Engineering Leadership

Matt Needy is Vice President of Navy Programs for Huntington Ingalls Industries, America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. Matt obtained his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and he chose Optimism as his topic.

3-Bullet Summary

• Optimism creates a highly motivated workforce.
• A part of being optimistic is having a well thought out plan. 
• Being conscious and self aware helps you not to give in to emotions.

3 Quotes

1. “Optimism is essential for you to motivate that team, and nobody wants to work for a pessimistic person.”
2. “The basis for optimism really starts with being real.”
3. “Early in your career, you have to be working on your EQ or your emotional intelligence, as well as your IQ.”

Susan Hertzberg is CEO of BrainScope. BrainScope is a medical neurotechnology company that is pioneering the objective assessment of brain injury. 

She was named an Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014 by Ernst and Young.  Susan’s undergraduate degree is in Psychology and she chose the topic of Anticipate.

3-Bullet Summary

1. As a leader, you should be able to evaluate your team members and how they will contribute to the team. This data collection is the start of anticipation.
2. Every person has a story to tell. Learn from those stories because this will greatly help you to predict behaviour.
3. Work culture is a social contract for how you’re going to engage.

3 Quotes

• “Your job as a leader is to help guide that team to be as effective and efficient as they can in that endeavour.”
• “Every single thing you learn, you will later use again.”
• “Be a life-long learner and be open to learning not just from leaders but the people designated as leaders.”

Eric Martinez is the CEO of Modjoul, a national company that creates wearable technology to keep employees safe.  His interest in workplace safety and productivity led him to start this innovative company. 

Eric is a mechanical engineer, and he chose the topic of Challenge.

3-Bullet Summary

• Learn the business from the ground up.
• Always be curious and don’t let the embarrassment of asking a question get in the way.
• Building close relationships with your peers can be invaluable when seeking a promotion. 

3 Quotes

1. “There is always a time where someone will need you to speak up and say “Hey, this is a problem”.”
2. “If you settle on a solution too early you may not get to the complete truth. Openness and transparency lead to problem solving and getting to the right answer.”
3. “Sometimes it’s your peers who get you promoted first. Then, your boss hears those praises from where you've supported them and that propels you into the next position.”

Yamini Rangan is the Chief Customer Officer with HubSpot. 

HubSpot is a leading customer relationship management platform that provides software and support to help businesses grow better. 

She’s led the marketing, sales, and services teams throughout her career...all focused around the customer. 

She is a computer engineer and she chose the topic of Engage.

3-Bullet Summary

1. Leadership can be taught and can be learned. It's not something that is just for a few people that are born with it.
2. The fundamental job of a leader is to provide a clarifying, inspiring vision for the future. Then provide the right context for people to achieve their best.
3. Be yourself in your business by embracing your authentic leadership style. 

3 Quotes

• A lot of us go through that process of soul searching, doubting ourselves, and figuring out 'if this is actually going to work'. There's a completely different playbook, and part of the playbook is thinking about the future differently."
• "For me, it came down to authenticity. So not engaging and charming 50 people at the same time.  What I found comfort in is that I could engage really well, one on one and roundtables of 10-15 people.
• "As an introvert, you might beat yourself up... 'My god, I’ve got to present or be  someone different in front of others.' No, actually, be yourself."

Ed Rose is the CEO of Mason Industrial Technology, a mergers and acquisitions and growth company specializing in the advanced materials and specialty chemicals industries. He is passionate about turning customer’s complex challenges into possibilities. Ed obtained his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, and he chose the topic of Agile.

3-Bullet Summary

• Being able to look ahead to the future and plan accordingly is a part of being agile.
• Avoid over analyzing things. This will help you move quicker.
• If you’re not failing, you’re not moving forward.

3 Quotes

1. At the end of the day, we want our leaders to be technically curious or market curious. So there’s always a ‘What if we did that differently’, and it’s hard then things are going good because the focus is on execution.”
2. “If they aren’t failing enough, they’re not pushing ahead fast or big enough.”
3. “Your instincts are much better than you think.”

