Julian Weitz

Julian is Makersite’s VP Sales, leading sales, marketing and partnerships.
He joined Makersite from New Relic Inc., where he served as a sales leader for Central Europe. Prior to that he worked in sales roles in multiple startups. Julian Weitz holds a B.Sc. degree in international business administration.
Julian's key focus is on how digital twins are helping product manufacturers make complex decisions about their products and supply chains.

Gilad Garon

Gilad co-founded ASOCS in 2003 and has been spearheading the company as Chief Executive Officer ever since. Bringing with him extensive knowledge in mobile and telecommunications, he holds over 25 years of hands-on experience in international sales, marketing, and product management. Driven by his passion for disruptive technologies and the re-definition of existing markets, Gilad steered ASOCS towards its focus on cellular virtualization and mobile edge clouds.
Gilad holds several patents in the areas of signal processing and communications, while holding an M.B.A. in Marketing and Information Systems and a B.A. in Economics & Business, both from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Reinhard Geissbauer

He is a Leading practitioner in supply-chain and digital operations strategies for Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting group, based in Munich. Global Head of PwC's Digital Operations Group and leading the EMEA Industry 4.0 team.
With more than 20 years of industrial and consulting experience with multinational industrial equipment manufacturers, process industry companies and automotive suppliers, his main focus is on supporting leading companies in digital supply-chain management, smart manufacturing, operations strategy development, global sourcing, global footprint design, and process cost optimization.

Thomas Nagel

Thomas was able to shape the digital transformation of a company starting in 1992. All manual workflows, technical rules, the modular parts list, as well as all configuration processes from order entry to shipping were integrated into an ERP system.

Parallel he realized international projects in plant engineering. Starting as project manager and ending as a Director Operations and Technology in 2010 - 2020. Thomas was responsible for all areas of project realisation and technology.

As a CDO, Thomas has been instrumental in driving the digital transformation. Projects such as the paperless office, the configuration of process plants, a service portal that offers all orders with spare parts and documentation online, the use of a modern Project Collaboration Platform and Generative Design in engineering are some examples of his work.

Since 2020 Thomas helps with his experience, his know-how and his agile mindset Autodesk Customers on their digital innovation journey!

Gordon Loader

Gordon has 30+ years of experience helping customers improve their business operations through technology innovation. In particular, he has spent many years spent helping organizations deploy technology solutions to improve and enhance their engagement with customers and prospects.
At Orange he uses a consultative approach to help manufacturing organizations realize the benefits of digital transformation; helping them to incorporate data-driven decision-making to better manage day to day operations, rethink business processes and develop new business models.

Malte Dieckelmann

PROFESSIONAL
Joining Rockwell from Oracle. Having led Cloud & Software businesses for large vendors like Microsoft, IBM and Dassault in Europe and Australia/New Zealand. Over the last 20 years I have supported enterprises across all industries to drive their digital transformation efforts from an infrastructure and application perspective.

EDUCATION
Master in business administration, University of Cooperative Education in Stuttgart, Germany MBA from Henley Management College in London, UK Executive Leadership Development Programs

PERSONAL
Born in Berlin. Living in Munich with my wife Ewa and my two boys (10/12). Having lived in various places across Germany, Paris and Sydney. For recreation, I currently choose hiking and running.

Martin Beisiegel

Project Management and Change Management Consulting for Steinhaus Informationssysteme GmbH. Experienced Project Leader in academic and industrial research and development. With Steinhaus Informationssysteme GmbH, Martin represents over 40 years of dealing with challenges and solutions in the industry 4.0 context. Using out core products (OT/IT Integration Platform TeBIS®), services, and experts, Steinhaus customers produce more efficiently.

Josef Kriegmair

Josef Kriegmair works as Representative Industrialization Production Systems at MTU Aero Engines AG Center Enablement. Since 2010, his main task has been the development and implementation of digital process chains and manufacturing intelligence systems for turbine blades and structure castings. Prior to that, he was in production engineering with a focus on technology development for production and for maintenance, repair and overhaul. He hold roles in logistics and plant maintenance at MTU Aero Engines from 1997 to 2001. Josef started in technical procurement at MTU.

Marc Winkelman

Marc Winkelman is a global director of Procter & Gamble’s “Product Supply Manufacturing, Innovation & Capability center of excellence”.

Marc is from The Netherlands. He completed his studies at the Rotterdam University of Business Management and he became additional a Certified Production and Inventory Manager during his army time. His 25+ years of professional experience in P&G spans multiple supply chains, manufacturing sites and corporate functions. He has worked in many areas of product supply: at country-, regional- and global level, from initiative planner to manufacturing execution roles, from site responsible to manufacturing excellence within and outside P&G.

He is recognized as a very pragmatic expert in applying and coaching the IWS methodology. For the last 4 years, he has a leading role in consulting P&G’s manufacturing excellence methodology, “Integrated Work System” (IWS) in the alliance with EY Consultancy to coach the methodology at non-P&G’s companies. He has successfully coached this methodology in various environments (low & high tech) and various areas (from production line to board-room) around the globe with multiple companies.

Ram Pattiwar

Ram has 17+ years’ experience in digitalisation, process optimisation and manufacturing process. Over the years Ram has worked primarily in Agrochemical, Cement and Mining industries. At FLSmidth Ram is responsible for developing and rolling out digitally enabled services for Mining industry to support productivity and sustainability. Use of less energy, fuel and water in mineral processing is high on agenda for Ram at FLSmidth, which assist FLSmidth customer with their Scope 1 and 2 SDG goals.

Stephanie Ocampo

Stephanie Ocampo, currently manager of Global production processes at Sandvik Coromant and with over 15 years of extensive manufacturing background.
She leads a team of Production Business Process Experts supporting all Coromant Production Units globally in developing, implementing and maintaining compliant and efficient production processes along with suitable digital capabilities.

Daniel Anderson

Daniel Anderson is the founder and CEO of 3DQR and visionary in industrial Augmented Reality since over 15 years. He started his career as AR researcher at Fraunhofer, where he contributed to the development of many of the basic principles of modern AR solutions. In 2016 he founded 3DQR and filed several international patents, with the vision to provide a new kind of easy and intuitive, yet stable and scalable AR technology. The company has since then become one of the leading AR providers, specialized in industrial training and assistance. The 3DQR Software Suite has a large and quickly growing user base and is trusted by many small and big organizations, e.g. DB, Siemens, Endress+Hauser and the German Chamber of Commerce.

