Our Leadership

I always had a pretty good head for business — even in high school and early college, when I managed a Carvel ice cream parlor in Brooklyn, N.Y. Knowing the customer was key to that operation, just like at Swagelok today. So was knowing how to treat customers and employees. And being responsible with finances. And making sure processes followed company standards, to maintain quality.

In 1980, I earned a degree in economics and accounting from the City University of New York. I got offers from a few firms, but felt most comfortable with the gentler, Midwestern values of Ernst & Ernst. They hired me as an entry-level accountant in their small New York office. By age 24, I transferred to the firm’s headquarters in Cleveland where I had exposure to more senior leaders.

I worked my way up the ranks, dealing with all kinds of interesting client companies. I was always the guy willing to take on a new adventure, a new assignment. In addition to tax work, I handled initial public offerings, due diligence, mergers and acquisitions, and more.

Eventually, I ran a regional financial services practice for what was then called Ernst & Young. A group of 100-some people, we served major banks, investment companies and manufacturing companies around Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit.

Soon after, I became a partner in the firm, one of my proudest accomplishments.

By 1998, I was ready for something new — some exposure to disciplines outside accounting and finance. Swagelok gave me the opportunity, inviting me to become chief financial officer.

I came on board and took over Swagelok’s finance and IT areas, but also was encouraged to get involved in even more: manufacturing, marketing, supply chain, HR. In 2000, I helped ramp up Swagelok’s business in the semiconductor industry, particularly with supply chain planning. I worked with IT to put in a new system to better allocate products and better understand customer demand.

I was so focused on trying to do a good job as CFO, that I didn’t expect to be named president and chief operating officer one year later. In 2003, I became chief executive officer.

One of my biggest successes as CEO has been picking a good team — one that shows the respect and integrity so important to this company. Here, it’s not only what you do, but how you do it.

With their help, I’ve seen Swagelok become better at listening to customers and offering them custom solutions. We’ve become more nimble, adopting lean manufacturing principles — because it’s the right, responsible thing to do.

I try to instill in my leaders a devotion to service, rather than a devotion to self. That’s helped Swagelok become as strong as it is today. And it’s helped make us a good corporate citizen. Everyone on our management team gives back to the community by serving outside Swagelok.

Personally, I’m an active board member of Forest City Enterprises Inc., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Olympic Steel and University Hospitals, where I chair the finance committee. 

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Thinking globally is something I learned at a young age. Growing up in the Netherlands, I watched — and helped — my father run a business exporting flower bulbs. He had customers in different parts of the world, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to stay at our home when they came on business trips.

My parents were generous and gracious with everyone, regardless of their background, and I learned cross-cultural respect from them. I also learned what it takes to run your own business: an entrepreneurial spirit. That spirit is something I have always been attracted to and that I respect from the distributors that I work with today.

My upbringing proved helpful during my career at Avery Dennison. I was 20 when I started working there as a junior programmer. I hardly knew anything about information technology. I’d heard about the job opening on the radio. Avery Dennison provided training and a mentor. I went to college at night to earn my degree in business/information technology.

Avery Dennison provided me with opportunities in information systems, as well as in distribution and logistics. In fact, I was responsible for the set up one of their distribution centers in Munich, Germany, which gave me a chance to learn more about the business—especially about products and customers. This experience still serves me very well.

Some years later, I became responsible for all information systems in Europe, supporting the company’s $2 billion Fasson Roll division. I traveled a lot, and I enjoyed interacting with so many different cultures in Avery Dennison’s business.

In 1994, the company invited me to consider a position in the United States. Leaving the Netherlands was a hard decision, but I didn’t want to miss the career opportunity. At Avery Dennison, it was important to have different international experiences in order to move up in the organization.

Six months later, my husband, children and I moved to Ohio. What made the adjustment easier was the foundation from my parents — always being positive about cultural differences.

I oversaw systems at all 17 of Avery Dennison’s Fasson Roll U.S. manufacturing centers — then eventually for the entire U.S. division, then for the worldwide division.

