Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – The Manufacturing Leadership Council, a division of the National Association of Manufacturers, has announced the election of Mary Beth Heydrick, vice president of operations for Dow’s performance materials and coatings business segment and operations in North America and a member of Dow’s operations leadership team, to the MLC’s Board of Governors. The MLC is the nation’s foremost executive leadership organization dedicated to driving transformational growth for manufacturing companies along their digital journey to Manufacturing 4.0.

In addition to Heydrick’s appointment, MLC Co-Founder, Vice President and Executive Director David R. Brousell was officially appointed to the MLC Board of Governors as the MLC’s direct representative. The Board of Governors also reelected John Fleming, former executive vice president of global manufacturing and labor affairs at Ford, and Mike Packer, director of production strategy at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, as MLC Board chair and vice chair, respectively, for another year.

The MLC Board of Governors approved Heydrick’s nomination in a unanimous vote. With this appointment, the MLC Board consists of 19 industry thought leaders who represent the full ecosystem of the manufacturing industry, which includes large global enterprises, small and medium-sized manufacturers, leading academic institutions and influential industry analysts.

As an advisory body, the MLC Board of Governors provides guidance to the MLC on its “critical issues” agenda, research studies and programs and services for the MLC membership. Dow has been a committed and highly engaged MLC member for many years.

“I am delighted to welcome Mary Beth to the Board,” said Fleming. “We look forward to working with her and benefiting from her extensive manufacturing industry experience and insights.”

“The role manufacturing plays in driving both economic and social prosperity is a true passion of mine,” stated Heydrick. “The MLC provides a critical voice as companies navigate the ever-changing landscape facing all manufacturers. I look forward to being part of the MLC Board of Governors and providing my insight and expertise now and in the future.”

Heydrick first joined Dow in 1989 and has held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility in both the U.S. and Europe. As vice president of operations for one of Dow’s business segments and geographic regional areas, she is accountable for operations at many of Dow’s locations across the globe. In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, Heydrick serves as the Asian Diversity Network North America sponsor, is a strong supporter of Dow’s Women’s Innovation Network, is a council member for Dow’s Global African American Network and is a member of the Society of Women Engineers. She holds a degree in chemical engineering from Michigan State University, is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and is a recipient of The Manufacturing Institute’s STEP Ahead Award, which recognizes women in science, technology, engineering and production careers who exemplify leadership within their companies.

Heydrick replaces former Dow MLC board member David Mongrue, who served on the MLC Board since 2017 and is now retired.

MLC: Founded in 2008, and now a division of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Manufacturing Leadership Council’s mission is to inspire and support manufacturing executives to achieve transformational growth for themselves, their companies and the industry at large through enlightened leadership. With more than 2,000 senior-level members from many of the world’s leading manufacturing companies, the MLC focuses on the intersection of advanced digital technologies and the business, identifying growth and improvement opportunities in the operation, organization and leadership of manufacturing enterprises as they pursue their journeys to Manufacturing 4.0.

MLC Board of Governors: The Manufacturing Leadership Board of Governors comprises senior executives and industry experts at leading manufacturing, academic and research organizations around the world, including Lockheed Martin, Procter & Gamble, Ford Motor Company, Dow Chemical, Merck, IBM, Europe’s SmartFactory EU Technology Initiative, Lexmark International, Protolabs, Premio Foods, Virtex Enterprises, Graphicast, the Cooley Group, UCLA, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) in the UK, the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group, and consultants Frost & Sullivan.

NAM: The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.2 million men and women, contributes $2.32 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and has the largest economic multiplier of any major sector and accounts for 63% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.