Ibrahim S. Jawahir

Dr. I.S. Jawahir is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, James F. Hardymon Chair in Manufacturing Systems, and Founding Director of Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing at the University of Kentucky. His current research includes sustainable manufacturing and sustainable product design.
He has published over 440 research publications; awarded with 4 U.S. patents; delivered 72 keynote papers at plenary sessions in international conferences and over 150 invited presentations in 38 countries.
He is a Fellow of CIRP, ASME and SME; Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing; and Technical Editor of Journal of Machining Science and Technology. Since 1990, he has been active in international collaborative research through CIRP: led five CIRP research groups; and founded/co-founded three CIRP Conference Series.
Professor Jawahir received numerous awards and honours, including the 2013 ASME Milton C. Shaw Manufacturing Research Medal, 2015 William Johnson International Gold Medal and the 2022 SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal.

Michael Bruns

Michael has more than 20 years experience in consulting with a focus in IT and Operations and a strong background in Cloud, Data & AI and IIoT. Michael has strategically planned, conceptualized and implemented Smart Factory Transformations for international companies and is accountable for PwC’s Smart Factory offering. His main focus is on supporting leading companies in smart manufacturing, digital operations strategy, and IT/OT architecture.

Hilde Van Gerwen

Experienced Quality Leader with global experience in strategic and operational quality roles. Delivers tangible quality improvements, focusing on right first time for the customer. Drives change in evolving environments, with integrity and focus on results. Agile and cross functional team leader, building strong teams across cultures and organizational levels.

Dr. Jens Buergin

Jens is Head of Industry 4.0 at ZEISS Vision Care. He has been working in the field of Industry 4.0 for several years both in academia and in industry. Jens is convinced that Industry 4.0 offers great potentials for improving our operations and even better fulfilling our customers' needs - and he is highly motivated to realize these potentials.

Kai Kümmel

Kai is working in the field of data & analytics for several years now from research, day-by-day analytics to project responsibility and coordination. He worked in the financial and industry sector and work end-to-end on data-driven projects from the first idea to the final data product as well as its governance and lifecycle management.

Anthony Mc Loughlin

Anthony has been helping manufacturers democratize advanced analytics in the space of Engineering simulation and AI, for over 15 years. Anthony is an aerospace engineer with a unique background in engineering, AI and business. Anthony believes the ‘Engineering Data Scientist' is now the key to unlock the potential of Data & AI and this will be game changing for our future.

Jelena Stamenkovski

Jelena has more than 20 years’ experience in cement operational excellence and holds a master degree in Process Engineering from the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Skopje , North Macedonia. She started her career in 2004 as Quality engineer in Titan cement plant in Skopje. In 2008 she joined Holcim group in Holcim Serbia cement plant in Popovac, since then was holding various positions in process, production and industrial performance as expert and manager. In the period from 2017 to 2022 she was working in operational excellence department leading the industrial transformation by supporting international expert networking in implementation of cement plant standard operating model. Currently hold position in Plants of Tomorrow team in Decarbonisation function in Holcim as a Group process expert working on leading the Industry 4.0 technology process product portfolio. Trough Plants of tomorrow program, Holcim is boosting the competitive edge of its operations and products and optimizing its environmental footprint.

Stefan Schleyer

Stefan Schleyer is “Domain Principal Architect – Technology Development” at SKF in Schweinfurt. Digital Engineering and Innovation is a part of Technology Development and acts as crucial part in developing the digital landscape of the SKF Group Stefan Schleyer worked for many years in IoT projects for international customers and assisted them in evaluation, development and implementation of IoT enterprise applications. For more than ten years he led EU funded R&D projects for SKF in international consortiums. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science.

Thomas Usländer

Thomas Usländer holds a degree in Computer Science and a PhD in Engineering of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. He is head of the department “Information Management and Production Control” at Fraunhofer IOSB, Germany. He was an invited expert of the European Commission about geo-spatial information systems, got the DIN Innovation Award 2017 about Industrie 4.0 and the OMG Application Award 2000. He is member of various working groups of the Platform Industrie 4.0, the expert panel of the Standardization Council Industrie 4.0 (SCI4.0) and the DIN/DKE high-level Coordination Group “AI standardization and conformity”. He is co-chair of the Industrial Community IDS-I of the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA) and chair of the Competence Center Karlsruhe on AI Systems Engineering (CC-KING). His research interests include agile system and service engineering, AI systems engineering as well as open architectures for the Industrial Internet of Things.

Hussein Tarhini

Hussein Tarhini is a PHD candidate and a consultant who supports companies in realizing their additive manufacturing (AM) potential by identifying viable AM scenarios and implementing them. His PHD research focuses on methodological approaches for business model identification and implementation in AM. As the previous leader of the Additive Academy at Fraunhofer IAPT, he provided professional training, knowledge transfer, and consultancy for companies in various industrial fields. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino in Italy and Mechanical Engineering and Management from the Technical University of Hamburg (TUHH) in Germany. Mr. Tarhini specialized laser-based AM systems with hands on experience in process development and optimization as well as process monitoring and quality assurance. Mr. Tarhini has a managed multiple national and EU-projects which focused on research and development for AM.

Chris Poole

Chris Poole serves as the Director of Client Development for PSbyM. Chris has a 25 year track record of engaging global clients in supporting the delivery of tailored, high-quality excellence programs with special focus on supply chain excellence, operational excellence and safety excellence delivering sustainable transformational results. He's an expert in all aspects of policy deployment, leadership development, organizational alignment, and focused problem-solving methodologies. Chris is a certified Change Management Practitioner, Master Black Belt, and TPM Instructor.

Neil Webers

Neil is founder of the Performance Behavior approach and publishing author of the management bestseller ‘Performance Behavior’ (2010), ‘The big improvement resource’ (2012) and numerous articles about people and DigiTech opportunities and threats in the industrial market. Before joining SOLVACE, he was EVP Americas at EFESO Consulting since 2017. Neil founded FLECTO and the Digital Consulting firm Rightselect.com in 1999, which were both acquired by EFESO Consulting in 2012. Neil is an expert in World Class Operations Management, with focus on change management, leadership and behaviors in Digital Industrial processes.

Kyle Tansill

Prior to leading Digital Manufacturing Strategy in Saint Gobain’s Life Sciences business unit, I had 15 years of experience in electrical installation, maintenance and automation engineering. This experience, coupled with a child-like curiosity in the power of technology, has led me to drive initiatives that focus on providing value in the trenches of the shop floor. Alongside a degree in Computer Science I hold vocational qualifications in electrical installation, machinery safety, automation engineering and Agile methodology. My greatest passion now is to find a way to bind people, technology and the business to drive ‘universe denting’ operational change over the isolated successes I have witnessed since the conception of i4.0

Michael Thierschmann

Operational Excellence expert based on professional career experience in Research&Development, global technology Marketing&Sales, strategy & process consulting as well as leadership responsibility in global industrial corporations in various industries such as aerospace, automotive, plant management, logistics and vacuum technology

Alexander Schaefer

During my 20+ years of experience in designing and implementing digital manufacturing solutions worldwide, I supported my customers to make their digitalization journey a successful one.

