Has served 16 years in the U.S. Army, deployed once to Iraq, twice to Afghanistan and once to Ukraine; in 2009, transferred to Wisconsin National Guard
Jesse Augustine, payroll manager at Pewaukee-based Walbec Group began in the scheduling department, where he built and managed the daily, 10-day and long-range crew production schedule for southeastern Wisconsin projects.
He has consistently led initiatives to help to improve processes throughout the family of companies, according to Cass Blashka, marketing communications manager at Walbec. Most recently, he has mapped the entire payroll process for Walbec. The team has five active projects through which they achieve new efficiencies, reduce redundancy and improve the payroll process for all Walbec companies.
“The success of this initiative made him the best choice for payroll manager,” Blashka said.
After obtaining his Six Sigma Black Belt in 2021, Augustine was promoted to operational improvement coach, where he assisted in managing Six Sigma projects throughout Walbec. He coached Green Belt project leaders through developing project charters, the DMAIC process, solution implementation and project close-out. He has also led several Six Sigma projects and continues to take on new projects.
Augustine served 16 years in the Army and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. Augustine was commissioned to active duty in 2005. He was deployed once to Iraq, twice to Afghanistan and once to Ukraine. In 2009, he transferred to the Wisconsin National Guard. He has served as the operation officer, brigade engineer officer, chief of staff and battalion commander.
“Jesse’s leadership philosophy is simple: be the best person you can be. To Jesse, this means focusing on the fundamentals, remaining actively involved and accessible and leading by example by prioritizing personal and professional growth daily. He understands that moral and ethical character is never a choice for leaders; they are the expectation. He works daily to model the character he desires to see throughout Walbec by recognizing exceptional effort and investing time in developing leaders,” Blashka said.
