John Lenneman

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Campaign Statement
I am honored to be nominated for the HFES Executive Council (EC). As a long-standing member, I have served in multiple leadership capacities (Chair of the Product Design and Surface Transportation Technical Groups, Newsletter Editor, Secretary) and contributed through ad hoc journal and conference reviewing, session chairing, STTG mentorship program and Stephanie Binder Award development and the Stanley Caplan User-Centered Design Award.

I bring a perspective shaped by 30 years of experience in industry and academia. My career includes General Motors R&D, Johnson Controls, Newell Rubbermaid and Toyota Motor North America, alongside university research collaborations and graduate mentoring. I have represented HF/E through publishing, ~50 issued US patents, speaking engagements and engagement with government (GO) and non-government (NGO) stakeholders across automotive, consumer products and health care. In my current role, connecting academic research to industry is what I do every day. This is not aspirational; it is my daily work.

My platform is centered on enhancing industry engagement for the long-term strength of our society and discipline. HF/E is an applied science whose full value is realized only when research informs practice and practice informs research. This is a symbiotic relationship. Researchers need to understand industry challenges; industry needs rigorous, evidence-based insights from research. When both are at the table, we produce better outcomes for end users and a stronger financial footing, creating funding pathways for our research community.

It is more important now than ever that research and practice remains deeply engaged. The society has made meaningful progress. My goal is to build on that momentum and accelerate it.
 

As a member of the EC, I would focus on:

• Fostering mutual language between research and practice: Help researchers frame work for implementation and help practitioners communicate research needs effectively.
• Championing not only what works but how to implement it: Support actionable findings translatable into real-world products, systems and policy.
• Growing industry engagement mechanisms: Expand current approaches and develop new ones to bring practitioners to the table.
• Engaging with other professional societies where industry practitioners are active: Meet them in their spaces and demonstrate our value.
• Working with GOs and NGOs to ensure regulation, policy and standards are developed with end users in mind.

I also bring experience managing budgets under real-world constraints. My work has always been about maximizing value within fiscal limitations, and I would bring that discipline to supporting the fiscal health of HFES.

We are a human-centered discipline requiring research and practice at the table. Together we can ensure HFES remains where that collaboration thrives, for the benefit of the people we serve. I would be honored to help build a stronger, more connected HFES.