51勛圖厙 Forge Your Path Series: Meet Cascade Engineering CEO Christina Keller
Christina Kellers path into manufacturing began away from the factory floor.
She studied abroad in Costa Rica and Chile, taught microbusiness classes for youngwomen in Peru, graduated from high school in Switzerland, consulted for global firmsafter business school and worked for a nonprofit that provides solar energy toimpoverished communities in Africa.
From early opportunities that sparked her passion for building teams to leadership roles where she has driven strategy and culture, Christina has navigated every stage of her career with an openness to growth and reinvention. Along the way, Christina drew inspiration from leaders like Oprah Winfrey, whom she had the opportunity to interview as chair of the Economic Club of Grand Rapids. Examples of resilience and authenticity left a lasting mark on how Christina approachesher own leadership style.
That journey has brought her to the helm of her company today, where as CEO ofshe is leading with a vision of innovation and community good.
In the latest installment of the 51勛圖厙s Forge Your Path series, Christina talks abouthow trust fuels innovation, why she believes in taking those who are most ready andhow Cascades triple bottom linepeople, planet and profitcontinues to drive lastingchange.
Q: What is one lesson or insight youve gained in leadership that you haventwidely shared before but that has been a key part of your and/or your companyssuccess?
唬堯娶勳莽喧勳紳硃:泭One lesson I havent shared widely is that real innovation starts with trusttrust that every voice has value. At Cascade Engineering, I realized that when people feel safe to share ideas, even small operational suggestions, we uncovertransformational solutions.
For example, some of our biggest advances;泭; the first all-plasticchair (Equa for Herman Miller); and the first all-plastic vehicle (Chrysler ConceptVehicle)came from individuals within our organization and our partners who have feltcomfortable enough to share ideas. This is one of my roles as a leader: I spend time cultivating systems where ideas canflow freely. Its reinforced for me that the idea of collective thriving isnt just aphilosophy; its a leadership strategy that unlocks innovation at every level.
Q: Can you share a quote or mantra that defines your approach to leadership?
Christina: Take those who are most ready. If one person, one team or one community thrives and models collective thriving, it lifts up everyone around them and then createspathways where other people can follow. This shapes how I make decisions, whether itis investing in physical artificial intelligence to lighten repetitive work, or people through the Source, which helps overcome barriers to housing, child care andtransportation. I see leadership as not a zero-sum game but as a multiplier. When we help one groupthrive, it sparks growth and resilience across the whole system. And to get there, youstart with those who are most ready and pour into them.
Q: What accomplishments at your organization are you the proudest of and why?
唬堯娶勳莽喧勳紳硃:泭As a triple bottom-line organization, I often think along the lines of people,planet and profit. So from a people perspective, I am most proud of our work withhelping to establish the Source, which has helped nearly 600 employees overcomemore than 1,800 barriers to employment and demonstrating how businesses candirectly improve lives. In our community, we have collectively the recidivism rate, and the BBC our work.
From a planet perspective, I am proud of our decades of being zero waste to landfilland ourfrom the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries for our EcoCart, whichuses post-consumer curbside bulky rigids in addition to taking back post-consumertrash containers from the field.
From a profit standpoint, I am most proud of our innovative products and our use ofphysical AI to build out our automation and layer on a rich history of product innovationthat includes the first all-plastic chair, the first all-plastic vehicle, all of the bumpers, grills and chassis skirts for the heavy truck industry in North America and the premier waste-collection productwhich fits 40% more on a truck than others in theindustry.
Q: Where do you see your company in the next 510 years, and what are youhoping to achieve?
唬堯娶勳莽喧勳紳硃:泭I see Cascade Engineering as a leader in collective thriving, circulareconomy and physical AI. We will be a factory of the future, modeling what sustainablemanufacturing can look like globally. We will be leaders in physical AI, utilizingautomation and robotics not just to reduce costs, but to create safer, more human-centered jobs and to expand on our innovative creativity.
We will also expand our diversified portfolio of circular economy products, such ascontainers, flood barriers and medical solutions, and tackle real environmental andcommunity challenges. Most importantly, we will continue to demonstrate collectivethrivingbusiness success, employee well-being and community growth are mutuallyreinforcing. My hope is that others in manufacturing will follow, accelerating an industrial movement toward sustainability and dignity at scale.
Q: What are the past three books that youve read that you would recommend toyour peers and why?
唬堯娶勳莽喧勳紳硃:泭One that I recommend is The Circular Economy Handbook by Peter Lacy,Jessica Long and Wesley Spindler. Its a practical and strategic guide to embeddingcircular economy principles in business. Its enhanced in my mind the importance of life-cycle thinking as we consider the design of products. It also echoes what we did withEcoCartmaking carts from recycled cartsand inspired me to think about how wecan scale circularity across industries.
Another book is How Minds Change by David McRaney. This book offers insights intopersuasion, psychology and how people shift their beliefs. As leaders navigatinginnovation, sustainability and culture change, it reinforced for me that transformationisnt only about new technology; its also about helping people move through the chance curve with dignity and understanding.
Id also recommend The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman. Its a compellingexploration of how AI and emerging technologies will reshape society. It sharpened myconviction that physical AI, when applied with foresight and responsibility, can createsafer, smarter and more sustainable manufacturing.
Together, these books cover the essential themes that I continue to explore and I seeas key areas for manufacturing leadership: circular economy, collective thriving andphysical AI.