My move to Oglebay Norton gave me an opportunity to become the CIO of a publicly traded company, which had always been a career goal of mine.  Running information systems was easier in the smaller, solely American company, so they asked me to take on human resources and supply chain, too. I learned a lot, but missed the international exposure — until I joined Swagelok in 2006.

I served as Swagelok’s CIO for two years, then welcomed another assignment that would have me traveling the world again: vice president of distributor support.

Today, I regularly visit Swagelok distributors around the globe. Each of our distributors exhibits Swagelok values in his or her own way. And that’s how it should be! Sales and service centers are attuned to the customer needs in their regions. Customers anywhere in the world can find a Swagelok representative who speaks their language, understands their culture and understand their needs.

It’s exciting to work with our distributors, who have that entrepreneurial spirit that I was attracted to years ago. Working with them has rejuvenated that spirit in me, and I truly feel like I’ve come home.

As we plan corporate strategies, I’m always asking, “What will this mean globally? For Japan, the Middle East, elsewhere?” And that mindset is continuing to spread throughout our company.

In addition to supporting Swagelok’s community globally, I support it locally. I’m pleased to serve on the board of Business Volunteers Unlimited, an organization that matches Northeast Ohio nonprofits with willing volunteers.

I think of myself as a life-long learner. Give me a challenge and I’m off and running. As a young tool and die maker apprentice, I was intro­duced to stamping, injection and compression molding, plastic welding and automated assembly. Who could have guessed that this early exposure would lead me into a 30-plus year career full of manufactur­ing, learning, leading and seeking global opportunities.

I went after my journeyman tool and die maker certificate at the same time that I pursued my bachelor’s degree in industrial management. Af­terwards, I became a manufacturing engineer at a company that made faucets and air control products. One of my projects was developing radio frequency-sealed plastic packaging for the retail channel. Not only did the new packaging improve the look of the product on store shelves, it prevented parts from being taken out of faucet boxes on retail shelves— and I was awarded the industry’s Packaging Innovator of the Year award for my work. This type of packing is commonly used throughout retail now, but at the time it was a big leap.

When I joined Nupro, a Swagelok Company dedicated to manufac­turing high-purity valves, I was struck immediately by their quality, teamwork and corporate integrity. I couldn’t believe the quality of the products and the people designing and making them. Their craftsman­ship and technical knowledge surpassed what I mastered in the tool and die trade. The way they effortlessly cut and machined high-purity stainless steel was so impressive.

While at Nupro I worked as a scheduler and a production control super­visor. Then, after I got my MBA from John Carroll University, I became a foreman in a CNC machining department. I have such a high respect for people in the shop floor supervisor role. I enjoyed being the conduit between management’s plans and the hard working shop floor associ­ates who brought them to life.

From there, I moved to plant superintendent, then materials manager. When a new material requirements planning (MRP) system was being introduced, I drew what I learned from becoming APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management years earlier and helped a small team teach the organization about MRP II. A few years later, I became operations manager, then general manager of Cajon, a Swagelok Com­pany manufacturing high-purity fittings and welding machines.

When Swagelok’s groups consolidated in 1999, I took on responsibility for the combined company’s customer service and assembly opera­tions.

I had been in manufacturing operations my whole career, but that didn’t stop me from learning more about manufacturing methods, markets, our customers, their needs and the distributor channel. This passion took me to the marketing side of the business about ten years ago. That’s one of the great things about Swagelok; if you have the drive and desire, the opportunities for personal growth are limitless.

As vice president of marketing, I help with strategic pricing, acquisi­tions, setting marketing plans and strategic organizational plans, alliance contracts, marketing products and services, helping to envision and create new business—efforts that help the company continue to grow and offer more and more value to our customers.

I have consistently been an avid reader and student of markets and business models. So are many on my team. We collect ideas from other spheres, including both business-to-business and business-to-consum­er, and try to synthesize them into new solutions for customers. That’s why we created the Petrochemical Customer Advisory board several years ago — a group of technical leaders from world-class companies who teach Swagelok how we can help them better.

I serve on the board of Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland, an en­ergized organization of leaders that help grade school and high school students learn about economics and business, and their roles in the community in which they live.