Joan van de Wetering

I am passionate about innovation and bringing companies and teams toward continuous improvement, growth and success. My professional experience includes over 20 years project, sales and general management positions, all in business and manufacturing IT. Currently I am leading TrendMiner into a new stage of the company where it has become part of the SoftwareAG family. My experience is in both Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT). Combining both areas helps bridging the gap between these two different worlds in an era where these merge.

Tilmann Kloppe

Tilmann Kloppe is currently part of the Business Excellence and Quality Management Function at the Rolling Stock (Rail) Business Unit of Siemens. Driving Digital Transformation with focus on process improvement is a major part of his role. Before he joined the Railway Industry he held several management positions in the Air- and Space Industry and Power Generation Industry. He accumulated knowledge and leadership experience in different areas such as Project Management, Supply Management and Operations. Certainly, one career highlight was a green field project he successfully led in Eastern Europe

Giuseppe Sarago

A passionate technology & transformational leader with significant experience in design & manufacturing domain with focus on 4 stroke engine, both for energy and industrial businesses.
Since very beginning of my carrier, I’ve been engaged in engine technology and innovation, starting as a researcher on the topics of combustion optimization, passing through 4S engine product development, till today that I’m heading global Engineering & Innovation in manufacturing domain at the Wartsila Sustainable Technology Hub in Vaasa. I have established new engineering teams in several positions during my career, recently lead transformation to new roles and founded Additive Manufacturing Campus in STH.
Been the initiator of Wartsila Smart Manufacturing Ecosystem Vision and relevant funded projects “OSME (open smart manufacturing Ecosystem)” focused on establishing an “Extended Enterprise model” where supply chain and other SMEs are deeply connected, where platforms, data and “base core knowledge” is shared for a common growth.
Keywords: innovation, transformation, leading change, performance, leadership, people centricity, digital aware, agility, collaboration.

Werner Reuß

Werner Reuß has more than 25 years of experience in the manufacturing and IT industry. He has built up and managed international business units for corporations such as Microsoft and Orange Business Services. In the last 10 years, his focus has been on Industry 4.0 and related topics in organizational development. At InterSystems, Werner Reuß is responsible for the company’s strategic positioning in the manufacturing industry

Kristian Schatz

Kristian Schatz works as Principal Project Manager & Product Owner at M&M Software GmbH. He holds a diploma in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Construction Informatics from the TU Darmstadt. With 15+ years of experience in consulting, design and implementation of digital solutions in the area of digital twins and IoT platforms, he supports his customers to turn their vision for a digital world with the right partners into reality.

Dipl.-Ing. Ingo Hild

Dipl. Ing. Ingo Hild, responsible for automotive plant Schwabmünchen. Studied Electrical Engineering at University of Ulm. Worked for Procter and Gamble and Bosch. Started 2002 at OSRAM to design fully automated high-speed machines for automotive head lamps production. Changed from plant Herbrechtingen to plant Schwabmünchen where he constantly increased area of responsibility up to his current position as plant manager. Currently he is leading the plant in a disruptive change from a traditional to a high-tech plant by using digitalization and lean principles. During that time, he also was responsible for plant Bruntal in Czech Republic for a period of time.

Sami Karttunen

Sami Karttunen acts as EMEA Smart Factory Lead as part of the PwC's Smart Factory practice supporting industrial clients to transform their manufacturing and supply operations to become more competitive, sustainable and resilient. Sami's focus is on advising clients on their manufacturing strategy, smart factory and organizational change. Sami has 13+ years of industry and consulting experience and he has supported multiple leading manufacturers to transform their manufacturing operations across the globe.

Christian Koch

Christian Koch is part of PwCs Smart Factory practice supporting industry & manufacturing clients in their Digital Transformation journey. His focus is on leading the technical design, development and roll out of Digital Manufacturing Platforms and the use cases built on top of them. Christian Koch has gained 8+ years extensive leadership experience with clients in the discrete manufacturing and the process industry sector and supported them building up central Digital Manufacturing platforms from scratch in a brownfield environment.

Adrian Palka

Adrian Palka holds a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering and boasts 16 years of experience in manufacturing in different regions around the globe. He has shown expertise in industrial & cost engineering, lean manufacturing and recently leads Digital Transformation as a part of the Global Manufacturing Excellence team. He's a proven leader with focus on servant leadership and people and in his career, he held various management positions in Product Costing, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, Lean and Manufacturing Excellence. He has a track record of putting Lean principles into practice, creating Digital Transformation Strategies, and implementing Smart Factory solutions. He speaks 3 languages (English, German & Polish) which helps with communication and understanding the advantages of diversity and different cultures.

Jakob Hall

Jakob Hall is Enterprise Business Development Manager for GE Digital Manufacturing. In this role, Jakob is responsible for supporting digital industrial transformations within manufacturing companies across Europe and the Middle East.  This includes delivering comprehensive solution visions, digital journeys and compelling business cases based on GE Digital Manufacturing Software and services to GE Digitals customers and partners in EMEA.

In his over 20 years of extensive experience in different roles within manufacturing software and consultancy companies, Jakob has developed and executed successful strategies to enable his manufacturing customers to harness the challenges of Digital Industrial Transformations, Industry 4.0 and grow through digitalization.

Today, Jakob’s ambition is to continue this growth path with his customers while leveraging the new opportunities brought by new technologies to develop environment sustainable solutions enabled by continues improvements and global industrial collaborations.

Currently located in Denmark, Jakob graduated from the Danish Technical University with a MSc in Mathematics.

Jakob Hall is Enterprise Business Development Manager, EMEA for GE Digital Manufacturing. In this role, Jakob is responsible for supporting digital industrial transformations within manufacturing companies across Europe and the Middle East.

In his over 20 years of extensive experience in different roles within manufacturing software and consultancy companies, Jakob has partnered successfully with many manufacturers on strategies to overcome the challenges of digital industrial transformation and deliver growth through digitalization.

Today, Jakob leverages his deep knowledge of GE Digital Manufacturing software and services as well as his vision for comprehensive digital journeys and compelling business cases to support GE Digital’s customers and partners in EMEA. His ambition is to guide them towards new opportunities and technologies powered by continuous improvement, sustainable approaches, and global industrial collaborations.

Currently located in Denmark, Jakob graduated from the Danish Technical University with a MSc in Mathematics.

