Data and Diversity in Manufacturing at IMTS 2018

Chicago’s Women in Big Data (WIBD) will hold its inaugural event at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2018 titled “Digital Transformation: Gaining a Competitive Advantage with Data and Diversity”. The event is open to conference attendees—both men and women—and will be held in the South building on Thursday September 13, in Room S401 at 2 p.m.

Women make up 47.5 percent of the workforce, but only 29 percent of the manufacturing industry, according to the United States Census Bureau data from 2016. While manufacturing is facing a seemingly perpetual skills shortage, more and more women are entering the industry and moving into leadership positions while influencing the industry as a whole.

Join these influencers as they discuss the hurdles it took to get to where they are, the successes they have encountered once they arrived and how diversity and data will be the key drivers for the next era of successful businesses. Session attendees can learn tips and tricks for using manufacturing data to make better business decisions and to drive competitive advantage.

The events will feature a panel and peer-to-peer discussions along with networking time. The panel will represent small and large original equipment manufacturers, academic digital transformation leaders and leading software and solution providers of smart manufacturing.

The panel includes:

Nina Anderson, Data Scientist, Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT)
Jane Bailey, Vice President of Product Marketing for Digital, GE Digital
Kim Cato, IT Director, Whirlpool Corp.
Ester Codina, Managing Director, Sandvik Coromant
Noel Greis, President, Kinefac Corp.
Stephanie Hendrixson, Writer & Editor, Gardner Business Media (Additive Manufacturing Magazine)
Elisabeth Smith, President & CEO, Acutec Precision Machining