Today at #ISMWorld2025: Richter Scholar Class ‘Raises the Bar’
Attendees at the R. Gene Richter Scholarship luncheon raise their glasses to toast the members of this year’s class at ISM World 2025 in Orlando, Florida, on Monday (Yannick Apers Photgraphy)
For budding supply management students to seasoned and accomplished veterans, one of the most treasured events at an Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Annual Conference is the luncheon honoring the R. Gene Richter Scholarship winners.
The event on Monday at ISM World 2025 at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando, Florida, took place amid an all-star audience that included Richter Scholars from previous years and multiple recipients of the J. Shipman Gold Medal Award, given by Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) for career achievement.
No Richter recipient is classified as “former,” because the Scholars, including the six newest honored on Monday, become lifetime members of a network of colleagues, mentors and friends. One of the biggest honors for a Richter alumnus is to emcee the luncheon; Justin Hyrb, CPSM, CPSD, a senior consultant at Proxima, got the assignment this year.
“Being involved today was a little hectic because I chaired a Conference session today, but it was a big thrill because this program means so much to me,” says Hyrb, a 2018 Richter Scholar who attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
“That’s one of the things that I shared: This program provided the support and connections to help me get my first job. To help inspire the next generation of leaders was something I hoped to do today. This year’s Scholars will have different career journeys, but the support system they have in this room is invaluable.”
The 2025 Richter Scholars — the 22nd class — are Aiden Anderson of the University of South Carolina, Colleen Andrews and Jai Kozar-Lewis of Michigan State University, Lauren McGuirk of Grand Valley State University, McKenna Schrenk of Pennsylvania State University, and Nicole Sherman of Western Michigan University.
This year’s class “raises the bar,” says Elizabeth Richter, CPSM, CPSD, program manager at Google, trustee of the R. Gene and Nancy D. Richter Foundation and distant relative of the scholarship’s namesake.
Gene Richter was perhaps best known for transforming the procurement function at IBM and built a “Gene pool” of leaders before his death in 2003. While the scholarship will always bear his name, the Foundation’s goal has been for the program to stand on its own merits.
“I think it’s already there,” Elizabeth Richter says. “The Scholars bring an incredible amount of achievements and talent, and that’s what the program is all about.”
The R. Gene Richter Scholarship Program partners with ISM to award the scholarships, with recipients receiving a monetary award of up to US$15,000 in tuition assistance. Notably, the scholars are also given access to an executive mentor and leader in the profession and a former Richter scholar as a junior mentor.
Don’t Overlook PMI® Panel Sentiment
The Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® numerical aggregates and responder sentiments are highly correlated, Christopher Kurz, assistant director, industrial output section, research and statistics at the Federal Reserve Board, said during a session on Monday.
During “Manufacturing Sentiment: Forecasting Industrial Production with Text Analysis,” Kurz stated that sentiment responses indicate how the PMI® will perform and demonstrated how text analysis can be used to forecast industrial production.
The average sentiment statement is 16 words, Kurz said. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to analyze the text by assigning value to the words, and when put together, this informs how the manufacturing sector is performing, he said.
The Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® for May was released on Monday, with a PMI® reading in contraction territory (48.5 percent) and panelist sentiment dominated by tariffs.
Students Make Their Cases (and Impressions)
ISM’s International Student Case competition began on Monday, and participants on the four finalists — defending champion Rutgers University, along with Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and Maastricht University in the Netherlands — could be competing for much more than a trophy or prize money.
But first, the assignment: Their case study, “Biomedicine Breakthrough,” put them as employees of a biotech startup, charged with meeting objectives in R&D, manufacturing and distribution, regulatory approvals and market expansion. Each team was allotted 15 minutes to present its case, followed by a five-minute question-and-answer period. The winner will be announced on Tuesday.
And the potential reward, beyond a victory: Last year, Badri Venkat was a member of Rutgers’ winning team and made such an impression on one of the judges that he was selected as an intern at Dell Technologies. And he was hired full-time this year.
Tuesday’s Highlights
The Closing General Session at 3:30 p.m. ET features keynote speaker Gina Raimondo, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and governor of Rhode Island, in a segment emceed by journalist Steven Clemons. Also, this year’s J. Shipman Gold Medal Award winner will be honored.
Also:
- Breakout sessions continue, featuring such topics as negotiation, environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, risk, talent, warehouse automation and artificial intelligence, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Spark Conversations, noon and 2:30 p.m.
- Volunteer Toast (invitation only), 5:30 p.m.
- Closing Party, 6 p.m.
A detailed ISM World 2025 agenda can be viewed here.