washington business
Of Note
Graduation Ceremony Held for Inaugural Leadership Washington Class;
Recruitment for Second Class Underway
AWB Institute’s Leadership Washington class of nine graduated at the Spring Meeting held in Spokane
May 12-13. The new program is aimed at preparing the next generation of business leaders and public
policy advocates.
Leadership Washington was started based on feedback from business leaders that they had yet to groom
the future heads of their business or industry sector, according to AWB Institute’s Amy Anderson.
With a growing number of senior leadership retirements, Anderson explains, it’s critical to invest in the
next generation of leaders who will not only carry the torch, but develop new ways of doing business.
To reach that lofty goal, the Leadership Washington class held six meetings over the past year that
included tours of various industries and business sectors around the state. The goal of these meetings
was to introduce the class to the diverse job base in Washington state and to glean leadership tips from
successful business owners and their top-level staff.
Graduates from the program will have all the tools necessary to be strong, articulate and informed
leaders with the ability to lead Washington state industry in a globally-competitive economy.
The Institute is currently recruiting for the second class that will hold its first meeting at the AWB
Policy Summit Sept. 15-17.
For more information and sponsorship information, contact AWB Institute’s Amy Anderson at
360.943.1600 or [email protected].
Seattle Symphony
Orchestra Wins First-ever
Grammy Award
AWB member and 111-year- old
Seattle Symphony Orchestra won
its first-ever Grammy for best contemporary classical composition
for “Become Ocean” written by
John Luther Adams on Feb. 7. The
composition was commissioned by
Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s music
director Ludovic Morlot.
In a press release issued on the award, Morlot said, “We’re so very proud that ‘Become Ocean’ is
recognized with a Grammy Award. John Luther Adams is one of our most important contemporary
American voices and I am grateful for my collaboration with him, and for the artistry and dedication of our musicians and our audio engineer Dmitriy Lipay in bringing this recording to life.”
Keeping with the theme of the pieces, the program notes the music “takes the form of waves
of sound, both large and small.” Divided into three small ensembles performing at different
tempos, the arrangement creates separate crests and troughs that occasionally come together
into combined rises and dramatic falls.
The symphony was also nominated for four other classical Grammys: best instrumental solo, best
engineered performance (for “Become Ocean” and for a recording of works by Henri Dutilleux)
and Seattle symphony’s recording engineer, Dmitriy Lipay, was nominated for producer of the year.
12 association of washington business
777X Carbon Fiber
Wing Manufacturing
Plant Breaks Ground
The din of backhoes and a
golden shovel greeted Boeing
executives as they arrived
to commence the groundbreaking ceremony for the
new $1 billion Boeing 777X
carbon fiber fabrication and
wing manufacturing plant in
Everett last October.
The 1.3-million-squarefoot building, which is
slated to open in May 2016,
will be as big as 25 football
f i e l d s, B o e i n g o f f i c i a l s
said. The Everett Herald
reported Boeing estimates
that completion will take
3.5 million man hours and
will require 31,000 tons of
steel, 480 miles of electrical
cable, 80,000 feet of pipe and
170,000 tons of concrete.
The site will include
three of the world’s largest
autoclaves. The center will
use advanced manufacturing
methods and new technology
— including automated
systems and robotics. The
carbon fiber innovation on
the new 777X is expected to
make it more fuel efficient
than the 777.
At the fabrication center,
Boeing will make its largestever carbon-fiber wing,
measuring 114 feet long and
23 feet wide. The company
estimates the plant will boost
employment in the 777X
sector by 10 percent.
Items from this new plant
should roll off the assembly
line some time in 2017.