Productronica 2025 sets the stage for this novel leadership story: how a business major found purpose in the SMT and EMS industry, learned the language of machines and yields, and stepped into the COO role. I sat down with Koh Young Europe COO Solin Ahmed to unpack what it really takes to lead in a technical market without an engineering degree—fluency, curiosity, and the discipline to connect factory realities with customer expectations.
Guided by a 49-year SMT veteran, Solin shows how mentorship converts raw exposure into judgment, and how a trusted advisor emerges from years of watching, listening, and then acting. We also dive into a leadership model built on frictionless collaboration: operations guided by a detail-driven COO, paired with a seasoned sales leader who translates market signals into pipeline. That balance closes the gap between what gets sold and what can be built.
Amid talk of a “missing generation” in manufacturing, this conversation offers a different lens: create visible ramps for mid-career talent, make technical learning non-negotiable, and let emerging leaders prove themselves inside real projects. Solin explains that on the show floor, the mood is unmistakable—busy booths, decisive conversations, and renewed confidence after a hard stretch in the German market. We look ahead to 2026 with cautious optimism, agreeing that partnerships across SMT, backend, and component ecosystems will determine who compounds gains fastest.
If you’re navigating EMS leadership, building an SMT strategy, or rethinking how sales and ops should click, you’ll find practical insights and a dose of hard-won optimism. Subscribe, share with a colleague who mentors rising talent, and leave a review with one shift you think would most improve EMS in 2026.

EMS@C-Level is hosted by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Global Electronics Association (https://www.electronics.org)

You can see video versions of all of the EMS@C-Level pods on our YouTube playlist.