The Manufacturing Executive

Head of Marketing at Navu, John Greely, will tell you that your website isn’t less important than it used to be. It’s just no longer the only source of truth about your company. Buyers follow the path of least resistance, and if your site makes them work for an answer, they’ll get it somewhere else, from a source you don’t control. In this episode, you’ll hear why fewer visitors can mean better visitors, how to put your own website through the 60-second question, and how one buyer went from first question to “how do I talk to sales?” without leaving a single page.

Plenty of manufacturers treat maintenance as money they have to spend. Former Tesla controls engineer and Metis founder Reece Mullins sees a lever most owners overlook: every dollar saved on downtime goes straight to the bottom line. In this episode, we'll explore what changes when an AI agent joins the maintenance team. You'll hear why the fixes nobody writes down compound into real failures, how AI lets technicians take on work once reserved for engineers and why a production line could one day improve over time instead of wearing down.

Former manufacturing CEO and private equity operating partner Tate Pursell will tell you that you don’t add an outside director because a textbook says you should. The trigger is usually an inflection point: a succession, rapid growth, an acquisition, a decision that needs experience from outside the room. In this episode, we’ll unpack what an outside director brings to a family-owned or PE-backed manufacturer, and how to choose one. You’ll hear why the search starts with a three-to-five-year strategy, not a name you already know, what a PE board needs that a family board doesn’t, and the mistakes owners make with their first outside director.

ProShop ERP co-founder Paul Van Metre will tell you that very few manufacturers bring the precision they put into their parts to the rest of their business. In his new book, Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business, he lays out six stages an owner moves through, from doing the work as Operator to setting long-term strategy as Architect. We’ll walk through each stage and what the owner gives up along the way. You’ll hear why mastering the craft isn’t the same as running the business, how to fix causes instead of symptoms, and why every stage asks you to look at how you show up with people.

PPG's General Manager of Specialty Products, Amy Mercante, will tell you that leadership is not about proving you know more than the people who work for you. A research chemist turned business leader, she's often been the most senior person in the room without being the most knowledgeable. In this episode, we'll unpack what it looks like when a leader lets the experts be the experts. You'll hear what it means to flip the leadership pyramid, why she expects her team to bring a recommendation and not just research, and how to decide without waiting for every fact.