The Conexus Team
Bryce Carpenter
Chief Operating and Strategy Officer
Email: bcarpenter@conexusindiana.com
As Chief Operating and Strategy Officer, Bryce supports the organization’s robust network of industry, public-sector and higher education stakeholders as they identify and activate the most impactful projects for industry growth.
Prior to joining Conexus Indiana, Bryce spent more than 10 years in business development, fundraising, marketing and communications for the Marion County Republican Central Committee (MCRCC). He most recently worked as the Executive Director for the MCRCC in Indianapolis, creating and executing individually tailored campaign platforms and grassroots strategies, and partnering with the Indianapolis City-County Council, State Legislature, and Mayor’s office on advance issues and legislation. Within the Committee, he previously held the position of Communication and Political Director where he managed press relations and volunteer programs.
Bryce holds a Bachelor of Arts from Centre College, Danville, Ky., where he majored in Government and minored in History.
Bryce Carpenter
Chief Operating and Strategy Officer
Guillermo Guillen
Manager, Adult Programs
Email: gguillen@conexusindiana.com
A 28-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps with additional experience in the private sector, Guillermo has spent much of his career focused on training and process improvement.
Joining Conexus Indiana in July of 2021, Guillermo came from the manufacturing and orientation training department at Subaru of Indiana (SIA), where he helped employees gain basic skills and learn about standard work and safety processes in the manufacturing environment. Previously, the fluent Spanish speaker led and trained employees at two Nevada aircraft-maintenance firms, DynCorp International and L3 Vertex.
Guillermo holds a number of certifications, including a Green Belt in Process Improvement Management in Lean and Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints, as has undertaken extensive training in supply chain management. While with the Marine Corps, he put his expertise to work as lead maintenance production supervisor of a Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron, an aircraft component repair facility supporting seven fixed-wing squadrons and processing more than 900 components each month. In that role, he implemented Theory of Constraint/Lean Six Sigma methodologies to produce an 80% reduction in awaiting parts and component runaround time.
Carly Gundaker
Manager, Talent Programs
Email: cgundaker@conexusindiana.com
Carly Gundaker serves as Conexus Indiana’s Manager of Talent Programs. In his role, Carly works to build a talent pipeline for advanced manufacturing and logistics through the development, implementation and growth of successful talent development programming, community involvement to further organizational leadership and influence connectivity to career and technical education programs offered through secondary and post-secondary education.
Before joining Conexus, Carly worked in higher education at Butler University in its community engagement department. In this role, she led targeted communications to grow alumni engagement, advised student and alumni leadership boards, led marketing efforts for the university’s BlueWork tool and more. She has additional experience in the non-profit industry through roles with the Indiana Donor Network in event coordination and community relations.
Carly holds a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism, Conventions and Event Management from Indiana University, as well as a Master’s degree in Strategic Communication from Butler University.
Carly Gundaker
Manager, Talent Programs
Jordan Isaacs
Senior Director, Growth
Email: jisaacs@Conexusindiana.com
Jordan Isaacs serves as the Senior Director of Growth at Conexus Indiana, where he is dedicated to developing an active, engaged and diverse network of manufacturing and logistics executives for the Conexus Indiana Advanced Industries Council and Board of Directors. In this role, he oversees fundraising strategies and initiatives aimed at driving economic development within Indiana’s advanced manufacturing and logistics (AML) sectors. His efforts include building partnerships with public sector agencies and supporting company targeting and recruitment initiatives.
Previously, Jordan worked with TechPoint, another initiative under the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, where he focused on fundraising for tech startups, scaleups and tech-enabled companies. He also managed partnerships with state and federal agencies, government bodies and technology councils. Throughout his career, which includes roles at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the United States Senate, Jordan has established a strong track record of creating and nurturing partnerships, driving revenue and engaging the business community across various industries.
He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Indiana State University.
Ben Klein
Project Coordinator – Apprentice
Email: bklein@conexusindiana.com
Ben Klein joined the Conexus Indiana team through the Modern Youth Apprenticeship program and serves as a project coordinator. In this role, Ben collaborates with multiple teams within Conexus and participates in working groups for various events and projects. He also gathers data from public sources and external partners, tracks project activities and milestones, creates and modifies databases and helps drive continuous improvement within internal operations.
Now a junior at North Central High School, Ben was in the top 10% of his class academically through his first two years. He is also involved with multiple community organizations, including as a volunteer for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and as captain of the junior varsity volleyball team.
Outside of school, Ben is also the founder/sole proprietor of Lawn and Order, a lawn care company that he started in April 2020. In this role, he leads business development and sales and marketing while maintaining long-term business-client relationships.
After completing high school, Ben’s goal is to pursue a business-related degree in college.
