Moving beyond water cooler conversations: Digitalization Thought Leader Interview with Pete Weddington, Owens Corning

May 2023

Water cooler conversations have been virtually impossible (pun intended) for over three years now. But were they even an effective way to get your teams collaborating in the first place? Owens Corning looked at their successful ERP model and wondered how they could parlay that effective collaboration into other parts of the business, including new product development. Collaboration hubs are their answer. They are working to bring everyone and every project into a transparent system to enhance knowledge and collaboration. Pete Weddington, IT Director at Owens Corning, will share their work on this as well as other innovative approaches they are taking to getting the word out about new tools and systems.

Peter (Pete) Weddington is an IT Director for Owens Corning. Pete currently is assigned to lead the Digital Worker Program. This program is part of the company’s digital strategy to transform and leverage technology to drive efficiency. In addition to running this program, Pete is responsible for the IT portfolio for Owens Corning’s Science and Technology organization with an emphasis on the company’s scientific and engineering communities focused on product and technology development. Pete also holds the IT leadership role on the Owens Corning Integration Management Office that is responsible for the integration of acquisitions to the Owens Corning enterprise. Pete has been with Owens Corning for 18 years holding a variety of positions in the Information Technology organization serving all parts of the company globally from IT infrastructure to enterprise applications.      Prior to joining Owens Corning, Pete is a retired U.S. Coast Guard Officer. Pete had a diverse operational and staff career in the Coast Guard. He was a career rotary wing aviator with operational experience in two of the Coast Guard’s helicopter types: the H-65 Dolphin and the H-52 Sea Guard. His operational aviation tours of duty began in 1986 after receiving his Naval Aviator Wings from Navy Flight School with his first assignment at Air Station Barbers Point, HI. Subsequently, he served tours of duty at a primary flight instructor at Naval Flight School in Milton Florida, and then as an aircraft commander at Air Station Houston. After attending graduate school, Pete worked at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and worked to develop and deploy the logistics systems used by Naval Engineering to operate and maintain its fleet of cutters. From this assignment, Pete completed his service with the Coast Guard as the Chief of the Information Systems Division at the Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, NC. During his tenure, the Coast Guard developed and deployed a modern logistics system used by Coast Guard Aviation Engineering and Operations to operate and maintain its fleet of aircraft.     A 1984 graduate of the US Coast Guard Academy, Pete’s first tour of duty was as the Operations Officer on the USCGC Red Oak, based in Gloucester City, NJ working aids to navigation on the Delaware River. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a Master of Information Systems Degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, WA.