MLC’s signature event broke records again this year as manufacturers gathered to accelerate their journeys to Manufacturing 4.0.
The Manufacturing Leadership Council hosted the 21st iteration of its signature Rethink event in June at the JW Marriott hotel in Marco Island, Florida. Nearly 500 manufacturing executives, an in-person record, participated in the event over the course of its three days, which consisted of MLC’s annual Council Day meeting, its two-day conference program, and the Manufacturing Leadership Awards gala.
The theme of the event was Accelerating Digital Transformation in Manufacturing. Speakers hailed from Celanese, Siemens, Procter & Gamble, The Hershey Company, Eaton, Whirlpool, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Peterbilt, Husco, and Milo’s Tea, among others.
In a special session, EY gave an overview of economic trends affecting manufacturing. More than 20 technology and service providers demonstrated their innovations. And at the awards gala, more than 160 companies and individuals were honored for their achievements in digital manufacturing.
Following are selected scenes from the 21st Rethink. Photos by David Bohrer, Senior Director, Photography, at the NAM. M
MLC’s Board Chair Dan Dwight, president and CEO of Cooley Group, opens Rethink 2025.Jay Timmons, the president and CEO of the NAM, MLC’s parent, describes policy initiatives in Washington that will help the manufacturing industry.Following an update on economic trends by EY chief economist Greg Daco (far right), industry executives discuss their companies’ prospects in the months ahead. (l to r) moderator David R. Brousell of MLC, Wire Experts Group’s Ted Bill, Cooley Group’s Dan Dwight, and Titan International’s Paul Reitz.A Monday afternoon luncheon panel discussion focused on How to Create a Thriving Organizational Culture with Communications and Emotional Intelligence Moderated by MLC’s Penelope Brown (far left), panelists included (l-r) EY’s Jennifer Fitzgerald, Zebra Technologies’ Kelly Nothaft, Oracle’s Rose Barry, and the Manufacturing Institute’s Carolyn Lee.MLC Board Vice Chair Ron Castro of IBM and Chair Dan Dwight of Cooley Group open the Annual Council Meeting. MLC members received a report on the Council’s activities over the past year and discussed and voted on MLC’s Critical Issues agenda for the coming year.Rethink attendees engage in lightning round presentations with technology and service companies in the event’s exhibition area.In his opening address, MLC’s David R. Brousell talks about the importance of defining the human-machine relationship in the age of AI.Siemens USA’s Barbara Humpton provides a CEO’s perspective on digital transformation.Goldman Sachs’ Jack Anstey charts how Wall Street views digital transformation in manufacturing.EnerSys’s Raphael Germe presents a case study on daily improvements through digital.Accelerating digital and AI transformation for “10x manufacturing value” was the subject of a case study by Celanese’s Andrew Penton.Handicapping the Global Digital Transformation Race was debated by a panel of leading manufacturing industry analysts. (l to r) Moderator David R. Brousell of MLC, IDC’s Bob Parker, ARC Advisory Group’s Craig Resnick, LNS Research’s Matt Littlefield, and Tech-Clarity’s Julie Fraser.Demystifying autonomous operations was the subject of a panel discussion. (l to r) MLC’s David R. Brousell, as moderator; Cytiva’s Kevin Seaver, Rockwell Automation/Kalypso’s Tessa Myers; and Proctor & Gamble’s Alberto Gomez.Hershey’s Will Bonifant, a member of MLC’s Board of Governors, describes Hershey’s Digital Factory and how it is driving manufacturing excellence.Reimagining Reliability as a Growth Driver was the title of a panel discussion moderated by MLC’s Jeff Puma (far left). Panelists included (l to r) KIK Consumer Products’ Steve Schock and MaintainX’s Nick Haase.Rethink attendees gather for an in-depth (Re)Think Tank.Eaton’s Craig Sutton talks about how Eaton is scaling its digital transformation.Shaping the Future of Digital Resilience in the AI Era was discussed by Coca-Cola’s Venkat Subramanian (center) and NTT DATA’s Prasoon Saxena (right). The session was moderated by MLC’s David R. Brousell (left).Next generation leadership was the subject of a panel moderated by MLC’s Penelope Brown (left). Panelists included (l to r) CertainTeed’s CisLee Trost, Peterbilt’s Corey Roberts, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Adele Martinat, and Whirlpool’s Trent Hensel.IPG’s Emmauel Boullay shares IPG’s six-year transformation journey, from big data analytics to AI/ML implementation. IPG was the 2024 Large Manufacturer of the Year award winner in MLC’s awards program.Unlocking Transformative Visibility and Control with 5G Core and Open RAN was the title of an executive interview. Joining moderator Jeff Puma (left) were AT&T’s Rob Soni and Ande Hazard.MLC’s Steven Moskowitz (left) moderates a discussion about accelerated digital transformation in small and medium-size manufacturing companies with Husco’s Joe Pfaff, Cooley Group’s Dan Dwight and Milo’s Tea Company’s Chris Droney.MLC’s David R. Brousell welcomes attendees to the 21st Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala.Finalists in the Business Model Transformation category gather on stage to be recognized for their achievements.MLC’s David R. Brousell lead a tribute to John David Gagel, a member of the MLC Board of Governors and Chief Sustainability Officer at Lexmark, who died last year. Members of the Gagel family joined Brousell on stage.Pure & Gentle wins the Manufacturer of the Year Award, Small/Medium Enterprise. Accepting the award is Darin Klaehn, joined by Cooley’s Dan Dwight (r) and MLC’s David R. Brousell.Merck & Co., Inc.’s Besu Alemayehu is named the Manufacturing Leader of the Year. He is flanked by MLC’s David R. Brousell and NAM’s Jay Timmons (l).
About the author:
David R. Brousell is the Founder, Vice President and Executive Director, Manufacturing Leadership Council
