Large Scale Manufacturer
Combining design, materials and manufacturing with focus on sustainability throughout.
Patricia Miller, CEO Matrix 4 in the Chicgao, Illinois-area
A Little about Patricia Miller, CEO of Matrix 4 manufacturing based in the Chicago, Illinois area
Patricia is a visionary manufacturing leader, driving growth and innovation at M4. Under her leadership, M4 was named an Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Company two years in a row and a McHenry County Top Workplace. In 2018, Patricia was named to Crain’s Chicago 40 under 40 honoree. She received a dual degree, Bachelor of Business Administration, B.B.A. in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and a Bachelor of Arts, B.A. Journalism and Mass Communications in 2004 from the University of Iowa Henry B. Tippie College of Business. Pratricia also received a Masters in Public Policy, focusing in Legal & Political Theory in 2006 from UCL, the University College London.
Four years ago, Patricia left a successful career in the biotech space to return to her manufacturing roots. She decided to buy her grandpa’s failing business and run it like a start-up, using everything she had learned from her Fortune 500 career in marketing, her passion for entrepreneurship and her creative eye for design to turn M4 into a new kind of maker. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her dog, Tillie, traveling, and sipping G&Ts.
Follow as Patricia shares insights about what it is like to pursue a career as a large-scale manufacturer.
I lead an industrial design studio and a manufacturing factory, in the same space. It allows me to be creative and thoughtful about what we design. We go through the design process and translate that into manufacturing, while also seeing product get made every day in the factory. My role is to set the strategy and champion the culture. I push us to be as sustainable as possible, while designing and manufacturing products that solve needs in the world.
“I push us to be as sustainable as possible, while designing and manufacturing products that solve needs in the world.”
Information and Image from Matrix 4 manufacturing and design studio based in the Chicago, Illinois-area.
Integrating design into manufacturing allows us to not just blue sky design, but also to honor the integrity of the design process. We push for its translation into the factory, while being cognizant of how to do that, because we see the manufacturing process daily. It is super rewarding to see our designs move to our factory and sent out into the world. As a business that focuses on sustainability, we consider not just material, but also sustainable business practices, which include equality for all.
Information and Image about the company’s approach from the Matrix 4 manufacturing website at Matrix 4 in the Chicago, Illinois-area.
“As a business that focuses on sustainability, we consider not just material, but also sustainable business practices, which include equality for all.”
THANK YOU, Patricia, FOR GIVING US A GLIMPSE INTO YOUR CAREER & WORK AS AN INSPIRING WOMAN IN DESIGN.
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