Terri Kelly
{{short description|American engineer}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
Terri Connor Kelly is an American engineer. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, she was the president of the American company W. L. Gore & Associates from 2005 to 2018.
Biography
In 1983, she obtained her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Delaware, and she joined W. L. Gore & Associates as a mechanical engineer in the Fabrics Division,{{cite journal|last1=Shipper|first1=Frank|last2=Manz|first2=Charles C.|last3=Stewart|first3=Greg L.|title=W. L. Gore & Associates: Developing Global Teams to Meet Twenty-First-Century Challenges|journal=Shared Entrepreneurship|year=2014|pages=267–284|doi=10.1057/9781137405807_15|isbn=978-1-349-46164-6 }} She had chosen such a company smaller than DuPont for better career prospects. At the company, she worked on their dealings of their Gore-Tex uniforms with the United States Department of Defense. In 1997, Michael Kaplan of Fast Company said of Kelly: "If you’ve nicknamed your boss the Walking Plague, [she] is a woman you will envy: she’s never had a boss", noting the company's consensus-based leadership.{{Cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Michael |date=1997-10-31|title=You Have No Boss |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/32710/you-have-no-boss/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |work=Fast Company}}
After joining the Fabrics Division leadership in 1998, she oversaw the opening of Gore-Tex's first textile manufacturing plant in China, located in Shenzhen. In 2005, she became president and CEO of W. L. Gore after being put on the company's shortlist.{{Cite news |last=Tabeling |first=Katie |date=2024-06-27 |title=Milestone Award Winner CEO of the Year: Former W. L. Gore CEO Terri Kelly |url=https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/ceo-of-the-year/milestone-award-winner-terri-kelly/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |work=Delaware Business Times }} In April 2018, she stepped down from both positions.{{Cite web |title=Terri Kelly |url=https://www.healthevolution.com/bios/speaker/terri-kelly/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=Health Evolution}}
In 2009, she joined the University of Delaware Board of Trustees, later becoming their vice-chair. She became chair on July 1, 2022.{{Cite news |last=Tosh-Morelli |first=Vicky |date=2022-06-07 |title=Change in Board Leadership |url=https://engr.udel.edu/news/2022/06/change-in-board-leadership/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |work=UD College of Engineering}} She has also served as a board member for ASML Holding, the Nemours Foundation, and United Rentals, as well as a trustee for the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust and Unidel Foundation.{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Julie |date=2021-02-09 |title=Kelly, Thompson elected to National Academy of Engineering |url=https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2021/february/terri-kelly-levi-thompson-national-academy-engineering-trustee-dean/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |work=UDaily |publisher=University of Delaware}}
She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2021, for "leadership in product development and commercialization by advancing management practices that foster innovation."{{Cite web |title=Ms. Terri L. Kelly |url=https://www.nae.edu/248663/Ms-Terri-L-Kelly |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=NAE Website }}
She has four children with her husband John Kelly. The couple are also philanthropists known by the nickname "Double Dels", with their donations including the Terri Connor Kelly and John Kelly Career Development Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the John B. and Terri L. Kelly Athletic Scholarship.{{Cite news |last=Graf |first=Kelly |date=2018-06-05 |title=$2 million gift to UD |url=https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2018/june/2-million-donation-terri-john-kelly-alumni-delaware-first-engineering/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |work=UDaily |publisher=University of Delaware}}
References
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:American women business executives
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:American mechanical engineers
Category:20th-century American engineers
Category:20th-century American women engineers
Category:21st-century American engineers
Category:21st-century American women engineers
Category:Engineers from Delaware
Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering