Cooper’s Kathleen Slocum wins 2019 Step Ahead award

The Manufacturing Institute has recognized Kathleen Slocum, senior manager, Corporate Quality for Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, with a Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Ahead Award for 2019. Slocum is among 130 women nationally who earned the honour this year from a field of hundreds of nominees.

The STEP Ahead Awards program, now in its 7th year, recognizes women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers and represent all levels of manufacturing. On 11 April, winners of the STEP Ahead Award will be recognized at a reception in Washington, D.C., where honourees’ stories will be highlighted, including their leadership and accomplishments in manufacturing as well as their roles in the community. Slocum, one of seven Cooper employees to receive this honor over the past four years, will attend this event along with members of Cooper’s senior executive leadership team.

“Kathleen is a hands-on leader who has made meaningful contributions to Cooper. She has dedicated her career to manufacturing and works directly with our plants to implement important quality initiatives. Her extensive technical experience, particularly in the field of tyre uniformity, supports Cooper’s commitment to high quality products,” said Brad Hughes, Cooper’s President & Chief Executive Officer.

“On behalf of everyone at Cooper, I congratulate Kathleen and wish her continued success.”

Slocum joined Cooper in 2016 with nearly 20 years of experience in manufacturing, with specialization in tyre uniformity. She is responsible for ensuring consistent quality by developing and implementing global manufacturing quality systems and leading continuous improvement activities related to variation reduction and quality improvement. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.