MEP advisory board names Leslie Taito as newest member

Leslie Taito, Senior Vice President of Corporate Operations for Hope Global, has been named to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Advisory Board.

The NIST MEP Advisory Board is a national board that is legislatively mandated and established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

Taito joined Hope Global in 2014 and is the Senior Vice President for Corporate Operations focusing on developing and deploying new strategies to streamline operations, integrate best practices and attract new customers.

With over 25 years of management and manufacturing experience she is responsible for operations improvement, M&A, product and service development and marketing strategy deployment.

MEP is a US public-private partnership with centres in all 50 states and Puerto Rico dedicated to serving small and medium-sized manufacturers.

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Last year, MEP centres interacted with 25,445 manufacturers leading to US$9.3bn in new and retained sales, US$1.4bn in cost savings, US$3.5bn in new client investments, and the creation and retention of more than 86,602 jobs.

The MEP Advisory Board is expected to assist in identifying proactive actions that will enable small manufacturers to successfully address and implement changes in technology and the business environment in the future.

Prior to her employment at Hope Global, Taito served as the first Director of Regulatory Reform for the State of Rhode Island in the Office of Management and Budget.

Taito will join a team of manufacturing professionals chosen to provide advice and guidance to the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

“NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership has a successful history of helping the manufacturing community grow,” advised Taito.

“I am humbled to be included in the abundant wealth of experience that exists in the NIST MEP Advisory Board members, and I am very excited about the opportunity to work within this team to advance manufacturing in the United States.”