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The People Behind the Platform: Diana Robbins, Customer Communications and Programs Manager

Employee Spotlight
April 4, 2022
The People Behind The Platform: Diana Robbins

You might love the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, but do you know the people who make it possible? Talented Plexians have been working hard behind the scenes for decades. They’re what make this company great, but few get the chance to step into the spotlight they deserve – until now. This month, say hello to Customer Communications & Programs Manager Diana Robbins.

Tell us about your role at Plex.

My role is all about communications – ensuring both our customers and the market are informed on product, people, and company news, and that they regard Plex as an industry thought leader​. I help create compelling programs to support customer loyalty, storytelling, and recognition, as well as product change communications. I also help with internal communications strategies.

What do you love most about your job?

The team! It’s incredibly powerful to be on a team that’s so highly engaged and collaborative, where ideas are flowing and everyone has a can-do attitude. It feels like there’s nothing that can stand in our way to getting our goals accomplished.

How will technology make the world smarter in the next 10 years?

Artificial Intelligence being used positively across all aspects of our lives, seen and unseen, will hopefully make us more efficient at work and productive in home life so we can focus more time on the important things, like real human interactions.

Tell us about a major opportunity or challenge in today’s manufacturing industry.

The workforce shortage is a huge hurdle. The ratio of people exiting or retiring from manufacturing versus those entering is a concern. One of the industry’s biggest drivers of this perception is a PR problem! Today’s manufacturing environment is not the old school picture of a dark, dirty, unsafe production facility. Digital transformation in manufacturing is driving an entirely new opportunity and I love that our technology is helping make manufacturing more attractive to the younger generations – they grew up using technology in a way that they expect to apply to their careers, and Plex’s cloud-based smart manufacturing solution is that promise fulfilled.

Where are you located?

Florida.

What’s your favorite nonprofit or charity?

I’m passionate about animal rescue and hope I can give more of my time to this area someday. I try to donate to various rescues that friends and family are connected to, but Magic’s Mission is my favorite – it’s where we adopted our rescue!

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A lawyer! I loved to argue plus I saw lawyers on TV and always enjoyed the courtroom performance.

What are your favorite things to do on the weekend?

Be productive: accomplishing some things on my to-do list.

Be outside: vitamin D is my energy source!

Be with good people: enjoying good food and a good Pinot Noir!

If you had to live inside one TV show for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

All of my favorite TV shows are dark and should not be lived in! The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Homeland, Breaking Bad, Westworld, Game of Thrones, etc. I’ve never really been a fan of sitcoms EXCEPT The Office, so Scranton here I come!

Some musical artists or bands you never get sick of are:

Pink Floyd, Soundgarden, and Bob Marley.

Any travel tips for those looking to book their next flight?

You can’t go wrong with a visit to Paris!

Want to become a Plexian and work with great people like Diana? View opportunities and learn about careers at Plex.

About the Author

Plex Team

Plex, by Rockwell Automation, is the leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, empowering the world’s manufacturers to make awesome products. Our platform gives manufacturers the ability to connect, automate, track and analyze every aspect of their business to drive transformation. The Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform includes solutions for manufacturing execution (MES), ERP, quality, supply chain planning and management, Industrial IoT and analytics to connect people, systems, machines, and supply chains, enabling them to lead with precision, efficiency and agility.