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REBECCA GUINN: FROM BUILDING TRACTORS TO BUILDING BRIDGES (FOR WOMEN IN ENGINEERING)

John Deere employees earn prestigious Society of Women Engineers (SWE) awards

Building lasting relationships with customers and dealers is important to all John Deere employees, but for Rebecca Guinn it's equally important to forge strong bonds with her colleagues.

Photograph of Rebecca Guinn
Rebecca Guinn

Creating those bonds and helping foster a diverse culture at John Deere helped Guinn, factory manager at John Deere Waterloo Works in Waterloo, Iowa, earn the Society of Women Engineers' 2021 Global Leadership Award.

"Strong relationships are core to fostering an inclusive environment in any department and in any role," she explained. "I've always focused on bringing teams together, creating authentic connections, and sharing an aligned vision. When you do those things, you can really build a great dynamic, particularly when you're working with diverse global teams."

The Global Leadership Award recognizes a female leader who has made outstanding contributions in engineering and leadership in a global setting, with an emphasis on creating a diverse and inclusive environment.

"It's very humbling to be recognized by one of the top organizations advocating change for women in engineering and technology," Guinn said. "Throughout my career, I've always focused on doing the right thing and opening doors for others. I'm honored to follow in the footsteps of the many amazing women at Deere who have previously won this award."

On Oct. 21, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) will honor three John Deere engineers for outstanding leadership skills, excellence in mentoring and leadership in a global setting.

The other winners include:

  • Randy Sergesketter, senior vice president & strategic advisor, Global Crop Harvesting, who won the Spark Award, which recognizes a leader who has dedicated themselves to mentoring women over the course of their career.
  • Geetika Purohit, manager, Hay and Forage Software Delivery, John Deere Enterprise Technology Engineering Center (ETEC), who won the Emerging Leader Award. Purohit is actively engaged in engineering and works hard to be a good leader, which is fitting given that engagement and leadership are key criteria relative to winning the award.

SWE also recognized five John Deere employees who have been awarded a patent within the previous three years from the award application deadline.

  • Allison Bergman
  • Rupali Patil
  • Jui Desai
  • Shruti Dev
  • Rishika Shekhawat