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AWMI Meets in Savannah for Annual Leadership Conference
12/01/2014 - The annual conference of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries (AWMI) was held 13–15 November 2014 in Savannah, Ga. The meeting provides an array of opportunities for members and conference attendees to touch upon each of AWMI’s cornerstones — educate, grow, network and mentor — by hearing from industry leaders, learning about the latest issues shaping the metals business, interacting with peers and exchanging ideas.
The conference opened on 13 November with optional educational events, including a tour of the Port of Savannah and Platts training sessions on how the steel and aluminum markets work. A welcome reception was followed by the opening dinner with a keynote address from Dr. Leslie Joyce, senior vice president and chief people officer of aluminum producer Novelis, who spoke on talent transformation. She noted that effective leadership development is expensive for companies, so that’s why associations such as AWMI have enormous impact on peoples’ lives and careers.
Also at the dinner, SSAB Americas was awarded the 2014 AWMI Cornerstone Award, which is given to a company that has shown commitment to the work of AWMI through membership support across the organization, board participation, speaker accessibility from managers up to the C-suite, and conference sponsorships. Upon accepting the award, Jeff Moskaluk, vice president and chief commercial officer of SSAB Americas, said, “SSAB is extremely honored to receive the AWMI Cornerstone Award and, through the award, be recognized for our active participation in AWMI. SSAB has a long history of supporting AWMI with our people taking leadership roles at all levels. At SSAB, we believe that the lessons and skills that our people learn through the AWMI cornerstones of ’grow, educate, network and mentor’ translate well for SSAB and deliver great value within our own organization.”
Carol Chizmar of Sapa Extrusions was formally recognized at the opening dinner as AWMI’s 2013 Member of the Year. The Member of the Year Award is the highest honor awarded by AWMI. Members are nominated and selected by their peers for exemplifying the association's goals.
The second day of the conference was packed with presentations on a host of topics, including the economy, new technologies, the state of women in the global marketplace, the evolution of supply chain management, and the voice of women’s leadership. Roundtable discussions during breakfast provided an opportunity for peer-to-peer dialog, addressing topics and issues impacting careers.
Chris Kuehl of Armada Intelligence opened the morning sessions with five forecasts for manufacturing. He predicted: interest rates will not rise until late in 2015; the U.S. dollar will gain against all currencies, especially the euro and yen; the U.S. economy will grow around 3.5% in 2014 and 4.5% in 2015; labor shortages will worsen and there will be more emphasis politically on wage issues and employment; and measures of manufacturing (purchasing managers index, industrial production index, capacity utilization, etc.) will improve through the bulk of 2015.
A mid-morning panel explored the rise of new technology in manufacturing. Gabriela Felipe of Gerdau Special Steel North America discussed the innovation and new technologies her company is introducing and exploring to stay at the forefront of the industry. She discussed projects on continuous improvement, energy efficiency innovation, IT innovation and ideation, and the importance of incentivizing employees at all levels. William Fristad of Henkel Corp. spoke on coil-applied coating for the press-hardening of steel, noting the main drivers for press-hardening include CAFÉ requirements and crashworthiness. Scott Condreay, senior manufacturing engineer at Sapa Extrusions, discussed how technology on the materials and human sides can move companies forward.
Following an association business lunch, the afternoon keynote sessions opened with Katy Britenbach, director of member relations for Catalyst, who detailed the state of women in the global marketplace and how to close the gap between the number of women in the workforce and management positions. In her keynote address, Jodi Parnell, vice president of supply chain management at O’Neal Steel Inc., discussed the evolution of and the complex business of supply chain management in the steel industry. Rounding out the conference presentations was Connie Glaser, author of GenderTalk Works, who provided a lively and interactive discussion on the different communication styles of women and men and how to use them advantageously in business.
On 15 November, members of the 21 AWMI chapters broke out for regional meetings to discuss the successes and challenges the chapters are facing and to share ideas for how to run a successful chapter. The International Board of Directors met for its meeting during the afternoon.
