60 SECONDS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
16
CV:
2018-present: programme director, Made Smarter North
West Pilot
2016-present: managing director, business support &
business fi nance, The Growth Company
2012-2016: head of charity operations & shared services,
The Manufacturing Institute
2007-2012: operations director/managing director,
Business Link North West
2003-2007: operations director/deputy chief executive,
ChamberLink
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
Food: stock.adobe.com/ Africa Studio Colarado: stock.adobe.com/ lightphoto2
Alain-Fournier: History and Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo Uncle Buck: Photo 12 / Alamy Stock Photo
60
seconds
with...
QAs a child, what did you want to
do when you grew up?
AI had no idea, but I knew what I
defi nitely didn’t want to do, so that in
eff ect steered my course. I also grabbed
opportunities when something looked
interesting and challenging. I have always
been driven by curiosity and enjoy fi nding
ways to solve problems.
QHow did you get into the industry?
AI worked at Courtaulds, the textile
and chemicals manufacturer, which,
at the time, was building the biggest
automated warehouse in Europe. I became
HR & training manager for the group’s
Littleborough site, where I learnt about
industrial relations and started to engage
with training and enterprise councils and
the public sector.
QHow do you think manufacturing
is perceived by people outside the
industry?
AManufacturing suff ers from outdated
misconceptions: that it is in decline; that
jobs are repetitive, underpaid and involve
working in unsophisticated, dirty factories;
and that it doesn’t off er fulfi lling careers for
younger workers. But none of this is true.
Manufacturing is more innovative and
dynamic that it has ever been. It’s about
using advanced technologies like robotics,
3D printing and intelligent machines to get
things done, and using data, the cloud and
Modern factories are in clean, high-tech
buildings, not the ‘smoke stacks and oily
rags’ stereotype of the past.
The growth of manufacturing depends on
teaching the next generation of workers that
the industry is not something to fall back on
if you’re no good at anything else. There are
real opportunities for career growth.
QWhat has been your biggest
accomplishment – either in or
out of work?
AGreat mentors have made a big
diff erence to my career, and I want to
pass that on. There have been a number of
people who I have helped discover their
true potential when others treated them as
a lost cause. It feels good to have helped
them not just get back on track, but excel.
QWhat’s the secret to a successful
future for UK manufacturing?
AThe Made Smarter Review exposed
three priority areas that modern
manufacturing must focus on in order
to succeed: leadership; the adoption
of industrial digital technologies; and
innovation. Manufacturers need to be brave
enough to take that fi rst step. The Made
Smarter pilot in the North West is helping
hundreds of SMEs identify what they
need and how to access it. It is also about
overcoming the skills shortage. If the UK
is going to lead the way in digitalising the
manufacturing industry, it needs the right
people, with the right skills, to do that.
QHow do you spend your spare time?
AWalking. I’m happiest in the great
outdoors, where I can clear my head of
everything else going on in my life. In the UK
that’s in the Lake District or the Cairngorms.
Abroad, it’s the mountains of the Western
United States.
QOne thing you may not know
about me is…
AI cross-country ski. After 20 years of
downhill skiing I gave it a try and was
hooked. Now I try and get away to Finnish
Lapland a few times a year.
DONNA EDWARDS
programme director, Made Smarter North West Pilot
My favourite
holiday
destination
Colorado
A stunning
place, lots of mountains and
great whatever the weather.
My favourite book
Le Grand
Meaulnes by
Alain-Fournier
adolescence which stayed with
me since I was a teenager.
A few of my
favourite
things...
analytics to fi nd better ways of doing things.
My favourite fi lm:
Uncle Buck
It’s a great comedy
starring John Candy.
I just love the
relationship between
Buck and his niece.
A wonderful story about
My favourite food:
Caulifl ower Cheese
My mum used to make
this and
I loved
it – and
still do!
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
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