Diana Hayes ’79 grew up certain she’d become a math teacher, until a family friend and math teacher encouraged her to pursue a different path.  “You’ll be so much better off as an engineer,” he assured her.  Diana took his advice and never looked back.  She enrolled in chemical engineering when she arrived at URI. It was a natural choice since she had always been mathematically inclined, and enjoyed chemistry. 

Diana found URI active and rewarding. “The university and engineering had so much to offer,” she recalls.  There were many opportunities to get involved.  She joined the student chapter of AICHE, and helped start the first Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapter on campus, with classmate Gina Natale. She also was elected to Tau Beta Pi.  Diana quickly adds, “It’s also where I met my husband, then classmate, Daniel J. Hayes, ChE ’79.”

Two weeks after graduation, Daniel and Diana wed, with most of their classmates in attendance. They began working for Corning Incorporated in Central Falls, R.I., where Diana started as a process engineer. The two stayed there for 2-1/2 years, before transferring to new positions at Corning’s facility in Raleigh, N.C. — the first married couple to move from one manufacturing site to another in the history of the company.

Diana loved Raleigh, not only for the climate and friendliness of the people, but for her work there. She led the process engineering team for the company’s first chip (leadless) capacitor.  “I loved my job at Corning,” she remembers. “I worked my way up to engineering supervisor, overseeing manufacturing improvements and productivity initiatives. My boss in Raleigh was very empowering, letting me make decisions and run things on my own. I really blossomed there.”

Her career at Corning continued to grow in the following years. In 1986, Diana transferred to company headquarters in Corning, N.Y., for an assignment in corporate engineering. For the next ten years, Diana remained in corporate engineering, broadening her experiences and honing her management skills. “Corning was really committed to diversity. They were very supportive when a number of women – myself included – went out on maternity leave,” notes Diana. “Among other things, that’s when I learned how to manage flexible work scheduling.”

Diana describes her management style as “empowering leadership.”  “It comes from my own positive experiences at Corning. I really rely on each individual’s expertise. I like to surround myself with people who know what to do and do it well. Often in technical management there is no better way,” she explains, recalling an assignment managing the company’s modeling group.  “My team consisted of global technology experts. Their functional expertise was unmatched.  My role was to define areas of opportunity and guide the group toward meeting program objectives.”

From corporate engineering, Diana moved to the company’s Science Products Division in Acton, Mass., to lead the deployment of enterprise resource management technology, a major undertaking that required the redesign of the division’s business processes.  She then moved to the company’s Optical Components Division in Marlborough as project engineering manager, charged with formulating plans to improve productivity.

In 1998, after almost two decades at Corning, Diana’s networking and reputation resulted in an offer from Johnson & Johnson as director of engineering for Skin and Hair Care.

At Johnson & Johnson, Diana led various groups targeting improvement of worldwide production operations and support for new product development. According to Diana, her work there was more strategic and entrepreneurial. It also required a lot of traveling to locations ranging from Greece to China to Brazil. “Working with people in different cultures is such a learning experience,” says Diana. “It really brings the application of the concepts of diversity to a whole new level.”

A recent restructuring at Johnson & Johnson has brought Diana to yet another opportunity point in her career.  “If anything is constant, it’s the need to be comfortable with change,” says Diana.  While being “in transition” is certainly not without challenge, Diana sees it as a time to re-energize and plan her next adventure.  That’s not to say she has slowed down. She is currently assisting as a partner in her husband’s management consulting firm and becoming more involved in her new work with the College of Engineering’s Advisory Council.  Nonetheless, Diana recognizes her desire for another engineering leadership role.  With her skills and experience, it’s doubtful she will have to wait long.