Leland D. Shaeffer, founder and managing director PLM Associates, helps companies bring better products to market faster, using fewer resources, by helping them implement or improve development and product lifecycle management processes. In addition to increasing market penetration and bottom line results for commercial products and services, he applies product management principals to help IT departments serve their internal customers.

He brings a strong combination of analytical skill and practical experience to the problems of shortening development cycles and managing product lifecycles. For over 20 years, Mr. Shaeffer has been involved in product management and development for high-technology companies. He has held senior positions in product management, engineering and marketing at companies ranging from venture capital backed start-ups to Apple Computer, Convergent Technologies/Unisys, Imagery/Eastman Kodak, and Siliconix/Vishay. Mr. Shaeffer also was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he specialized in product/market strategy.

Lee Currently is Vice President of New Services and Alliances and board member of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). He has served as President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the PDMA (PDMA-Los Angeles) and on the board of the Product Development & Management Association Southern California Chapter (PDMA-SoCal). He is an Authorized Testing Partner for the Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM) and is active in the Technology Council of Southern California and the Project Management Institute.

Mr. Shaeffer holds a BS in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MBA from Stanford University.