At AME Milwaukee 2026, we embrace a “yes/and” approach to enterprise excellence.
Learn how innovative organizations are using technology to elevate — not replace — people. Discover how they’re creating sustainable systems that serve customers, employees, communities and the environment. Experience operational excellence in action through local tours. Connect in hands-on sessions, interactive workshops, and networking events. Be inspired by visionary keynote speakers and leave with ideas you can apply right away.
U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Colonel Arthur Athens is a nationally respected leadership expert and former Director of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership. Drawing on decades of military leadership experience, he inspires organizations to build cultures rooted in trust, accountability, and ethical excellence.
Founding Partner, Credo Growth
Heléne Smuts is an internationally recognized leadership expert who has helped organizations across six continents build resilient, high-performing teams. She combines psychology, executive coaching, and real-world leadership experience to help leaders create cultures where people and performance thrive.
Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management
Dr. Steve Spear is a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan and one of the world’s leading experts on operational excellence and high-performance organizations. As the author of The High-Velocity Edge and Wiring the Winning Organization, he helps leaders build systems that accelerate innovation, problem-solving, and continuous improvement.
Founder, TKMG & TKMG Academy
Karen Martin is a globally recognized lean management expert, advisor, and bestselling author who has helped organizations across industries improve performance through practical operating systems. Her work focuses on building high-performing cultures where respect for people becomes a driver of lasting business results.
Founder, Dennis Workforce Solutions
Latitia McCane is the founder and driving force behind Dennis Workforce Solutions. With experience across industries and roles, she brings a deep understanding of talent acquisition, development and retention. Guided by a commitment to excellence and the power of emotional intelligence, Latitia helps organizations build high-performing teams while creating stronger connections between talent and opportunity.
Keynote Speaker & Corporate Trainer
Named one of MSN.com’s Top 10 Speakers to Follow in 2025, Jon Colby is an internationally recognized communication expert who has spent more than 27 years helping leaders and teams strengthen collaboration and performance. His engaging, interactive approach delivers practical tools audiences can apply immediately.
CEO, McGuckin Group
Audrey McGuckin is a global leadership strategist who has partnered with Fortune 100 organizations to lead large-scale transformation, talent, and culture initiatives. She helps leaders embrace AI and innovation while keeping people at the center of organizational change.
Founder & CEO, SnapCab
Glenn Bostock is the founder of SnapCab and a champion of people-centered business transformation. Through decades of leadership experience, he has built award-winning organizations by proving that caring for people is the foundation for operational excellence and sustainable growth.
See World Class Supply Chain principles in action.
TOUR WITH MOLSON COORS
Step inside the Milwaukee brewery to see how Molson Coors uses World Class Supply Chain (WCSC) principles to strengthen its people, processes and performance. Explore direction setting, equipment ownership, daily management and continuous improvement practices designed to identify losses, build frontline capability and deliver stronger business results.
See how lean strategy becomes daily action.
TOUR WITH GE HEALTHCARE
See lean transformation in action at GE HealthCare’s Electric Avenue facility. Explore how the team combines lean principles, advanced technology and strong leadership to improve daily operations. From visual performance management and digital dashboards to standardized work and continuous improvement, discover practical approaches that strengthen quality, flow and accountability across the organization.
Tour with Johnsonville
Explore how the Reliability Excellence approach builds capability and drives equipment performance through operator-driven reliability, planned maintenance and focused improvement. This tour highlights how teams transition to ownership, apply predictive and precision practices and use data to eliminate losses. See how these integrated systems support a zero-loss mindset and improve overall equipment effectiveness.
These highlighted tours are just the beginning
AME Milwaukee 2026 offers additional opportunities to explore operational excellence across a variety of industries, with firsthand access to organizations advancing lean transformation, employee engagement, leadership development, digital innovation and continuous improvement. Each tour provides practical insights that can be applied long after the conference concludes.
Learn practical strategies that deliver measurable results
PRESENTATION WITH JASON NEAL, GE AEROSPACE
Discover how GE Aerospace doubled engine production and dramatically reduced employee grievances using lean thinking, behavioral science and frontline engagement—all without additional capital investment.
Balance consistency with a people-first culture
PRESENTATION WITH ROB ULRICH, GIBSON GUITARS AND CHERYL JACKSON, GP STRATEGIES
See how Gibson Guitars successfully introduced standard work in a highly skilled environment while preserving craftsmanship, strengthening engagement and earning team buy-in.
Scale continuous improvement across your organization
PRESENTATION WITH TODD SCHNEIDER AND EMILY SWANEY, OHIOHEALTH
Learn how OhioHealth empowered 35,000 employees with a lean promotion team of just 11 people, creating a scalable approach to developing problem-solvers across a complex organization.
Beyond these featured presentations...
attendees can explore dozens of practitioner-led sessions showcasing real-world strategies from organizations including Boeing, Bayer CropScience, Medtronic, RTX, Lilly, University Health, Kerry, GE Aerospace and more. From leadership and AI to operational excellence, problem solving and culture transformation, each presentation is designed to deliver practical ideas you can apply when you return to your organization.
The AME Milwaukee 2026 International Conference is much more than a manufacturing event. It is a global gathering of professionals and organizations spanning diverse industries. While manufacturing excellence remains at its core, the conference’s rich educational content and networking opportunities deliver exceptional value to attendees from healthcare, aerospace, life sciences, food production, technology, government, defense, academia and beyond.
Join a vibrant community of continuous improvement professionals and gain exclusive access to best-practice tours, expert-led sessions, collaborative workshops and inspiring keynote presentations. AME Milwaukee 2026 is your opportunity to explore the future of enterprise excellence, build meaningful connections and leave with ideas you can put into action immediately.
Your AME Milwaukee 2026 experience starts here. Explore the full schedule and start building your must-attend lineup.
Everything was put together well. This was my first event and I was greatly impressed. A truly great experience all around! Thank you!
What a great and well run event. Everything was run like a well-oiled machine. Well done to all involved.
I loved this workshop. Definitely taking things back with me to start problem solving within our process. A lot of insight.
This helped me to look at the strategies we currently use and how to improve them and what we can do different
Awesome event for networking!
Thanks to Desiree Doleski for her support during the networking event for looking for people who weren’t apart of a group and connecting them with another member. Appreciate your leadership.
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