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How Robotics Will Drive the American Manufacturing Renaissance: An Interview with Jay Douglass, COO, The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute

In automation, Digital Transformation, interview, leadership, manufacturing, technology by Cressida MurrayLeave a Comment

Jay Douglass is COO of The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute. ARM’s mission is to secure our national interests home and abroad by asserting U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing, democratizing advanced manufacturing and creating and sustaining valuable, new jobs. Previously Jay worked at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. His focus was on developing business opportunities for technology development and technology transfer with commercial organizations. He most recently managed the SEI’s business in Europe. Jay has worked with a wide variety of software development and quality technologies. We are thrilled to have Jay join us at the American Manufacturing Summit. In addition to being Chair of our Process Strategy Stream, Jay will host a Lunch and Learn on “Fostering the Growth of National Manufacturing through Novel Robotic Technologies,” and participate in a panel discussing “The Next 10 Years, 3.4 Million Jobs Available: Avoid the Skills Shortage and Attract Top Talent.” “ARM believes that the United States is in the early states of a significant manufacturing renaissance. Our nation’s ability to leverage new technologies, such as robotics, combined with the desire to provide a better quality of life for all Americans, is driving this renaissance.”

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Women at Work: An Interview with Allison Grealis, President, Women in Manufacturing

In corporate culture, interview, leadership, manufacturing, workforce by Cressida MurrayLeave a Comment

Allison Grealis is founder and president of Women in Manufacturing (WiM), a national trade association focused on supporting, promoting and inspiring women in the manufacturing sector. She is also the vice president of membership and association services of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), a full-service trade association representing the metalforming industry. Since joining PMA in 2001, Grealis has held a variety of positions that included district, committee and division management; affinity partner relations; sponsorship sales; new product and service development; and member services. Grealis earned her Bachelor of Arts in English with a certificate in Women’s Studies from Ohio University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Akron. Presently, Grealis serves as the president of the Greater Cleveland Society of Association Executives and as a board member of Our Lady of the Elms High School. We are thrilled to have Allison join us at the American Manufacturing Summit. She will be Chair of our People & Workforce Management Stream, as well as hosting a Lunch and Learn on “Succession Planning: Support, Promote, and Inspire Women in Manufacturing”, and participating in a panel on avoiding the skills shortage in the next 10 years. We sat down with Allison in advance of the event to ask her some questions about where manufacturing is going and how to support women in the industry.

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Leadership Spotlight: Karl Weiss, VP, Material Handling and Underground Division, Caterpillar Inc.

In interview, leadership, manufacturing by Cressida MurrayLeave a Comment

We are thrilled to have Karl Weiss, VP, Material Handling and Underground Division, at Caterpillar Inc., join us as the Opening Keynote speaker at the American Manufacturing Summit, which will be held in Lombard, IL from March 27-28. He will be the discussing “Manufacturing Strategy and Helping Customers Win Through Operational Excellence”. Since joining Caterpillar in 1992, Karl has had various assignments within product development at Caterpillar’s Decatur, Joliet, and Aurora facilities, primarily focused on large machine structural design. He has also taken on international assignments in Geneva, Switzerland and Beijing, China. Since 2013, Karl has been a Caterpillar Inc. Vice President, previously of the Earthmoving division and currently of the Material Handling and Underground division. We sat down with Karl in advance of the event to talk about his career, his own leadership style, and what he will be talking about at the American Manufacturing Summit. Questions Answered: How would you describe your leadership style? What are the most important minutes of the day to sustain and grow your organizational goals? What is the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career? What was the toughest challenge you’ve faced in your career and how did you overcome it? What is the smallest change you have made within your role that has made the biggest impact?

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Designing Medical Device Products for Emerging Markets: GEMBA, Jugaad, and Reverse Innovation – An interview with Palani Palaniappan, EVP at TerumoBCT

In interview, leadership, medical device, Uncategorized by Cressida MurrayLeave a Comment

We were honored to have Palani Palaniappan, EVP Innovation & Development, of Terumo BCT, join us at the 2017 American Medical Device Summit, where he gave a plenary address on “The Democratization of Healthcare Technologies”. This is an excerpt from an interview with Palani, also on this topic. You can read the full interview here. Until now, corporations have served only the top tier of the world’s population: the top 2 billion. That leaves 5 billion people underserved. The underserved can maybe only spend $1 per day, instead of saying $100 in the developed world, but the sheer number of them make it profitable. By addressing these people and their needs, companies who have done it right have thrived. But many have done it wrong. A common mistake many companies make when designing products for emerging markets is that they simply defeature a product that is engineered to meet the needs of a developed economy. For instance, they will develop a product for the US market, then remove the more costly features to meet a price point they think will sell in a developing market, such as India or Africa. But achieving the right price point alone will not sell your product. You have to hit the right price point and 100 percent of the features have to be appropriate for the market. Companies looking to design medical device products for emerging markets should keep in mind three terms: Gemba, …

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The Generis Speaker Spotlight: Palani Palaniappan, EVP Innovation & Development – TerumoBCT

In interview, leadership, Uncategorized by Cressida MurrayLeave a Comment

We are thrilled to have Palani Palaniappan joining us at the American Medical Device Summit, held in Chicago from October 4-5, where he will be discussing “The Democratization of Healthcare Technologies”. Palani brings more than 25 years of experience in product and project development, engineering, scientific research, and global business and technology management. We sat down with him in advance of the event to talk about how leapfrogging technologies in emerging market share providing more and more people with access to healthcare, how companies can design medical devices to suit the needs of people in emerging markets,and how innovation in the developing world is, in turn, influencing product innovation in developed markets. To read the full interview, click here.

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