TEC Systems Group names former Bell Labs and NRL researcher Joy Eakins Chief Data & Technology Officer

WICHITA, Kan., September 15, 2026 – TEC Systems Group, Inc. today announced that Joy Eakins has joined the company as Chief Data & Technology Officer. Eakins will lead TEC's Data & AI Services business, which helps manufacturers turn plant floor data into production decisions.

Eakins founded Cornerstone Data in 2008 and built it into one of Kansas' leading data engineering and data science firms. Before that she spent more than a decade in software and analytics roles at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, Avaya, and Milliman, and taught as an adjunct professor of computer science at Friends University. Her work in AI predates the current wave. At the Naval Research Laboratory she developed a neural network approach to shallow water bathymetry, applying AI to remote sensing data years before the technique became mainstream. Her background combines mathematics, computer science, and a practical focus on the people who have to use the results.

Eakins is joining a well-established TEC data group over two decades old and a vision of founder Rolland Eakins coming full circle. For years the company has delivered historians, reporting, and operational intelligence on platforms including Rockwell Automation, AVEVA PI, and Ignition, built on more than 40 years of designing the control systems that run production lines for food, grain, chemical, mining, and aerospace manufacturers. More recently TEC has completed several AI projects in industrial and manufacturing environments, including machine learning models that flag production quality problems before they reach inspection. Eakins adds depth of experience and executive leadership to a practice already producing results for clients.

"Our data team is not new, and our customers have the dashboards, the historians, and now the models to prove it," said Luis Rodriguez, President of TEC Systems Group. "What Joy brings is pedigree and depth. She has spent 30+ years building data platforms and models that hold up in production. Pairing that with engineers who know how a plant actually runs is a combination our clients will not find many other places."

"Most companies have to choose between a controls integrator who understands the machines and a data firm that understands the models. TEC's clients will not have to choose," said Joy Eakins. "The data is already flowing off the line. My job is to make sure it earns its keep, whether that means catching a quality problem before inspection does or giving a plant manager one clear view across every site."

Eakins continues as President of Cornerstone Data. She is a past Chair of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, a former member of the Wichita Board of Education, and a past education chair of FlagshipKansas.Tech.

About TEC Systems Group

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, TEC Systems Group, Inc. is a platform-independent industrial automation and controls engineering firm. A Rockwell Automation Gold Systems Integrator, TEC also delivers on Siemens, AVEVA, Ignition, and other major automation and data platforms, matching the technology to the client rather than the client to the technology. TEC provides automation engineering, controls integration, data and AI services, and UL 508A panel fabrication to small, mid-size, and Fortune 500 manufacturers in more than 50 plants across the United States. Learn more at tecsystemsgroup.com.