MxD – Elevating US Manufacturing Competitiveness
Manufacturing x Digital (“MxD”) is a results-oriented, lean, collaborative technology focused organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and one of the original Manufacturing USA Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. MxD is where innovative manufacturers go to forge their futures. In partnership with the Department of Defense and Institute members, MxD equips U.S. factories with the digital tools, cybersecurity, and workforce expertise needed to begin building every part better than the last. As a result, MxD’s more than 300 partners increase their productivity, win more business, and strengthen U.S. manufacturing. These 300 partners include manufacturing and solution providers, large and small businesses, academics, and various government institutions.
Since its inception, MxD has been awarded more than $120 million executing more than 85 research and development projects across 35 states. Approximately 12,000 guests visit each year for tours and meetings. Over the last two years, MxD has been awarded 15 new grants, executing more than 40 projects, totaling >$50M.
The MxD team is hard-working, mission-driven, flexible, and works with a sense of urgency. They hire tech-savvy, committed, self-starters who can think outside the box, have a strong capacity to learn, and adapt to the needs of the organization executing with both skill and grit. People who love to solve problems, no matter how big or small, find they are a good fit for MxD. MxD’s state-of-the-art facility, located on Goose Island in Chicago (just north of downtown), features a 22,000-square-foot “future factory” manufacturing testbed and a bustling open-office environment. MxD is a collaborative space, hosting many events for its partners and other prestigious organizations.
The MxD CEO is the chief architect of MxD’s enterprise-wide strategy and a thought leader in the national manufacturing industry. S/he partners and collaborates with the Senior Leadership Team to develop and execute the organization’s business plan to drive long-term growth and sustainability. S/he also serves as a leader, evangelist, and principal subject matter expert in digital manufacturing technologies and represents MxD in the Manufacturing USA Network.
The CEO interacts directly with a diverse set of industry, government, and academic stakeholders with a mission to make U.S. manufacturing the most competitive in the world by realizing MxD’s vision to make “every part better than the last.” The ideal candidate is a highly entrepreneurial and inspirational leader, who is passionate about advancing U.S. manufacturing and accelerating the adoption of digital manufacturing technologies.
The CEO leads MxD’s Senior Leadership Team and directly supervises the President/CTO, Vice President of Projects & Engineering, Vice President of Strategy & Engagement, and Vice President of Finance & Business Operations. This position reports to the Board of Directors.
Key Accountabilities:
Enterprise Strategy & Vision
• Develop and communicate a clear mission-driven strategy and roadmap, including overseeing the development of the annual Strategic Investment Plan (SIP), with input from MxD partners and stakeholders to ensure that it meets the needs of industry and government partners, advances U.S. manufacturing, and supports the organization’s business plan.
• Employ user-centric design approaches to identify key problem areas facing U.S. manufacturing that can be addressed by digital manufacturing solutions.
• Align and coordinate technology roadmaps/portfolios with relevant government, university, and industry partners, evaluating potential opportunities and threats from emerging technologies.
Project Operations
• Ensure relevant project development, management, and evaluation activities resulting in clear value propositions for each project and regular assessment of project deliverables and impact potential.
Guarantee the project ideation process results in applied R&D projects that aim to de-risk and demonstrate digital manufacturing solutions that can be deployed in operational environments.
• Foster emerging technology solutions from among the project portfolio, partner portfolio, and startup community for the advancement of projects and the dissemination, transition, and adoption of digital manufacturing solutions.
• Deliver efficient, effective operations that yield value creation, decrease timelines, and clear bottlenecks for partners in de-risking and demonstrating new technology solutions.
Partner Engagement & External Relations
• Serve as MxD’s principal subject matter expert in digital manufacturing, providing strategic and tactical direction to internal teams as well as partners, and representing the organization externally, including speaking at industry events as well as advocating with key government representatives and policymakers.
