A partnership and an honor

Collaboration With Georgia Tech BAC

thyssenkrupp Elevator has partnered with the Business Analytics Center (BAC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business in Atlanta to “apply business analytics tools and techniques through research, collaboration and innovation to help drive thought leadership. . . and promote analytics research.” The partnership was set to begin this fall with a business analytics practicum providing experiential learning opportunities for MBA students. BAC Managing Director Keith Werle explained the practicum involves students spending an entire semester addressing a “real-world business and data-analytics challenge” faced by thyssenkrupp Elevator. Baha Tevek, director of U.S. Field Technology at thyssenkrupp Elevator and a Scheller College of Business graduate, said, “thyssenkrupp Elevator is excited to partner with BAC to advance our business cocreation for our organization, develop quantitative methods and toolsets and invest in and expand resource requirements for data science and business analytics.”

Powers Wins Women in Technology Award

Alison Powers, head of thyssenkrupp Elevator’s Innovation and Qualification Center and Test & Qualification, NA, was awarded the Connected World Women of Technology Award during a virtual ceremony in August, the company announced. In recognizing Powers, a panel of past winners noted her involvement with technology; her role in helping thyssenkrupp Elevator prosper and progress; her contributions to the growth of technology; her mentoring of other women; and her efforts to support other women in business, technology, transformation and the local community. “I am truly humbled and grateful to be recognized among so many amazing women and powerful leaders in the technology space and look forward to further contributing to the digital transformation of the vertical-transportation industry,” said Powers, who was the only representative of the elevator industry to be recognized with the award.
Powers, a native of Atlanta, began her career with thyssenkrupp Elevator in 2013, working at the Product Development Center in Memphis. She returned to Atlanta in 2018, taking over as head of Research of Innovation, working on such technologies as the MAX predictive maintenance system. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech and Stanford, respectively.
“Alison exemplifies the type of powerful, smart and tech-savvy women we need more of in this world,” said Peggy Smedley, president of Specialty Publishing Media and editorial director of Connected World.

Officials Remain Committed to St. Paul Project

Officials in Ramsey County, Minnesota, are moving ahead with their support for RiversEdge, a multitower project on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Paul, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting financial fallout, the StarTribune reported in August. The US$788-million project would bring apartments, condominiums, offices, hotel rooms and retail space within its four towers, and would include an urban park on the county-owned land. Owing to a need for housing, it appears likely that the first structure to rise will be an
apartment building.
Three of the towers are expected to stand 20, 23 and 28 stories tall, with the height of the fourth to be determined. One hurdle the county is hoping to clear is funding — it’s seeking US$40 million in state funding toward the project, which would create a pedestrian connection between downtown and the riverfront. The original plan envisioned a 168-room hotel, 56 condos, 350 apartments, 30,000 ft2 of retail, 1,600 parking spaces, nearly 1 million ft2 of high-end office space and an urban park overlooking the river, but officials said changing market demands could prompt modification. The developer for RiversEdge is Los Angeles-based AECOM.