My family immigrated to the U.S. from Germany when I was five. We weren’t fluent in English, but I picked up the language quickly in Kindergarten and became my family’s spokesperson and translator. Early on, language and clear communication were foremost in my life.

As a young adult, my interest in language arts led me to Hiram College, where I earned a B.A. in English and creative writing in 1974. While there, I worked in the college’s public relations office. I learned how organizational communication blended with the ability to write simply, so everyone could understand. After graduation, with my collection of Hiram news releases and alumni magazine articles, I was hired as public relations manager for Gray Drug Stores. A few years later, Gray Drug was acquired by Sherwin-Williams Company. I moved into the corporate communications department there and had a little office that CEO Jack Breen would walk by every day. Periodically, he’d stop to talk. Through those conversations, I saw how a communications person could help guide and support a company’s leadership team. I started viewing myself as more of a business partner than a communication specialist.

That’s when I got the idea to go back to college to learn more about business processes and language. I earned my M.B.A. from Cleveland State University in 1988.

After Sherwin-Williams, I moved to TRW Inc. and, over 17 years, worked in a number of interesting positions ending up as vice president of communications for the global automotive business. When TRW restructured, I left for Swagelok Company.

I was not familiar with Swagelok or the fluid systems business at the time, but a number of colleagues recommended it highly. The moment I started interviewing, I felt an emotional and intellectual connection to the company and its values.

I soon learned customers felt this connection, too. I had represented many brands, but I had never seen such high experience marks from customers in the areas of quality, reliability and service. The Swagelok brand is really something special.

That brand is one of the things I care about most in my role today: protecting the Swagelok brand and evolving it the right way. I want to make sure Swagelok continues branding from the inside out — not promoting anything outside the company that we aren’t first living inside. At the same time, we’ve been fairly quiet about our accomplishments, and it’s time we did more to share our successes.

For associates, we need to make sure each individual knows where the business is going and how he or she can help us get there.

Respect for individuals is important to Swagelok, and it’s important to me. I first learned it from my mom and dad. I remember them correcting my childhood friends, teaching them about manners, such as saying “hello” to parents when entering their home or simply saying “thank you.” I was horrified at the time, but my parents were right. Respect matters.

I try to live that truth today at work and in the community. I’m honored to serve on the boards of Achievement Centers for Children and The MetroHealth Foundation. Both organizations do a tremendous amount to support individuals and their families around Greater Cleveland.

Jim Francis is a native of northeast Ohio where he graduated from Euclid High School. After graduating from Otterbein College, he taught English and coached baseball, basketball and golf at Cuyahoga Heights High School. He received his master’s degree in counseling from Cleve­land State University.

In 1979, Jim began a twenty-year career in human resources at BF Goodrich. He held a wide range of positions in the specialty chemicals operating segment and corporate organizations.

In 2000, he joined Swagelok Company as vice president of human resources. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of Swagelok’s global human resources activities including operations, training, benefits and organization development. Additionally, he is also is responsible for the company’s health, safety and environmental departments, as well as flight operations.

He is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and has been a presenter at several Conference Board seminars.

Jim has been involved in a number of community activities. Currently, he is a member of the Cleveland Foodbank board of trustees and is a member of the compensation committee and the organizing commit­tee for the Taste of the Browns fundraiser. He is a member of the Stan Hywet Hall board of trustees in Akron where he chairs the personnel committee. He recently was elected to the board of the Cleveland Zoo­logical Society.

He has been a volunteer at the World Series of Golf/Bridgestone Invita­tional for over 25 years and has served as tournament chairman for the NEC World Series of Golf in 1991. He is a lifetime member of the board of trustees for the Northern Ohio Golf Charities and a past president of their executive committee.

Jim was a member of the 1997 class of Leadership in Akron. He has served as a board member of the Akron Community Service and Urban League, Business Volunteers Unlimited in Cleveland, the Summit Education Partnership Foundation and the Copley-Fairlawn Board of Education.

Jim and his wife, Linda, have lived in Akron for the past 30 years.

I grew up in our family business of running service stations and actually ran a Sunoco station during college. While pumping gas, checking oil and washing windows, I learned the details of running a business. I learned how to serve customers, standing face-to-face with them.

