Recognizing the inventors and innovators at Western Digital is important. Innovation is at the heart of the company and we are exceptionally proud of the accomplishments realized this year. We will be celebrating these accomplishments a little differently this year. Here are some of the reasons why:
• As we have grown, our ability to have one host site that can accommodate our needs was an issue as well as the bandwidth of many of the volunteers and people needed to plan, manage, support and deliver Engineering Day.
• Resourcing and cost management are also a large consideration. Being respectful of how we manage costs while balancing an appropriate tone is important and the right thing to do.
• Due to the timing of the SanDisk integration and as we are mid-stream with integration activities, SanDisk would not be able to participate.
Due to these reasons, it was determined by leadership and key volunteer leads of Engineering Day that we would scale back this year’s event. We will still focus and recognize the achievements realized, however this year we will not be holding an event as per the previous years.
In the US, patent awards ceremonies will still be held at various sites. Information on these activities will be managed by sites and invitations will be extended to the teams being recognized. More information will be shared as it becomes available.
We do believe this is the right approach for this year that strikes a strong balance as well as acknowledges the accomplishments.
Thank you for your support.