Renowned Leadership Expert Dr. Ronald A. Heifetz to Provide Special Keynote at the Manufacturing Leadership Summit

NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Manufacturing Executive, the global community for manufacturing leadership, today announced that Dr. Ronald A. Heifetz, co-developer of the Adaptive Leadership concept, will provide a special keynote at the eighth annual Manufacturing Leadership Summit, taking place April 29-May 2, 2012, at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL.

Dr. Heifetz, co-founder of Cambridge Leadership Associates and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, developed the Adaptive Leadership idea with Marty Linsksy, a Harvard colleague. In his keynote on April 30, entitled "The Future of Leadership", Dr. Heifetz will discuss the concept of Adaptive Leadership, which provides critical skills and tools to enable leaders not only to respond but thrive in the face of changing global forces.

Earlier this month, the Manufacturing Leadership Council, a part of Manufacturing Executive, and Cambridge Leadership Associates announced a partnership to deliver a new leadership development program to Council Members. Called Leading Adaptive Change in Manufacturing, the program is the subject of an explanatory Webcast to be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 11 am EST. Interested manufacturers can register for the Webcast by going to www.mlcouncil.com/adaptiveleadership.

Other keynote session topics and speakers confirmed for the 2012 Summit are:

• Ford's Global Manufacturing Transformation
  John Fleming, Executive Vice President, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, Ford Motor Co.
  
  
• Smart Partnerships for Greater Competitiveness
  Carlos Cardoso, CEO, Kennametal
  
  
• Ruling the Future by Learning From the Past
  Steve St. Angelo, Executive Vice President, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing N.A. and Chairman, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky and Mississippi
  
  
• Ten Technology Trends That Will Change the World in 10 Years
  Dave Evans, Chief Futurist, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group
  
  
• Back to Nature: The Next Step in Sustainable Manufacturing
  Carol Williams, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing & Engineering Division, Dow Chemical
  
  
• Sparking a U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance (tentative title)
  Mike Molnar, Chief Manufacturing Officer, National Institute of Standards and Technology
  
  

The Manufacturing Leadership Summit is an invitation-only event that enables senior manufacturing executives to network and share lessons learned. Through the event's 2012 theme, "The Future Manufacturer: Change the Rules, Rule the Future," the Summit will explore the ways manufacturing organizations must change to meet the demands of the future. These include leadership mandates for managing in an increasingly dynamic global market; the impact of greater collaboration on decision-making processes; new business models centered on work and production; build-to-demand supply chains; advanced workforce skills; and the megatrends of social media, mobility, and cloud computing. 

One-on-one networking meetings, group discussions, and social activities such as the VIP Golf Tournament will provide ample opportunities for attendees to interact, all set against the backdrop of The Breakers' spectacular 140-acre beachfront property.

The Summit will culminate with the 2012 Manufacturing Leadership 100 Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony, at which Manufacturing Enterprise Communications honors the top 100 groundbreaking companies in the industry. This year also marks the expansion of the ML100 program to include four new individual leadership achievement awards spanning entrepreneurship, next-generation leadership and culture, turnaround success, and industry advocacy. Learn more about the awards at http://www.ml100awards.com/. 

Among the sponsors of the 2012 Manufacturing Leadership Summit are Apriso, AT&T, Cisco Systems, Deloitte, Intermec, IQMS, Kepware Technologies, Microsoft Dynamics, Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Oracle, Plex Systems, Polycom, TBM Consulting Group, and Vistaar Technologies.

Learn more about the Summit at www.mlsummit.com.

ABOUT MANUFACTURING EXECUTIVE
Manufacturing Executive, a unit of Thomas Publishing Company, LLC of New York, is a community committed to connecting, educating, and supporting a global network of executives working within the manufacturing ecosystem to build a stronger, more vibrant manufacturing industry worldwide. The community is built around two core groups: the Manufacturing Leadership Council and the Manufacturing Executive Online Group. Manufacturing Executive also publishes the Manufacturing Executive Leadership Journal. Learn more at www.manufacturing-executive.com.

SOURCE Manufacturing Executive