An Introduction – From the Desk of LIFT CEO & Executive Director Nigel Francis

My name is Nigel Francis and I have the honor of serving as LIFT’s new CEO & executive director.

I have been on the job for about a month now and it has been an extraordinary few weeks! There has been a lot to learn about the inner workings of the institute in getting to know the staff and our members and stakeholders, but I could not be more thrilled to be here and excited about the multiple opportunities that lay ahead of us.

By way of introduction, I have spent much of my career as a senior automotive executive, with experience in the public, private and government sectors. My past roles include: Vice-President, Advanced Engineering & Technology Development at American Axle; Vice-President, Vehicle Engineering at Mercedes-Benz technology; Senior Automotive Advisor to Michigan Governor Snyder; and inaugurator of the Automotive Industry Office in the State of Michigan.

While working at the State of Michigan, I was involved in the creation of both LIFT and IACMI here in Detroit and have been tracking their development over the past several years. I am glad to now be here in this role to help further LIFT’s growth and collaboration with IACMI and the other Manufacturing USA institutes.

It has been amazing to see the hundreds of people making this institute go, from our staff, our members and the people involved in our technology projects and workforce development and education initiatives. There is so much work going on within our network – I have truly been amazed, and was lucky enough to share some of those thoughts with Industry Week.

For those of you who are not yet LIFT members, I would be happy to talk with you about what we have to offer your organization, and how we can mutually benefit the manufacturing base here in the U.S. I look forward to having the opportunity to show you what LIFT is doing “below the surface” that you might not necessarily see.

My office is always open and my email is always on. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us.