The Manufacturing Sector Partnership (MSP) welcomes its new leadership team this month as its founding directors have moved on. Managing Director Adam Snyder and Executive Director of Workforce Partnerships Debbi Perkul launched the MSP, jumpstarting the essential partnerships needed to grow the manufacturing workforce.  Under their leadership, the MSP has gotten hundreds of people into well-paying manufacturing careers, with the promise of helping thousands more in upcoming years. As Snyder returns to the manufacturing sector as the Chief Operating Officer of Talan Products (a founding member of the MSP leadership team) and Debbi spends time traveling with her husband, we are excited to announce MAGNET’s latest staff additions to help grow our Talent initiatives.

Aram Nerpouni, Managing Director of Talent, comes to MAGNET with deep business and community relationships from his work in Cleveland over the last 25 years. After starting a company to help U.S. roofing, coating and sealant manufacturers enter international markets and later managing the international division of Westlake manufacturer Bonne Bell, he joined BioEnterprise in 2005, eventually succeeding Baiju Shah as CEO in 2012.  After leaving BioEnterprise in 2020, he consulted with companies and innovation ecosystems around the country, including a broad public/private initiative in Birmingham to engage diverse residents in innovation, workforce and community health initiatives. Nerpouni also worked with MAGNET and regional partners to submit a $115M finalist entry for the Build Back Better regional challenge. Enthusiastic about joining the MAGNET team, he says, “It is clear that talent drives economic growth and the manufacturing sector is positioned to unlock the social and economic potential of all residents across the region.”

Lissy Rand, Executive Director of Workforce Partnerships, has been involved in the local workforce development ecosystem for years and has been deeply engaged as a funder in this Sector Partnership work as a member of the Workforce Funders Group. Hailing from the Deaconess Foundation, where she served as Vice President, Grantmaking & Strategy, Rand represented the largest workforce funder in Cuyahoga County. Through that, she developed relationships with dozens of important local partners. The respect these partners hold for her will be deeply important as the work of the MSP expands and grows. She is excited to join the team at MAGNET because her “work in human services and workforce development over the past two decades has led me to conclude that the most powerful intervention for struggling individuals, families and communities is a good job with good prospects. With MAGNET’s focus on excellence and results, I know our team will be able to create real change.”

Our new team leaders are deeply committed to building on the established foundation as we expand the work of the MSP to bring thousands of individuals into good-paying jobs in manufacturing over the next several years.