Manuel Aguado Puertas

Originally from Spain and with background in Industrial electronics engineering. Manuel has worked in in robotic project engineering in Procter and Gamble and in Siemens around the Automation and Industrial IoT areas for Manufacturing in several leadership positions. Today in Danone driving the digital transformation in the manufacturing sites

Stephen Methogo

Stephen is an experienced Engineer and Sales professional, with a passion for sport and Japanese Culture. He supports companies within the Automotive and Li-ion Battery industries, in overcoming their global industrial challenges with Automation and Digitalization technologies.

Pascal Hennemann

Pascal Hennemann has an Engineering Degree from the ITECH school and a Postgraduate Certificate in polymer materials. Pascal Hennemann started his career as a Packaging Development Engineer in a research center at DOW CHEMICAL within the plastic industry. He then worked for BERICAP and REXAM in the R&D department. Pascal Hennemann joined BERRY GLOBAL in 2000 as R&D Director and became Research & Innovation Director in 2008. Pascal Hennemann has more than 35 years’ experience in R&D for plastic packaging.

Christopher Koehnen

Dr. Christopher Köhnen leads an interdisciplinary team of advanced manufacturing engineers, lean practitioners, and OT support specialists at StanleyBlack&Decker's EMEA automotive chapter. His focus is on driving innovation and digitalization to enhance productivity through lean tools, process digitalization, and innovative manufacturing automation. With a background in science and research, as well as experience as a managing consultant, Dr. Köhnen possesses the expertise needed to excel in his current role.

Daniel Ranke

Daniel Ranke is business segment manager for end-to-end operations at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, which he joined in 2018. His focus is on the design of production systems and production management that meet today's challenges and demands for changeability, flexibility, and resilience. He studied Industrial Engineering and Management at KIT Karlsruhe.

Ronald Root

With over 15 years of experience in data and digital leadership roles in energy, innovation, and marine contracting, I have built my skills in leveraging the value of data and AI to create a better world. I’m an expert on digital transformation and data-driven decision-making, and I have leveraged my experience to implement internationally scalable models, such as the Hub and Spoke model, that enable exponential data driven growth.

Reinhard Geissbauer

Reinhard Geissbauer is a Partner at PwC and Head of Europe for Digital Transformation and Sustainability. He serves leading Manufacturing Companies with 20+ years of experience in Industrial Manufacturing and Operations Consulting positions. Reinhard Geissbauer supports industrial companies in their sustainability transformation, from developing a sustainable product portfolio, implementing sustainable production systems to optimizing the end-to-end logistics and supply chain processes. He has vast experience in developing sustainability strategies and implementing hands-on solutions in smart manufacturing, the end-to-end integrated supply chain and sustainable service innovation including new, data driven service business models. In addition to his industry and consulting activities, he is the author of numerous global studies on the topics of Sustainable Innovation, Industry 4.0, Factory Transformation or Digital Supply Chain Management. Reinhard Geissbauer holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a focus on international Finance and Operations, from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. in International Business Administration University of Regensburg. He lives with his family South of Munich.

Olli Kuismanen

Olli has been responsible for developing Tamturbo Air-as-a-Service business since its inception in 2017. Before embarking on a PhD on the topic of industrial equipment-as-a-Service he was also responsible for Tamturbo global sales. Currently he works to help customers become sustainable by helping modernize compressor rooms with no CAPEX usage – sharing the available energy savings in compressed air electricity and waste heat reuse.

John Robinson

John is a globally respected Industry 4.0 thought leader. His unique insights and disruptive thinking are the result of a thirty-year career that has included senior roles at Kearney, SAP, EY, Atos and Schneider Electric as well as over decade in manufacturing. He has worked with many of the world’s largest manufacturing brands across all industry sectors and his skill set includes strategy, IT, OT, Operational Excellence and Industry 4.0.

Claudia Voss

Industrial engineer with 23 years of experience in production, production controlling, key account management and IT. The focus of all activities across the various positions is on the strategic design and development of processes and IT as well as the initiation and implementation of IT and process changes. Currently head of the "Engine Operational Excellence" department in the Engine Services division of Lufthansa Technik AG, the MRO operation for the overhaul of engines and the repair of engine parts.

Hugo David Herrmann

Hugo is a young leader in the field of Operational Excellence & Smart Factory with experience in the sectors of beverages, infrastructure & construction and automotive. He graduated in Computing Systems (Tec de Monterrey, Mexico) and obtained his master’s titles in Innovation and Technology Management (University of Cambridge and Sussex, United Kingdom), as Business Transformation Manager (University of Applied Sciences Northwestern, Switzerland and SAP) and in Operational Excellence in Bavaria, Germany. He has collaborated with ABInbev - Grupo Modelo as Senior Advisor in the Strategic Transformation Programme, and his participation in numerous projects allowed him to broaden his skills and experience in Strategic Planning, M&A, Operations, Marketing, Processes and Technology. He later worked as Director in the area of Corporate Strategic Planning in ICA, the leading infrastructure construction and operation company in Mexico, and currently he is in charge of Operational Excellence and Industry 4.0 in the Tier 1 Global Automotive Company IAC, while he is based in Munich, Germany

Marcin Kosecki

Marcin Kosecki holds a Master’s degree in Controlling, Finance, and Accounting from Pforzheim University. He is a Business Intelligence Consultant who collaborates daily with Comarch clients to develop custom-made Enterprise Data Warehouse, Business Intelligence, and AI platforms. Marcin helps clients manage the complexity and volume of generated data, leveraging it to drive a customer-centric approach and enhance company performance. With years of experience in the Business Intelligence field, he has gained valuable expertise in providing top value propositions for manufacturing companies.

Ryan Marshall

Ryan joined QAD Redzone in 2022 as National Account Director for EMEA, where he works with larger enterprise business leaders to drive transformational productivity improvements through Digital Production Systems and Connected Workforce Solutions. Before joining QAD Redzone, Ryan spent the last decade working with some of the biggest names in Industrial Automation and Digital Transformation in Business Development and Sales Leadership; in roles spanning the full spectrum of Automation & Digitalisation technology from factory floor to enterprise IT solutions.

Nevin Castellucci-Najar

Nevin joined QAD Redzone in 2019 as an Account Executive. He spent his first 4 years working with companies across the US and Canada to help implement and drive sustainable lean manufacturing solutions. Nevin has since relocated from the States and now resides in the UK where he and his team work closely with manufacturers across Europe in demonstrating the impact of a Digital Production System and Connected Workforce Solution. Prior to joining Redzone, Nevin spent multiple years supporting automation needs such vision-guided robotics and defect detection systems across US-based manufacturers.

