Terri Connor Kelly is an American engineer. A member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

, she was the president of the American company W. L. Gore & Associates from 2005 to 2018.

Biography

In 1983, she obtained her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

, and she joined W. L. Gore & Associates as a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

in the Fabrics Division, She had chosen such a company smaller than

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

for better career prospects. At the company, she worked on their dealings of their

Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is W. L. Gore & Associates's trade name for waterproof, breathable fabric membrane. It was invented in 1969. Gore-Tex blocks liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterproof fabri ...

uniforms with the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

. In 1997, Michael Kaplan of ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

'' said of Kelly: "If you’ve nicknamed your boss the Walking Plague, heis a woman you will envy: she’s never had a boss", noting the company's consensus-based leadership. After joining the Fabrics Division leadership in 1998, she oversaw the opening of Gore-Tex's first textile manufacturing plant in China, located in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

. In 2005, she became president and CEO of W. L. Gore after being put on the company's shortlist. In April 2018, she stepped down from both positions. In 2009, she joined the University of Delaware Board of Trustees, later becoming their vice-chair. She became chair on July 1, 2022. She has also served as a board member for

ASML Holding ASML Holding N.V. (commonly shortened to ASML, originally standing for Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography) is a Netherlands, Dutch multinational corporation that specializes in the development and manufacturing of photolithography mach ...

, the

Nemours Foundation The Nemours Foundation is a non-profit organization in Jacksonville, Florida, created through the last will and testament of philanthropist Alfred I. du Pont by his widow Jessie Ball duPont in 1936, and dedicated to improving the health of c ...

, and

United Rentals United Rentals, Inc. is an American equipment rental company, with about 16 percent of the North American market share as of 2022. It owns the largest rental fleet in the world with approximately 4,700 classes of equipment totaling about $19.3 bi ...

, as well as a trustee for the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust and Unidel Foundation. She was elected to the

in 2021, for "leadership in product development and commercialization by advancing management practices that foster innovation." She has four children with her husband John Kelly. The couple are also philanthropists known by the nickname "Double Dels", with their donations including the Terri Connor Kelly and John Kelly Career Development Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the John B. and Terri L. Kelly Athletic Scholarship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Terri Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American women business executives Place of birth missing (living people) American mechanical engineers 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American women engineers 21st-century American engineers 21st-century American women engineers Engineers from Delaware Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Trustees of educational establishments Trustees of charities