Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1212069
40 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2020 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE Goldman: That is so true. I also have a philoso- phy that if a person is a volunteer, they will do so regardless of which company they work for. There's a lot to be said for people that volun- teer and contribute. Pudles: And it's not only the person volunteer- ing. When someone volunteers, whether it's a standards committee or one of the councils, generally, the company you work makes an economic investment. Zentech still pays me while I'm sitting in a meeting and traveling, in some cases. The bottom line is it's not only the people that are volunteering, but it's their companies as well. Also, we are very fortunate to have Dr. John Mitchell as the leader of IPC, along with the complete staff. We have one of the best working management groups that I've ever seen in this organization today, and that's really something that John has put together very thoughtfully through his tenure. It has made the growth and idea of expansion a lot easier to know that we have a competent group managing the day-to- day business. Goldman: He has breathed some nice life into IPC. Pudles: He's a brilliant man, and he's one of the hardest working people you're ever going to meet. He's very thoughtful. One of my major accomplishments was participating in the search for him and participating in bringing him on. I'm pleased to have been part of the transformation of the organization. Goldman: We have all benefited from that quite a bit. Thank you for your time, and again, con- gratulations. Pudles: Thank you. S&T Steve Pudles has over 35 years of comprehensive EMS industry knowledge and executive-level experience. He is currently president and CEO of Zentech Manufactur- ing Inc., a milaero/medical/high-reliability EMS company based in Baltimore, Maryland. He has previously held senior-level positions at Spectral Response, API Technolo- gies, NuVisions/OnCore, IEC, and Tanon/EAI. Steve attended his first IPC EMS Management Council meeting in 1987 and has spent the past 33 years serving the IPC in a variety of roles: • IPC Chairman of the Board • Vice-Chairman • Secretary/Treasurer • Board Member for 19 years • EMS Management Council Steering Committee Chairman and Member • Technology Market Research Council (TMRC) • Assembly Market Research Council (AMRC) • Member/Chairman of multiple standards committees, including IPC-D-326 and IPC-610, representing respectively the least and most purchased IPC standards of all time • Original working group member, developer, and co-creator of EMS Programs, including EMS Program Management Certification Program, EMSI-TC2 Master Ordering Agreement, IPC-1720 Company Profile, and EMS XS Steve has been heavily involved in shaping the IPC's Certification, Validation, and QML Programs that exist today. He has also helped steer the positioning of IPC-610 and IPC-620 Workmanship Standards replacement of the historical military standards for work performed for U.S. Government Contractors. Steve holds a bachelor's of engineering and a mas- ter's of science in management from Stevens Institute of Technology.