Announcing the 2025 LCI Lean in Design Award Winner
Dan Heinemeier Honored with 2025 LCI Board Achievement Award
The Lean Construction Institute (LCI) is thrilled to announce that Dan Heinemeier, Executive Director of the Lean Construction Institute, has been awarded the prestigious LCI Board Achievement Award. This honor recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing LCI’s mission of transforming the design and construction industry through Lean principles.
Dan will retire in December after serving as executive director since 2013. During that time, he has exemplified exceptional leadership and dedication while spearheading LCI’s programmatic, budgetary, and organizational success.
“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dan for his unwavering dedication to LCI in fostering an operationally sustainable organization during his tenure,” shared James Pease, Chair of the LCI Board of Directors and Vice President – Health Major Capital at UCSF Real Estate.
Growth of LCI—and Lean—under Dan’s Leadership
Dan led LCI’s growth and impact in many key areas, including these highlights:
- LCI Staff Growth: The LCI team grew from four to 10 staff members under Dan’s leadership.
- LCI Corporate Membership Growth: Corporate membership grew from 91 to 309 members today.
- Strengthening LCI’s Communities of Practice: Dan reinforced and expanded LCI’s support for its 25 Communities of Practice (CoPs). Together, LCI CoPs host more than 230 events each year, drawing over 5,000 participants. These aren’t just events—they’re opportunities to build connections, learn through hands-on Lean workshops, and hear directly from local project teams who are driving change in our industry. For many, a Community of Practice event is their very first introduction to LCI—and often, the first step in their Lean journey.
- LCI Congress Conference Expansion: LCI’s flagship annual Congress, a five-day event for learning, sharing, networking, and advancing Lean practices, grew from 500 to over 1,600 attendees during Dan’s tenure. Congress’ Learning Days workshops have grown to include 21 LCI-branded courses and 13 curated workshops today.
- Online Presence Impact: LCI’s online presence has grown to over 23,000 followers on LinkedIn. The LCI Weekly newsletter reaches 33,000 followers.
- LCI Lean Certification Launch: LCI launched the Lean Certification, the design and construction industry’s first formal certification to recognize applied Lean knowledge and skills of its professionals, in March of 2023.
- LCI eLearning Series Initiative: LCI introduced its eLearning series in 2023, and the library now includes 11 courses.
- LCI Lean in Design Forum Growth: The LCI Lean in Design Forum has grown from 50 to close to 200 attendees annually. The goal of increasing design community presence has shown great improvement year after year, reaching close to 50% of event attendees in 2025.
- LCI Design Awards Launch: LCI’s annual Design Award was launched in 2021 to recognize project teams that are delivery outstanding design while using Lean practices, and the Engineering Design Award was launched in 2023.
- Driving Lean Adoption: Dan led the growth of Lean design and construction practices in numerous markets spanning health, higher education, manufacturing ecosystem, data centers, and more.
Honoring Dan at the 2025 LCI Congress
Dan’s unwavering commitment to the principles of Lean design and construction, as well as his exceptional contributions to LCI, make him a deserving recipient of the 2025 Board Achievement Award.
The Board Achievement Award will be presented to Dan at the 2025 LCI Congress in Arlington, TX, during the Award Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23.
About the Lean Construction Institute
The Lean Construction Institute (LCI) is a non-profit organization whose overall objective is to advance Lean principles within the design and construction industry. Through its educational offerings, events, webinars, Communities of Practice and certification programs, LCI empowers professionals to deliver projects with greater efficiency, collaboration, and sustainability. LCI’s community of members and partners work together to shape the future of construction by embracing innovation and Lean practices.
Headquartered in Arlington, VA, LCI advances its mission through a range of initiatives, including research, education, and events. Its flagship events, LCI Congress and the Lean in Design Forum, bring together industry professionals from across disciplines to share knowledge, build community, and accelerate the adoption of Lean practices. For more information about LCI and its mission, please visit www.leanconstruction.org.