Emily Stover Derocco named president of Manufacturing Institute

Emily Stover DeRocco, former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, has been named president of the Manufacturing Institute, the research, education and workforce arm of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) (www.nam.org).

DeRocco’s appointment was announced at the annual meeting of the Institute’s Board of Trustees in Naples, Fla.

“We are thrilled and gratified to have someone of DeRocco’s stature, experience and insight leading the Institute,” Bob Ratliff, chairman of the Board of Trustees said. “With the lack of skilled employees one of manufacturing’s greatest competitive challenges, we intend to redouble our efforts in workforce development. No one is better equipped to help us accomplish that goal than Emily DeRocco.”

NAM president and chief executive officer John Engler also praised the appointment, saying, “Manufacturers have long appreciated Emily DeRocco’s ability to maximize public and private-sector initiatives to improve our nation’s training capabilities. The NAM’s members know they will have a tireless ally and advocate on their side with Emily as president of the Institute.”

DeRocco said she welcomed the opportunity to elevate the Institute’s effective workforce strategies, buttressed by high-quality research, before the public and policymakers.

“The Manufacturing Institute can help inform and focus the public’s discussions about these critical workforce issues,” she said. “It’s an honor to be given this assignment, and I’m excited by the great potential we have to effectively address both the needs of employers and employees.”

The Board of Trustees also announced Bill Canis’ appointment as vice president for Research and Innovation. Jennifer McNelly was named vice president for Education and the Workforce. They will direct the Institute’s two major divisions, respectively.

“We have put in a place an experienced, accomplished team who can effectively meld the Institute’s two strengths – an understanding of workforce and education needs and in-depth research that helps us design and implement an action agenda to address the economic challenges we face,” DeRocco said.

DeRocco joined the NAM this January as president of the newly created National Center for the American Workforce, established to promote public policies and public and private investments to ensure an educated and prepared manufacturing workforce. As president of the Manufacturing Institute, she will also continue as a senior vice president for the NAM.

She came to the NAM from the Department of Labor, where she was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2001 as the head of the Employment and Training Administration. At ETA, DeRocco was responsible for managing an annual budget of more than $10 billion funding the country’s workforce investment system

Canis joined the Manufacturing Institute in 1998 as executive director and has served as acting president. McNelly joined the NAM in January as senior director of the National Center for the American Workforce; she previously served as Administrator of the ETA’s Office of Regional Innovation.

The National Association of Manufacturers is the nation’s largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAM has 11 additional offices across the country.