David Born heads the Roland Berger Institute, the consulting firm's in-house think tank for economic research and geopolitical analysis. Based in Frankfurt, Germany, David leads a global team of experts who continuously monitor economic and geopolitical developments, providing thought leadership for Roland Berger’s clients across various industries and regions. With over a decade of experience in research and trend analysis, David has presented his findings at conferences and meetings worldwide. He studied Politics and Public Administration in Konstanz and Stockholm and holds a PhD in Social Sciences from Berne University. 

Michelle Drew Rodriguez is a Partner in Roland Berger’s Chicago office and leads the North American Operations platform. She has two and a half decades of industry and consulting experience across the manufacturing industry. She specializes in driving global manufacturing competitiveness efforts, leading strategic and operational efforts with large- scale global manufacturing companies as well as has led manufacturing strategy- related work for the White House and organizations such as Manufacturers Alliance, World Economic Forum, National Association of Manufacturers, Manufacturing Institute, and the Council on Competitiveness. She has extensive experience and aptitude for creating and scaling growth opportunities, forging strong relationships, driving complex large-scale business transformations, developing industry recognized thought leadership, and building large high-performing diverse teams. She works with leading automotive and industrial groups around the world and has served on multiple boards. 

Michelle studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin and holds an MBA from the University of Michigan.  

Stephen Gold has served as President and CEO of Manufacturers Alliance since March 2011. Over the past three decades, he has represented U.S. manufacturers in a variety of senior-level roles in nonprofit membership organizations, including in government relations, communications, and operations. Stephen is presently a contributing columnist for IndustryWeek, and has served as an occasional guest columnist for The Washington Times. He regularly writes on topics such as geopolitical challenges, automation and technology advances, workforce and demographic challenges, and public policy.

Prior to his current position as the Alliance’s President, he held the position as Senior Vice President of Operations for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) from 2006 - 2011, where he provided management oversight of the trade association's 50 business units, member recruitment and retention, international operations, business development, and meeting planning. While at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) in the early 2000s, Stephen helped launch NAM’s Campaign for the Future of U.S. Manufacturing and served as executive director of the Coalition for the Future of U.S. Manufacturing. He specialized in regulatory law in the 1990s, working at a D.C.-based firm in the consumer product safety practice group and in energy and environmental issues in the government relations practice group.  

He has served on the Board of Directors of NAM’s Council of Manufacturing Associations, on the Board of Trustees of The Manufacturing Institute, and on the Alumni Board of the George Mason University School of Law, including a stint as president. Presently he serves as treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW). 

Stephen received a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law (cum laude), an M.A. in history from George Washington University, and a B.S. in history from Arizona State University (magna cum laude). 

Gareth Hayes is a Senior Partner in Roland Berger's Chicago office. He is a member of the Industrial Products & Services unit, is the U.S. lead for Roland Berger's PMI practice, and is the Chicago office Chief Operating Officer. Since joining the firm in 2009, his work has focused on corporate and manufacturing strategy within asset intensive industries with a particular interest in the construction and building technology space. Gareth is also active across multiple sectors in pre-and-post merger integration work for both buy and sell sides.

Prior to his work at Roland Berger, Gareth was a mechanical engineer focused on new product development in the industrial goods space. Gareth holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and a Masters in Engineering Management and Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University.