On June 11-12, 2024, SAE hosted the first Committee Leadership Workshop since 2018 – a hiatus owing to the effects of Covid-19. This two-day event brought together more than 35 SAE standards program leaders, including chairs, vice-chairs, and committee secretaries from aerospace, automotive, and commercial vehicle sectors. JP Flaherty, Motor Vehicle Council Chair and Executive Project Manager at Toyota North America, commended the event for its unitive value.

“I've spoken often about the benefit of these kind of events to my colleagues. Larger companies, quite frankly, let you lead a very dynamic career within just that space. Working more deeply with people outside of that company, though, has given me perspectives and relationships that I wouldn’t have been able to gain anywhere else,” Flaherty said.

The event was organized by SAE staff managing both Aerospace and Ground Vehicle committees. “I like the idea of people getting out of their comfort zones, and so we were really aware how attendees were seated. We wanted people to network and have views from different areas so that they could get different perspectives from other committee members,” Henn said.

Topics covered in the training sessions included committee participation, succession planning, effective meeting structure, the development of collaborative authoring tools, and creation of digital standards.

SAE Standards Directors David Alexander and Christian Thiele gave opening remarks and provided attendees with an agenda of what to expect, from networking, training, facilitated ideation, and best practice development.

The event provided a space for standards contributors to engage across committees with those in different specialty areas. Flaherty not only got to meet new faces acrossthe industry, but he even connected with a person from a different sector within Toyota.

“The entire event was very informative, conversations came easily, and we all got to make new friends. SAE sets up its committee participation so that each of us serve as individuals, and not as representatives of our employer. This allows us to come together and work in a way that disentangles any form of antitrust concerns—and I really appreciate this kind of forum,” Flaherty said.

“You may not have a clear idea of what the benefits may be for you at first, but that changes very quickly. You’ll have experiences that you would not have had, develop crucial relationships, and through that collaboration—add further value to the industry,” he continued.

The next Committee Leadership Workshop is set to take place in June 2026. SAE would like to express its thanks to those who attended this year’s meeting, as well as the people who continue to make events like this possible