* Photograph by Shane Van Boxtel / Image Studios
NEW manufacturing alliance
Ann Franz’s first job was as a receptionist for a manufacturing company. As a high school senior in Menomonee Falls, she couldn’t have envisioned that, 20 years later, she would become the face of manufacturing in Northeast Wisconsin as executive director of the NEW Manufacturing Alliance.
Her friends and fans say fearless resilience, a knack for active listening and infectious positivity are traits that have defined Franz’s career and helped her grow NEWMA since 2006 to where it is today: a national model of industry advocacy and collaboration.
The challenge she’s up against is formidable. “Our vision statement is that every Northeast Wisconsin manufacturer will find the talent it needs, so I’m doing a really bad job,” Franz says, laughing with a silent acknowledgment that the region’s workforce shortage is a massive, pervasive challenge that cuts across industries.
But because of her passion for manufacturing (“I love that they are problem solvers,” she says) and her unique ability to really hear her constituents and connect the proverbial dots, Franz is making inroads and changing the game — never accepting the status quo.
They told her golf outings were played out. She created the President’s Cup, which sells out annually. They told her we didn’t need another conference. She helped build Manufacturing First into Wisconsin’s largest industry event. They told her there was no demand for collaborative training. NEWMA has trained and continues to upskill thousands across the region.
“When Ann has an idea, she sees it through. She is not easily discouraged. Her positive, can-do attitude inspires so many people in and outside of the Alliance,” wrote Pam Blazei, NEWMA’s marketing and events coordinator, in her nomination of Franz.
Franz says she has always been a fan of “yay.” In fact, she says that’s where she “lives and leads.” She credits a strong religious faith and positive role models at every stage of life, as well as a healthy diet of motivational speaker tapes growing up. They even helped her through a traumatic time when she cut her own hair before the senior prom, she remembers.
Among the family members who have inspired Franz are her late grandmother, who studied business at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 1920s, and her husband of 35 years, who is visually impaired and therefore faces limited career advancement opportunities, but consistently works to uplift others. Franz says he inspires her daily. “I always say I’m his eyes, but he’s my heart,” Franz says.
Franz has been steadfast in her desire to make a difference for others, even when she didn’t get the credit she probably deserved. For many years, she ran NEWMA without having the title of executive director.
“Don’t let a title diminish you or puff you up,” she advises. “You can still be an influencer, a leader, without having a title. I realized early on that the focus had to be on manufacturers and not myself.”
In the end, Franz has been recognized for her work. She has built trusted relationships with presidents of manufacturing companies — most of whom are men — and created innovative programs that are tackling the workforce issue from every angle. Franz says she is especially proud of the more than $400,000 in college scholarships NEWMA has awarded under her watch.
And while Franz says sometimes the idea of a “lifetime achievement” honor correlates with retirement, she’s far from done.
“We can’t stay where we are, because if we stay where we are we’re going backwards,” she says. “We need to push ourselves on ‘what is the next thing,’ so that is my goal — to be able to take this organization to the next level.”