Ben Klein
Project Coordinator – Apprentice
Brooke Lambert
Manager, Industry Partnerships
Email: blambert@conexusindiana.com
As the Manager of Industry Partnerships, Brooke executes projects associated with the acceleration and growth of AML industries throughout Indiana. She supports the Advanced Industries Council, assists with project management and documentation and coordinates with external stakeholders. Brooke is passionate about community engagement and fostering strong relationships.
Most recently, Brooke worked as the Community Engagement Coordinator at Butler University. In this role she worked in the Career and Professional Success office alongside the Employer Relations team managing a micro-internship platform that connected students and employers for project-based work. Before this, Brooke was a Fellow, splitting her time between Butler University and Ice Miller LLP.
Brooke holds both a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Management from Butler University.
Jillian Lee
Director, Operations
Email: jlee@Conexusindiana.com
Jillian Lee serves as Conexus Indiana’s Director of Operations. In this role, she drives the day-to-day operations of our organization, which includes providing budget and contract leadership, coordinating people processes, leading data and CRM utilization, and building new systems for the team. She also handles collaboration between our parent organization, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.
Before joining Conexus, Jillian was most recently Operations Manager at Alloy Partners (formerly High Alpha Innovation). There, she led operations for Alloy’s largest business unit, supporting cross-functional teams and executive leadership as they partnered with Fortune 500s, R1 universities, and government agencies. Prior to her work at Alloy Partners, she served Fort Wayne Ballet simultaneously as both a professional ballet dancer in their performing company and as a member of the Development and Marketing team.
Jillian graduated from Butler University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Arts Administration from the Lacy School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance from the Jordan College of Arts.
Jillian Lee
Director, Operations
Ian Mangan
Senior Manager, Digital Media
Email: imangan@Conexusindiana.com
Ian Mangan serves as Conexus Indiana’s Senior Manager of Digital Media. In this role, he manages the digital media, growth and strategic aspects of Conexus’ external marketing efforts to promote organizational offerings, programs and campaigns through social media, content creation, email marketing campaigns and website management. Ian also handles graphic design and multimedia production through the creation of design deliverables, brand collateral, web imaging and video storytelling.
Prior to joining Conexus, Ian served in the marketing department at Wessler Engineering, an Indianapolis-based civil engineering firm. In this role, Ian oversaw the digital marketing efforts to promote the firm’s capabilities through social media, creating digital and print advertisements, website content and performance management and written and digital content.. Ian has a diverse digital marketing background, serving on marketing teams in the material handling and logistics fields with Storage Solutions and Spot Freight where he gained preliminary knowledge of advanced manufacturing and logistics.
Ian is a graduate of Butler University, holding a bachelor’s degree in strategic communications.
PJ McGrew
Senior Vice President, Talent Strategy and Programming
Email: pmcgrew@Conexusindiana.com
PJ McGrew serves as Conexus Indiana’s Senior Vice President of Talent Strategy and Programming. In his role, PJ will lead all Conexus Indiana programs designed to educate, inform development and inspire talent to create a motivated and prepared workforce pipeline for the Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics industries. He will also play a significant role in supporting the Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway.
Prior to joining Conexus, PJ focused on advancing INvestEd’s partnerships with educational institutions, employers, community organizations and government agencies. He was instrumental in enhancing brand visibility and collaborating with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE) to support INvestEd’s mission.
After working nearly a decade in state government, PJ played a central role in shaping Indiana’s workforce policies. Under Governor Eric Holcomb, he became the inaugural Executive Director of the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, an entity he worked with the Indiana General Assembly to establish in 2018. He then emerged as Indiana’s leading voice on bridging the education-to-workforce pipeline, gaining national recognition for his efforts.
PJ holds a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Indiana University and remains dedicated to fostering innovative solutions that drive meaningful educational and workforce outcomes.
PJ McGrew
Senior Vice President, Talent Strategy and Programming
Patrick O’Neill
Sr. Project Manager, Research
Email: poneill@Conexusindiana.com
As Sr. Project Manager of Research, Patrick O’Neill is responsible for overseeing and coordinating projects aimed at driving impact in the advanced manufacturing and logistics (AML) sectors and the state of Indiana. He executes research projects associated with the acceleration and growth of AML industries throughout the state.
Patrick is driven by a passion for economic development and problem-solving, with a proven track record of fostering community and economic growth through innovative and collaborative approaches. He has a robust background in conducting economic analyses, grant writing, and public engagement efforts, contributing to over $7 billion in private capital investment through initiatives like READI 1.0 and 2.0. He also led robust public engagement efforts that directly engaged key regional public and private sector stakeholders, including anchor employers, secondary and post-secondary education institutions and local government leaders.
Patrick is a graduate of Xavier University, holding a bachelor’s degree in political science and public relations.
