Mr. Hester brings the experience and knowledge of manufacturing and logistics in multiple business verticals: Automotive, Aerospace and the government sector, just to name a few. Mr. Hester is President & CEO of LM Manufacturing, LLC. Established in 2019, LM Manufacturing, LLC is a joint venture between LAN Manufacturing Group (LMG) and Magna Seating North America.

Magna International is a $40 billion mobility technology company, with 157,000 employees, 344 manufacturing operations, and 93 product development, engineering, and sales centers in 27 countries. LMG is wholly owned by Sylvester Hester, a 30-year veteran automotive, aerospace supply chain executive with substantial experience in manufacturing, operations, logistics, and business development.

Hester’s career began in 1985, as an engineering technician for General Motors Advanced Engineering. Joining Regal Plastics in 1987, he quickly moved up the ranks from engineering to program management, through sales and marketing, and finally rose to vice president in 1993.

In 1998, Hester was selected to serve as president of GAA’s company, ARD, near Atlanta, Georgia.

By 2003 he co-founded and was named president of GAA’s newest acquisition, Key Logistics.

Ultimately before starting his own enterprise, he rose to the position of chairman of all GAA companies, and CEO of Grupo Antolin Primera.

Hester was appointed to and served a four-year tenure as a Tuskegee University Board of Trustees member. He is a current member of Karmanos Cancer Institute, Grow Michigan II, Ben Carson High School Advisory Council, Industrial Advisory Board of the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council, and Chair of the MBEIC and Manufacturing and Mobility sector.

Hester holds a Master of Science in Administration degree, with concentration in leadership, from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Science in Plastics Engineering with an emphasis in polymer chemistry from Ferris State University. He has completed the Advanced Minority Business Executive Program at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, the Kellogg School of Management Advanced Management Education Program at Northwestern University, and the Quantum Shift Program at The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.