INFORMS Career FAQ: Mark Lembersky

Tens of thousands of do-it-yourselfers are now doing it better than ever before, with the help of an ingenious new concept developed by Mark Lembersky.

He combined management science and interactive computing to create the Design Center™, a video game-like system in use in dozens of home improvement centers.

Customers who want to build a deck, garage, or storage system simply step up to a screen where they can select desired features, view a 3-D color image of the project they have in mind, and "play" with the design to see how various modifications would affect it. Once satisfied, they receive a printout that includes a complete materials list, a construction plan consistent with good engineering principles and local building codes, and a color picture of the design.

In the first season of operation, over $250 million in designs were generated--with store managers also reporting a 50% reduction in the time required for staff to make a sale.

The system was created for the Weyerhaeuser Company, where Lembersky worked for over ten years prior to founding his own successful firm, Lembersky Chi Incorporated. While at Weyerhaeuser, he and partner Uli Chi received the Franz Edelman Award for Management Science Achievement for the VISION decision simulator, which improved timber processing and resulted in increased profits of over $100 million.