Loren Finnerty manages more than 300 shop floor workers and engineers at GE Aerospace’s giant Asheville plant in North Carolina, where thousands of advanced composite components are produced every year for GE jet engines, such as the GE9X, as well as the LEAP engine manufactured by CFM International — a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines of France. A manufacturing site leader, she starts work at 6 a.m. and doesn’t leave until late afternoon, a schedule that allows her to see something of all three shifts at the factory.
“It’s all about purpose,” she explains, “which is why I try to make people feel like what they’re doing matters.” She continues: “They’re not just pushing a button, but making a crucial part that goes into an engine that allows air travel to be more affordable and more sustainable.”
