In industry where materials performance, corrosion control, and asset protection are critical to operational reliability, the need for collaboration and knowledge exchange has never been greater. AMPP has positioned itself as a global platform that brings together professionals, companies, and technologies driving the future of materials protection and performance.
The interviewee shares his perspective on the evolving role of industry events as catalysts for innovation, collaboration, and business growth. In this conversation, he explores how global challenges, emerging technologies, and industry demands are shaping the way professionals connect, learn, and advance in today’s industrial environment.
- AMPP has become a central hub for professionals involved in corrosion control, coatings, and materials performance. From your perspective, how has the role of industry events evolved in supporting today’s industrial ecosystem?
From my perspective, one of the most significant evolutions is that industry events have grown into multifaceted platforms, and their users often have very disparate needs and desired outcomes. One way to think about this is that for any given company, they may be most interested in corporate branding and flag waving, driving new business, launching a new product or service, finding new partnerships, recruiting new talent, showcasing technical acumen, expanding their global footprint, benchmarking against competitors, networking, or showcasing thought leadership.
Some companies may pursue all these elements or focus on a critical few. That can be a challenge for show organizers, as the way return on investment (ROI) is measured may differ and/or be weighted differently among corporate entities participating in the event. This requires show organizers to focus on how their events provide value to such wide-ranging metrics. At AMPP, we talk every day about how we can strengthen our events’ value proposition and enhance the user experiences we create for our members and customers.
In the end, the approach is to be solutions-oriented to drive value.
- In a highly technical and fragmented industry, how important is it to create spaces where operators, service providers, and technology developers can interact directly?
One of the unique characteristics of AMPP is that our members and customers cut across the entire spectrum of owners, operators, technologists, scientists, field workers, craft workers, and everyone in between. This allows AMPP to offer platforms that address this continuum and help weave an integrated story highlighting the critical role these individuals play in sustaining the infrastructure and assets our world depends on every day.
Our goal is for users to chart their own personalized journey to gain the information most useful to them.
- How does AMPP decide which industry priorities deserve the spotlight each year, and what does that selection process reveal about where the market is heading?
I really believe this is where the “special sauce” is for AMPP’s events. We have so many tremendous subject-matter experts upon whom we draw to get this part of the equation correct in the end. Stephanie Chizik from our team serves as the senior manager of conference program development, and she works very closely with staff colleagues and members working in research, standards development, technical communities of interest, and market verticals.
In this capacity, Stephanie synthesizes common threads and high-interest areas to build a program framework that focuses on what is most relevant while allowing flexibility for new topics as they emerge. Having flexibility and nimbleness is an underpinning of our desire to continuously improve our content and overall user experience.
- Beyond knowledge sharing, industry events are increasingly seen as strategic platforms for business development. How does AMPP facilitate meaningful connections that translate into real opportunities for companies?
Much of this is targeted at the networking and exhibition elements of our events. We deliberately craft unique experiences that foster networking and showcase products and services, aiming to ignite meaningful interactions that lead to robust conversations, business development, and engagement among attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors.
Additionally, we’ve worked closely with our colleagues in the organization’s education arm to provide new hands-on experiences in our exhibition that showcase many new technologies and platforms to better equip learners, increase productivity and efficiency, and help fill gaps in the workforce.
- Industries today face increasing pressure related to asset longevity, sustainability, and cost efficiency. How are these challenges influencing the conversations and priorities within AMPP’s global community?
Across every sector we serve, organizations are under increasing pressure to extend asset life while reducing cost, risk, and environmental impact. These challenges are shaping not only the conversations taking place across the industry, but also the priorities we reflect in our programming and engagement strategies.
Relative to the events portfolio of AMPP, we have been increasingly focused on how our technical sessions, communities of interest, research community, standards committees, and technical committees can help shine a bright spotlight on all the amazing work being done by AMPP members across the globe to preserve critical infrastructure and assets and safely extend their lifespan. We frequently hear that companies across the industries we serve are seeking safe, reliable, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions to the challenges they face.
- How are emerging technologies—such as advanced coatings, digital inspection tools, and data-driven asset management—being integrated into the AMPP ecosystem?
In practice, this comes to life across multiple touchpoints within the event experience. In the exhibit hall, attendees engage directly with companies showcasing advanced coatings technologies, digital inspection tools, and datadriven asset management platforms. Through features like the AMPPiTheater and dedicated demonstration areas, participants can see real-world applications, hear case studies, and interact with subject-matter experts.
We also continue to expand hands-on training integrations and immersive learning opportunities, including augmented and virtual reality experiences that help attendees better understand how these technologies perform in field conditions.
Ultimately, the goal is to move beyond awareness and into application, helping attendees identify solutions that improve productivity, enhance inspection accuracy, extend asset life, and support safer, more efficient operations.
- What makes AMPP more than an industry event, and why does that distinction matter for companies trying to stay relevant in a rapidly changing market?
I’ve said this many times before, AMPP is like a family. Our members, volunteers and customers truly look forward to connecting in person and seeing each other at AMPP events. There really isn’t another organization that does what AMPP does. Some entities touch on small portions of what we do, but not end-to-end, as we do. That makes AMPP unique.
Families help each other, and companies turn to AMPP to navigate the rapidly changing landscapes of the markets we serve. AMPP is a trusted resource and platform through which our members and customers can engage with others in ways no other organization can provide.
- What strategies is AMPP implementing to attract and engage the next generation of professionals in corrosion control and materials engineering?
At the Annual Conference in March of this year, Alan Thomas, our CEO, announced the launch of TalentForce, a brand-new company within the AMPP enterprise focused solely on workforce development.
As Alan shared at the time, TalentForce is organized around four interconnected pillars designed to address different dimensions of the workforce challenge facing our industries. The first is Purpose – making the work visible and valued.
The second is Pathways – creating clear routes to performance. The third is Partnerships – building the coalitions required to scale. And the fourth and final pillar is People+ – amplifying human capability.
TalentForce is going to be a game changer; it will play a significant role in the next-generation workforce.
Hands-on experiences and approaches are another avenue for meaningful connections to the next generation of professionals.
- What message would you like to share with industry leaders about the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange in addressing the challenges of modern industrial operations?
If you are not involved in helping to shape the conversations that take place within the confines of the technical program at AMPP events, you are missing a huge opportunity. Engaging at that level affords participants the chance to have meaningful conversations with existing customers, prospective customers and potential partners in ways that are difficult to explain. This is where the dialogue begins.
It’s a continual loop. Networks are not linear. Challenges change over time, and so we must continue to evolve to find solutions. At the same time, challenges of yesterday can help inform solutions for tomorrow. Mentorship, collaboration, and open dialogue all help create an atmosphere in which industry experts gather to support efforts to mitigate corrosion. AMPP’s Annual Conference + Expo provides a platform to advance global corrosion mitigation.
To build on that, the challenges facing our industry today — aging infrastructure, evolving regulations, workforce gaps, and increasing demands for sustainability — are too complex for any one organization to solve alone. Progress depends on bringing together diverse perspectives, sharing knowledge openly, and working collaboratively across disciplines and sectors.
AMPP provides a global platform where those connections happen, enabling industry leaders to move beyond individual efforts and contribute to solutions that strengthen asset integrity, improve safety, and support long-term operational resilience.
