ERA Announces Col. Nicole Malachowski as Keynote Speaker for the 2027 ERA Conference
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) announces that Col. Nicole Malachowski, USAF (Ret.) will be the keynote speaker at the 2027 ERA Conference, taking place Feb. 21-23, 2027, in Austin, Texas.
Malachowski will open the ERA Conference on Monday morning, Feb. 22, with her keynote presentation, “Harnessing Headwinds: Successfully Navigating Change and Adversity.”
As a former fighter pilot and combat veteran, Nicole Malachowski uses the metaphor of headwinds to share inspiring stories and practical tools that ignite our ability to harness the challenges in our personal and professional lives.
In her keynote session, Conference attendees will be able to reflect and bolster their ability to: Overcome personal and professional failures; effectively navigate organizational and cultural change and get comfortable with risk, change, volatility and pressure; and build the resilience to recover, adapt and keep moving forward.
As a former Air Force fighter squadron commander, Malachowski was the first woman pilot on the Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron, a White House Fellow and an inductee into both the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame. She even has a Star Trek Federation starship named in her honor!
After 21 years in uniform, a misdiagnosed tick-borne illness abruptly ended Malachowski’s military career, forcing her into a fight she couldn’t outfly, outwork or outmaneuver. What followed was a hard-earned reinvention, one that reshaped how she understands resilience, and what it truly means to perform under pressure. Today, Malachowski speaks to leaders and organizations about navigating complexity, uncertainty and change. Drawing from both the cockpit and her personal battle, she delivers practical, experience-driven insights on trust, accountability, teamwork, execution, resilience and the courage to adapt when the mission changes.
“The ERA Conference Committee is thrilled to welcome Col. Malachowski as our Conference’s keynote speaker,” said Maryellen Stack, co-chair of the 2027 ERA Conference Keynote/General Sessions Committee. “Her extraordinary background, combined with her deep wisdom and personal journey in overcoming adversity, will undoubtedly deliver a powerful and memorable experience for our attendees.”
“In an industry defined by continuous change and evolving challenges, Col. Malachowski’s message is so important for our attendees,” said Diana Nawrocki, CPMR, co-chair of the 2027 ERA Conference Keynote/General Sessions committee. “We will all gain actionable insights from her about how to embrace strategic risk, leverage adversity and move beyond resilience to truly thrive.”
Learn more about the 2027 ERA Conference.
About ERA
The 91-year-old Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) is the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors. It is the mission of ERA to support the professional field sales function through programs and activities that educate, inform and advocate for manufacturers’ representatives, the principals they represent and the distributors who are reps’ partners in local territories.
For more information about ERA, visit era.org.