Rising 30 - Conexus Indiana (2024)

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Mohit Baffna demonstrates that a young professional not only can impact a specific project but also can send ripples throughout an organization. Leading the implementation of a new automated cleaning system for Zimmer Biomet medical devices, Baffna drove a project that cut a process time in half and increased throughput by 100%. A supervisor noted that, in addition to impressing company leaders, Baffna’s work “also inspired peers to adopt his meticulous approach in their projects.” With an MBA, a master’s in industrial engineering and an ASQ-Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Baffna continues to add to his education and aspires to lead teams advancing innovation.

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If Ivan Ball’s vision comes to fruition, farming will take place as readily in urban kitchens as in rural fields. Tapping into technology discovered while working on a NASA-funded project during his junior year at Purdue University, Ball co-founded Helioponix (operating as anu) to pioneer at-home rotary aeroponics and make “farming at home as simple as putting a coffee pod into a Keurig.” With eight published patents, a drive to reduce the environmental impacts of food production and a passion for increasing food equity, Ball hopes to release commercially viable versions of his company’s technology within five years.

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A two-year GEODIS leadership-development program didn’t last two years for Charlotte Barger. She was pulled from the training early to take on an assistant operations manager role for the highest-revenue account on the company’s Indy campus. Since then, she has continued to shine, a tribute to her hard work and technical skills but also, according to one of her Indiana State University professors, to “her humane side and ability to build meaningful relationships.” An ISU Honor’s College graduate, Barger has earned her LEAN yellow and orange belts and aspires to anchor a project that improves processes enough not only to save GEODIS thousands of dollars but also to earn her a LEAN green or black belt.

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Less than a decade ago, Brevin Bennett entered the workforce as a machine operator with a CORE 40 diploma and technical honors. While he has since pursued elective course work, he says he has gotten most of his education from the people around him, who have provided invaluable expertise and experience and encouraged him to grow. Already the president of another firm before he joined Triton Metal Products in 2021, Bennett took on the interim CEO role in 2023 with a drive to make Triton Metal Products the dominant company in its industry and also to champion technical trades and alternative education paths in order to provide meaningful employment for young people and improve the advanced manufacturing workforce pipeline.

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Alec Brewer is committed to helping develop a more closed-loop for plastics. His contribution: co-founding and leading a startup that is using fermentation to upcycle organic waste into petroplastic alternatives. The novelty in Ourobio’s approach lies in their ability to produce two biomaterials in the same process, both of which can biodegrade in soil, decompose in water and, unlike many biomaterials, don’t take over food-producing acreage. Motivated by ocean sustainability and environmental conservation, Alec and his co-founders launched Ourobio, formerly Transfoam, while attending the University of Virginia and moved the company to Indiana after participating in the Heritage Group Accelerator. In addition to Ourobio, Alec has been involved in a number of start-ups and small businesses, and is described as all-in on his company given its alignment with his beliefs.

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While Caleb Chance has proven himself to be a solid contributor to the Kimley-Horn team, his greatest impact might be in the area of design and engineering education. Since 2020, he has worked as a highly regarded adjunct professor at Ivy Tech Community College, where he earned associate degrees in building construction management and design technology. Described by an Ivy Tech colleague as “a breath of fresh air,” Chance encourages students to challenge the status quo, and he hopes his partnership with Ivy Tech and other colleges will increase awareness of civil engineering career paths and help to prepare students for engineering careers.

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Fueled by a passion for continuous learning and professional growth, Ian Copeland dreams of pioneering solutions that redefine industry standards. Having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University and currently pursuing a master’s in Data Science, Copeland is poised to merge his expertise in both fields. With a keen eye on the future, he leverages his diverse set of skills to facilitate data-driven projects and elevate company profits. The solutions Copeland has implemented at Stellantis have resulted in over $10.2 million dollars in annual savings. But it’s about more than just data; his manager noted, “Ian elevates our team by leading from within. His attitude, drive and creative solutions are contagious.”

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“I’ve truly found my passion at the intersection of new products and manufacturing,” says Karlie Banacka. Following that passion has rewarded the senior process engineer with consistent increases in opportunity and responsibility at Boston Scientific, where she has helped to enhance the capabilities of minimally invasive medical devices and, according to a supervisor, “advance manufacturing processes and patient care around the world.” Supporting her passion with ongoing education – Banacka has complemented her Purdue University bachelor’s in biomedical engineering with an executive certificate of business in life science from Indiana University and Boston Scientific technical and leadership training – Banacka also spearheaded a talent attraction and development co-op program that earned statewide recognition.

