As vice president of DELTA H, Ellen Conway Merrill oversees operations and sales for their second generation family business. Like many in the heat treat industry, Ellen found herself “falling into” this world unexpectedly. With a background in education, Ellen intended on teaching middle school math and science until one summer break where she served as an assistant to her father (DELTA H’s founder and CTO). She quickly found herself deeply interested in not only business and technology, but also entrepreneurship and sales. Her professionalism as well as easy going personality, infectious laugh, and smile endear her to all. DELTA H grew rapidly over the following years, proving she has what it takes to earn her place in the heat treating industry. She especially loves serving the aviation and defense side and is well known among leading industry professionals.

Ellen’s warm and friendly demeanor, attention to detail, passion for serving her clients, and working together with her team make her a natural leader. Most recently, she co-founded "Women in Heat Treat," a group dedicated to promoting and advocating for women in the industry. She is also on the Board of Directors as membership chair for the Association of Women in the Metals Industry. Given her ties to her original passion — teaching — Ellen is often invited as a guest speaker for local STEM programs to share about her unique industry and career. She and her husband Ben live outside of Columbus and just welcomed their first child, a little girl, in June 2020.

Nominated by: DELTA H TECHNOLOGIES