Introducing MI2's Core Team

In this month's update, we're pleased to present MI2's Core Team. This growing team supports innovation efforts throughout the ecosystem–including the work of our Metals Leadership Council, our four MI2 Strategy Groups, and the various projects and initiatives coming out of that work.

Comprising members from diverse professional backgrounds, such as metals technology, brand development, sales, project management, media relations, and strategic communications, our Core Team is tasked with executing the initial strategy established by the Metals Leadership Council, MI2's board, and MI2's strategy groups.

This month, get to know our MI2 Core Team Members. We're excited to leverage our expertise in their respective fields to unite Kentucky's innovation ecosystem under an industry-executive-led strategy aimed at positioning Kentucky as the destination for metals innovation together. Please read on to discover more about each of our team members.

Vijay Kamineni

[Image: Vijay Kamineni e1682622495276]

Vijay Kamineni is Chief Executive Officer of the Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2), a Kentucky-focused nonprofit focused on strengthening the region’s metals industry innovation ecosystem. He also leads organization-wide transformation activities through process innovation & digital initiatives at Logan Aluminum Inc as Chief Innovation & Technology Leader with the company’s Strategic Business Management Unit. Vijay started working in Kentucky’s metals industry when he joined Logan Aluminum in February 2009. Prior to his current role at Logan, he held various positions as Business Transformation Leader and Development Team Leader. He played visionary and change management roles in many successful continuous improvement programs at Logan, leveraging his lean six sigma, agile project management, and advanced analytics skills. His most recent work at Logan has involved leading the company’s Smart Industry/I4.0 initiative, bridging Operations and Information Technology. Vijay brings more than 30 years of international experience in various management and information technology experiences to his work with MI2. He previously worked in India, Malaysia, Philippines, and the United States, with business activities in many other countries as well.

Chris Conrardy

[Image: Chris Conrardy e1682622602600]

Chris Conrardy is MI2’s Director of Strategic Initiatives. In this role, Chris works with MI2 leadership and the Metals Leadership Council on the strategy, structure, and expansion of MI2–ensuring that the strategic focus areas of the Council are carried through to strategy groups, projects, and initiatives, and ensuring value is provided to the expanding membership and strategic partners. In addition to his work with MI2, Chris is an experienced professional focused on bridging the gap between research and industrial implementation. He has worn multiple hats, including engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and CEO of a manufacturing technology startup. He is a partner at Mosaic Associates LLC, a technology commercialization and investment firm, and works as a business strategy consultant. Chris has worked with a variety of organizations, from private equity-backed technology startups to non-profit applied research centers. He has extensive experience creating public-private partnerships for industrial innovation, which he gained during his 20-year tenure at EWI. Chris's persistence, humility, and innovation have been successful throughout his career, and he remains committed to unlocking untapped potential for both inventors and American industry.

Nick Noble

[Image: Nick Noble e1682623317391]

Nick Noble is MI2’s Director of Member Engagement. In this role, Nick helps manage relationships with current and prospective MI2 member companies and connect them to MI2’s core team and relevant projects and initiatives. Nick has more than 27 years of experience as a sales, marketing, and operations executive with a proven track record of consistent sales growth, brand development, and market share acquisition. He has successfully built and managed multi-million-dollar brands and business units, utilizing scalable business models and effectively managing highly seasonal business cycles. In addition to his work with Mi2, Nick currently serves as Director of Business Development at Acoustech Systems, and has led the company's transition from an R&D-driven organization to a sales-oriented one and secured the company's first sales with Fortune 100 companies. Prior to, Nick served as President and Co-Founder of The Fortress Group, co-founding the Rockcastle Shooting Center and Cave Valley Winery.

Ruthie Caldwell

[Image: Ruthie Caldwell headshot 2023 1c closeup e1682622890605]

Ruthie Caldwell serves as MI2’s Grants and Funding Consultant, where she will share funding opportunities and help partners develop competitive grant applications. This will help Kentucky become poised and ready to gain unprecedented amounts of federal grant dollars available for metals-related projects through federal legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, and CHIPS & Science Act. Ruthie owns Vision Granted, LLC, and works as a grant writer, project manager, facilitator, and bureaucracy navigator for organizations in Kentucky and Central Appalachia. She has a Master's in Communication and is a certified Project Manager who has led many teams in strategic planning, project management, grant writing, and report development. Her primary interests include economic and workforce development, downtown revitalization, addiction recovery, healthcare, education, and the arts. Ruthie is a graduate of the 2019 BRIGHT Kentucky leadership program, a Regional Partner and Steering Committee member for What's Next EKY?!, and a Fellow for AccelerateKY.