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While many people are still imagining how AI will contribute to the workplace, Timothy Gruenhagen is putting it to work and, according to one ClearObject VP, “revolutionizing the way manufacturers operate and thrive in the digital age.” Tapping into the power of vision edge systems, integrated real-time inferencing and other breakthrough technologies, Gruenhagen is helping manufacturers save money, reduce scrap and improve ESG metrics. A continual learner, Gruenhagen complements his drive for data usage with a passion for sharing knowledge. “Going from training someone up to eventually learning from them is incredibly satisfying,” he says.

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The coach of a youth clay target shooting sports team in his free time, Walker Hobbs knows what it means to hit moving targets. In the summer of 2023, when the medical device manufacturing industry faced shortages of a key ingredient, Hobbs worked with suppliers and customers to meet needs and ensure that the Red Star workforce remained engaged. This kind of problem-solving skill helped Hobbs take on key functions at Red Star. As one supervisor put it, “The attention to detail and organization required to sync up customer demand with Red Star’s ability to supply falls to one man: Walker.” Earning a Grace College bachelor’s and MBA in a little over four years, Hobbs continues to learn and aspires to a lead strategic planning position in the medical or defense sectors.

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Joshua Johnson routinely works with plant engineers, process chemists, formulation chemists and quality labs to introduce and implement such innovations as two-dimensional liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, diagnostic gas phase reactions and other long and involved technical concepts. Put more simply, Johnson’s supervisors say he brings high-level innovation into the advanced manufacturing process to drive dramatic reductions in process time and considerable bottom-line impact. The recipient of several Corteva innovation and achievement awards and the holder of multiple degrees – including a Purdue University PhD in chemistry – Johnson aspires to earn Corteva’s coveted laureate designation, which recognizes demonstrated scientific excellence.

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Eighteen-year-old Brooklyn Kiefer already has distinguished herself as an advanced manufacturing veteran who knows how to both lead and collaborate with peers, how to have tough conversations and how to work the phones to generate business. As a Northeast Dubois Junior/Senior High School senior, she has been a leader in her school’s student-run business enterprise during three years of growth and changes in faculty leadership. Kiefer has helped the business with tools such as 3D printers, heat presses, laser cutters and a CNC router to expand from doing school-based jobs to serving outside customers. She hopes to take her passion for problem solving and math to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to study design engineering.

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A quick glance at Kyle Krieger’s background could suggest that he’s simply a numbers guy. But his leaders say he is a generalist who goes beyond the numbers to help LDI companies see how data analysis can improve operations and efficiency, how to put technology to work for the business and how to ensure the human factor never gets lost in the data. With impact that drives significant year-over-year productivity increases, this Indiana University Kelley School of Business grad aspires to earn leadership positions so he can have an even greater impact on organizations and the people who make them work.

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Crystal Lopez faces every challenge with enthusiasm and a smile. Joining the sales team at Nalco Water immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois, this child of immigrants wasted no time making an impression on customers in glass, metal automotive, EV and other industries by applying a sharp technical knowledge to helping them increase profitability and productivity. Customers say she takes the time to learn about their businesses, spends extra time on their problems, and does it all with a cheerful attitude and recommendations that make a difference. One facility manager said he rarely takes calls from vendors, but “because of the value that I see from Crystal, I always stop what I am doing to listen to what she has to say.”

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Born into a manufacturing family, Hayley McMahan seemed destined for the engineering field where she hit the ground running. Last year, the Purdue University grad headed relocation efforts for two products that moved from California and Pennsylvania to Indiana, a process that allowed the existing Columbus plant to grow and expand its customer base in electrified vehicles. She also won praise for her work in helping teams overcome the challenges of the pandemic, and she earned a business impact award for leading a Six Sigma project that was “a value stream transformation,” improving production efficiencies as well as the workspace. A booster for women in advanced manufacturing, she hopes to help draw more women into the industry as she moves into positions of leadership herself.

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Joining Antique Candle Company after serving in the United States Marine Corps, Jack McQuinn brought to the company a can-do attitude, natural leadership ability and a belief in cutting-edge technologies that have fed ongoing growth. Most notably, perhaps, he has embraced artificial intelligence to drive improvements in employee engagement and operational efficiency and helped to increase workforce training. Like him, a majority of the company’s production and distribution employees now have Lean Six Sigma certifications, and under his guidance, the company has increased its parcel shipping operations by five times over six years. McQuinn hopes to help drive ongoing growth by streamlining current operations and laying a foundation for future expansion in additional locations.

