I am an engineering leader that grew up in a little town nestled between farm fields in northeast Iowa, just beyond the driftless area.

A sign out on the highway billed it as the “Gateway to the Backbone.” Starting from around 7 years old I delivered newspapers door to door on a bicycle, rolling past corn fields. So much has changed since those days.

I’m proud to say that I’ve had a hand in driving some of the changes that you see out in the fields today. My career has been an amazing journey. I’ve worked with talented development teams in Wisconsin, North Dakota, Italy, Belgium, and now that we all Zoom, almost everywhere all at once.

It really all started in my father’s farm implement business. Dad was a force to be reckoned with; when the town refused to hook up utilities at his new shop, he ran for city council, won, and got the approval needed. He also served as Fire Chief for many years. There were almost always projects at the shop. Power washing equipment. Assembling cultivators before delivery. Cleaning carburetors and setting ignition timing. I learned how to weld there (badly) and how to sharpen saw chains. It sparked a passion that led to engineering at Iowa State University.

What I am passionate about:

In Ames I learned there that we directly impact quality of life for people. As engineers, we see structures hidden in complexity that aren't readily apparent to many. We know how to design under constraints, and we understand trade-offs well beyond just cost and timing. Though we usually work within the boundaries of an enterprise and specific technologies, our guiding motivation is the way that diverse people are served.

At HON I worked in my first factory environment, transforming ideas and materials into steel office seating. The end product had to be stylish, comfortable, and durable, at a target price, and compliant with requirements for hospitals and schools and many other settings. We were lean, which made it great place to learn, collaboratively.

Looking for bigger challenges, I moved to CNH and completed an MBA. My roles subsequently have ventured through tractor design, purchasing, product management, and data. Ultimately, I enjoy working on problems that matter. Examples from my career so far include:

 Energy efficiency: Two stage turbocharging, and Nebraska Test Results
 Safety and health: Advanced cabins and LED lighting
 Air quality: Diesel engine tailpipe emissions compliance
 Serviceability: Long life coolant, Quadtrac clear bearing caps
 Ergonomics: Steel office seating
 Food security: CVT functionalities
 Economics: Wider seeder widths, fewer field passes

A couple of years ago I decided to take on another degree as a technical refresh. Big Data platforms today are transforming how people fulfill their most basic human needs, like the ways we get around and how food comes to our family tables. Notre Dame’s Chicago based MS in Business Analytics program offered a balanced mix of sophisticated data modeling rigor with effective storytelling and AI ethics.

Our work as analysts requires integrity. We bring a sort of courage, even swagger, to be focused on tangible measures of the customer’s well being, as well as the interests of service technicians or other stakeholders, and of the environment that we all share.

In my free time I work with families in a Scouting unit in Naperville. We create safe spaces for youth to develop their own leadership skills, character, and resilience. It’s not exactly the farm implement shop of my childhood, but I occasionally get to mentor tweens on how to take long bike rides through farm country, and on welding.