A career in radio and television sales and sales management preceded Elise Elfman’s entry into the uniform distribution industry. She joined Unitec Distribution Systems as vice president of sales in early 2000, spending nine years building client relationships and growing the organization before ascending to president and CEO.

Elfman holds a Bachelor of Science in marketing and communications from Penn State University. Among her honors are The Daily Record’s Most Admired CEO recognition, the Smart CEO Brava Award, the Trademark Women of Distinction Award and the RFxPremier Leading Link Award. She serves on the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Certification Committee and as a mentor.

What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

The biggest challenge in the uniform industry today is managing complexity at scale. Large organizations are no longer just purchasing uniforms; they’re trying to control cost, ensure compliance, manage distributed workforces and maintain brand consistency across hundreds or thousands of employees. Most legacy systems and providers weren’t built for that level of visibility or control. As a result, companies struggle with inefficiencies, a lack of real-time data and fragmented processes. The industry is at a turning point where technology, integration and data-driven management are no longer optional; they are essential.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I’ve ever received is to focus on building systems, not just solving problems. Early in my career, it was easy to jump in and fix issues as they came up. But real growth and lasting success, both for a company and its people, comes from creating processes and infrastructure that prevent those problems from recurring. That mindset has shaped how I lead and how we scale for long-term growth.

How do you define success?

Building something that creates lasting value for customers, for employees and for the organization as a whole. It’s not just about growth or financial performance but about creating systems, relationships and solutions that continue to deliver impact over time. True success is scaling that impact without compromising integrity, accountability or a strong team culture.

A 25-year career with a single company built the foundation for Maria Ford’s ascent to one of its most senior roles. Ford serves as president of U.S. commercial and industrial Sales and marketing at Stanley Black & Decker, overseeing a $2 billion division and a team of more than 400. She joined the company in 1998 as a sales intern and advanced through field sales, product management and channel marketing before assuming the presidency in 2022.

Ford leads strategic partnerships built around brands including DeWalt, Craftsman and Stanley. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Loyola University Maryland.

A University of Maryland, College Park accounting graduate, Michael Kelleher leads Maryland MEP, overseeing an organization of five employees and $5 million in annual revenue. Since September 2025, Maryland MEP has secured more than $2.5 million in competitive grants from the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, the Maryland Energy Administration and the Maryland Department of Labor, funding new services in technology adoption and workforce training for manufacturers.

Kelleher serves as board chair of the American Small Manufacturers Coalition and is involved with RMI of Maryland and the Howard County Youth Apprenticeship Council. He is a Leadership Maryland 2019 alumnus.

What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

The biggest challenge facing our industry is assisting manufacturers with overcoming workforce challenges, attracting new talent and implementing new technologies to remain competitive in a difficult environment.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

To not be afraid to fail. As long as you learn from your experiences and you can build upon them, it ensures that you are not afraid to try new things and take chances.

How do you define success?

I would define success as making a positive impact on whatever challenge, problem or goal that I am working towards.

With more than two decades of industrial leadership experience, Mahesh Narang serves as executive vice president and president, access, at Oshkosh Corp., a role he assumed in November 2023. In that capacity, Narang oversees all aspects of the company’s access segment, which includes JLG and Jerr-Dan.

He previously served as vice president and president of Components at Cummins Inc. from 2021 to October 2023, directing strategic and operational leadership for the company’s global components business. He joined Cummins in 2003 and held roles of increasing responsibility across functional areas. Narang also serves on the Moog Inc. board of directors.

With more than 20 years spanning consulting and industry, Sanjeev Singh Sahni brings a rare breadth of operational and strategic experience to his role as CEO of Xometry, the global artificial-intelligence-native marketplace for manufacturing. Sahni joined Xometry in January 2025 after more than seven years at Wayfair, where he held vice president and head-of roles across B2B e-commerce, sales and customer experience.

Before Wayfair, he was an associate partner at McKinsey & Company, leading its global transportation and logistics practice. He also held leadership positions at Citi, IBM and BearingPoint. Sahni earned a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, and attended Yale School of Management for organizational leadership.

What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

Manufacturing is facing a talent crisis that the industry has largely brought on itself — not through bad intentions but through a failure to tell an accurate story about what the work actually looks like today. We have a generation actively rejecting the traditional four-year degree path and demanding clearer returns on their time and effort. By every measure, that should make manufacturing an obvious destination. Skills compound quickly, earnings start sooner, and the work is increasingly technical. And yet the industry is losing the competition for their attention before it even begins.

The numbers frame the stakes: The U.S. will need roughly 3.8 million additional manufacturing workers by 2033, and nearly half of those roles are at risk of going unfilled — while nearly a quarter of today’s workforce is already 55 or older. What makes this solvable is that it’s fundamentally a perception problem. Modern manufacturing is tech-enabled, data-driven and intellectually demanding, but the public image hasn’t kept pace.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I’ve ever received is simple but powerful: Focus on the outcomes you can control and don’t let the noise around you distract you.

How do you define success?

Success is the fuel that powers winning teams, and the best leaders understand that it’s not meant to be held by one person – it’s meant to be shared. When you take the time to celebrate wins, you give others the opportunity to learn, grow and feel genuinely invested in what you’re building.

A decorated Air Force veteran and aerospace executive, Jim Taiclet joined the board of Lockheed Martin Corporation in 2018, became president and CEO in 2020, then also took the title of chairman in 2021. Before Lockheed Martin, Taiclet led American Tower Corporation as chairman, president and CEO, growing its market capitalization from roughly $2 billion to more than $100 billion and expanding operations to 19 countries.

He previously served as president of AlliedSignal and as vice president of Engine Services at Pratt & Whitney. Taiclet began his career as a U.S. Air Force officer and pilot, logging more than 5,000 flight hours and serving in Operation Desert Shield. He holds bachelor’s degrees in engineering and international relations from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master’s degree from Princeton University.

A first-generation college graduate who rose through the ranks of the aerospace and defense industry, Kathy Warden has served as chair, CEO and president of Northrop Grumman Corporation since 2019. Before assuming the top role, she served as president and chief operating officer and led the integration of the company’s Orbital ATK acquisition. She also held positions as corporate vice president and president of the Mission Systems and Information Systems sectors.

Prior to joining Northrop Grumman in 2008, Warden held leadership roles at General Dynamics and General Electric. She earned a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University.