What Its Like to Work at ITW as a Young Professional | Maeve Higham

❖ Job Title Account Manager
❖ Division ITW Seats, Safety and Motion ​

How did you learn about ITW?
I didn’t learn about ITW until my first day in my graduate role at Instron. Instron is in the Test, Measurement and Electronics segment – typically businesses within that segment have very strong brand identity with which they go to market, thus not outwardly advertising that they are a part of ITW. I applied for a role at Instron because I used their products during both my undergraduate and postgraduate degree and the business felt like a great fit for me. It was on my first day of work, during the induction programming, that I learnt about ITW and the wealth of businesses Instron was a part of. The experience I had is common for ITW employees, especially those outside of the US. 

Tell us about your ITW journey thus far, in what role(s) and businesses have you worked in?
I began my ITW journey almost 6 years ago – I can’t believe I am typing that!! I spent the first four of those years working at Instron’s European Headquarters just outside of London in the UK. My first role was a ‘Graduate Engineer’; the role involved a rotational style program in which I initially got to spend a short amount of time in all areas of the business before focusing on two key projects, one in an engineering function and one in a commercial function. I loved that role! It really opened my eyes to the intricacies of a manufacturing business and all the possibilities it could offer. 

Following the completion of my rotations I took on a permanent position at Instron as a ‘Sales Support Engineer’. In this position I provided technical and commercial support to Instron’s global sales team, I ensured we offered the right solution to suit our customers needs and was responsible for all margin analysis of that solution. The role involved a lot of travelling and customer interaction, which I loved.  

Around 2 years ago I took a leap of faith and shifted my ITW experience on its head; I moved from the UK to the US to take up a sales role up in the Automotive Segment. I am now an Account Manager responsible for Ford, Toyota, Nissan and Honda.  

What does a typical day in your current role look like?
This is such a tricky question to answer and whilst I hate the cliché “no day is the same” in an Account Management role that really is the case. Most of my days are a mix of customer visits (pre-covid anyway!), either to touch base on existing projects or to work with the customer to understand their needs and pain points and, ultimately help to implement new solutions into the next vehicle line. Alongside the customer facing portion I am on regular calls with the Operations team to ensure sold projects are launching effectively and the Engineering team to check in on any open design requests they’re working on for my customers. 

Additionally, like any role there is a portion of admin which needs to be done. In Sales this is mainly focused around forecasting and understanding of my pipeline i.e. what am I going to sell this year and when do I expect to sell it? I regularly have to report against my pipeline and show that my daily actions are supporting the numbers.  

What is your favorite ITW memory? 
I have so many fond ITW memories, ITW has shaped my working life and has allowed me opportunities I could only have dreamt of. I would say my favourite memory is launching the Young Professional’s Network (YPN) in Europe in 2016. The YPN had been running in the US for almost 2 years and honestly, I was fed up of being in the UK and receiving emails for social events in Chicago that I would never be able to attend. I decided to reach out to my ITW network, engage my HR Director and take the initiative to bring YPN to Europe. I formed a leadership team with two ITW colleagues (one from the UK and one from France) and within the space of 2 months we successfully planned and held the first YPN European annual conference. YPN Europe is now entering it’s 5th year, with over 500 members and several local chapters holding numerous events throughout the year. I am unbelievably proud of how it has grown and so excited to see where the current leadership team take it next. 

For me, this memory sums up ITW. If you have an idea and the drive to implement something, then ITW will support you and push you to continue growing.