Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1319500
DECEMBER 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 59 just support what IPC is doing here but to look inside our own companies, adopt similar ini- tiatives, enhance our training programs, sup- port internships where we can inspire students toward a career in electronics manufacturing and hopefully hire them when they graduate. These are initiatives that a lot of us who have been just so busy building circuit boards and contending with the declining market up until the last few years, it's just not something we were putting front and center, and now we really need to do that not only to ensure our own business continuity but also to continue the continuity of the mind share and the brain- power in this industry. Johnson: Can you measure a return on invest- ment for being involved in these programs? Whiteside: It's early, but I'm convinced that there will be a return on that investment. I'd like to highlight the expansion of online training that IPC is doing through its EDGE platform. That's something that they found to be beneficial and more highly adopted dur- ing COVID-19 because of the nature of what we're going through to keep our industry op- erating. Part of workforce development here is to streamline the efficiency of training and to determine how to engage with the new younger generation workforce. A lot of it is about making knowledge available online and on-demand and adapting training deliv- ery that is suited for the younger workers in our industry. IPC has put a lot of effort into developing that. Johnson: That tells me that we can expect this to not be a temporary thing. This is going to be a new way of doing business. Whiteside: Absolutely. As businesses, we've all learned so much about how to operate differ- ently during COVID-19 and rationalize things that we used to not think much about, like a lot of the travel and meetings that we were do- ing. The nature of the restrictions forced us to think differently. And now that we've learned how to do things differently, we're assessing how we're going to do business differently in the future. I think we're all doing that. Johnson: Two years out, as you're wrapping up your position as the chairman of IPC's board of directors, what do you want your legacy to be? Whiteside: That's an interesting question, I re- ally haven't given that much thought. I guess I would say that I would like my legacy to be that I was an instrumental part of building and growing very top-notch and high-quality com- panies in the PCB industry, both Summit and TTM. With IPC, I'd like my legacy to be, hope- fully, one of serving the organization well as a board member during a period of significant growth, globalization, and expansion of value to members. Our company is involved with IPC at so many levels, and we're involved in many of the standards committees. I like to joke with my team, "Being on the board is how I serve IPC because I'm not smart enough to be on a standards committee." I've been on the IPC board of directors since 2005, and it's so gratifying to be there and watch the organization grow from where it was when I joined to where it is right now. The initiatives and the value that IPC provides its memberships now has taken on many addi- tional dimensions, particularly under the lead- ership of John Mitchell and the rest of IPC's management team. They've developed a fine association that strives to deliver more value to the members every year. The association has expanded to be a tru- ly global organization. And by doing that, it's able to represent all segments of its member- ship across the globe. It has been very gratify- ing to be able to witness that and have sort of an inside-the-boardroom view of that progres- sion through all these years. I'm honored to be part of it. Johnson: That's an awesome answer. Shane, thanks for taking the time to talk with me. Whiteside: Thank you Nolan, it's great to speak with you. PCB007