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In 2017, Alex Mills biked across the country, a 65-day odyssey in which he and his fraternity brothers raised money for people with disabilities. In 2018, he joined BAE Systems, and his supervisors suggest that he continues to meet big challenges through collaboration and a drive for impact. A continuous learner, the Purdue University grad with an MBA from Xavier University has also completed BAE Systems’ Operations Leadership Development Program and earned numerous professional certifications. He spent much of 2023 negotiating a complex multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract and was part of a team that won a sector-wide Global Supply Chain Award for a plan that helped supply chains recover after pandemic shutdowns. His focus on ongoing process improvements has given his bosses the confidence to trust him with increasingly challenging projects, which fits with his goals of increased responsibility and impact.

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Isaac Mock already has nine published patents to his credit, and it seems unlikely he’ll stop there. A part of Allison Transmission’s Advanced Propulsion Team, he helped launch two new products and co-founded and led the company’s Emerging Professional Employee Resource Group, which is poised to win the Allison Power of Excellence Award, the company’s most prestigious honor. A high school valedictorian who graduated from Purdue University with a 4.0 GPA, he is a cellist and Ultimate Frisbee player, activities he sees not simply as recreational but as learning experiences that round him out to be someone a supervisor described as “a great future leader in our organization and industry.”

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Katie Murphy’s bosses don’t mince words when describing her impact. “She has played a pivotal role in revolutionizing our internal operations,” they say. The overview of her tech leadership certainly is impressive. The holder of bachelor’s degrees from both Butler and Purdue universities has streamlined material tracking with the design of internal QR codes. She helped select the best operating system for metric dashboards. She helped launch cobots, implemented 3D printing fixtures, automated setup changeovers for CNC mills and designed interactive dashboards. Still, as important as such technical achievements are, her bosses say her greatest attribute is more human. “Her real gift is her ability to bring people into the conversation around technology and automation,” they say.

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Scroll down to “Recommendations” on Cameron Nagle’s LinkedIn page and you’ll find a personal endorsem*nt from the founder of Reebok. Tune in to his Starting Small podcast, and you’ll hear interviews with founders from Sweetwater, The North Face, Nextdoor and more. And if you attend one of his Starting Small Summits, you’ll hear from other high-profile entrepreneurs, a reflection not only of Nagle’s ambitions but also of his chutzpah. In less than a year at Kem Krest, he has earned praise for impact that has “reverberated throughout the company,” and for the Building Bridges podcast he created as a vehicle to “foster connectivity, disseminate valuable insights and elevate the logistics brand’s visibility within the industry.” The Bethel University grad continues his efforts to promote entrepreneurialism in his community, with long-term ambitions to lead marketing at Kem Krest and help the firm attract more customers and strengthen current relationships.

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It’s a story Katelyn Niederhaus might have covered when she was a TV news reporter: A Toyota employee charged with giving tours becomes so fascinated by what she sees happening on the plant floor that she applies for a job in supply chain management. Today, that employee – Niederhaus herself – has managed a 600+ parts package and now leads numerous projects that allow her to combine her communications skills with a quickly emerging talent for inventory management. As she has grown in her role, Niederhaus has won the praise of her supervisors by recognizing operational inefficiencies, improving a scrap process and resolving parts issues. A magna cum laude graduate of Harding University, she is active in Toyota’s Young Professionals Networking Committee, a role that she hopes to use to strengthen her leadership abilities and prepare her for a job in production control management.

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Saying she “unexpectedly found a love for manufacturing” after a summer internship, Annie Pohl joined Eli Lilly and Company after graduating college and fully embraced the opportunity and fast-paced environment. Praised for her technical skills, support for operations and drive for results – Annie has led initiatives to improve manufacturing capacity and has supported new facility design. Her supervisors, however, say her real talent lies in leadership. Not content to simply manage tasks, Pohl drives success by focusing on the development of team members, “fostering a team that excels under her leadership.” A University of Michigan chemical engineering grad, Pohl aspires to lead the delivery of new technologies and strategic solutions in manufacturing and hopes to unlock the potential of others through career development and continued leadership.

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In her first four years at Rolls-Royce, MacKenzie Schoenfeld managed nearly 1,000 part numbers from numerous suppliers with an annual spend rate of more than $175 million. In addition to wrangling all of these parts for civil large engines, business jets and defense programs, she also helped to recover a major supplier’s past due values. At the same time, she complemented her Purdue University industrial management degree with a Purdue master’s, a process that included conducting a project that led to a million-dollar cost-reduction strategy. As one might expect, this kind of work earned her a promotion, numerous awards and recognitions – and the expectation among her superiors that “Mackenzie’s potential for growth within leadership is unlimited.”

