Walking through open doors

“Wright State was affordable, it was relevant, it had an outstanding engineering program.” —Annette Clayton, 2026 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award recipient

Annette Clayton ’86 has spent a career walking through open doors — often before she knew exactly what was on the other side.

That willingness to step forward, paired with a foundation built at Wright State University, carried Clayton from engineering classrooms in the 1980s to the highest levels of global leadership in manufacturing, energy and technology.

The Wright State University Alumni Association recognized that journey by naming Clayton the recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

“I’m personally very honored,” Clayton said. “I also think it represents how the university works and what its values are, which I’m very proud to be a part of.”

Clayton is now in what she calls a “service chapter” of her career, serving as a non-executive director for several public and private companies, including Duke Energy, NXP Semiconductors, Oshkosh Corp. and Nordson. She also serves on private equity-backed boards, advising executive teams and mentoring CEOs.

Before that chapter, Clayton built a more than 40-year career across some of the world’s most recognizable companies. She spent more than two decades at General Motors, including serving as president of Saturn Corp., before leading global supply chain and operations roles at Dell. She later became CEO and president of Schneider Electric North America, overseeing a 30,000-employee organization generating more than $11 billion in annual sales.

Clayton traces much of her professional mindset back to Wright State, where she enrolled during a period of rapid growth.

“Wright State was affordable, it was relevant, it had an outstanding engineering program,” Clayton said.

Clayton initially enrolled at Wright State as a computer engineering major, but quickly realized it was not the right fit.

“I didn’t want to be an engineer’s engineer,” she said. “I wanted to be a people’s engineer.”

With guidance from an academic advisor, Clayton shifted her focus to general engineering — a decision she credits with shaping her approach to leadership.

“The program was really about helping you learn to solve problems, helping you figure out how to solve problems that impact people,” she said. “Those foundations were really important, and they formulated my thinking.”

Annette Clayton, the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award recipient, credits Wright State with shaping the foundation of her career. “It was affordable, it was relevant, it had an outstanding engineering program,” she said.

Outside the classroom, Clayton gained early professional experience teaching labs and mentoring younger students, building both her confidence and her engineering skills.

“Teaching was one of the best ways to learn something,” she said. “Wright State gave me that teaching mentality.”

Like many alumni, Clayton’s memories extend beyond the classroom. She recalls the camaraderie of engineering students, navigating the campus tunnels, searching for parking spots and gathering with friends at the Rathskeller.

“It became a family and a home for me,” she said.

After graduating from Wright State with a bachelor’s degree in general engineering, Clayton earned a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Dayton.

She credits Wright State and a cooperative education experience with General Motors with giving her the confidence to embrace uncertainty throughout her career.

“I chose a path to walk through open doors,” she said. “I took a lot of special assignments. I was able to really thrive in environments where it was difficult and hard and required a lot of change.”

For Clayton, Wright State’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award is both a personal milestone and a reflection of the university that helped shape her.

“It speaks volumes about the way the university thinks, about the culture, about the people,” she said. “I’m very proud to be a part of that.”