Brian Coll, lecturer and course co-ordinator for the Lean & OpEx programmes at Atlantic Technological University (ATU), has been named as the Judging Coordinator for the Operational Excellence Awards 2026, bringing extensive experience in quality management, continuous improvement methodologies, and operational leadership to the role.

Coll's career spans academic education, multinational quality management, and operational excellence programme development. At ATU, he leads Ireland's largest provider of accredited Yellow, Green and Black Belt programmes, positioning the institution as a central hub for operational excellence education across the country.

His academic leadership extends to digital innovation in learning. Coll developed and co-delivers Ireland's first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Lean Sigma Quality (White Belt), a free online programme that has reached over 25,000 participants from 50 countries. The course has been ranked as the #1 Global best university-level White Belt in both 2024 and 2025, demonstrating the international impact of his educational approach. This achievement earned him an Irish National Teaching Expert award for online lecturing.

Prior to joining ATU, Coll accumulated 18 years of experience in Quality Management across multinational organisations, holding senior positions at Director and VP level in Europe, USA, Puerto Rico and Mexico. This operational experience provided direct exposure to implementing excellence frameworks in diverse regulatory environments, scaling quality systems across international operations, and driving measurable performance improvements in manufacturing and service contexts.

Coll's dual expertise in academic rigour and practical industry application positions him to assess entries against the highest standards of operational discipline. His deep understanding of Lean methodologies, Six Sigma frameworks, and continuous improvement practices ensures evaluation criteria measure both strategic alignment and measurable operational impact.

As Judging Coordinator, Coll will oversee the independent evaluation process, ensuring entries are assessed against rigorous criteria measuring innovation, efficiency, and sustainable performance improvement. His role involves coordinating expert panellists drawn from Irish and international operational leadership, maintaining consistency in judging standards, and upholding the integrity of the awards process.

Winners will be announced at the Operational Excellence Awards 2026 ceremony on 27 May at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, where Ireland's operational excellence community will gather to celebrate achievement across more than 20 sectors.

For the complete judging panel, category criteria, and finalists, visit the Operational Excellence Awards website and subscribe to the newsletter for updates and insights.