MxD Appoints National Manufacturing Leaders to Board of Directors

MxD announced today the addition of several manufacturing executives to its board of directors.

MxD Appoints National Manufacturing Leaders to Board of Directors

New Directors Will Help Shape Digital Manufacturing and Cybersecurity Strategy

June 26, 2019 (CHICAGO) – MxD announced today the addition of several manufacturing executives to its board of directors.

“MxD is on an exciting trajectory with the renewal of our partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense and the addition of these high-caliber executives to our board,” said Caralynn Nowinski Collens, chair of the MxD board of directors. “This brain trust is another tool to support our goals of driving U.S. manufacturing forward and better equipping our nation’s warfighters through digital technologies.”

Billy Bardin is the Global Operations Technology Director for Dow. His responsibilities include driving technology and innovation strategy within Manufacturing and Engineering (M&E) and oversight of all commercial technologies as well as development of technical talent across manufacturing and supporting operations. He has held various technology and R&D leadership positions at Dow prior to his current role. Bardin serves as Chair of the Governing Board for the RAPID Manufacturing Institute. He is a member of the advisory boards for Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, the University of Virginia, and North Carolina State University. He was elected to the Board of Directors for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2016.

Chandra Brown is CEO of MxD, the nation’s digital manufacturing institute. Brown has more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing, in both the public and private sectors. She was appointed by President Obama in 2013 to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing in the U.S. Department of Commerce. There she oversaw a broad portfolio of programs aimed at increasing the international competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and boosting American exports. Previously, Brown worked for 19 years at Oregon Iron Works, including as its vice president, and then became CEO of its subsidiary, United Streetcar. United Streetcar was the first U.S. manufacturer to create a modern streetcar in more than 60 years.

Tony Hemmelgarn is President and CEO of Siemens Digital Industry Software. Prior to this appointment he served as the company’s executive vice president of Global Sales, Marketing and Services. Prior to that, Hemmelgarn was senior vice president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He has also held the United States country management position as well as serving as senior vice president of the Industry Vertical Organization. Previously, he spent eight years with Intergraph Corporation, an international software firm. He moved to Intergraph from Cad Cam Incorporated where he headed up the services division.

Jeff Wilcox is Vice President of Digital Enterprise at Lockheed Martin where he is responsible for the design, development, and implementation of Lockheed Martin’s operations strategy. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Wilcox served for 17 years with Science Applications International Corporation. He serves on the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Board and is an adjunct professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology at Georgetown University, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Mark Wilson is Chief Operating Officer of Rolls-Royce North American Technologies (LibertyWorks). The primary mission of LibertyWorks is to create an agile, entrepreneurial team that excels at developing innovative, affordable power system solutions that enable Rolls-Royce to provide segment-leading solutions for our U.S. Defense customers. Mark joined Rolls-Royce in 1982 and has moved through a series of assignments in engineering leadership positions over the past 36 years. Wilson served as the Rolls-Royce representative on the MxD Executive Council since 2015, most recently as the Council Chair.

Wilcox and Wilson were confirmed as directors in March 2019. Bardin, Brown, and Hemmelgarn officially joined in June. The new directors will join Caralynn Nowinski Collens, co-founder of UI LABS, and Jay Walsh, Vice President of Research at Northwestern University, who will continue their terms. The additional directors who served on the UI LABS board concluded their tenure as of May 2019.

About MxD

MxD is where innovative manufacturers go to forge their futures. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, MxD equips factories with the digital tools and expertise they need to begin building every part better than the last. As a result, our more than 300 partners increase their productivity and win more business. Learn more at mxdusa.org.