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Supply chain focus launches IU senior’s career
Before long, lessons learned at the Conexus Indiana Case Competition could be contributing to the effort to put people on Mars.
Blake Bradley, an Indiana University Kelley School of Business senior whose team placed second in the 2020 Conexus Indiana Case Competition, recently was accepted into an internship program at SpaceX, the aerospace company launched by Elon Musk with the goal of sending a manned flight to Mars.
 
An Illinois native, Bradley said his focus on supply chain management piqued SpaceX’s interest in him during the internship application process. While much attention is put on the technology required to go into space, Bradley’s interviewers noted that the process really is one big supply chain challenge. So, in addition to rocket scientists, they need people like Bradley.
Conexus issues State of Logistics report
Conexus Indiana released a comprehensive report of Indiana’s logistics industry, providing a deep assessment of the state’s geographic, public policy, innovation and regional assets that make Indiana a global logistics leader. 

More than $650 billion in goods move through Indiana’s borders each year, a fact that has taken on new meaning as Indiana’s logistics and supply chain industry has played a critical role in keeping the world moving during COVID-19.

“As we have navigated the global pandemic, the supply chain and logistics industries rose to the challenge and demonstrated, once again, how they are inextricably essential to keeping the world moving,” said Bryce Carpenter, vice president of Industry Engagement at Conexus Indiana. “Whether it is delivering food from the farm to your table or shipping medicines and personal protective equipment to frontline workers, chances are these products originated in or traveled through Indiana.”
Internship program expands opportunities for college grads with disabilities
A Ball State University student who interned with Conexus Indiana is giving high marks to a program designed to improve employment prospects for college graduates with physical disabilities.
 
Ball State senior Caleb Posey said the internship program created by the Gregory S. Fehribach Center at Eskenazi Health not only prepared him for his intended profession but also simply gave him meaningful workplace experience. “I learned how to work with professionals to achieve long-term goals,” Posey said.
 
The Fehribach Center’s internship program addresses a serious need: While Ball State researchers have found that students with physical disabilities graduate at rates similar to their peers without disabilities, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that as many as 50% of college graduates with disabilities are not in the labor force.
Participate: Indiana's Industry 4.0 Readiness Survey
Conexus Indiana could use your help in a big way. Last year, more than $50M worth of technology adoption projects in 58 communities were supported by the State of Indiana – in large part because of the data Conexus collected through last year’s Industry 4.0 survey.

Share your views and experiences on Industry 4.0 technology adoption by participating in Conexus Indiana's 2021 Industry 4.0 survey. It takes just a short 15 minutes to answer. The results will directly impact our Industry 4.0 initiatives and related programs, like the Manufacturing Readiness Grants Program.
A Message from the President
For nearly four years, I have had the privilege of leading Conexus Indiana's mission to support Indiana's largest industry sectors during a time of unprecedented opportunity and unexpected challenges.

Throughout my tenure as Conexus Indiana's president and CEO, I have been blown away by our partners' response to the advent of Industry 4.0, the pandemic and social and economic uncertainty while making and moving essential products and services and creating meaningful careers for Hoosiers.
 
It's with mixed emotions and against this backdrop that I share with you my impending retirement from Conexus Indiana. In June 2021, I will transition into a new phase of my personal and professional life, focusing my energy on family and the volunteer and philanthropic endeavors that are incredibly important to my community, family and me.
 
I am honored to work every day with dedicated Conexus Indiana staff who work tirelessly to strengthen Indiana's advanced manufacturing and logistics industries and develop talent to succeed in these amazing careers. Our work would not be possible without our industry, education, public-sector and philanthropic partners funding our work, informing our work and putting our programs to work. I will be forever grateful to the hundreds of partners and friends who share Conexus Indiana's passion for the state's legacy and amazingly bright future.
 
Together, we have built a talented team of professionals, a highly engaged stakeholder network and a solid financial foundation. We are delivering programs and impacting thousands of Hoosiers across the state with great success. I am not only incredibly proud of our accomplishments but also confident this is an opportune time for a transition as Conexus has tremendous momentum in the critical elements of its work.
 
I am not going far. I will be an active Conexus Indiana partner, industry advocate and supporter. I will always value my relationship with the industries that have been part of my DNA for most of my professional career.
 
I am looking forward to continued success and an abundance of awesome opportunities for our industry sectors, Hoosiers and the State of Indiana.

Be well,

Mark Howell
News & Events
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Upcoming event
Emerging Tech Showcase: Bring Immersive 3D Visualization to Your Business
Thursday, April 8, 2021
Noon to 1 p.m. (EST)
Online event