Chair of the Board, Vermeer Corporation
Mary Vermeer Andringa is Chair of the Board at Vermeer Corporation, a global industrial and agricultural equipment company headquartered in Pella, Iowa. Prior to assuming her current role in November 2015, she was CEO and Chair of the Board for one year and President and CEO for five years. Her earlier roles at Vermeer have included Co-CEO and COO, focusing on her passion for continuous improvement and innovation.
Ms. Andringa is integral in continuing the family legacy of her father and Company Founder Gary Vermeer. With humble beginnings, Vermeer Corporation has grown to become a global organization with more than 3,000 team members at Vermeer and affiliated organizations, serving the environmental, construction, mining, forage, trenching and drilling industries. Today, Vermeer facilities are found in Latin America, Asia Pacific, China, Europe and the U.S.
Due to her successful tenure at Vermeer, as well as her growing reputation as an expert ambassador for manufacturing, Ms. Andringa is sought after as a speaker and spokesperson. She recently concluded her two-year term as chair of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the nation's largest manufacturing association, leading efforts to promote a stronger manufacturing industry. Ms. Andringa is one of 18 private sector members of President Obama's Export Council, where she represents manufacturing on important trade matters. In 2013, Ms. Andringa was inducted into IndustryWeek's Manufacturing Hall of Fame and is also a past member of the Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee.
Ms. Andringa credits her background in education for her inherent proficiency at leadership and inspiring team members to reach new heights in their personal and professional development. After receiving her degree from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she taught in the Iowa public school system and later in Omaha, Nebraska, for approximately six years. She is currently providing her leadership to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, as one of the nine citizen volunteers responsible for governing the state's three public universities and two special schools. In addition, she has recently completed a two-year term as the co-chair of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council and has been named one of the Top 100 CEOs in STEM by STEMconnector®.
Mary Andringa also is involved in the following boards: Member of the Vermeer Board of Directors; Director of the Herman Miller Company in Zeeland, Michigan; Director of the Milliken & Company in Spartanburg, South Carolina; Member of the Iowa Business Council; Trustee for the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California; Trustee Emeritus at Central College; and Past Chair of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.
Mary and her husband, Dr. Dale Andringa, have two children and six grandchildren.