Conexus names 2025 Rising 30 honorees
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Conexus Indiana on Thursday revealed the 2025 cohort of its Rising 30 program. The program recognizes 30 young professionals “making significant early-career contributions” to the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics sector “and will lead it into the next era of innovation.”
Rising 30 was launched in late 2020, with the first cohort being unveiled the following year.
Conexus, the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics initiative, said the honorees, all of whom are under the age of 30, are being celebrated for reshaping Indiana’s largest industry sector.
This year’s group represent a variety of professions at companies throughout the state, ranging from local startups to major industrial corporations.
“When I visit our manufacturing facilities across Indiana, I’m always struck by the ingenuity of our young talent,” Conexus CEO Jay Wirts said in a news release. “These Rising 30 honorees aren’t just building products—they’re building the future of Hoosier manufacturing and ensuring our families and communities thrive. Each one of them represents why Indiana continues to strengthen its position as a global manufacturing and logistics powerhouse for generations to come.”
This year’s class will be formally recognized at an event Thursday evening in downtown Indianapolis.
The 2025 honorees are:
- Brantley Armour, IT Systems Manager, MAVPAK Warehouse LLC (Fishers)
- Rod Baradaran, CEO, rScan (South Bend)
- Makayla Barrett, Senior International Supply Chain Planner, Allison Transmission (Indianapolis)
- Kaitlin Baxter, Chief Process Officer, Antique Candle Co. (Lafayette)
- Spencer Brown, Design/Product Engineer, Ember Recreational Vehicles (Bristol)
- Scott Clark, Manufacturing Engineer, Cook Medical (Bloomington)
- Logan Glaze, VP of Sales and Marketing, Glaze Tool & Engineering (New Haven)
- Isabel Gomez, Project Manager, Acción Performance (Indianapolis)
- Peyton Heckaman, Co-founder & CEO, Heckaman & Hollar Group (Rochester)
- Sayge Hopwood, Vineyard Supervisor, Hopwood Cellars Winery (Zionsville)
- Brianne Hovde, Associate Director, Technical Services/Manufacturing Science, Eli Lilly & Co. (Indianapolis)
- Christian Huber, Winemaker and Master Distiller, Huber Winery & Starlight Distillery (Borden)
- Shaun Hughes, Director of Marketing, True Essence Foods (Indianapolis)
- Zoe Hughes, Production Supervisor, MSP Manufacturing (Bloomington)
- Michael Jackson, President, Kent Machine (Pendleton)
- Ashley Jeffirs, Manufacturing Engineer II, Zimmer Biomet (Warsaw)
- Alex Kortepeter, Director of Strategy & Operations, Polygon Composites (Walkerton)
- Swapneel Kulkarni, Battery Engineer II, Ateios Systems (Newberry)
- Emily Lazaga, Legal and Compliance Generalist, Hitachi Astemo (Greenfield)
- Emily Lintott, Senior Supervisor, Instrument Operations, Roche Diagnostics (Indianapolis)
- Jonathan Lozada, Sales and Engineering Manager, Innovative Designs (Elkhart)
- Georgiana Morar, Operational Excellence Analyst, Oasis Lifestyle LLC (Plymouth)
- Cristhian Padilla, Senior HSE Engineer, Cummins (Columbus)
- Angela Perez, Plant Operator and Engineer, FiberX Incorporated (Merrillville)
- Kaylie Pruiett, Program Manager, Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (Evansville)
- Sam Reshad, Assembly Engineer, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (Princeton)
- Jennifer Skelton, Formulation Scientist, Corteva Agriscience (Indianapolis)
- Jianxiang Tao, Computer Vision Scientist, anu (Evansville)
- Nick Will, Design Engineer, Tactile Engineering (Lafayette)
- Paul Williams, Senior Manager Operations, MACHYNE at 16 Tech (Indianapolis)