But I knew my future wasn’t in service stations. In 1985, I earned a degree in computer science and got hired at Swagelok as a programmer in the distributor systems area. With my service background, distributors’ jobs resonated with me. As I gained experience, I discovered what I liked most, though, was being part of projects — using information systems (IS) to move the business forward.

After getting my M.B.A. in 2000, I was ready for a challenge outside the computer center: director of distribution and logistics.

For six years, I ran distribution centers in the U.S., Japan, Europe and Australia. Soon, my group combined with the factory customer service group. That’s when I helped start the World-Class Customer Service Programs like the Service Summit. For the Service Summit, we invited distributor staff for a weeklong visit to our factory — then sent our staff out to visit distributorships. Everyone learned what life was like at the other end of the phone. Kind of a face-to-face customer service lesson, like at the service station. Swagelok still does it today.

Then the company got a big idea: building a new Order Fulfillment Center where most of our inventory and assembly people would work together. From 2004 to 2006, I led that program, the largest one Swagelok had ever done.

For that work, I earned a Kerzner Award for Project Management Excellence. The award is in my office, but more important to me is the picture right next to it: the picture of our program team.

Then and now, people are my focus. I know if they’re happy personally, they’ll do their best. “Listen, Learn, Help and Lead” is a phrase that I picked up years ago. It still holds true for me today. Listen with the intent of learning, and learn with the intent of helping. As chief information officer, that’s how I try to steer the Information Services organization today.

Leading project teams is what I love doing. If somebody said, “Here are the five toughest projects critical for the company,” I’d take all five, get a team and get them done. I love working with other people, helping them solve problems and accomplishing big things. It’s a great way to be involved in moving the company forward.

Ensuring Swagelok has a healthy infrastructure is another key responsibility. When our people turn on their PCs, our systems need to be up-to-date, reliable. Swagelok’s systems help us deliver the quality, innovation and other values we promise Swagelok customers.

While I always want my teams to get the “Super Bowl ring,” thirty years in martial arts have taught me that you can’t control winning and losing. You can control effort and attitude, though, and that’s what drives continuous improvement. “Every day, a little better.” I focus on that with black belts as well as myself and my Swagelok teams — and to those involved with the Pre-Professional Internship Program at my alma mater, Trinity High School.

My career started before I was 16. I worked 30 hours a week through high school — landscaping, painting, cleaning offices, delivering newspapers. And on weekends and during breaks, I worked for my family’s civil engineering business.

No matter the job, I wanted to do the best I could. As a stock boy in a beverage store, I rearranged the backroom so they could find bottles easier, so the operation flowed better.

Eventually, I wanted to run a business like my father. I majored in industrial management at the University of Akron, where I could stay close to home and help with the family business. Even before I earned my B.S. in 1978, I was managing a surveying crew for my father.

A professor at Akron referred me for a position at The Timken Company. While other companies offered jobs, Timken offered a management development program. I liked that. So I began a 17-year relationship with Timken. They provided great foundational training — how the company operated, how to be a supervisor. They helped me earn an M.B.A. at Akron.

At Timken, I worked my way up into corporate quality management and developed an expertise in quality and continuous improvement tools. In 1992, IndustryWeek named the Timken plant I was managing one of the 10 best plants in the U.S. We had quickly and drastically improved quality and reduced cost so we could compete better in the automotive market. Almost every associate helped drive the improvements. We posted improvement targets in work areas, and associates suggested ways to achieve them by writing ideas on note cards. We implemented many of those improvement ideas. We do the same thing today at Swagelok.

By benchmarking with other companies, I made contacts around the industry. In 1994, Arrow N.A. invited me to join them as vice president of operations. A couple years later, a former colleague drew me to his new employer, Newell Rubbermaid. There I served as group vice president, where I helped shorten the Little Tikes brand’s product development from two years to six months. There was also an opportunity to drive down the cost of Quality at Graco brand by 50%.

In 2005, an unexpected call came from a Swagelok recruiter, followed by an invitation to become vice president of operations. Today, I’m responsible for all industrial manufacturing in Swagelok’s valve and fitting service groups as well as the high-purity group that services semiconductor and biopharm markets. I also oversee global sourcing and manufacturing support.