Nick Bailey

Nick, a veteran of Milliken’s Pursuit of Excellence journey in Operations and Operations support for 30+ years. SPC, Investors in People, TPM, Lean, Business Process Improvement, Activity Based Costing, Loss Analysis. Nick has held operational roles in CI, Maintenance, Site/Manufacturing Management. He has helped deliver Safety, Quality, Deliver and Cost improvements in sites ranging from 100 to 4000 employees. Led client programs across multiple sites and multiple continents involving tens of thousands of people. Worked in a variety of industries, textiles, food, packaging, chemicals, automotive & medical. Having worked globally, US, Europe, Asia; Nick understands the importance of appreciating local culture and how it influences engagement and improvement.

Darren O’Connor

Darren is a Senior Client Lead for Performance Solutions by Milliken and has a career spanning of over 25 years, holding senior roles In Continuous Improvement, Health & Safety & Site Leadership. Darren has supported global and pan-European clients across several countries/languages/cultures in the chemical, automotive, textile, food and paper / packaging industries. Darren in an SME in Cultural, Operational, Health & Safety & Supply Chain Excellence, partnering with organisations at all levels in the strategic and tactical implementation of excellence & improvement. Darren holds a bachelor’s degree in Safety, Health & Environmental Management, a six-sigma black belt who also holds diplomas in Industrial Engineering and Management.

Timo Sihvo

Timo works as a Sales Manager in Tamturbo with a degree in automation and mechanical engineering. He is a result-driven technology enthusiast with a versatile background in manufacturing, oil-free compressed air, and the construction industry. Experienced in diverse roles within production, R&D, service, sales, and marketing, with a focus on serving global markets. He looks forward to contributing for more efficient, reliable, and sustainable manufacturing.

Wald Westerlinck

With over 25 years of experience in various manufacturing environments, I a m a senior executive and general manager who leads with vision, strategy, and empowerment. As the COO at Bischof+Klein, a leading provider of flexible packaging solutions, I oversee the operational excellence and digital transformation of the company, focussing on quality and cost-based management.

I am a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Agile coach, and Scrum master, with a passion for continuous improvement, statistics, and analytics. I have a proven track record of implementing change management and business process automation projects, collaborating with cross-functional and cross-regional teams, and creating a culture of trust and mutual respect. I have also succesfsfully management the turnaround of several operations, including in South Africa and Italy, and patented innovative products, such as aero wheels and pressured upside down spray systems.

Marcus Hedlund

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering with 25 years if experience from process automation and optimization in petrochemical and polymer industry. Leader of project, programs and organizations in digital transformation through implementation of advanced solutions, with a strong focus on together achieving new and better ways of working and optimizing assets. Dedicated to empowering and visionary leadership as technology always succeeds because of talented teams.

Riccardo Picca

Riccardo Picca is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in driving growth, building capabilities, and leading high-performing teams across global markets. Born in Milan, Italy, he has built a distinguished career in both general management and strategic consulting. Currently, Riccardo serves as the Executive Director of Strategy & Global Business Transformation at Sandvik, where he leads significant business overhaul initiatives. He also holds advisory roles at Microsoft’s Intelligent Manufacturing Board and IRSAP Group. Previously, he held leadership positions at ITT Inc., McKinsey & Co., and KPMG, among others. Riccardo is fluent in Italian, English, French, and Spanish, and has a solid academic foundation with an Executive MBA from SDA Bocconi and M.Sc. in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. His expertise spans strategy, operations, digital transformation, sustainability and M&A, making him an impactful leader in the industrial goods and mobility sectors.

Khaled Hajjar

Head of OPex and Quality. Accomplished, skilled Operations Management Professional with continually progressive experience in roles requiring expertise in global Lean implementations, digital transformations, operations, and supply chain management. Recognized as a meticulous team leader with ability to manage operations in collaboration with all levels of personnel.

Dr. Kristian Schatz

Kristian Schatz works as Principal Project Manager & Product Owner at M&M Software GmbH. He holds a diploma in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Construction Informatics from the TU Darmstadt. With 15+ years of experience in consulting, design and implementation of digital solutions in the area of digital twins and IoT platforms, he supports his customers to turn their vision for a digital world with the right partners into reality.

Ebose Okondo

Ebose is a GE Vernova Business Consultant with specialization in the Proficy Historian and Analytics products. With extensive experience across manufacturing and energy industries, he excels in designing and developing solutions that enhance key performance indicators (KPIs) and drive innovation. His expertise in advanced analytics helps clients optimize their operations and achieve strategic objectives. Outside of his professional role, Ebose is dedicated to continuous learning and staying at the forefront of technological advancements.

Manuel Ferreira de Almeida

Manuel Ferreira de Almeida, Ph.D., serves as the Vice President of Sales – Head of North America at Makersite, driving the company’s go-to-market strategy and commercial operations across the region. Based in Chicago, Manuel leads initiatives to expand market presence and accelerate growth by empowering manufacturers to make smarter, more sustainable product and supply chain decisions through advanced automation. With extensive expertise in enterprise sales and business transformation, Manuel plays a pivotal role in amplifying Makersite’s mission—delivering innovative solutions that enhance operational efficiency and sustainability at scale for businesses across North America.

Daniel Reed

Daniel has over a decade of experience as a digital transformation leader in manufacturing, applying his systems-thinking approach to design and build solutions across different industries and enterprise scales. His experience spans hands-on applications engineering as part of a small business through technology policy and collaborative R&D as part of an innovation institute.
As a technologist and advocate for the manufacturing industry, Daniel seeks to translate complex topics into a clear value proposition that connects solutions with the real world problems they can solve. Daniel has applied his agile interdisciplinary approach to a diverse range of projects including whole-factory production line conveyance control, physics-informed AI model development, and medical device digital twin innovation.
In his role at Baldwin Richardson Foods, Daniel owns the development and maturation of the overall digital transformation portfolio. He also leads programs and strategic architecture projects such as enterprise data mastery and workforce upskilling on new technologies. This work is informed by his practical solutionist approach to thought leadership and his passion for the potential of Industry 4.0 technologies to transform US/global manufacturing and the work of the future.

Barrett Hopper

Barrett Hopper is a leadership and operations executive with over 25 years of global experience transforming manufacturing and supply chain organizations. As Director of Operations for MKS Instruments Americas, and soon to be Global Operations Leader, Barrett has led large-scale digital transformations, including multi-site MES rollouts and Lean process improvements. He is the creator of the Stratical™ leadership approach, which fuses strategic clarity, tactical discipline, and cultural empowerment to drive exceptional results. A dedicated marathon runner since 1983, Barrett embodies his “one mile at a time” mindset in both his personal and professional life. He is a published author, frequent conference speaker, and passionate coach committed to helping leaders move from checklists to cultures that inspire lasting impact. Barrett currently resides in Charlotte, NC.