• Promote MxD’s technology leadership brand with all external and internal stakeholders including MxD’s capabilities, equipment, expertise, and services to attract research and technology development engagement from universities and research facilities, government agencies, and industry associations.
• Cultivate relationships with external subject matter experts and partners from industry, academia, and government.
• Increase MxD’s reach and elevate MxD’s brand recognition making MxD a trusted source of advanced manufacturing expertise.
Business Operations
• Collaborate with the Senior Leadership Team to continually rationalize and prioritize all MxD activities to ensure clear alignment with focused product/service offerings that are optimized to satisfy targeted stakeholder needs and that generate financial sustainability for MxD.
• Develop and implement a scalable impact framework and metrics that will enable MxD to measure and track technical, operation, and financial impact for itself and its partners.
• Ensure MxD delivers value to partners and customers pursuant to the Membership Agreement, Cooperative Agreement, and all other contracts.
• Maintain oversight and accountability for the fiduciary obligations for the Institute.
The CEO will possess and demonstrate the following key competencies:
• Strategic orientation, execution mindset. The successful candidate will demonstrate a visionary yet focused mindset. S/he will possess a comfort with ambiguity and the self-drive to craft a vision and create structure within the ambiguity. The candidate will effectively prioritize and rationalize
opportunities. A reputation for action and follow-through are critical components to success in this role. Successful candidates will have a strong track record in perseverance, execution, and a reputation for rolling up their sleeves to get the job done.
• Manufacturing and technology experience. The successful candidate will have 15+ years of direct manufacturing, technology, or related advisory experience and a deep interest in the applications of digital manufacturing technologies. S/he will have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in an aligned field. An advanced degree in business, engineering, or other technical fields may be beneficial to the successful execution of the role.
• Customer orientation. The successful candidate must serve as an evangelist for the organization, able to motivate stakeholders, create excitement, and influence groups. S/he must have an externally focused mindset with a history of direct interaction with customers and a network of relationships with manufacturing and technology companies, including the digital manufacturing software vendor ecosystem as well as machine tool vendors. A network of relationships and experience working with the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies is also advantageous.
• Team leadership. The successful candidate will have the demonstrated ability to set strategy and then motivate his or her team to meet challenging goals, while maintaining high-quality service standards and timeline objectives. S/he will have the ability to command respect through initiative, leadership, and technical competence as well foster an inclusive, diverse work environment.
Collaboration and influencing skills. The successful candidate must be able to successfully operate within a matrixed organization with a complex and diverse set of stakeholders from industry, government, and academia. Importantly, she/he must be a strong communicator and will
possess a strong, yet savvy and tactful approach, and a collaborative style. The individual must understand the key internal and external stakeholders and work with each to achieve the desired results. S/he is highly adept at successfully facilitating both small and large group discussions and leading such discussions to clear outcomes.
• Driven by change. The successful candidate will have a track record of leading organizations and teams within an entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial environment. Further, s/he will have demonstrated experience leading organizations through significant transformational change and be able to leverage those experiences to work with and motivate partner organizations embarking on digital transformations in manufacturing.
• Champion of Continuous Improvement. The successful candidate must ensure the conditions are present to support and promote a culture of continuous improvement across the organization.
• Operations Leadership. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experiences in budget, profit and loss, or business management/leadership.
Anti-Discrimination Policy and Commitment to Diversity
• MxD is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a diverse environment in their workplace, their communities, and within the tech industry. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, disability status, economic circumstance, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
• Applicants must be United States citizens. MxD is unable to sponsor H1B visas at this time.
Application and Selection Process
MxD has exclusively retained The QTI Group to conduct the search for their new CEO. The QTI Group is a comprehensive human resources advisory services firm founded in 1957. QTI is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.
Qualified individuals interested in being considered for the position are invited to submit their resume to: https://qtigroup.com/MxD
Inquiries may be submitted to The QTI Group at the email or phone number listed below.
Deborah Best, Certified Diversity Recruiter (CDR)
Recruiting Consultant
608.257.1057