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On this episode of The Channel Channel, CEO David Loftus discusses building extraordinary teams with management consultant Scott Shute. Scott's background is in the electronic components industry, but his most recent position was Head of Mindfulness and Compassion Programs at LinkedIn. He discusses the importance of acknowledging and supporting employees' spiritual sides in this very volatile and stress-filled post Pandemic work environment. Scott's book, 'The Full Body Yes, Change Your Work and Your World from the Inside Out' won the 2021 Nautilus Book Award.

This episode is a fascinating discussion of the remarkable impact and mission of the FIRST Robotics organization. ECIA President and CEO David Loftus interviews FIRST’s CEO Chris Moore. Chris explains the mission of this inspiring organization, founded 33 years ago by inventor Dean Kamen. He shares some of the astounding statistics: FIRST currently serves over 700,000 students in more than 100 countries, supported by 320,000 adult volunteers. The goal is to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders, innovators, and problem solvers.

This discussion features ECIA Chief Analyst Dale Ford and National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)’s Chief Economist, Chad Moutray. This wide-ranging discussion between two seasoned industry experts reveals a wealth of insights into the volatility that has become a permanent factor for strategic planners in the post-pandemic economy. The two discuss the impact of supply disruptions, the positive signs for manufacturers, what’s really happening behind the scenes, whether a recession is baked into the forecast, workforce challenges, how the U.S. is doing in comparison with the rest of the world and much more.

This episode features Executive Conference Chair Robert Derringer, Crouzet and Co-Chair Tobi Cornell, Kruvand Associates along with ECIA's Stephanie Tierney, as they discuss "behind the scenes" planning for the conference. Learn about how Toby inspired the theme, the importance of in-person events, the results of the survey conducted to gain insights into current member information needs, a sneak peek into the October 2022 program in Chicago and much more.

ECIA Chief Analyst, Dale Ford, interviews Tom Runiewicz, Senior Principal Economist for the IHS Markit Industry Service on the manufacturing economic outlook.

ECIA Chief Analyst Dale Ford and TPC Founder Glenn Hitchcock discuss TPC's latest survey results for a look at what's ahead in 2022 for the electronic component industry.

In this episode of the Channel Channel podcast, ECIA Chief Analyst Dale Ford discusses the current volatile global economy with New World Economics CEO Cliff Waldman. 

ECIA's Senior Vice President, Victor Meijers, interviews industry luminary Al Maag, about ECIA’s 100 Years of the Authorized Channel history project. This episode focuses on E-book that is being spearheaded by Maag and a team of seasoned writers and what the project entails and his charitable foundation giving back to the community.

ECIA's David Loftus hosts special NAM guests Michael O’Brien, AVP Advocacy, and Christopher Netram, VP Tax and Domestic Policy. The session focuses on the impact of proposed tax increases on U.S. manufacturers, and provides tax policy perspective as well as engagement opportunities for our member companies. This podcast provides the highlights from that discussion.

ECIA Chief Analyst Dale Ford interviews Mike Swenson, President of Mel Foster Company, an independent manufacturer representative. The discussion focusses on the completion of ECIA Manufacturer Representative (Mfr Rep) Council’s Business Review Best Practices research.

In this episode, ECIA President and CEO David Loftus speaks with Foundation President Jim Kaplan, President of Cornell-Dubilier, about the new Foundation e-learning initiative PACE, the history of the Foundation and its evolving purpose, Jim's background in the industry and much more.

ECIA CEO David Loftus interviews Peter Heigis about the implementation of the ETL program, initiated by the ECIA Manufacturers' Rep Council.

ECIA's Chief Analyst Dale Ford interviews economist Cliff Waldman CEO of New World Economics and host of “Manufacturing Matters” podcast. The two discuss the broader economy and global trends that will impact growth in the electronic components industry. Cliff will be presenting at the ECIA Executive Conference in October. “Manufacturing output plummeted in the second quarter of 2020,” Waldman explained. “Then we had a surge in the last couple of quarters of that year due to massive government spending. We saw manufacturing output falter in the first quarter of 2021, which isn’t surprising because all that spending was not sustainable. The question is whether output will continue to falter because of the severe supply shortages and disruptions, or whether we will see stabilization and a resumption of growth as the demand evens out.” The fascinating discussion ranged from technology’s role as a solution to the challenges of changing global demographics, the impact of the pandemic, his recommendations for where research funding needs to be invested, and much more.

ECIA Foundation Executive Director Debbie Conyers joins Digi-Key Electronics’ Vice President of Business Development Paul Dosser for a thought-provoking conversation with inventor Dean Kamen. He explains in detail how his wildly successful FIRST® programs have addressed the ‘demand problem’ of lack of interest in STEM careers by engaging with students early to ignite the inventor’s spirit among young people all over the globe.

ECIA CEO David Loftus and Flex Chief Procurement and Supply Chain Officer Lynn Torrel discuss all things supply chain from the EMS industry perspective. Ms Torrel spent most of her career in the distribution industry before moving to the other side of the negotiating table just over a year ago. Her background gives her a unique perspective on the value of distribution to a global electronics manufacturing organization. In her role at FLEX she manages the supply chains of over 1000 customers, including around 16,000 suppliers and one million SKUs. The wide ranging discussion covers Ms. Torrel’s commitment to mentoring through her activities with Women in Electronics, leadership, managing through Covid, her new understanding of the deeper complexities and challenges of manufacturing, and much more.

In this thought provoking interview, ECIA's President and CEO David Loftus interviews Steve Cholas for a discussion of digital transformation in the component supply chain. Steve Cholas is an industry media guru who has spent his career uncovering the pain points and misalignments between component manufacturers and distributors and developing brand solutions. Currently Steve is VP Global Business with Big Zeta, a B2B provider of technical products and solutions to enable better & easier digital transformation.

ECIA Chief Analyst discusses the post-COVID recovery and economic trends with IHS Markit Sr. Principal Economist Tom Runiewicz. They talk about supply chain disruptions, component shortages, price pressure, global acceleration of Environment, Safety, and Government (ESG) regulation and how it all impacts the electronic component industry. It's a fascinating discussion between two data experts.

Graham Kilshaw, Founder of Lectrix, the newest ECIA Service Partner (ESP), speaks with David Loftus about B2B marketing. He explains the ramifications of putting 'problem before product', a concept that has gained considerable traction especially during the pandemic. The two discuss what permanent changes will likely stick for electronic components sales and marketing and remind listeners to sign up for ECIA's webinar on the topic, "How to Build a Problem-First vs Product-First Marketing Plan for a Components company. But More Importantly... Why You Should." which occurs March 19, 2021. To register, go to www.ecianow.org

ECIA President and CEO David Loftus interviews Bob Evans, Founder and Principal of Evans Strategic Communications and creator of Cloud Wars, a unique website that ranks and analyzes the most influential tech companies. The two spend some time at 30,000 feet, pondering the big questions about current and future trends in the tech industry. It's a fascinating discussion covering Cloud Wars' Top 10, the nature of innovation, and why keeping the customer first is the most important marker of success.

ECIA President and CEO David Loftus interviews always thought-provoking Michael Knight, President TTI Semiconductor Group in this insightful discussion about the personal benefits of being an active member of ECIA, where the industry is headed post-Covid and beyond, his personal journey through the crisis, and much more.