Lifetime of Achievement: Blake Moret

Automation in the supply chain is becoming ever-more critical, and one of the biggest players in the global market is Rockwell Automation, the largest company in the world dedicated to industrial automation and information. 

Rockwell’s mission is “to accelerate the quality of life through more efficient production, smart manufacturing and sustainable options”. The company’s maxim is that “an investment in our technology is an investment in the future of manufacturing”.

The man charged with delivering on this vision is Blake Moret, who became President and CEO of Rockwell in 2016. In this role he leads productivity and sustainable initiatives. 

Over his 38 years at Rockwell, Moret has seen a huge rise in sustainable manufacturing and is racing to meet it across the company. 

Sustainable efforts in the workplace and the world.

Rockwell – along with many other manufacturers – suspended operations and sales in Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine. 

Though sales in these countries total less than 0.5% of its total revenue, the company has said it will continue to pay salaries and benefits for its Russian team. 

“Rockwell joins the US government and the global community in condemning Russia’s attack on Ukraine and its citizens,” Moret said at the time of the invasion.” 

Following up on this, the company made a donation to Project HOPE, which offers humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees, and also matched employee donations for Project HOPE, while supporting other local volunteer efforts. 

At Rockwell, Moret is prioritising sustainable initiatives. 

“Manufacturers are looking for new ways to leverage technology to reduce their environmental footprints,” he has said. “Intelligent devices, combined with innovative sustainability and energy management software, provide new levels of insight to reduce energy demand and increase efficiency.” 

Moret believes real-time energy management is within reach, from monitoring to embedded AI tools that offer closed-loop optimisation. 

In using a standard energy data model, he hopes “that energy intensity and other key performance metrics can be measured and improved”. 

“This simple, yet impactful, insight allows businesses to de-energise the equipment when not in use, reducing both costs and greenhouse gas emissions,” he says.

Moret is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, where he studied Mechanical Engineering, after which joined Rockwell, working across sales and business management roles until 2002.

From then, up until 2005, he worked as Director of Electronic Operator Interface Business, then moved to Customer Support and Maintenance until 2007, where he led the control products and solutions across Rockwell’s business segment. 

Up until 2011, Moret worked as VP. He was then promoted to President and CEO in 2016, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 2018.

Moret also served as Chair of the Board for the Manufacturing Institute of the National Association of Manufacturers, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Urban Ecology Center. 

He is also on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha, and is also on the Advisory Board of the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech.