LIFT names interim executive director

Chris Conrardy

LIFT manufacturing research institute in Detroit has named Chris Conrardy, chief technology officer and vice president at Edison Welding Institute, as interim executive director as the nonprofit looks to evolve from its startup roots. He succeeds Larry Brown, who had been in the position since 2014.

"As we move from startup model to sustainable business, the board decided to evolve our leadership to move in that direction," said Joe Steele, spokesman for the group.

LIFT — Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow — is a public-private partnership operated by the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute and partly funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. Its credo is the development and deployment of advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technologies.