For Immediate Release
ASQ World Conference to Feature Famed Apollo 13 Astronaut
Bayer Corporation Executive also Featured as Keynote
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 17, 2007 — Instrumental in NASA’s ground crew efforts to save the astronauts of Apollo 13, Rear Adm. T.K. “Ken” Mattingly (USN, Ret.) will share his experience of teamwork and leadership at the American Society for Quality’s (ASQ) 2008 World Conference on Quality and Improvement. The conference is slated for May 5-7, 2008, at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas.
As Mattingly will quickly note, the miracle of the Apollo 13 story was not in one person rising to the occasion, but in thousands working at peak performance to do the impossible. He is a must see for any organization emphasizing team building and personal achievement.
Mattingly served on the support crew for the Apollo 8 (first lunar orbit) and Apollo 11 (the first lunar landing) space missions. He was command module pilot for Apollo 16. A key member of the fledging Space Shuttle Program in the ‘70s, Mattingly served as lead astronaut for the Shuttle Design Support Team and led the development of national security missions to be flown on the Shuttle.
In 1989 Mattingly retired from government service to focus on the commercialization of space. He led the highly successful Atlas program in providing commercial launch services for the private sector and planning for a fully reusable launch system. As president of the Rocket Development Company, he led the development of low-cost commercial launch systems that maintained constellations of satellites and helped revolutionize global communications at the turn of the century.
Bayer Executive Delivers Other Keynote
Also presenting a keynote address is Bayer Corporation MaterialScience’s President and CEO Gregory S. Babe. Babe has been a crucial element to his organization’s success by providing expertise and support in engineering, information systems, procurement, materials management, human resources, financial, accounting and other business services to Bayer Corporation and its affiliates.
Since 1980, Babe has held several management positions including vice president of corporate quality; director of a national program to implement Bayer’s enterprise resource planning system; and has been named senior vice president of information services. He was named president and CEO of Bayer Corporate and Business Services LLC in 2003 while also continuing his role as chief information officer.
Babe serves on the boards of directors for Bayer MaterialScience LLC, Deerfield Urethane, Inc. and Sheffield Plastics. In addition, he serves as the executive sponsor of the Bayer Diversity Advisory Council.
Generations Focusing on Quality
The theme of the 2008 World Conference is Generation Quality: Spanning Borders, Practices and Professions. Quality is no longer solely associated with manufacturing or the quality department. Instead it is a goal that is sought after by all industries – from the stockroom to the boardroom.
As one of the world’s largest professional organizations, ASQ represents all business and economic sectors around the world. From the Society’s historic base in U.S. manufacturing, it has long since expanded its expertise to advance quality tools and technologies for application in education and student achievement, as well as service industries, healthcare, nonprofits and government.
The American Society for Quality, www.asq.org, has been the world’s leading authority on quality for 60 years. With more than 93,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., ASQ is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.
