The leadership development committee is a subset of the newly formed Emerging Leadership Council (ELC) within FPA. The leadership team is made up of several members from the FPA community:
- Chair Stacey Isonhood, director, project management and IT technical support, Printpack
- Vice-Chair Simon Hermans, vice president sales and marketing USA, Südpack Oak Creek Corporation
- Tim Angel, vice president of operations and supply chain Packaging Inks NA, Flint Group
- Angie Taylor, vice president and chief commercial officer, Plastic Packaging Technologies, LLC
- Justin Kimmel, senior sales account manager, MacDermid Graphics Solutions
- Ryan O’Grady, systems engineer, Hosokawa Alpine American, Inc.
This committee has initiated multiple events for the networking of future leaders to drive issues and opportunities that have a long-term impact on the advancement of the U.S. flexible packaging industry.
“This was invaluable time spent listening and interacting with a leader inside the industry who was providing his vision and perspective on leadership.”
—Tim Angel, Flint Group
The first program early this year brought together industry experts into a speaker series—it highlighted leaders who discussed their thoughts on leadership, learning, and development throughout their careers. The first event started Feb. 23 with Dan Staker, executive vice president and shareholder at Plastic Packaging Technologies, LLC.
This event provided guests with insight into Staker’s leadership journey and included a question-and-answer session. “This was invaluable time spent listening and interacting with a leader inside the industry who was providing his vision and perspective on leadership,” Angel says.
Other attendees noted that Staker provided insight into what it takes to be a good leader, and his story was inspirational for those considering becoming an entrepreneur.
Feedback from this first series was positive, and a second speaker series event is planned for late summer, with the goal to accomplish three events in 2021 and four events in 2022.
The leadership development committee is also focused on several other networking events/platforms.
In May, committee members launched a LinkedIn group that will be used by all members of the ELC. Find it at linkedin.com/company/emerging-leadership–council/.
Other events set to launch later this year and into 2022 include a mentorship program within the ELC and networking events. Committee members also are collaborating with the ELC’s recruitment committee on this summer’s internship program activities. The other two ELC committees cover advocacy and education, for a total of four.