Keynote
Taking Charge of Your Career
Keynote Breakfast
Thursday, October 12, 2006, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Kansas City Convention Center
Price: $35.00 Professionals; $20.00 Collegiate.
Mary Armstrong, president of the Boeing Shared Services Group, will deliver the conference keynote address, Taking Charge of Your Career. Ms. Armstrong reaches into her 22-year career history with Boeing to share stories that will motivate and inspire women to take charge of their careers. “Every day,” she said, “we women have the opportunity to make choices that help us advance in the field of engineering.” At stake is an opportunity to improve the gender diversity of engineering workforce and reap the immense advantages of blending diverse ideas for technical gains.
Mary Armstrong
President, Boeing Shared Services Group
The Boeing Company
Mary Armstrong is president of Boeing Shared Services Group (SSG), a position she has held since December 2004. In this assignment, Armstrong reports to the Boeing Chief Financial Officer and leads a nearly 12,000 person, $7 billion business unit that provides cost-effective services across Boeing's global enterprise. These services include facilities and real estate, non-production procurement, employee programs and benefits, security and fire protection, safety and environmental affairs, and travel.
Prior to joining SSG, Armstrong served as vice president and general manager of the Commercial Airplanes Fabrication Division headquartered in Auburn, Wash. The division is composed of 12 operating sites throughout the world -- Boeing's largest global operations outside the United States and Canada. Specifically, Armstrong was responsible for leading component engineering and manufacturing facilities that supply parts, tools and assemblies for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Integrated Defense Systems.
Armstrong's earlier leadership assignments included serving as vice president and general manager of the Boeing Aircraft Systems & Interiors division, vice president of Boeing Facilities Services for the Puget Sound area and Wichita, Kan.
Armstrong began her Boeing career in 1984 as a process engineer for Manufacturing Research and Development. She also served as an equipment engineer and held management positions in environmental management, the Montana Aviation Research Company subsidiary, and Facilities. Prior to joining Boeing, Armstrong worked as a process engineer for Chevron Research Company, Richmond, Calif.
Armstrong has a Bachelor of Science and Master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Washington and University of Rochester, New York. She serves on the Board of the Puget Sound Blood Center as a member of its Strategic Planning Council. Armstrong also serves on the Board of IslandWood, a Bainbridge Island, Wash., school inspiring environmental and community stewardship. She is an immediate past Board member of the Point Defiance Zoo Society, in Tacoma, Wash.
Armstrong and her husband have five sons, and together they enjoy boating, fishing and outdoor activities.