Fincantieri Marinette Marine CEO is UW-Green Bay Commencement Speaker

Fincantieri Marinette Marine General Manager and CEO, Jan Allman, has an impressive story to tell. She will share it with graduates, friends and family members at UW-Green Bay’s Commencement celebration, Saturday, May 18, 2019 beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Kress Events Center.

Since 2014, Allman has served as the president, CEO and general manager of Fincantieri Marinette Marine, a world-class shipbuilding company located along the Menominee River in Marinette, Wisconsin. With a 30-year career as a global operations and engineering leader,Allman will share with the graduating class the experiences and values that have guided her success, as well as her personal advice for students as they embark on their next adventures.

Fincantieri Marinette Marine is part of the Fincantieri Marine Group, the United States division of Italian enterprise FINCANTIERI. It is one of the world’s largest shipbuilders with 20 shipyards on four different continents and employing nearly 20,000 shipbuilding professionals worldwide. Since 1942, Fincantieri Marinette Marine has provided ships to meet America’s growing demand for naval construction and has designed and built more than 1,500 vessels. The company is one of the largest shipyards in the Midwest with 1,500 employees and is under contract with the U.S. Navy to produce Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), shallow draft vessels that operate in the littoral (coastal waters).

FMM boasts some of the best engineering and naval architecture minds in the industry. The company’s performance on government contracts is impressive. Its portfolio includes the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship, the improved Navy Lighterage System, mine countermeasure vessels and ocean tugs, as well as U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers, buoy tenders and response vessels. Because of its record of delivering ahead of schedule and within contracted costs, FMM has a long-standing relationship with the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard.

Allman started her career not in shipbuilding, but in cars. She began working at age 19 at the Ford Motor Company’s Engine Plant in Lima, Ohio where she spent 26 years in various roles with increasing responsibility covering engineering and production both in the U.S. and Europe. Her last position with Ford was as the plant manager for the Chicago Assembly plant, where she was responsible for the plant’s overall operation, the safety of its 2,500+ work force, a $335 million annual budget and more than $8 billion in annual revenue.

Allman has also served as the vice president of Global Manufacturing at Navistar Corporation, where she and her team were instrumental in reinventing Navistar’s manufacturing landscape. Under her leadership, the company’s vehicle and engine manufacturing plants across North America implemented rigorous standardized systems and processes. These changes brought about significant improvements to Navistar’s products and customer satisfaction.

Under Allman’s leadership, Fincantieri Marinette Marine has been awarded the Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Award; the 2017 Defense Security Service James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award, Earned Value Management System validation; and the Shipbuilders Council of America’s Award of Excellence in Safety Award from 2013-2016 and 2018.

Currently, Allman is a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), and the Marinette Menominee Area Chamber of Commerce. In 2018, she was appointed as a co-chair to Governor-Elect Tony Evers’ Transition Team, and currently serves on the Next Generation Workforce and Economic Development Policy Advisory Council for Governor Evers. Previously, Ms. Allman was a member of the Department of Commerce Manufacturing Council.

Ms. Allman holds a Bachelor of Science and Mechanical Engineering degree from GMI Engineering and Management Institute in Flint, Michigan, which is now Kettering University. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Jeff, and their two daughters, Ariel and Jade.