Rich Ewald

[Image: Rich Ewald e1682623189160]

Rich Ewald is MI2’s Director of Strategy Groups. He facilitates MI2’s four strategy groups that ultimately oversee projects and initiatives that match back to the four strategic focus areas identified by the MI2 Metals Leadership Council. That includes, but is not limited to, recruiting and onboarding group members, strategic planning with group leaders, and acting as a conduit between groups to find ways to generate ideas for innovation projects. It also includes acting as a liaison with the MI2 Project Management Office for project needs and reporting, and working with the MI2 CEO to advance the utility and function of the strategy groups. Rich is a business solutions architect with four decades of experience in project and portfolio management, software design, business analysis, requirements definitions, technical writing, process analysis, process improvement, agile implementation and execution, and forming and maintaining collaborative work teams. Rich spent more than 30 years in this capacity with Logan Aluminum, the Russellville, Kentucky-based aluminum factory which is the largest supplier of aluminum can sheet in the U.S. Before his tenure with Logan Aluminum, Rich served as a programmer analyst for the aircraft engine division of General Electric. He previously served as a military police canine handler for the United States Army. Rich holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from East Tennessee State University and a Master’s degree in administration from Western Kentucky University. He is a certified ScrumMaster by the Scrum Alliance.

Sarah Coots

[Image: Sarah Coots]

Sarah Coots and her company, Distance Assistants, serves as MI2’s administrative support team. Distance Assistants provides business management and consulting services which include human resource management, supervision of day-to-day operations such as training, workflow, and incident management. In addition to helping service industry professionals to expand their business, Sarah and her company oversee and provide customer service to ensure satisfaction and client retention. Her company’s out-of-the-box thinking allows companies to find cost-effective solutions for everyday issues. In addition to Distance Assistants, Sarah has operated multiple businesses of her own for more than 17 years, she has the experience to improve a variety of different work environments. From crafts and logistics to tech and law, Sarah’s communication skills are versatile and effective. Her input has enhanced more than 25 companies, among them both startups and established businesses. A variety of clients have benefited from her friendly and skillful manner of motivating employees and efficient help in guiding the business – allowing some of them to grow from three- to six-figure ventures. Sarah enjoys the rural lifestyle of Beaver Dam, Kentucky, where she lives and works happily with her husband, two kids, four dogs, four cows, two pigs, a handful of chickens, a turtle, a goat, and one free-range house rabbit.

Mike Hilton

[Image: headshot]

Mike Hilton is the Director of Project Management for MI2. As MI2's Strategy Groups identify projects to elevate the industry, Mike's Project Management Office works with external stakeholders to manage these projects to completion. Year one projects for MI2 include the Factory of the Future conference, talent & workforce analysis with multiple universities, testing energy efficient vehicles in manufacturing plants, and identifying a standardized way to mapping wasted energy in manufacturing processes. In addition to his work with MI2, Mike is the president of SparkBase Consulting, where he serves small- to medium-sized businesses and nonprofits that are team-focused and growth-oriented. He has worked with a diverse range of organizations, including an entrepreneurial hub, a global software association, local nonprofits, community development corporations and community revitalization projects, and a global construction and facilities consulting firm. With a proven track record of leading organizations through strategic change, Mike helps launch new programs and implement broad changes while maintaining stability and growth.

Sam Ford

[Image: Sam Ford Headshot e1682623585224]

Sam Ford is Director of Strategic Communications for MI2. In this role, he oversees the communications strategy and execution for MI2 across all channels–working closely across the Metals Leadership Council, Strategy Groups, and the MI2 Project Management Office. Throughout his career, Sam has worked with various organizations on innovation approaches, audience engagement, cultural intelligence, and media/storytelling strategies. Currently, Sam also serves as Executive Director of the nonprofit AccelerateKY, which launched in 2021 as a result of Kentucky becoming the first U.S. state to go through the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program and which took on as one of its first major projects supporting the concept, formation, and launch of MI2. Sam is an Innovation & Culture Fellow at the Western Kentucky University Innovation Campus and, complementing that work, collaborates with the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce to help drive strategy for recruiting companies in emerging tech and storytelling to the region. He is a research affiliate with MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing, a project co-creator with the University of Southern California Civic Imagination Project, a Knight News Innovation Fellow with Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, and a board member for Kentucky-based nonprofits Kentucky to the World, Canopy, and Employward. Throughout his career, Sam has worked on innovation strategies with a wide range of companies, including Paramount, Univision and various other organizations.

Nora Bryant

[Image: Nora Bryant e1682623720207]

Nora Bryant is the Manager of Strategic Communications at MI2, where she manages MI2’s social media efforts, digital newsletters, media relations, and special projects communications. Nora’s love for communications and storytelling ignited in the Kentucky tourism industry, where she has spent the majority of her professional career working in various marketing and communication roles with Visit LEX, Visit BGKY, and the Kentucky Department of Tourism. Nora lives in Bowling Green with her husband and daughter and is very active in the local community. She serves on the Landmark Association board, participates in Bowling Green Young Professionals and is a 2022 graduate of Leadership Bowling Green. Nora, a Henderson, KY, native and a Western Kentucky University graduate, works with a wide variety of organizations including non-profits, small businesses, and tourism entities, championing a diverse group of Kentucky stories to the world.