Neal Orringer

Neal Orringer is a leader in advanced manufacturing and public-private partnerships. He has built research and development organizations in corporations of all sizes, and served as a political appointee, as Director of Manufacturing at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), a senior manufacturing advisor to two U.S. Secretaries of Commerce, and national security aide to three U.S. Senators.

He is a recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Medal and the Secretary of Defense Excellence Award.

Today, Neal is president and co-founder of ASTRO America, a research institute and think tank supporting U.S. public interest through manufacturing technology/policy formulation. In this capacity, he develops and oversees the organization’s strategic vision, in concert with other members of the Board of Directors, which he chairs.

Over the last decade, he worked in private industry as an executive at both the General Electric Company and 3D Systems, overseeing those companies’ additive manufacturing research & development collaborations with the U.S. government. In that time, he has supported important agreements for investments in large scale metal 3D printing, in-process controls, machine learning, rapid qualification technology, and new high temperature materials.

This work has drawn on twenty years working with the government. In the Obama Administration, as the DoD Director of Manufacturing, he oversaw Defense-Wide Manufacturing Science & Technology, Defense Production Act, and Industrial Base Analysis & Sustainment programs. The capstone of his tenure was launching the Manufacturing USA’s pilot institute, now called America Makes.

He later supported the White House Office of Manufacturing Policy, co-chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, and advanced reforms of economic development initiatives with the conception of the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership, a coordinated inter-agency grant program.

Prior to joining the executive branch, he served on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee professional staff, with a policy portfolio that included manufacturing, foreign investment in the U.S., sanctions, export controls, and terrorism and financial intelligence. In 2008-2010, he served as the Committee’s lead in negotiating and overseeing the rescue of General Motors and Chrysler, on behalf of Chairman Chris Dodd. Ultimately, aid to the automotive industry was a critical success, helping revive an important manufacturing sector amidst the Great Recession.

He currently serves as the Board Secretary of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing institute.