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Tim Somers’ bosses sum up his impact at Dayton-Phoenix Group pretty simply, saying the company’s 2023 record production, sales, profit, productivity and more would have been impossible “without Tim’s expertise and push to improve.” But his influence goes beyond the West Lafayette company, as he is a recognized leader in the push to modernize manufacturing throughout the area, and he was even interviewed by a pair of professors writing an article for Harvard Business Review titled “How Smaller Manufacturers Can Upgrade their Tech.” A champion of lean manufacturing concepts and continuous improvement initiatives, the Purdue University grad’s biggest asset might be his humility, according to company leaders, who say that, in the face of his many accolades, “he is quick to defer praise to his teammates.”

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Scan Collin Stratton’s resume, and you could feel like you’re reading a list of Industry 4.0 buzzwords. Terms like software stacks, autonomous vehicles, analytic toolsets, data bridging, algorithm, real-time monitoring and robotics show up not just as things he has encountered but as areas in which he has had an impact. A graduate of Grand Canyon University, Stratton has, according to his former bosses, been “integral in the development of NineTwelve’s Industry 4.0 solution,” but has also played a role in advancing manufacturing throughout the state by leading the development of dashboards, insights and analytics used in workshops that NineTwelve conducts through its Emerging Manufacturing Collaboration Center (EMC2). Along with all of this technical skill, Straton’s leaders say he brings to the workplace an incredible work ethic and a lighthearted manner “that makes even the most challenging problems fun to address.” Recently, Collin started a new role at the Indy Autonomous Challenge, an organization that challenges university students to imagine, invent and prove a new generation of automated vehicle software to run fully autonomous racecars.

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If you fly into or out of Indianapolis International Airport, Nick Summers has had something to do with making sure your trip – and that of about 9 million other travelers as well as countless tons of freight – went smoothly. Described as “a rising leader at the Indianapolis Airport Authority,” Summers oversees a team of 23 Airfield Maintenance Tech Shop employees who are responsible for things like ensuring airfield lighting is up to FAA standards, keeping runways cleared of snow and ice, maintaining jet bridges and so on. Starting as an intern right out of high school over a decade ago, Summers has earned increasing levels of responsibility through his technical knowledge, accessibility, eagerness to learn and passion for supporting the growth of his team members, and for his role in upgrading airport functions, infrastructure and equipment.

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Ask Jody Suryatna to describe himself, and he’ll talk about how he helps others: As an engineering project manager with the South Bend nonprofit enFocus, he supports area businesses in their efforts to increase automation, digitization and diversification, and he mentors and coaches young professionals. Some of the native Indonesian’s work has included helping 15 companies garner Manufacturing Readiness Grants and managing automation projects for more than 20 firms. Previously, Suryatna volunteered with the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers to promote diversity and inclusion within the STEM community. Praised by his leaders for his passion for continual learning, the Purdue University graduate has earned several professional certifications and is in the process of completing MIT’s supply chain micromaster’s program.

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As leader of a team of 12, Adrianna Swift ensures that Endress+Hauser’s Level+Pressure Engineering team has the resources and tools required to optimize daily production output. Her bosses commend her as a creative problem solver who consistently improves efficiency and effectiveness across various company projects. Leaders say Swift has “gained a reputation for her adaptability and ability to work effectively in complex and challenging environments.” But she’s interested in more than just her own success. A champion of diversity and inclusion, she mentors other young engineers and seeks to help develop the next generation of engineering leaders. Also a champion of mental and physical wellbeing, the Vanderbilt University grad with an MBA from the IU Kelly School of Business is currently pursuing certification as a comprehensive Pilates instructor.

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Hunter Thompson’s supervisors don’t undersell his impact. “Hunter has accelerated advanced manufacturing through his work at Glassboard across all programs he has touched,” they say. Specializing in computer-aided design, Thompson has helped Glassboard clients rapidly create prototypes for new products and get final products to market. In addition to continually learning more about Industry 4.0 tools himself, he has been eager to support others who are learning about the industry, provide training on new technologies and lead intern cohorts. A Purdue University grad, he hopes to launch two products in the next few years – both for the sake of the new products and for the learning they’ll drive – on the way to building a skillset that will allow him to lead an engineering team.

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Joining Cook Medical after graduating from the University of Louisville – and after three co-op terms with the Bloomington-based company – Ross Whitaker has consistently driven advanced manufacturing improvements through six years of full-time supplier engineering projects at Cook Medical. In 2023, he was a driver on eight supplier change programs that drove considerable improvements and material cost savings, and he leveraged data and improvement efforts to save the company over $3 million. His work has set him on a consistent path to promotion that most recently put him in charge of building and leading a global supplier engineering team. He plans to continue his success arc by developing a global supplier change evaluation process and driving other engineering projects that will result in better raw material quality, delivery and cost.