William M. Duke

William M. Duke
Director of Learning and Development
Retired Commander, USN

Will Duke is Afterburner’s Director of Learning and Development. His duties include coordination of the development of intellectual property, training programs, and educational materials. He also serves as a consultant to process and continuous improvement management programs, and leadership keynote speaker. With Co-author James “Murph” Murphy, he wrote the 2010 release “The Flawless Execution Field Manual.

Will graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, while earning his commission as an officer in the U.S. Navy from nearby Vanderbilt University NROTC. As a bridge officer and engineering officer on active duty, he logged over 1,800 hours piloting the world’s most complex machine, a Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered, Super Carrier. After leaving active duty in 1994, Will earned a second degree in education and taught for several years before serving 8 years as a Regional Operations Manager at Sears Product Repair Services.

His 20 years of professional experience have focused heavily upon leadership and management methods and training. He practiced Total Quality Management (TQM), Statistical Process Control and Just-in-Time management during his active duty Navy career. He also worked with corporate Six Sigma projects and training, and ISO 9001 certification and auditing in his eight years in operations for Sears. Will currently serves as a senior Human Resources Officer in the in the U.S. Navy Reserve and has held numerous command and command-staff positions throughout his career.