The International Society of Automation has named Andrew McDonald, founder and principal consultant of Future of Manufacturing LLC, a 2026 ISA Fellow. McDonald is a recognized leader in industrial automation and digital manufacturing, with more than 30 years of experience helping manufacturers translate technology into operational and financial impact across consumer-packaged goods, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.
McDonald, nominated by ISA member Steve Mustard, has been elevated to ISA Fellow for the development of the first version of a standard communication language for packaging machinery — Packaging Machine Language (PackML) — which integrates principles from the ISA-88 batch process control standards with packing machinery.
Q: What does the ISA Fellow award mean to you?
A: Being elected an ISA Fellow is deeply meaningful, particularly because it represents recognition by peers of sustained achievement over time. It reflects a shared belief that as the industries we serve enter a new era of digital transformation powered by AI, our responsibility is not only to innovate, but to thoughtfully advocate for these technologies and the change they bring — applying them with rigor, integrity, social responsibility and lasting operational value. At its core, this is about using automation to augment humanity.
Q: What advice would you like to offer to future or young automation professionals?
A: The first thing I’d recommend is to remain a student for life, which you have to do in the automation industry. Get a good understanding of the work you do and how it translates into business value. Develop a broad view across the organization so you can have a bigger impact. Earn the ability to lead and position yourself so that you can pitch an idea, develop a consensus, build a team and execute the project you’ve identified.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I retired from Unilever in 2022 and realized there was more work to be done in manufacturing, so I retired from retirement, and I’m back working in manufacturing. The stuff I do is really interesting, and I work with fantastic people, and it’s fun.
I’ve started my own company, Future of Manufacturing. The question I’m focusing on at the moment is: “Why isn’t AI delivering the business value that it’s been hyped up to deliver?” We build AI into particular areas, and we generate insights, but businesses and organizations haven’t figured out how to best turn these insights into decisions. You can have all the intelligence in the world, but unless you turn that into a plan of action and implement the action, you won’t get the value.
I’m developing the concept of “Organization Judgment,” which is the idea that businesses are generating lots of intelligence, but the organizations aren’t configured effectively use the information. Organizations need to organize the insights in a way that allows them to make a plan, implement the plan, and create the ensuing value. I’m writing a book about it.
Q: What ISA committees/projects have you worked on?
A: I’m working with ISA’s technical committee, headed by Steve Mustard, to decide five topics ISA should focus on in the future. I’m working on two of them: agentic AI and workforce architecture.
The agentic AI work is really interesting, and it’ moving quickly. The team is working on building a guidance framework for safe industrial deployment of agentic AI in industry. What fascinates me is the fact that many existing ISA standards and methodologies are relevant to this area.
In workforce architecture, the team has focused on skills-building for automation professionals. This is a large topic area, and a multi-step plan has been developed. There are some upcoming events planned which will give the team chance to hear from members of ISA.
Q: How has ISA positively impacted your career?
A: I have been an unwavering champion of the application of standards; they create such huge value. The great unsung she/heroes of ISA are those who bring their expertise and time to create standards for the betterment of Industry. I leverage the guidance and spirit of ISA standards weekly in technical and non-technical ways. I often reflect that the founders of ISA-88 have created billions in value from reduction in engineering time but also in the ability to standardize and share recipes.
ISA Automation Summit & Expo Honors & Awards
Gala Andrew McDonald, along with the other ISA Fellows recognized in 2026, will be celebrated during the Honors & Awards Gala at ISA Automation Summit & Expo at Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on 28 September 2026. The other 2026 fellows include: John Cusimano, Sarah Fluchs, Ramachandra Kerur, Rao Mannepalli, Glenn Anthony Merrell, Eloise L. Roche and Constantino Seixas Filho.
What is an ISA Fellow?
The esteemed Fellow member grade is one of the highest honors ISA can bestow. It recognizes only those senior members who have made exceptional contributions to the automation profession, in practice or in academia. Fellows often play an outsized role in furthering the organization, whether through active leadership positions or by volunteering to speak at conferences, write articles or lead committees.
About ISA
The International Society of Automation (ISA) is a non-profit professional association founded in 1945 to create a better world through automation. ISA’s mission is to empower the global automation community through standards and knowledge sharing. ISA develops widely used global standards and conformity assessment programs; certifies professionals; provides education and training; publishes books and technical articles; hosts conferences and exhibits; and provides networking and career development programs for its members and customers around the world.