Kelsey O’Shaughnessy
Director, Public Relations
Email: koshaughnessy@Conexusindiana.com
Kelsey O’Shaughnessy serves as Conexus Indiana’s Director of Public Relations. In this role, she works to promote Conexus Indiana, its industry sector and the organization’s objectives by executing strategic marketing and communications strategies and tactics. She manages earned media and public relations leadership, messaging strategy, brand voice and campaign development to tell the Conexus Indiana story and share the work of the organization and the advanced manufacturing and logistics industries as a whole.
Before joining Conexus, Kelsey O’Shaughnessy served numerous roles at PANBlast (formerly BLASTmedia), ranging from PR Coordinator to Senior Account Supervisor. In her time at PANBlast, she has done everything from executing media campaigns and leading account teams to managing reporting for KPIs and proactive pitching to media for a diverse set of clients in the B2B tech, healthcare, robotics, customer experience and security industries.
Kelsey also worked in the Butler University admission office as an Admission Counselor and as a Program Advisor for the Institute for Study Abroad.
Kelsey holds both a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in strategic communication from Butler University.
Kelsey O’Shaughnessy
Director, Public Relations
Josh Rychtarczyk
Director, Strategic Insights
Email: jrychtarczyk@conexusindiana.com
Josh Rychtarczyk serves as Conexus’s Director of Strategic Insights – executing industry-driven educational research and visualizing data to inform stakeholders on the current state of AML in Indiana. In his previous Conexus role, he led the Manufacturing Readiness Grants program and technology adoption case studies.
Josh’s professional background is largely in directing holistic railway maintenance solutions – he has optimized maintenance processes on over 14 US and Canadian public transit light rail systems, evaluated leading-edge rail and wheel measurement technologies from global suppliers, and established best practices and workflows to foster transformative technology adoption.
In a previous role at the Indiana Department of Transportation, Josh was responsible for managing several state contracts with a combined budget of nearly $40 million. He also evaluated consultant technical responses to bid invitations, served as Council Leader for Greenfield District’s Innovation Team, and led strategies to improve communication across departments.
Josh earned his bachelor’s degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in mechanical engineering and has taken courses on integrated product design and engineering mechanics at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
Tylor Schmitt
Manager, Operations
Email: tschmitt@conexusindiana.com
Tylor Schmitt serves as Conexus Indiana’s Manager of Operations. In this role, she supports organizational performance and process improvement through internal operations management, staff support, and cross-functional collaboration. Her responsibilities include managing internal systems such as Salesforce and Asana, coordinating internal staff events and ensuring timely and accurate processing of operational documentation.
Prior to joining Conexus, Tylor worked at the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, where she led donor database operations, conducted prospect research and supported fundraising campaigns. She also managed financial reporting, donor engagement tools, and digital fundraising platforms to streamline development processes. In addition, Tylor spent three years with United Way of Central Indiana, where she held roles supporting executive leadership and major gift operations. During her time there, she contributed to campaign coordination, donor tracking and CRM transitions.
Tylor holds a bachelor’s degree in public Affairs, specializing in non-profit management with a minor in event planning from Indiana University.
Tylor Schmitt
Manager, Operations
Jay Wirts
President and CEO
Email: jwirts@Conexusindiana.com
Before joining Conexus Indiana as president and CEO, Jay Wirts was executive vice president of Smart Infrastructure Solutions at Belden, a global leader in end-to-end signal transmission solutions, where he led a $1.2 billion global business specializing in broadband and network infrastructure.
Previously, he held leadership roles at Belden, including President of Smart Buildings and VP and GM of Industrial Cable Solutions. During his tenure at Belden, Wirts led initiatives to expand automation, optimize supply chain operations and establish partnerships to advance fiber technology manufacturing. His efforts included the opening of a Fiber Technology Center in collaboration with the University of Arizona and reshoring manufacturing facilities to enhance supply chain resilience.
Prior to Belden, Wirts worked at Emerson and Vertiv, following more than six years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Colgate University and a master’s degree from Northwestern University.
Molly Zentz
Vice President, Communications
Email: mzentz@Conexusindiana.com
Molly Zentz serves as Conexus Indiana’s Vice President of Communications. In this role, she works to promote Conexus Indiana, its industry sector and the organization’s objectives by executing strategic marketing and communications strategies and tactics. As the leader of the communications and research teams, Molly oversees all aspects of the organization’s thought leadership work and manages the many internal and external communications channels across the organization to drive engagement, participation, retention and positive brand recognition.
Prior to joining Conexus, Molly served as Head of Marketing for agriculture technology company, Solinftec. In that role, she led an international team of marketing and communications professionals to increase the company’s brand awareness, build trust with key stakeholders and refine the company’s brand narrative.
Molly has a diverse background in communications, having managed public relations for national corporations, non-profits and agencies. Her prior work experience includes Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., Angie’s List, BLASTmedia and Raybourn Group International.
Molly holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Indianapolis and is accredited in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America.
Molly Zentz
Vice President, Communications
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