I still think constantly about quality and continuous improvement. Swagelok wants zero customer disappointments. So, we focus on standard work, foolproof operations and designing out risks.

To do it, we work lean. Lean is a journey, not a destination. It’s about continually driving out waste and providing the highest quality at the lowest cost in the most ergonomically and environmentally friendly way.

But what I do at Swagelok isn’t about my results or achievements. It’s about the people. I’m just here to support them. I do “my” work at night and on weekends. During work hours, I’m in the offices or out there on the floor. I care most about building leaders who build leaders who lead others to uphold quality, continuous improvement and other Swagelok values.

I try to spread that legacy into the community, too. I serve on the board of Cornerstone of Hope, a bereavement services provider that has supported my family. I also give back by serving on the University of Akron’s Department of Management Advisory Board and Dean's Advancement Council Board for the College of Engineering. In addition, I'm a member of the board of MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, that supports and champions manufacturing in Northeast Ohio.

Working at a carwash as a kid one summer taught me so much about serving customers. Every customer was different. Some were quiet; some would talk your ear off. Some voiced complaints; others were pressed for time. That summer I learned about my ability to communicate and the importance of listening to the customer. I had the opportunity to engage with customers from all walks of life, and I enjoyed the challenge of providing a memorable customer experience, no matter how challenging the situation.

When I majored in management information systems (MIS) at the University of Dayton, it was a good mix of my interests in computer science and working with people. As an entry-level programmer for a Dayton-based retailer, I coded systems for purchase order processing and accounts payable. Later, I joined a company funded by a venture capitalist firm and wrote security software. That job really accelerated my understanding of the importance of sales cycles relative to pricing. It provided great insight into the realities of running a small business. The experience I gained there allowed me to move into the financial services area and prepared me for my next job at Bank One in Columbus.

For five years, I worked in Bank One’s electronic banking group writing software that let retailers authorize ATM and credit card transactions. This experience exposed me to the banking industry and the challenges of acquiring other financial institutions. Throughout my five years, I met some great people who were always willing to spend time educating me on a new industry.

I found myself wanting to be more involved in influencing the business — developing and defining business requirements, not just doing the required programming.

Ernst & Young offered me that opportunity in their consulting business. One of my biggest projects was working with KeyCorp, helping them implement a new database of customer information so they could understand and serve customers better. It was a challenging project which taught me the importance of integrity in building strong relationships and influencing people. I was again fortunate to be supported by individuals who provided great mentorship and truly cared about my development.

When I learned about Swagelok a few years later, the company’s focus on customers and integrity immediately resonated with me; everyone I met was consistent about doing the right thing. The idea of learning a new industry in an organization such as Swagelok was something I could not pass up. Right away I was able to leverage my technology background while taking every opportunity to understand the challenges of a global manufacturing company. Eventually I became CIO, a role which I thoroughly enjoyed.

A desire to continually learn new areas and be closer to the customer led me to my current role of vice president, customer service. I am proud of the transition and personal commitment all associates have made as we continue our journey to be a more customer-focused organization. I enjoy the opportunity to mentor and develop the many talented associates at Swagelok. We are all a work in progress and looking for ways to improve. My primary responsibility is helping the organization understand the needs of our customers while fostering a supportive environment that encourages associates to demonstrate their passion for the customer. My systems mentality has been valuable in this role. It touches so many of my current responsibilities: warehousing and logistics, plus customer relationship management (CRM), collaborative replenishment and other customer service efforts.

It’s also my honor to serve on the boards of the Beaumont School and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.

In the mid ‘70s, when the idea of alternative energy was just getting started, my brother and I would browse for hours at the hardware store in Portville, N.Y., a town of about 2,500 people. We were determined to buy cool stuff to build something. The store owner smiled when he saw us coming and knew we didn’t have very much money in our pockets. But, as we found the right parts, we would build makeshift solar panels just for fun—and because it felt like venturing into the future.

