In the Women's Engagement Council's Blue Chair Chats, guest speakers engage with the Behrend campus and broader Erie community in relaxed forums. Through intimate, interview-style sessions, speakers share insights on their lives and careers, as well as discuss their own unique paths to leadership.
Blue Chair Chats are always free and open to the public.
Ashleigh Walters: Leading with Grit and Grace
April 12, 2023
7:00 p.m.
McGarvey Commons, Reed Union Building
Ashleigh Walters is the former president of Erie-based Onex Inc. and author of the book Leading with Grit and Grace: A Journey of Organizational Culture Change.
As president of Onex from 2013 to 2022, she helped create a culture shift in the family-run manufacturing business, which specializes in industrial furnaces. In 2020, she oversaw the company's transition to 100 percent employee owned. She will discuss her path to success and the perils of a command-and-control leadership style, and share her insights on leading at any level and tackling intimidating situations.
She holds a degree in chemical engineering from Auburn University. She remains on the Onex board of directors, and also serves on the board of directors for the Northwest Industrial Resource Center and as a member of the Women in Manufacturing Association's Western Pennsylvania Chapter. At Penn State Behrend, she is on the Center for Family Business advisory board and is a member of the college's Council of Fellows.
The first 100 guests at the April 12 Blue Chair Chat will receive a signed copy of Leading With Grit and Grace: A Journey of Organizational Culture Change.