Emily Davis
Director, Program Management
McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing | Oshkosh Corporation
I love the opportunity to make products that impact peoples’ lives. As an engineer I enjoyed solving problems, creating designs and watching them become reality. Working directly with the manufacturing team helped me improve my designs. Now I am using that problem solving, design and manufacturing knowledge to improve business on a broader scale.
As just one example of her excellent work with McNeilus, Emily recently led a cross-functional team through a series of Continuous Improvement Events (CIE) focused on driving improvement within a critical process. Prior to this CIE, the process was characterized by poor flow and a dismal 0.7 percent first-pass yield. Under Emily’s leadership, her team expertly overhauled the process, resulting in an 83 percent reduction in process steps and a 79 percent first-pass yield. Not only did these changes improve results for McNeilus customers, they also significantly reduced frustration for team members, improving employee satisfaction. The learning environment created by Emily through the improvement process continues to bring energy to the team to this day.
Within McNeilus, Emily is highly involved in the Oshkosh Women’s Network (OWN) and the Oshkosh Global Diversity council. As a founding member of OWN, Emily has helped create mentoring, professional development and networking activities to help women of the Commercial segment achieve their potential. On the Global Diversity council, Emily drives McNeilus’ “People First” culture through education and engagement around inclusion issues.
As chair of the Industrial Advisory Board of the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering department at Montana State University, Emily helps to provide real-world industry and business feedback, improving the quality of M&IE education programs at MSU. Emily has also provided leadership and mentorship to the next generation of female talent through the recruitment process of new board members.
Emily is dedicated to inspiring girls and women, and currently serves as a board development committee member for the Girl Scouts River Valleys. In this role, Emily upholds the principles of inclusiveness and the Girl Scout mission. Emily’s leadership allows Girl Scouts in 49 Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa counties the opportunity to become leaders in their communities and in the world.