Gayle Bayer

Gayle Bayer is a seasoned Lean facilitator, problem solver, and coach with nearly three decades of experience championing operational excellence across global manufacturing organizations. Her energetic and relatable style has made her a trusted advisor to industry leaders such as Johnson Controls, Yanfeng, Whirlpool, and Grammer, where she's led more than 300 kaizen events resulting in over $22 million in documented savings. Gayle’s strength lies in demystifying Lean principles and making them actionable at every level—from shop floor teams to executive leadership. She empowers organizations to align improvement efforts with strategic KPIs, sparking measurable change through hands-on coaching and a collaborative approach. Based in Ohio, Gayle is passionate about developing future Lean leaders, sharing her expertise through international workshops, mentoring programs, and high-impact training engagements. Her global footprint and practical insights make her a powerful advocate for continuous improvement, no matter where the conversation begins.

Tom Porter

Tom Porter is a global director of Procter & Gamble’s “Product Supply Manufacturing, Innovation & Capability Center of Excellence”. Tom is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with BS in Chemical Engineering. His 29+ years of professional experience in P&G spans multiple supply chains, manufacturing sites and corporate functions. He has worked in many areas of P&G product supply organization: at country, regional, and global level, from innovation planning & platform management to manufacturing execution roles which includes site responsible to manufacturing excellence within and outside P&G. He is recognized as a very pragmatic expert in applying and coaching the IWS Operational Excellence methodology. For the last 4 years, he has a leading role in consulting P&G’s manufacturing excellence methodology, “Integrated Work System” (IWS) in alliance with Ernst & Young Consultancy to coach the methodology at non-P&G’s companies. He has successfully coached this methodology in various environments (low & high tech) and various areas (from production line to boardroom) around the globe with multiple companies external to P&G.

Hao Dinh

Born in Vietnam and now based in the U.S., Hao has worked across the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia in manufacturing, finance, energy, extreme sports, and entertainment—as an innovation evangelist, digital transformation leader, and, most memorably, a pro skateboarder. He now drives initiatives that turn traditional organizations into digital innovation powerhouses by leveraging AI to accelerate transformation. Hao also founded two nonprofits to help students and non-techies unlock creativity, ignite innovation, and thrive in the digital economy.

Dr. Marcel Schaefer

Dr. Marcel Schaefer has been leading the Fraunhofer USA office in South Carolina since March 2021. He is the Senior Program Coordinator for Fraunhofer USA’s activities within the South Carolina Fraunhofer USA Alliance. Industry-focused projects cover a broad spectrum ranging from smart manufacturing, Industry 4.0, digitization to predictive analytics to sustainability, renewable energy, battery, hydrogen, and other innovative and emerging technologies. Dr. Marcel Schaefer has been a Senior Research Scientist for Fraunhofer USA since January 2019. From 2009 to 2018 he was with Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technologies SIT in Darmstadt, Germany. He holds a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Wuppertal, Germany, and a PhD in computer science from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. Marcel is thriving to institutionalize Fraunhofer USA as an established organization in the US and to bring the newest technology "made by Fraunhofer" from the global Fraunhofer network into the US.

Dr. Marcel Schaefer

Dr. Marcel Schaefer has been leading the Fraunhofer USA office in South Carolina since March 2021. He is the Senior Program Coordinator for Fraunhofer USA’s activities within the South Carolina Fraunhofer USA Alliance. Industry-focused projects cover a broad spectrum ranging from smart manufacturing, Industry 4.0, digitization to predictive analytics to sustainability, renewable energy, battery, hydrogen, and other innovative and emerging technologies. Dr. Marcel Schaefer has been a Senior Research Scientist for Fraunhofer USA since January 2019. From 2009 to 2018 he was with Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technologies SIT in Darmstadt, Germany. He holds a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Wuppertal, Germany, and a PhD in computer science from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. Marcel is thriving to institutionalize Fraunhofer USA as an established organization in the US and to bring the newest technology "made by Fraunhofer" from the global Fraunhofer network into the US.

Henning Bruns

Henning Bruns brings more than 27 years of international leadership experience from Daimler AG, where he held key management roles across Europe, the United States, Brazil, and China. In 1995, he was part of the pioneering engineering team that launched the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As Global Product Line Manager for Mercedes-Benz Trucks in 2001, Henning successfully implemented a new truck family across Europe, Turkey, and Brazil. From 2007 to 2012, he served as President of Detroit Diesel Corporation in Michigan, overseeing the launch of a global platform of SCR heavy-duty truck engines. He later assumed global responsibility for Product Planning & Business Strategy at Daimler Trucks in 2012. Returning to the U.S. in 2015, Henning became General Manager of Freightliner’s Heavy-Duty Truck Plant in North Carolina, where he led the launch of two new Class 8 truck families for Freightliner and Western Star. In 2018, Henning joined ConMoto Consulting Group in Munich as President of its North American operations, headquartered in Charlotte, NC. His perspectives on manufacturing leadership can be found in “The Top 10 Lessons for a Future Plant Manager.” Henning earned a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University and a Ph.D. from the University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, where he published his dissertation on “Lean Manufacturing and the Implementation of the Toyota Production System in Western Industries.” In recognition of his professional achievements, he was named a Distinguished Engineer by Texas Tech University’s Edward E. Whitacre College of Engineering in 2015. His core expertise lies in Lean Operations Excellence, Business Performance Turnaround, and Product Launch Management. Over the course of his career, he has successfully led multiple large-scale manufacturing turnarounds and managed eight major product launches—including cars, trucks, and engines—delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards. Since 2015, Henning has lived with his wife, Micah Stahmer, a liberal arts professor at CPCC in Charlotte, and their daughter Anna on Lake Norman, North Carolina.

Hannu Heinonen

Hannu Heinonen has over 30 years of experience in the global compressed air industry, with a career spanning sales, sales and marketing management, and executive leadership roles. He is currently Vice President of Americas at Tamturbo, where he leads operations and business growth across the region. With deep expertise in both commercial and strategic aspects of the industry, Hannu is recognized for advancing sustainable compressed air solutions worldwide. He is passionate culinary and cultural adventures.

Nasser Ahmad

Nasser Ahmad is the Director of Digitalization at Höganäs AB, leading digital transformation across manufacturing operations. Since joining Höganäs in 2005, he has held senior leadership roles including Vice President of Operations for High Alloys and Director of Engineering Services for North America. With over 25 years of experience in iron powder and high-alloy powder manufacturing, his expertise spans operations strategy, automation, process improvement, and capital investment projects. Before Höganäs, he served as Director of Engineering Services at Kobelco in the United States. His career has consistently focused on driving efficiency, safety, and sustainability through both technological and organizational innovation. Nasser holds a Master’s in Industrial Engineering, a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering, and an MBA. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, he now lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with his wife and three children. Outside of work, he is passionate about technology, enjoys golf, and supports continuous learning and digital innovation in manufacturing.

