"The ability to think logically, work complex issues and articulate the alternatives enables good decisions. The principles and discipline of engineering seeks clarity. Clarity of thought and purpose helps leaders achieve nearly impossible goals. My engineering education has defined my career path and shaped me as an individual. From my early working years through my current role, I have continued to rely upon the fundamentals of my engineering education. I did not realize what a crucial choice I was making those many years ago when I decided to become an engineer; I am thankful for my choice."

 

A former officer in the U.S. Air Force, Rita Lane (MSEE ’91) is currently vice president of operations, iPad/Mac Desktop/Mac Accessories at Apple Inc.

Before joining Apple, Ms. Lane was at Motorola where she served as senior vice president, supply chain. In that capacity she was responsible for all supply chain operations, strategic supply chain planning and, as a direct report to the CEO, was a member of the company’s senior leadership team. Prior to this role, she served as the chief procurement officer.

Prior to Motorola, Ms. Lane was vice president and brand advocate for the System X and Storage supply chain operations at IBM. In that capacity, she was  responsible for driving end-to-end supply chain operational excellence in support of these lines of business, which included brand sourcing decisions, fulfillment management, information-technology transformation, new product introduction, supply-demand balancing and overall cost management. She has expertise in a wide array of critical supply-chain functional areas, including procurement, operations engineering, quality, logistics, manufacturing operations and product development. In addition, she has global geographic exposure to Asia, Europe and the Americas, and is known as a leader in supply-chain.