Bill Malloy is President of Malloy and Company. His organization’s purpose is to foster innovation that directs positive change into communities. He’s also founded a venture capital firm that has core values and a strong culture at its center. Bill’s undergraduate degree is in Engineering from Clemson, and he chose the topic of Driving Results.

3-Bullet Summary

1. Understanding your purpose in business is critical and will help you to build a more solid product.
2. If someone is thinking of going into a corporate world, they should start early and not be afraid to ask a lot of questions.
3. When taking an entrepreneurial route you have to be willing to fail, and fail early.

3 Quotes

• “When I meet with an entrepreneur or I'm meeting with another founder, everything that we're talking about instantly changes as we walk out the door - the competitive landscape changes, the funding dynamics change, our internal dynamics change. So what really leads to that execution component, is laying the plans. And, at the same time being nimble enough to adjust as you take in your new variables.”
• “Prioritization and focus separates the highly successful companies from the ones that fail."
• “You have to figure out [...]your defined niche that your product is going to solve and how can you make money doing that.”

Brent Beason is CEO and President of B&W Fiber Glass, a global producer of advanced solutions focused on high performance textiles and textile components. He is passionate about having engineers who ‘know how to dream.”

Brent has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and he chose the topic of Resolute.

3-Bullet Summary

1. Empathetic communication with your employees is the best way to build strong teams that are driven to achieve more.
2. When you are passionate about what you do, it draws the world’s attention.
3. As a leader, it’s incredibly important to measure and mark your words very carefully. You shouldn’t give in to emotions.

3 Quotes

• “I think that the number one aspect of a leader is; your ability to be mentally tough, no matter what the situation is, no matter what you're facing.”
• “My number one joy in life is to see someone work their way up from the shop floor to our front offices...I truly believe that's my greatest legacy.”
• “No matter the difficult situation you must consider a favorable outcome for all the stakeholders.”

Michael Posillico is a Principal with Posillico, Inc., a third-generation family owned business that is one of the top engineering contracting firms in New York.  His company has led major heavy construction and public works projects, like the Reconstruction of the Long Island Expressway.  Michael is a Civil Engineer and he chose the topic of Elevate.

3-Bullet Summary

1. It’s important to find people who are hungry to learn and give them mentorship so they accelerate in their fields.
2. In order to grow your business, you need to invest and mentor your employees and teach them the skills that they need to develop
3. It’s key to maintain a positive attitude. Giving back to others sets a path for a great day.

3 Quotes

• “Mentoring is a big opportunity to accelerate leadership skills.”
• “If you’re going to lead an organization, you must find ways to accelerate the learning of your employees.”
• “If we're not elevating them [employees] up, we're not growing our business.”

Karthick Iyer is the Vice President of Engineering for NVIDIA, a global computer hardware company that has pioneered the PC gaming market and is modernizing Artificial Intelligence for worldwide usages in healthcare, accelerated computing, robotics, game development, autonomous cars and more. 

Karthick obtained his masters degree in Computer Science, and he chose Teach & Learn as his topic.

3-Bullet Summary

• Change is always there so you need to keep adapting and learning.
• Discussing and understanding the mistakes made helps leaders not repeat them again.
• Companies should work effectively on providing learning opportunities for the employees.

3 Quotes

1. “Bringing people together and leveraging communication are the fundamental pillars that Jensen (CEO of Nvidia) reinforces with us.”
2. “When leaders make mistakes, the people who end up paying the price are the employees.”
3. “People do make mistakes, and you can use mistakes as a launching pad or a stepping stone.”

Deb Conklin is the CEO of Reddy Ice, the largest manufacturer and distributor of packaged ice in the United States.

She is passionate about continuous improvement and lean fundamentals. She attributes these as the key to success for her company. Deb is an industrial engineer and she chose the topic of Inspire.

3-Bullet Summary

• You can be the smartest person or have the best strategy, but it’s not enough if you can't inspire people.
• You earn people’s trust by inspiring them.
• If you’re too focused on being right and being smarter than everybody else, you’ve already failed.

3 Quotes

1. “If people don’t believe, you can’t influence the outcome.”
2. “You earn trust by having people believe in your mission and inspiring them.”
3. “When you’re not trusted or you’re not believed in, it doesn’t matter how great your plan is.”