Shawn Smith

Shawn has worked for Milliken & Company for over 15 years. He started as a Product and Process Improvement Engineer in Milliken’s textile division. He has held many different positions within multiple Milliken manufacturing sites. After his role as a PPI Engineer he held many positions such as, Production Leader, MPS Specialist, Senior Production Leader, PPI Manager, and Supply Chain Leader. Shawn’s role as an MPS Specialist at our Columbus, NC site was instrumental in developing it into a model site for the company and helping the new PSbyM business create it’s initial education material. Shawn also held one of the first Lean Champion roles within Milliken & Company. Shawn joined Performance Solutions by Milliken (PSbyM) in 2011. As a practitioner he has led and developed systems within many industries including packaging, food & beverage, paper, and medical device manufacturing. Shawn is a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt.

John Rogelstad

John Rogelstad is a Managing Consultant at The Logic Factory with broad experience in manufacturing, supply chain, and technology. Having worked both on the shop floor and in software development, he understands the real-world challenges manufacturers face and how to solve them. John is known for building solutions that tackle tough supply chain problems and deliver real value. His mix of technical depth, operational insight, and people-first approach makes him a trusted partner from strategy through execution.

Darren Kline

Darren Kline brings over 30 years of leadership in manufacturing automation and enterprise software. Throughout his career at Data Edge Solutions, Wonderware North, and Dassault Systèmes, he has shaped industry partnerships and guided large-scale digital transformation initiatives. As Vice President at Wonderware North, he helped position the company as a global leader in MES. Now Director of Manufacturing Solutions at GoEngineer, Darren works with manufacturers to drive operational excellence.

Pablo Chavez

Pablo Chavez is a life sciences executive with over 15 years of experience transforming operations using lean principles and technological innovations. He has worked in 5 continents in a wide variety of roles and functions, leading amazing teams that have delivered over 400 million USD in value Pablo is currently an executive director at Bristol Myers Squibb leading a newly formed team focused on implementing breakthrough transformation initiatives in Operations (Global Product Development and Supply) Before BMS, he was an expert associate partner in McKinsey's life sciences and operations practices, and before McKinsey he was an operations department manager at Procter & Gamble. He is originally from Mexico and holds a BS in mechatronics engineering from ITESM

Ricardo Estok

20+ years of Multicultural expertise driving Operational Excellence, Organizational Performance, Transformational Change and Continuous Improvement at Global Companies including Goodyear, Johnson Controls, Sc Johnson, Abbott Labs and Pepsi.
Over 10 years of public speaking experience, having delivered 50+ keynotes and workshops to diverse audiences. Renowned for translating complex topics into engaging narratives and inspiring change.
Along with his wife Sandra, partners with nonprofit organizations, supporting foster children aging in the system to find their way through technology and live Happily Ever Cyber. https://sandraestok.com
Currently leads the Operational-Digital-Organizational Transformation practice at Way2Protect, a consulting / project execution firm offering operational & digital excellence, problem solving capabilities and emerging technologies to private, nonprofit, and government clients.

Kevin Sullivan

Kevin Sullivan is a Manufacturing Execution Systems professional with 38 years of industry experience. He has helped lead two companies from startup through acquisition and successful integration into larger solution portfolios. Kevin currently manages a team of more than 20 technical sales experts supporting Dassault Systèmes’ manufacturing solutions across North America. He joined Dassault Systèmes in 2013 through the acquisition of Apriso, a global leader in Manufacturing Operations Management, including MES, WMS, QMS, and CMMS. Throughout his career, Kevin has held leadership roles in developing MOM platforms, advancing thought leadership in business transformation, and demonstrating value to customers throughout the sales cycle. He has supported Apriso sales across a range of industries, including Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Consumer Packaged Goods, Medical Devices, and Industrial Equipment. In addition to Apriso, Kevin’s team supports the sales of several DELMIA solutions, including 3DEXPERIENCE Digital Manufacturing, Ortems, Quintiq, 3DLean, and DELMIA Augmented Experience.

Tauseef Ahmed

Tauseef Ahmed serves as the Founder and CEO of Grayhawk Consulting Group, where he assists manufacturers in leveraging data and artificial intelligence to achieve measurable business results. Formerly, he held leadership roles at John Deere for over 24 years, heading Data, AI, and Digital strategies. Throughout his tenure, Tauseef managed multimillion-dollar portfolios, directed international teams and digital initiatives, and fostered innovation across more than 60 factories globally. He possesses deep expertise in aligning data analytics, AI, business strategy, and IT innovation to enhance customer value, operational efficiency, and financial performance. He is known for his thought leadership, technical and business acumen, effective execution, and cultivating collaborative organizations. Now, Tauseef advises industrial teams on digital transformation, helping them go from concept to sustainable, enterprise-wide value streams. He consistently demonstrates the ability to convert strategic vision into tangible outcomes through the application of Data, AI & Digital solutions with well-defined success metrics.

Scott Burkey

Scott Burkey is a Senior Technology Fellow at Smurfit Westrock located in Atlanta, Georgia. His focus is on solving critical problems in manufacturing, engaging publicly as a speaker and advisor while mentoring junior technologists. Having worked as a software developer for over 30 years for brands like CNN, TBS/TNT and Coca-Cola, Scott now champions new technologies in the manufacturing industry. Prior to WestRock Scott delivered virtual reality products for the National Basketball Association. He serves in an advisory capacity to startups and non-profits. Scott is a United States Marine Veteran that enjoys trail running and camping.

Alice Hilson

Alice Hilson is a Senior Director of Digital Innovation and Emerging Technologies at DuPont, where she leads enterprise-scale initiatives across AI, data, and advanced digital capabilities. With over 20 years of experience driving digital transformation, Alice specializes in translating emerging technologies into measurable business value across complex, global organizations. She is also a subject matter expert and thought leader in DuPont’s Frontier Firm partnership with Harvard Business School and Microsoft, contributing to the exploration of how AI reshapes work, leadership, and organizational performance. Prior to DuPont, she held innovation leadership roles in the energy sector, beginning at ExxonMobil and then serving as Head of Operations for a technology innovation studio within Shell. Alice is recognized for her strategic leadership in responsible AI, data-driven decision-making, and building high-performing, cross-functional teams. She holds an M.Sc. from the University of Florida and an MBA from Colorado State University, and is based in the Greater Philadelphia area.

