LIFT Adds Sales & Business Development Executive, Expanding Support U.S. Defense Industrial Base

Sales, marketing, and business development executive Jim McManus add to LIFT’s Industry and Department of Defense Sales Team

DETROIT – LIFT, the Detroit-based Department of Defense national manufacturing innovation institute, announced today it has hired Jim McManus as Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development to lead the institute’s industry and Department of Defense sales.

McManus has over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and business development across industries, and comes to LIFT from Hutchinson Industries, Inc., where he served as Vice President of Defense and OEM Sales and was responsible for sales, business development, vehicle performance requirements and government affairs opportunities for production and aftermarket products related to OEM truck, trailer, and track vehicle markets.

“Jim’s experience and background, particularly in defense and U.S. industry, comes to LIFT at a critical time for the institute as we are growing rapidly and working to drive smarter manufacturing into the Department of Defense and across the U.S. manufacturing base,” said Nigel Francis, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, LIFT.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to continue working to advance technologies across the Department of Defense and industry with an organization which is truly making an impact across the country,” McManus said.

McManus is currently Board Member Advisor for the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA) Michigan Chapter, a member of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), Board Member of the Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Conference Committee, 2022 Chairman of the NDIA Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium Committee (GVSETS).

He previously served as Business Development Manager for Century 3/Plus, LLC, a division of Century, Inc., a Michigan-based veteran-owned small business where he was responsible for oversight, development, and commercialization of a proprietary light-weight technology for the commercial vehicle and tactical wheeled vehicle markets.

McManus is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College with a bachelor’s degree in Political Theory and minor in economics. He resides with his family in White Lake, Michigan.

ABOUT LIFT

LIFT, operated by the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute, is the Detroit-based, public-private partnership between the Department of Defense, industry, and academia, committed to the development and deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies, and implementing talent development initiatives to better prepare the workforce today and in the future. LIFT funded in part by the Department of Defense with management through the Office of Naval Research. Visit www.lift.technology or follow on LinkedIn at LIFT or on Twitter @NewsFromLIFT to learn more.