Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1532052
10 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2025 Feature Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 Since joining SMTA as director of chapter relations about seven months ago, Alicia Yao has made an immediate and definite impact. Her background includes management in the luxury product retail space which, if one reflects on it, provides philosophical paral- lels to customer relationship building in elec- tronics assembly. In this interview, she speaks about the menu of technical resources avail- able through SMTA at both the chapter level and at headquarters. Nolan Johnson: SMTA has a strong chapter- based structure with many local working groups where knowledge and information are seamlessly shared between the corporate office and chapters. What is SMTA's vision and mission when it comes to technical resources? Alicia Yao: We approach our offerings differ- ently for users vs. suppliers. For our users, we want to provide the most up-to-date technical resources, including webinars, and in-person events at our expos and conferences. Suppli- SMTA Chapters: A Bold, New Direction L-R: Jason Keeping, Sutharshan Suppiramaniam, Alicia Yao, Geoff Zacour, and Bev Christian. Here, Alicia presents the Excellence in International Leadership Award to the Ontario Chapter president.