David Molenda

David Molenda is an Enterprise Business Consultant at Velotic. In this role, David works with large scale customers to identify risk and opportunities that Velotic can help manifest solutions for. David would also identify architectures compatible with the customers’ current landscape and even identify and compile financial ROI cases. David has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing, working in Automotive, Pharmaceutical, Food & Beverage, Consumer Packaged Goods, and other industries. David has worked with every level in an organization from the plant floor to the boardroom. David’s system experience includes programming from SCADA to interfacing with the ERP and all points in between. Today, David is passionate about maximizing the benefit of all the manufacturing software and integrating all the data for a cohesive view of the entire operations, using existing and new tools such as AI. Based in Detroit, MI in the USA, David has a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a master’s degree in applied data science.

John Robinson

Founder and creator of The Quorum Principle™, John is a globally respected Industry 4.0 thought leader. His unique insights and disruptive thinking are the result of a thirty-year career that has included senior roles at Kearney, SAP, EY, Atos and Schneider Electric as well as over decade in manufacturing. He has worked with many of the world’s largest manufacturing brands across all industry sectors and his skill set includes strategy, IT, OT, Operational Excellence and Industry 4.0.

Dustin LaMascus

Dustin LaMascus is a telecom industry leader with more than 30 years of experience, including 15 years focused on emerging technologies such as private 5G. At Ericsson, he leads global business development for enterprise 5G across key industry verticals, helping enterprises advance digital transformation, operational performance, and sustainability goals.

Raidan Lage

Digital transformation and smart factory professional with 13+ years of manufacturing experience at ZF Group, including leading smart factory initiatives in more than 10 plants across the Americas region. Expertise in Industry 4.0, operational excellence, and data-driven improvement initiatives focused on enhancing plant performance. Additional background in production management and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt methodology.

Mandy Tague

Mandy Tague is a digital transformation leader focused on helping organizations make better investment and operational decisions through predictive simulation and Digital Twin technology. As Director of Business Development for the Americas at Haskoning, she works with organizations to understand complex operational challenges and identify where simulation and digital technologies can deliver meaningful business value. With more than 20 years of experience working with Witness predictive simulation software and Digital Twins, Mandy brings together technology, commercial insight and a practical understanding of operational decision-making. She works across industries to help organizations test ideas, evaluate capital investments and optimize processes before committing resources in the real world. Her focus is on turning complex challenges into practical, data-informed decisions that improve performance and create lasting value.

Igor Nagaev

Senior international executive with 30+ years of leadership experience across industrial technology, business transformation, and SaaS ventures in Europe and CIS markets. Currently serving as VP EMEA Business Area at Tamturbo, with prior experience as CEO and long-term leadership roles at Atlas Copco, where he led large-scale growth initiatives, post-merger integrations, operational transformations, and regional expansion across multiple countries. Consistently delivered strong commercial results, including significant revenue and profitability growth, implementation of digital platforms and service models, and development of high-performing international teams. In parallel, he co-founded LingRoom, an EdTech marketplace focused on language learning services. My expertise spans business strategy, operational excellence, sales leadership, product development, and organizational transformation in both industrial and technology-driven environments.

Jon French

Jon French has spent more than a decade in manufacturing operations, engineering, and technology deployment across food and beverage manufacturing and logistics. Having rolled out technology in over 160 manufacturing processes across North America, Jon has a clear view of what makes new tools stick on the production floor, and what makes operators quietly work around them. His focus is change management where it actually happens: with the frontline teams who have to live with the technology every day.

Vinicius Giarola

Vinicius Giarola is a global supply chain and operations executive with more than 20 years of international experience across the United States, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil. He has built his career leading multidisciplinary teams, improving complex logistics networks, increasing forecast accuracy, strengthening supply alignment, and implementing large-scale systems including SAP. His experience spans the automotive, industrial, fitness, and consumer products sectors, with leadership responsibilities across demand planning, logistics strategy, commercial operations, marketing, and product development. Vinicius holds a Master’s in Logistics and Infrastructure from Bocconi University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience in diverse markets, he offers a practical perspective on navigating global complexity, developing high-performing teams, and turning strategy into results. His work reflects a strong commitment to operational excellence, resilient supply chains, cross-functional collaboration, and sustainable business performance in an increasingly connected and fast-changing world.

Vinicius Giarola

Vinicius Giarola is a global supply chain and operations executive with more than 20 years of international experience across the United States, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil. He has built his career leading multidisciplinary teams, improving complex logistics networks, increasing forecast accuracy, strengthening supply alignment, and implementing large-scale systems including SAP. His experience spans the automotive, industrial, fitness, and consumer products sectors, with leadership responsibilities across demand planning, logistics strategy, commercial operations, marketing, and product development. Vinicius holds a Master’s in Logistics and Infrastructure from Bocconi University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience in diverse markets, he offers a practical perspective on navigating global complexity, developing high-performing teams, and turning strategy into results. His work reflects a strong commitment to operational excellence, resilient supply chains, cross-functional collaboration, and sustainable business performance in an increasingly connected and fast-changing world.

Jean Charbonneau

Jean Charbonneau is a senior reliability engineer and the president of the Maintenance Excellence Group. He worked in the industry as a reliability engineer and maintenance planner/scheduler. In the 1990s, he founded the Maintenance Excellence Group to put together a team of asset reliability experts and assist organizations in achieving maintenance excellence. Its flagship solution is the Visual Planner digital platform, used by over 10,000 maintenance professionals from all industrial sectors worldwide, allowing them to maximize production output and lower operational costs. Mr. Charbonneau is a worldwide renowned speaker with over 30 years of experience in asset reliability and a leading influencer on the best methods for asset intensive organizations to achieve maintenance excellence.

Steven Moskowitz

Steven is a transformation leader working at the intersection of manufacturing, AI, and sustainability. With over 25 years of experience across R&D, manufacturing, and enterprise transformation, he helps manufacturers move beyond AI experimentation to practical, scalable impact on the factory floor and across the enterprise. Steven is the Principal of Industry 4ward LLC, where he advises manufacturing leaders on AI-centric operating models, digital transformation, and sustainability management systems. His work focuses on translating emerging AI capabilities into real changes in how teams operate, decisions are made, and value is delivered while aligning digital transformation with sustainability and workforce objectives. Steven holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of Rochester and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Washington. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, a Certified Assessor for AIMRI, SIRI, and COSIRI (AI, Smart Manufacturing, and Sustainability Maturity Assessments) and a certified Strategic Doing practitioner.

Hao Dinh

Hao Dinh is an AI transformation leader who has driven measurable business value across GE, Electrolux, PwC, and Hitachi, applying AI to manufacturing, supply chain, and operations. He is the founder of Grow by Design, a nonprofit making practical AI learning accessible to non-technical professionals (www.growbydesign.ai). Born in Vietnam and now based in the U.S., Hao has worked across the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia in retail, financial services, energy, extreme sports, and entertainment, including his favorite role, professional skateboarder, and founded two additional nonprofits helping students and non-techies build creative and innovation skills for the digital economy.