John Fleming
Bio
Title of the Talk
"The Future of Manufacturing"
Date: August 29, 2017
In this lecture, John Fleming, (retired) president and chief executive officer of Ford of Europe and group vice president, Ford Motor Company, answered some of the pressing questions related to the rapidly evolving advanced manufacturing industry. What will manufacturing look like in the future? What is Smart Manufacturing and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)? How will IIoT impact manufacturing domestically and globally? What skills will people need in the future to secure manufacturing jobs? What skills (curricular and extracurricular) should students and individuals currently in the workforce to prepare them for careers in advanced manufacturing?
Prior to his current position Mr. Fleming was President, Ford of Europe and prior to that he was Vice President Manufacturing, Ford of Europe with responsibility for all manufacturing facilities and operations.
Before taking over as Vice President Manufacturing, Mr. Fleming was Executive Director of the Ford Stamping Business Unit in the United States, an operation he was responsible for establishing. Prior to that assignment he served as Director of Global Manufacturing Engineering and New Model Programs.
Mr. Fleming joined Ford in 1967 at the company's Halewood facility on Merseyside, where he was involved in manufacturing processes for the then new Ford Escort. John Fleming was appointed Production Manager of the plant's Paint facility in 1984 and continued with responsibility for this and other areas in a number of management roles until 1988, when he left to assume European responsibility for Paint, Trim and Chassis Engineering. He returned to Halewood in 1991 as General Manufacturing Manager of Halewood Operations.
John Fleming was subsequently appointed Operations Manager of Halewood Operations in 1993. In 1995 he was assigned to the U.S. as Program Operations Manager for Vehicle Operations, responsible for managing four automotive assembly plants and three stamping and component plants.
Born in Liverpool, England, in 1951 Mr. Fleming holds an Honorary Degree from the John Moores University in Liverpool and production engineering qualifications from North East London Polytechnic.
