Today’s guest on the Women And Manufacturing podcast is Ashleigh Walters, President of Onex Inc. and author of Leading with Grit and Grace: A Journey of Organizational Culture Change. Ashleigh and WAM host Fran Brunelle discuss her experiences in managing a manufacturing company. Along the way Ashleigh shares some extremely valuable insight on lean principles, her culture of continuous improvement, and “The Wildly Important Goal.”
#224 Lean Is A Journey. You’re Never Done.

Frances Brunelle
Frances Brunelle is the founder of Accelerated Manufacturing Brokers, Inc., which specializes in the sale of lower middle-market manufacturing companies nationally. Fran and her team help to ensure the continuity of U.S. Manufacturing by transitioning ownership to the next generation of entrepreneurs. Fran writes on topics that help manufacturing business owners prepare their companies for sale and navigate the sale process to ensure a positive financial result in support of their retirement. Her articles can be found here. Recently Fran was named to 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A by Mergers & Acquisitions.
To learn more about Fran and her company, click here: About Accelerated Manufacturing Brokers, Inc.

Ashleigh Walters
Ashleigh Walters is the President of Onex, an employee-owned business operating for over 55 years in Erie, PA. Onex designs, services, and manufactures high-temperature industrial furnaces. When Ashleigh assumed the General Manager role in 2013, the company had lost sight of its mission and family-centric core values. Today, Onex’s mission is to Make Things Better: Empowered Employees, Happy Clients, Thriving Communities. Ashleigh holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University. Ashleigh is the author of Leading with Grit and Grace: A Journey of Organizational Culture Change. Ashleigh regularly shares her story with other leaders, encouraging them to “make things better” by improving processes and creating a people-centric organizational culture.
