Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1454922
38 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2022 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE didn't know I was sitting down with the whales of the industry: Peter Sarmanian, Larry Velie, Andy Lietz. Over the course of dinner, I felt like I earned an MBA. Over a lot of wine, I was shocked at the level of candor, the sense of community, the collaboration, and the openness. In my mind, these were all fierce competitors. ey were competing with each other every day and were mortal enemies. In reality, there was a sense of comradery, and willingness to help. ey all took the time to get to know me and take me under their wing a bit and offer some mentoring. I was hooked at that point and haven't looked back since. Goldman: You were in a board shop, right? O'Neil: Yes, Hunter Technology. We had the board fab, we also had what was referred to as "board stuffing" back in the day, and then we'd buy components for customers if they needed us to. We had a couple of designers as well. Goldman: And the rest is history, so to speak. What is your more recent involvement? I take it you've always been on a management council and board of directors and that kind of thing? O'Neil: I think it was close to a dozen years that I served on the board. Now my involve- ment is largely with the IPC Education Foundation. I'm the black sheep of the family. My parents are both teachers. My sisters are both teachers. I'm the "failure" who went into industry. But it's nice to have a tie into the world of educa- tion now, bringing up people, making sure that we've got onramps into the industry, making sure that we're getting today's youth to understand that there are careers that aren't at Facebook or Google and that both of those companies actually have hardware as well. We are creating onramps from high schools and universities and working through curricula and providing scholarships—a very rewarding off- shoot of the IPC and one that's relatively new and growing, although a big part of that is kind of the same as my first meeting, that network- ing and community establishment. It's hard to do in an environment with a global pandemic, but it's progressing, nonetheless. Goldman: When you're attending a meeting, I know you meet a lot of new people, maybe not necessarily committee members or other regulars, but certainly new people in manage- ment. What's your advice to them? O'Neil: I've had the honor of sitting through a lot of standards committee work, and I think my message is to say thank you, for the most part, and offer words of encouragement and support. I think back to that first meeting. It was only a few years prior to that, I remember