I've worked on various senior manufacturing positions within building products throughout my five years at Collingwood.  

The majority of owners, MD's and CEO's will no doubt agree with me when I say that I am never surprised by the differing quality of interviewees for Plant Manager, Operation Director and senior manufacturing roles.  

One thing I have taken from interviewing such a bank of candidates is there have been a handful (c.five) that stand out as (dare I say) thought leaders within their space.  Other than being likable, this has resulted in me keeping close to these people for insights.  Likewise, and somewhat unfortunate for their peers, this has resulted in me bench-marking people against them.

I would therefore strongly recommend that if you have a Twitter account you start following the people on this EEF list of influential manufacturing leaders.  Create a list to read up on once a week for updates on manufacturing innovations.  Well worth the five minutes it will take...you can thank me later!