

Achieved seamless project execution by cultivating strong partnerships among team members Enhanced overall productivity through effective collaboration and conflict resolution strategies Fostered an environment of trust and cooperation, resulting in improved team performance

Analyzed complex issues and implemented innovative solutions to improve overall performance Applied systematic problem-solving techniques to enhance team performance and efficiency

Engaged in clear and concise communication to ensure alignment among stakeholders and team members

Conducted thorough assessments to create effective emergency response plans tailored to specific operational risks and needs

Achieved significant improvements in workplace safety through proactive hazard identification and risk assessment Delivered comprehensive safety training programs that enhanced employee awareness and compliance Drove initiatives that resulted in a safer work environment and reduced incident rates

Engaged with stakeholders to build trust and facilitate effective communication

Organized and led team building exercises aimed at fostering trust and cooperation among team members

Collaborated with stakeholders to establish clear, measurable goals that drive project success and team alignment

Developed and enforced guidelines for chemical safety training to promote a secure working environment

Coordinated project management activities, facilitating communication and collaboration among cross-functional teams

Developed and implemented training programs focused on OSHA compliance to enhance employee awareness and safety practices

Managed logistics and scheduling for training programs, ensuring effective knowledge transfer and participant engagement

Coordinated hazardous waste management activities, including collection, storage, and disposal, to maintain regulatory standards and promote workplace safety

Analyzed crisis scenarios and developed response plans to address potential threats and minimize impact

Executed systematic root-cause analysis to uncover critical factors affecting performance and inform strategic decision-making

Conducted thorough assessments of processes to maintain regulatory compliance and safeguard organizational integrity

Environmental due diligence

Audit documentation

Audit management

KEY CAREER RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • 35+ years of diverse career experience, first ~10 years as an EHS Consultant and as an OSHA Compliance Officer, then past 25+ years in private industry in various corporate EHS positions for Motorola, Dell Inc., GE and Cytiva (Danaher)
  • Led multiple organizations to EHS recognized certifications on ISO 14001, ISO 45001/OHSAS 18001, OSHA VPP and GE’s Global STAR & Environmental Excellence & Sustainability and GE HealthAhead Wellness programs
  • Managed EHS staff at various levels for different Fortune 100 companies
  • Executed EHS Due Diligence in >50 countries on >250 acquisition, divestiture, joint venture and integration projects, plus ~2,500 real estate property transactions including ~500 Phase I site environmental assessments and ~50 Phase II environmental site investigations and multiple remediation projects
  • Lead the development and execution of global real estate strategies, ensuring alignment with company goals & initiatives while optimizing the business real estate portfolio and existing facility space utilization.
  • Support the infrastructure maintenance across manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, R&D labs, commercial and administrative offices, by being a liaison with a global team of regional Facility & EHS leaders.
  • Ensure pro-active compliance with EHS regulations, manage risk, and foster a proactive global safety culture.
  • Drive corporate sustainability initiatives, collaborate with facility sustainability program contacts to implement continuous improvement programs to enhance facility performance and employee experience.
  • Provide EHS DD strategic support and integration for mergers and acquisitions, ensuring comprehensive real estate & facilities management, and EHS Risk Management.
  • Managed EHS compliance auditing program for auditing >250 facilities of all types worldwide
  • EHS resource management: Managed small teams and large global staffs up to 60 EHS & medical professionals, along with department budgets up to $12 Million. EHS Talent Growth & Development: Launched a well-received EHS professional development, training and career job ladder program

Affiliations

Professional organization member of AIHA ABIH, ACGIH, ASSE, NSC and NAEM.

Certification

Certified Industrial Hygienist, CIH (ABIH)

6 Sigma Green Belt (GE)

ISO 14001 Audit Team Leader (Lloyds of London)

Certified Change Management Practitioner (Prosci)

Timeline

Global EHS Director

CYTIVA, part of Danaher (former GE Life Sciences)
09.2019 - 12.2025

Global EHS Director

WABTEC, (formerly GE Transportation)
03.2018 - 08.2019

Americas EHS Director

GE HEALTHCARE
10.2014 - 01.2018

Global EHS Manager - Compliance, Risk and Transactions

GE HEALTHCARE
05.2007 - 10.2014

Global Supply Chain EHS Director

DELL, INC.
06.2005 - 05.2007

Global Health, Safety and VPP Manager

GE HEALTHCARE
10.2001 - 06.2005

Regional EHS Manager

MOTOROLA, INC.
08.1994 - 09.2001

Corporate Safety & Health Director

WESTERN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
08.1989 - 07.1994

Safety & IH Compliance Officer

OSHA, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
09.1987 - 08.1989

Industrial Hygienist

UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATES
09.1986 - 08.1987

Field Chemist

TRACER RESEARCH CORPORATION
05.1986 - 08.1986

MBA - OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Arizona State University

BACHELOR OF ARTS - CHEMISTRY

University of Arizona