Mark Bala
Consultant
Mark Bala spent over 35 years developing new products and leading technical innovations at the Inland Steel Company's main plant in East Chicago, Indiana. Beginning his career as an engineer in the Quality Department, Mr. Bala earned continuous promotions through Operations Management, Technical Services, Research, Sales & Marketing, Product Applications and International Business Development. During most of his career his focus was providing materials application consultation and technical services to such Fortune 500 customers as Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Emerson Electric, A.O. Smith, Whirlpool, Maytag and others.
Mr. Bala became one of Inland Steel's technical leaders in the cold rolled motor lamination market, helping to develop new and better steel grades that resulted in more efficient motor operation for motor manufacturers. He led the technical team that worked on automotive body-in-white analyses both domestically and overseas, and worked as a Global Platform Manager on Ford's World Car Program in Germany.
Additionally, Mr. Bala was Director of Sales & Technical Services at Inland Steel Industries' global subsidiary, Inland International, developing customers and product applications in such emerging markets as Mexico, India and China. He was the lead technical officer on the Inland Steel Industries/ Tata Steel joint venture team in Calcutta, India, developed to establish materials management distribution centers throughout that country.
Mr. Bala was born and raised in Mumbai, India. He became a State Medalist there, winning first place for his mathematics skills and second place for his physics prowess. Because of these awards, he was able to attend the elite India Institute of Technology, the country's premier engineering university. He later earned a Master's Degree in Engineering from The Colorado School of Mines, a private engineering university, majoring in both Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering with a minor in Applied Mathematics.
Mr. Bala leads teams in material application and efficiency initiatives. He lives with his wife in Deerfield, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. They have two grown daughters.