In high school, I continued to build solar panels and won many competitions at the local and state level, and eventually won third place in Engineering at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) my senior year. My friends were also a practical lot; we had to constantly maintain our old cars and motorcycles.

At Gannon University I was drawn to the engineering labs but over time came to greatly appreciate the liberal arts side of my education. I started working in the physical plant and was assigned the easy jobs, repairing mowers and other equipment used around campus. When one of the big tractors broke, I tore the engine apart, ordered new parts and fixed it. From then on, I worked alongside the campus mechanics while taking courses in heat transfer and thermodynamics — and philosophy and theology.

I guess you could say I was always interested in innovation. Mark Twain said, “When you find yourself agreeing with the masses, it’s time to pause, and reflect.” I like to look for the new and creative, even when the majority of people feel the status quo is just fine. Not technology for the sake of something new, but a better way to holistically solve a problem.

Swagelok and their signature leak-tight tube fitting technology were attractive to me as an engineer during my interviewing process. But what clinched it was the people. I really wanted to be a part of that great team. I joined the company as a manufacturing engineer in 1986 after graduation. The first six months, I worked on the shop floor machining a wide variety of valves and fittings. But I also helped develop new processes for high-purity manufacturing. It was a growing business for Swagelok. The semiconductor industry was emerging, and materials and finishes were constantly changing.

I moved up through Swagelok’s high-purity operations, and 16 years later became director of the semiconductor services company. Machining valves with superfinishes was exciting, but so was learning about customer needs and translating them into products and services Swagelok had never offered before. My experience on the shop floor proved invaluable as I learned how to get the right equipment, materials, methods and people to pull together new solutions.

When you have your sights on a real customer need, that’s everything. So, in 2004 I joined Swagelok’s talented marketing group as director of product and market development. Our focus was on emerging markets, like alternative fuels and nuclear power. Together, we helped introduce Custom Solutions, a new way Swagelok could satisfy customers with custom assemblies instead of just components.

Today, as vice president of engineering, I am responsible for all facets of technology development, materials science, and new product development. My main role now is to develop the team, environment, and resources where creativity and innovation can thrive. We are deploying many of these ideas in the local region through our global technology centers. I still enjoy deep technical challenges and seeing the results from digital design tools, but only as much as they solve problems and make our customers happy.

Outside the office, I enjoy giving back to the community and participate on the boards of the Cleveland Engineering Society, Build Up Greater Cleveland, the Swagelok Foundation and the Great Lakes Science Center, an extraordinary institution that supports kids, science and the Greater Cleveland community.

As Swagelok Company Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration, Frank Roddy oversees the financial, customer service, supply chain and information technology functions of the organization.

He joined Swagelok in 1993 as director of taxes and in 1999 was named treasurer. He was appointed Vice President and CFO in May 2000 and named CFO of the Year by Crain’s Cleveland Business magazine in 2007. Frank accepted the role of executive vice president in May 2012.

Prior to joining Swagelok, Frank was a senior tax manager at Ernst & Young. During his nine years at Ernst & Young, he provided tax, ac­counting, and auditing services to global manufacturing companies, including Swagelok.

Frank earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration — accounting from John Carroll University. He is a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs, the Northeast Ohio Alumni Advisory Council for Ernst & Young, and the Cleveland Advisory Board of FM Global. Frank also serves on the board of Cleveland Central Catholic High School.

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While I was growing up outside Findlay, Ohio, my dad was a line worker at the local Ford plant. It was a good, stable factory job. He liked it. But he also had a side job installing windows and storm doors. Beginning at age eight, I helped him. I’d build window awnings and other parts in our garage. When dad came home from the factory, he’d take what I’d built out to the job site and install it.

Dad would always say, “I GAR-antee it,” when talking about his work. If any of his customers ever had a problem with a window or door he’d installed, he’d go back out to fix it. I learned how it was always better to do work right the first time.

When I left home for college and the co-op program at GMI Engineering and Management Institute, I started a factory job like my dad. I’d take classes for three months, then work for three months in the General Motors Central Foundry. I used a molding machine to cast engine blocks out of iron. The place was gruff and grimy and hot.

