Eddie Pérez-Ruberte

He holds an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, and is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt through the American Society for Quality. He is also the author of Healthcare Quality Management: A Case Study Approach, published in 2020.

As Founder and CEO of Areito Group, and now as an Empaneled Consultant with VMarsh, Eddie specializes in helping leaders in high-stakes industries achieve operational excellence while adopting AI with confidence. Most leaders are not sure how to deploy AI without risking patient safety, a compliance failure, or their client’s trust. Eddie integrates proven operational discipline with AI governance built on ISO/IEC 42001 and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, applies HRO to the specific failure modes of AI, and uses Polarity Management to help leaders navigate the real tensions of AI adoption: opportunity versus risk, speed versus safety, innovation versus governance. He is currently guiding healthcare organizations through the development of their AI Policy and Governance Frameworks. Eddie has facilitated dozens of senior leadership workshops and simulations at the world’s largest aerospace manufacturer, driving lasting transformations. He has successfully implemented Lean, Innovation, and Continuous Improvement programs across diverse industries in the U.S., Latin America, and Puerto Rico.

Eddie’s approach is built on two decades in the healthcare, aerospace, and financial services industries, where he built Zero Harm programs, cut emergency department wait times by 30 percent, and led operational excellence for an $850 million, 600-person aerospace site. He speaks regularly on operational excellence, AI governance, and leadership transformation, and has developed a proprietary AI Vendor Due Diligence framework used to evaluate third-party AI platforms for data privacy, bias, and security. Eddie chairs the Board of The Florida Center for Early Childhood, serves as Board President of the Purdue University Latino Alumni Network, chaired the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference in 2019, and holds the Diplomate designation from the Society of Health Systems. Excellence gets an organization to breakthrough performance. Trust is what makes it last.

Consulting Expertise

AI Governance and Healthcare Advisory Engagements Include:

• Rural Hospitals: Value Stream Mapping, Patient Journey Mapping Facilitation & AI Policy and Governance Framework Development
• Federal Targeted Technical Assistance Program (TTAP): Lean Six Sigma, PDSA, Innovation, AI Governance and Change Management Facilitation

Former Employers and Clients

• GP Strategies: Certified Corporate Leadership Trainer
• BayCare Health System: Lean Deployment and Zero Harm Program
• OpusWorks Institute: Lean and Six Sigma Training for Fortune 500 Clients
• Mayo Clinic: Health Systems Engineering, Surgical Process and Performance Improvement, Emergency Department Process Flow Redesign
• Georgia Southern University, Center for Public Health Practice and Research
• Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers: Create & deliver quality and performance improvement curricula worldwide. Certified > 600 students.
• Honeywell Aerospace: Global Operational Excellence Deployment

Professional Memberships and Certifications

• American Society for Quality, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB)
• Society for Health Systems, Diplomate
• AIQI Consortium / UKAS, ISO/IEC 42001 Certificate of Completion (2026)
• Vanderbilt University, Generative AI Leadership and Strategy; Agentic AI and AI Agents for Leaders
• IBM SkillsBuild, Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals
• Co-Author, Healthcare Quality Management: A Case Study Approach (Springer, 2020)