What an extraordinary week we shared this month at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri! AME’s 41st annual International Conference was a true celebration of our community’s spirit, innovation and dedication to continuous improvement. More than 1,000 professionals gathered to explore our theme, “Gateway to the future: AI and beyond,” as they dove deep into how people, technology and culture are shaping the next generation of excellence.
Reflections and takeaways from a week of learning
Our keynote speakers set an inspiring tone for the week. From Jeff Puma’s reflections on the evolution of AI to Tom LaMantia’s insights on culture as the cornerstone of transformation and Aimee Peacock’s five-year journey from chaos to clarity, each message reinforced that operational excellence begins and ends with people.
Sarah Kernion challenged us to embrace adaptive thinking, while Elizabeth Haberberger reminded us of the power of leading change with a human-centered approach. Robert “Cujo” Teschner energized us with lessons on how to thrive in disruption by building teams that learn through challenges, and he has graciously offered free access to his Debrief to Win online short course. Finally, Chen Lin offered a forward-looking view of innovation in supply chain transformation.
Andy Busch and Rami Goldratt shared how to leverage operational excellence for a competitive advantage through the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Please contact me to learn more about how AME can bring the TOC training to you.
The emcee for the event, Jon Colby, returned for his fifth consecutive year, bringing an interactive, performance-driven style to the stage.
Beyond the keynotes, attendees engaged in dozens of practitioner-led sessions, hands-on workshops and interactive idea exchanges designed to deepen learning and spark new connections. Each session highlighted the best of AME, the real-world applications, honest lessons learned and practical takeaways ready to be implemented back home.
As always, one of the highlights of our conference was the opportunity to see excellence in action through our best-practice tours, where attendees experienced firsthand how continuous improvement and a culture of respect for people come to life every day.
The energy throughout the week, from our Nubee Night and Welcome Reception to the countless conversations in hallways, workshops and the exhibit hall, was inspiring. It reminded us why AME is more than an organization; it’s a community dedicated to sharing, learning and growing together.
Thank you, conference team
Thank you again to the AME St. Louis Conference Team, led by Barry McCarthy with his team leaders:
- Todd Reese and Rebecca Michalik (Program co-chairs)
- Melisa Buie, Terry Spalding, Steve Ebbing, Ryan Zeng and Dave Zink (Program leads)
- William Harvey (Workshops chair)
- Meg Brown and Laura Robertson (Tour co-chairs)
- Jonathan Jones and his St. Louis consortia tour team
- Lynne Johnson (Keynote chair)
- And Ellen Sieminski and Glenn Campbell (Networking co-chairs)
Kevin Bennett, as always, you stepped up and lent a hand everywhere! Countless other members and volunteers contributed to this week — please know we are grateful to all of you!
And of course, a big thanks to the AME Home Team: Regina D’Alesio, Barb Clayton, Sara O’Hara and Jessi Elder, for making the magic happen. Many of you may not know, but we were incredibly fortunate to have Regina join us mid-year as our conference director. She stepped in seamlessly and led with grace, skill and dedication, playing a key leadership role in the success of our conference.
Regina shares, “It was a pleasure to work with the AME Home Team and planning committees to bring the conference vision to life. It was inspiring to see the community share learnings, make connections and build relationships throughout the week.”
AME Home Team showgirls, Jessi, Barb and Sara
AME senior conferences & events manager, Sara O’Hara and conference chair, Barry McCarthy
Notes from our attendees
Rather than me telling you how well the week went, I would like to share a few of the comments from our attendees...
“The AME International Conference never fails to deliver. We return to our organization, re-energized with new ideas and the inspiration to do more for our company.”
- Brian Tapajna, HII Newport News Shipbuilding
Brian and the team visiting the St. Louis Arch
“I wanted to express my gratitude for another fantastic, informative, and well engaged AME conference!!!”
- Lisa C. Reed, Chief retail & delivery operations, USPS HQ, Office of Continuous Improvement
“I am grateful for the leaders and the courageous employees from the St. Louis Consortia who planned and executed the tours for the conference. Many of them chose to go out of their comfort zone from doing the work to share their continuous improvement journeys so others could learn and grow from the experience."
- Jonathan Jones, AME Consortia facilitator, St. Louis
“This was my first AME International Conference, and I was so impressed! Amazing keynotes, incredible interactive sessions and so many great networking opportunities. The quality and professionalism of the conference was matched by the quality of the attendees. I was particularly impressed by the collaborative spirit and willingness of leaders to share their experiences building world-class organizations."
- Howard Sherman, Co-founder Pando Grove Group
Honoring excellence and emerging leaders
I hope you also had a chance to visit the incredible sponsors and exhibitors. They are our trusted partners and loyal AME supporters. We were also honored to welcome the young women from the Incarnate Word Academy STEM robotics team. And who could forget the incredible Zen Garden created by Niwaki!
Niwaki Garden
This year, we recognized three AME Excellence Award recipients: FGF Brands’ Locke Plant, Canada, Flex Manaus and Flex Guadalajara. We will be sharing more about these outstanding award recipients later.
Last but not least, the AME Emerging Leaders had the opportunity to graduate on the international stage for the first time ever! You will hear more about their capstone project in a future letter from a special guest. Congratulations to volunteer AME Emerging Leaders director, Becca Jenkins, and the talented 2025 cohort!
2025 AME Emerging Leaders cohort
See you next year?!
Thank you to everyone who joined us in St. Louis. You made this year’s event one to remember. For those who could not attend, we look forward to sharing more highlights and learnings in the weeks ahead. Together, we continue to build the gateway to the future — one improvement, one idea and one connection at a time.
Mark your calendars for the AME Milwaukee 2026 International Conference on October 26-29, 2026, at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, WI. The theme is “People first, progress together,” and our program will focus on a ‘yes/and’ approach to enterprise excellence. Register by October 31, 2025 to lock in our LOWEST pricing!
Finally, please meet the AME Milwaukee conference team:
- Conference chair William Harvey
- Program chair Melisa Buie
- Workshop chair Ryan Beverly
- Tour chair Dana Presley
- Keynote chair Jennifer Ayers
- And AME volunteer director Ellen Siemenski will return as the Networking chair
AME Milwaukee 2026 Conference team chairs Ellen, Melisa, Dana, Ryan, Jennifer and William
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
