Troy, Mich., June 22, 2022 – Automation Alley has announced the team that will lead the recently launched US Center for Advanced Manufacturing. The Center, which will be housed within Automation Alley in Troy, Michigan, was created in partnership the World Economic Forum with support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Oakland County.
Automation Alley Vice President Cynthia Hutchison will serve as Head of the US Center for Advanced Manufacturing. Hutchison, who recently returned from Geneva, Switzerland upon completion of a 12-month World Economic Fellowship managing the development of the Global Network of Advanced Manufacturing Hubs (AMHUB), has been a steadfast champion of Automation Alley’s Industry 4.0 efforts, which have been instrumental in shifting the organization from a business and technology networking association to a globally recognized Industry 4.0 knowledge center.
Hutchison’s push in Industry 4.0 programs helped forge the relationship between Automation Alley and the World Economic Forum in the launch of Michigan’s AMHUB—helping to accelerate digital transformation for small and medium-sized manufacturers across the state by creating a collaborative ecosystem. Now, with the launch of the US Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Hutchison will be responsible for engaging the national manufacturing ecosystem to accelerate the transition towards advanced manufacturing through a series of local, national, and international projects and activities. The Center will play an active role in shaping the global agenda on the future of production, while contributing towards strengthening the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector in the United States.
This is the first such thematic Center in the world. It will join the World Economic Forum’s global community of Centers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) that help shape new strategies and policies in technology governance and will work closely with the Forum’s Platform for Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains that drives the global agenda on the transformation of industrial ecosystems for improved productivity, sustainability, and growth.
Hutchison has developed and maintained strong relationships with corporate leaders, elected officials, and strategic partners in the U.S. and abroad. Her professional career began in sales in the telecommunications field but switched gears when she founded the international outreach organization Band of Angels to advocate for individuals with Down syndrome, including her son Jordan. Because of her work with Band of Angels, Hutchison was appointed by both Republican and Democratic Michigan Governors to serve on non-partisan commissions for inclusion, and was named a Michiganian of the Year by the Detroit News in 2007 and one of Woman’s Day Magazine’s “Women Who Inspire Us” in 2006. More recently, Hutchison was named a Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Women in STEM in 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and is a resident of Rochester Hills, Michigan.
Joining Hutchison to help manage the development and acceleration of the Center are Ron Stefanski, vice president of strategy, and Alison Trumble, program director. Stefanski comes to the Center with 20-plus years of experience in the workforce, upskilling, and education arenas, previously serving as executive director of ed2go, a managing director at Penn Foster, and an e-learning consultant at B2B Advisors LLC. Stefanski has a Bachelor’s of English Literature and Art History from the University of Michigan and is a resident of Detroit, Michigan.
Alison Trumble previously served as Automation Alley account executive, working to build relationships with and create opportunities for Automation Alley’s growing ecosystem of members and stakeholders. Trumble earned a Bachelor’s in Media and Information from Michigan State University and is a resident of Detroit, Michigan.
Strengthening Collaborations and Innovation to Drive Transformation
Strategic priorities of the Center will include generating new insights by identifying latest trends to help manufacturers and policymakers in the U.S. respond to industry disruption; building peer communities of varied voices across industries and regions to share experiences, synthesize learnings and help shape collaborative responses to address global challenges; and creating multistakeholder coalitions to accelerate action by unlocking potential through new alliances. Through the U.S. Center for Advanced Manufacturing, businesses will pre-emptively address emerging opportunities in production and increase the pace of responsible industry transformation and unlock new value creation. By connecting globally with other Centers for the 4th Industrial Revolution and the Platform for Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains, the Center will play an active role in shaping the global agenda on the future of production.
The U.S. Center for Advanced Manufacturing joins a network of 15 Centers that span four continents and is the first Center in the world focused on advanced manufacturing.
Media Contact: Nicole Kampe, Digital Editor, Automation Alley, kampen@automationalley.com