AWMI’s 2015 Annual Conference will be held 12–14 November 2015 in Tucson, Ariz.
AWMI is an international, professional organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the advancement of women in the metal industries. AWMI’s membership totaled 1,200 in 2014. It is made up of 21 individual chapters organized into five regions throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.awmi.org.
This article was written by AIST industry news editor Laura Miller.
Also at the dinner, SSAB Americas was awarded the 2014 AWMI Cornerstone Award, which is given to a company that has shown commitment to the work of AWMI through membership support across the organization, board participation, speaker accessibility from managers up to the C-suite, and conference sponsorships. Upon accepting the award, Jeff Moskaluk, vice president and chief commercial officer of SSAB Americas, said, “SSAB is extremely honored to receive the AWMI Cornerstone Award and, through the award, be recognized for our active participation in AWMI. SSAB has a long history of supporting AWMI with our people taking leadership roles at all levels. At SSAB, we believe that the lessons and skills that our people learn through the AWMI cornerstones of ’grow, educate, network and mentor’ translate well for SSAB and deliver great value within our own organization.”
Carol Chizmar of Sapa Extrusions was formally recognized at the opening dinner as AWMI’s 2013 Member of the Year. The Member of the Year Award is the highest honor awarded by AWMI. Members are nominated and selected by their peers for exemplifying the association's goals.
The second day of the conference was packed with presentations on a host of topics, including the economy, new technologies, the state of women in the global marketplace, the evolution of supply chain management, and the voice of women’s leadership. Roundtable discussions during breakfast provided an opportunity for peer-to-peer dialog, addressing topics and issues impacting careers.
Chris Kuehl of Armada Intelligence opened the morning sessions with five forecasts for manufacturing. He predicted: interest rates will not rise until late in 2015; the U.S. dollar will gain against all currencies, especially the euro and yen; the U.S. economy will grow around 3.5% in 2014 and 4.5% in 2015; labor shortages will worsen and there will be more emphasis politically on wage issues and employment; and measures of manufacturing (purchasing managers index, industrial production index, capacity utilization, etc.) will improve through the bulk of 2015.
A mid-morning panel explored the rise of new technology in manufacturing. Gabriela Felipe of Gerdau Special Steel North America discussed the innovation and new technologies her company is introducing and exploring to stay at the forefront of the industry. She discussed projects on continuous improvement, energy efficiency innovation, IT innovation and ideation, and the importance of incentivizing employees at all levels. William Fristad of Henkel Corp. spoke on coil-applied coating for the press-hardening of steel, noting the main drivers for press-hardening include CAFÉ requirements and crashworthiness. Scott Condreay, senior manufacturing engineer at Sapa Extrusions, discussed how technology on the materials and human sides can move companies forward.
Following an association business lunch, the afternoon keynote sessions opened with Katy Britenbach, director of member relations for Catalyst, who detailed the state of women in the global marketplace and how to close the gap between the number of women in the workforce and management positions. In her keynote address, Jodi Parnell, vice president of supply chain management at O’Neal Steel Inc., discussed the evolution of and the complex business of supply chain management in the steel industry. Rounding out the conference presentations was Connie Glaser, author of GenderTalk Works, who provided a lively and interactive discussion on the different communication styles of women and men and how to use them advantageously in business.
On 15 November, members of the 21 AWMI chapters broke out for regional meetings to discuss the successes and challenges the chapters are facing and to share ideas for how to run a successful chapter. The International Board of Directors met for its meeting during the afternoon.
AWMI’s 2015 Annual Conference will be held 12–14 November 2015 in Tucson, Ariz.
AWMI is an international, professional organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the advancement of women in the metal industries. AWMI’s membership totaled 1,200 in 2014. It is made up of 21 individual chapters organized into five regions throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.awmi.org.
This article was written by AIST industry news editor Laura Miller.