But I realized my passion for manufacturing. I loved factories. I loved taking raw material or parts and making something that had value. I started to see opportunities, too — ways to do things with less waste.

After I graduated from GMI, I took a job at AlliedSignal. And a couple of years later, after working as a project and design engineer and earning an M.B.A., I moved to AlliedSignal’s facility outside Detroit. There, I helped set up a new plant to make passenger airbags — a new business in the early ’90s.

I began to learn about lean manufacturing and manufacturing quality, but it wasn’t until I became manager of AlliedSignal’s passenger car seatbelt business that I learned about product quality. How did the product function? Was it reliable? Durable? Could we “GAR-antee” it?

You could say I became a “Lean Zealot” during my years at Ford and their spin-off company, Visteon.  Streamlining production and removing waste was fascinating to me.

In 2006, when Swagelok needed a director of manufacturing for their flagship product, the tube fitting group, I was ready for the challenge. As at Ford and Visteon, I helped find better ways to bring materials together to manufacture and assemble and ship.

Today, as vice president, I’m responsible for manufacturing strategy: what equipment and methods we’ll use here in the U.S. and globally, how the process will flow through our plants and distribution centers.... Plus, I’m responsible for driving continuous improvement and quality, teaching Swagelok people how to keep finding ways to get even better.

Continuous improvement and quality are big elements of the Swagelok brand. They’re why customers have confidence in us. Having quality products is mandatory. But so is having good people who stand behind Swagelok products with an “I GAR-antee it” approach.

I try to share my passion for continuous improvement and quality as a trustee of The Swagelok Foundation and board member of WIRE-Net, a manufacturing advocacy group in Greater Cleveland.

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Looking back, Swagelok was the perfect fit for this small town girl from Wisconsin. I was raised by two schoolteachers who instilled in me an insatiable thirst for learning, a quest to make things better, and a commitment to be a meaningful part of the bigger world. 

Majoring in communications, I sampled an array of subjects such as philosophy, ethics, media, literature, even drafting.  Later in college, I became more interested in the dynamics of leadership when a professor encouraged me to run for Student Body Vice President. This role gave me the chance to give back to the University and learn more about people and communications.

I started with Swagelok as a buyer of commodities, o-rings and metal coil, but the other part of my job was buying office supplies for the organization. As people from different departments came to me to purchase special items, I learned about them and their roles and how the company operated. It was a perfect starting point for someone like me who’d always wanted to know everything about everything.

After a few months I became a scheduler, then a production control supervisor, then planning manager and various other roles in supply chain. To help pay off my student loans, I worked overtime and weekends on the shop floor. I’d suit up to go polish fittings or assemble gaskets. Again the real value in these experiences for me was getting to know the people in these different areas and how they made the company successful. As I progressed in leadership, I have loved returning the time to others that so many great mentors have given to me.

For one project, I helped build supply chains in Japan and Europe. Our company was changing, and we were planning to grow from many angles including by acquisition. That’s when I got curious about international business and law. I then decided to go to law school — not to practice law, but to understand more about how to manage legal challenges in future projects.

Later, as the supply chain manager for Swagelok’s semiconductor business, I combined the discipline of supply chain with the softer side of customer service. The semiconductor industry was moving so fast, and it was an exciting challenge to find ways to speed up how we provided information about products and services to customers.

Determining what customers needed, what would make them happy, was always interesting to me — even from my high school days serving at Ponderosa, fitting shoes at a sporting store or in college helping patients with financial concerns at an oncology clinic. What really matters to people? How can I make their day better? It’s the same thing today at Swagelok.

Customer focus will continue to steer my efforts as vice president of corporate communications. Staying on the pulse of customer needs will help us determine what actions Swagelok takes to keep growing strategically. My responsibility is connecting people to information and inspiration that helps them simplify the complex and motivates them to grow themselves, their team and our value to customers.

Outside work, I enjoy supporting causes for adolescents and teens, which prompted my volunteer work for Junior Achievement and service on the Support To At Risk Teens board. Also near to my heart is getting the word out about support for families like mine coping with Alzheimer’s disease, which drives my involvement on the public policy committee and board of the Alzheimer’s Association.