MIT's Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) Program has announced that PerkinElmer, Amgen, Spirit AeroSystems, Pepsi Bottling Co. and General Dynamics Corp. have joined the program. These firms will join over 20 LFM member companies, including Novartis, Cisco, Flextronics,and American Axle, which joined in fall, 2006. LFM industry partners collaborate with MIT faculty, students, alumni and with each other to develop cutting-edge research and evolve LFM's prestigious two-year, dual degree graduate program.
"The broadening of the types of industries that have become LFM partners since its creation in 1988 reflects the evolving role of manufacturing. In addition to automotive and defense, they now include bio-tech, pharmaceuticals and contract manufacturing," said Don Rosenfield, director of the LFM Fellows Program.
"Manufacturing biologic medicines using recombinant technology is a complex endeavor that requires highly educated staff and exceptional leadership," said Dr. Fabrizio Bonanni, senior vice president of Manufacturing at Amgen, a biotechnology pioneer headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Bonanni added that Amgen recently initiated the largest manufacturing capacity expansion in the history of the biopharmaceuticals industry. "This global expansion will occur into the next decade and will provide a great number of leadership opportunities in manufacturing and supporting functions, like quality control and manufacturing process development," he explained. "We hope many LFM students will become part of what we consider to be an exciting era of innovation for Amgen manufacturing."
Spirit AeroSystems, the world's largest supplier of commercial airplane assemblies and components, was spun off from The Boeing Company. Thomas A. Greenwood, director of strategic initiatives, said "Spirit is a new company, however we are very familiar with the LFM program and have three graduates on our management team."
"LFM partnership provides access to talent, industry best practices, and MIT faculty and research," continued Greenwood, who is an LFM alumnus. "Its unique industry/academic partnership will allow Spirit to remain competitive in the global market as an innovative supplier of commercial airplane assemblies and components."
MIT's Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) program, created in 1988 is a collaboration among MIT Sloan School of Management, MIT School of Engineering, and industry partners. The LFM program offers future leaders the opportunity to earn, in only two years, an MBA or Master of Science in Management as well as a Master of Science in one of eight participating engineering programs. LFM's corporate partners provide generous fellowships for all students.
