Thank you to our sponsors! @Kennametal @KoppGlass @BallyDesign @CarnegieMellon @newhazlett @MadeinSWPA @DraegerNews #amgresearch

Thank you to our sponsors! @Kennametal @KoppGlass @BallyDesign @CarnegieMellon @newhazlett @MadeinSWPA @DraegerNews #amgresearch

PDMA Pittsburgh Welcomes New Board Members

We would like to welcome two new Pittsburgh Chapter Board Members:

Eric Anderson is an associate dean for the College of Fine Arts and associate professor of industrial design in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also a co-director of the Master of Product Development Program, a unique program between the engineering, design, and business. He co-teaches the award winning Integrated Product Develop (IPD) capstone course for MPD along with faculty from mechanical engineering and business. He also teaches undergraduate industrial design studios.

Eric is a Chairman Emeritus for the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) Board of Directors having served several years prior as an officer working with talented practitioners, educators and staff to shape strategy, policy and programs to improve the society and support the discipline. He is also a member of the IDSA Academy of Fellows. Prior to joining academia, he spent over a decade as a full time design practitioner for corporate departments and consulting firms based in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia and designed products that include medical instruments, tradeshow exhibits, corporate identities, and consumer products.

Connie Palucka is the Managing Director of Business Growth Services at Catalyst Connection and leads the consulting team that works directly with manufacturers to help them achieve their growth goals. She joined the company in 2005 and brings over 20 years of experience in the chemical, catalysis and nuclear power industries.

Before joining Catalyst Connection, she directed global sales teams, participated in and led product development programs, and successfully executed a number of strategic initiatives that included the development and commercialization of new technology, the improvement of various internal processes to build value-added capabilities, and the building of alliances to achieve strategic goals.

Learn more about the Pittsburgh PDMA Board of Directors

PDMA Pittsburgh Chapter Sponsors

Click here to learn more about PDMA Pittsburgh Chapter sponsorship opportunities

Tagging all the bases - Insights from Jeff, Pittsburgh PDMA Chapter President

I’ve been sponsoring three student teams in the Integrated Product Development class at Carnegie Mellon University. This is a great program. As part of it I and a few of my colleagues get presentation updates from the teams on their progress; we just completed our third and are awaiting the final.

While I’m really excited about what these students are doing and can’t wait for the outputs of the projects, I’ve found the process and experience itself to be really valuable.

As I’m traveling back to my office; the GPS is on so I can reflect on the student presentations and not miss my turns. A few observations I make:

1.       They are executing to a solid process; not skipping steps – I wonder how often in my career I have cut that corner, missed that insight.  Getting back to tagging all the bases sure has value.  Note to self – employ a robust process; don’t skip that step.

2.       Speed – not speed by skipping steps but just a disciplined focus on getting it done; sometimes getting creative to secure customer feedback.  Overcome obstacles, don’t stop and wait.

3.       The value of fresh eyes – more than a few instances where they saw it differently and I never looked from that angle (what else have I missed?)

4.       Eagerness matters – When your hungry for success, excited about what you are doing and on a learning journey its infectious and drives you to new levels of excellence.  (How do I stay eager everyday?)

I can’t wait till the final presentations – guess that eagerness has rubbed off!

Jeff Thompson

President Pittsburgh Chapter PDMA

Director Innovation at Mckesson Automation

SAVE THE DATE: May 16, 2013 Innovation Forum: Intentional Insight - McKesson's Process for Innovation