2024 Speakers

Magdi Batato has extensive experience in the manufacturing and technical area, combined with business experience in both developed and emerging markets. He is working to make Nestlé’s supply chain and production better and more sustainable, day by day.

Magdi is passionate about sustainability and quality. In addition, he has a strong drive for societal engagement and an interest in a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Before starting his career at Nestlé in 1991 as Engineer in Industrial Services, Energy & Environment, Magdi worked as Assistant Professor and Lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and Technicom in Bienne (Switzerland) as well as Project Engineer in an engineering consultancy firm in Lausanne (Switzerland).

His factory and production management experience took him to Germany (1995), Lebanon (1997) and South Africa (2001). In 2004, he was transferred to Malaysia as Executive Director of Production. In 2009, he moved to Nestlé UK & Ireland as Head of Group Technical. In May 2012, Magdi was appointed CEO of Nestlé in Pakistan and Afghanistan, based in Lahore.

In October 2015, Magdi became Executive Vice President of Nestlé S.A. in charge of Operations. He is responsible for Procurement, Nestrade, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Safety & Health, Quality Management, Engineering, Agriculture, ESG, as well as Sustainability and Operations Strategies.

Magdi is a member of the Supervisory Board of Carlsberg A/S and a member of its Audit and Remuneration Committee. Since 2018, he is a member of the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences and as of 2020 he is Chairman of IDH, the Transforming Markets Initiative.

Magdi, a Swiss national, is a mechanical engineer and holds a PhD in Energetics of the human body from the EPFL. He completed the Executive Development Program at IMD Lausanne and an International Manufacturing with INSEAD.

Marsha McIntosh-Hamilton is the President of North America Supply at Diageo, a global leader in beverage alcohol. Diageo has an outstanding collection of more than 200 brands, including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit, Smirnoff, Cîroc, Ketel One, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Marsha previously served as SVP of Supply Strategy Planning & Logistics, developing and leading the end-to-end supply chain strategy planning and coordination team across North America. Prior to this role, under her leadership, the North America Supply and Procurement team delivered significant levels of productivity and average working capital improvement.

She was also responsible for establishing Diageo’s Supplier Diversity program in North America and globally, which has contributed to significantly increasing NAM’s vendor diversity.

Marsha joined Diageo in 1999 and has since held roles with increasing responsibility across operations, logistics, procurement, and planning. She is currently based at the company’s Plainfield, Illinois site, Diageo’s only location in the world that houses both a technical center and a full, state-of-the-art production facility.

With over two decades of broad Supply Chain experience, she is known to be a thoughtful, ambitious and passionate leader, with the ability of building highly engaged and high performing teams.

As a senior leader in the organization, she is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where every individual feels valued for their unique contribution. Marsha also works across several leadership and development programs as a faculty member to mentor and develop leaders for the future.

Marsha received a B.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a M.B.A. from Loyola School of Management.

Marsha grew up in Kingston Jamaica, loves travelling and is a diehard Maryland Terrapin fan. She lives in Naperville, Illinois with her three boys ages 18, 15 and 12 who keep her busy playing football and basketball.

As Chief Supply Chain Officer for Kimberly-Clark, Tamera Fenske has global responsibility for the company’s procurement, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, safety and sustainability organizations, as well as the company’s Global Nonwovens division.

Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark in 2022, Ms. Fenske served as senior vice president of manufacturing and supply chain for 3M Company where she led end-to-end supply chain in the U.S. and Canada across all its business groups and markets. During her 22-year tenure with 3M, Fenske held various senior roles leading manufacturing, supply chain and operations for many of the company’s global businesses, as well as plant management. She brings additional prior experience from Marathon Ashland Petroleum and Dow Chemical Company.

Ms. Fenske holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Maciej Stawicki is the P&G Global Manufacturing Vice President. He owns the Integrated Work System capability building program for 113 manufacturing sites across the globe. Stawicki earned his MS in Mechanical Engineering from Warsaw Technical University and worked as Process Engineer in CNC Machine Tools Design Center before joining P&G in 1993. Since then he successfully performed several manufacturing roles in several countries including leading 3 plants in Saudi Arabia, Poland, and Germany. Prior to his current role, Stawicki led the Baby Care category Product Supply organization in India, Middle East, and Africa region.

Professional Summary: Trever is an Executive in Toyota’s North America Production Engineering Division responsible for Digital Systems. This includes Engineering Systems supporting Factory Digital Twin, Regional Manufacturing Business Systems Product Owner, Production Engineering Process Kaizen App Development, and Operational Technologies supporting Industry 4.0.

History: Trever has been with Toyota for 25 years, spending 23 years in Information Technology before rotating to Production Engineering. Before Toyota, he worked for IBM as a Systems Engineer. Trever spent 10 years in IT Infrastructure with responsibility for Network, Telecommunications, Security, Server, and Storage.  He relocated to the Bay area for a long-term assignment at NUMMI, now the Tesla Factory.  After this, he was responsible for North America Regional IT Site Operations then Manufacturing Systems and later became the General Manager of Automotive Business Systems where he also assumed IT responsibility for R&D, Purchasing, and the North American Parts Supply Chain Systems. He recently led the Advanced IT for Manufacturing & Industry 4.0 Programs for Information Systems.

Education: White graduated from University of Kentucky with a Bachelors in Decision Science & Information Systems.

Accolades: He has served as Vice Chair and is currently on the Board of Directors for MESA International, CESMII, and others.  He has been a speaker at the Industry Week Best Plants Conference, Center for Automotive (CAR) conference, Connected Manufacturing, IoT World, multiple Universities, and other Industry leading forums.  He has been recognized with awards by CIO 100 & Smart Industry Top 50 Innovators.

• Senior Fellow at Haslam School of Business, University of Tennessee
• Board Member for Two Companies
• Private Equity Senior Operating Executive for The Carlyle Group
• Retired EVP, Global Supply Chain, Mondelēz International
• Former EVP, Global Supply Chain, Kraft Foods
• Former Global VP, Product Supply, Procter & Gamble

Daniel Myers is currently a Senior Fellow at Haslam School of Business teaching as a guest lecturer for both graduate and under-graduate studies. He currently serves as a Senior Operating Executive for the Carlyle Group, one of the largest Global Private Equity firms and is on two company boards. He is the retired Executive Vice President of the Global Integrated Supply Chain of Mondelez International where he led the Procurement, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Customer Service & Logistics groups, which represent more than 70,000 of the company’s employees.  Daniel held the same position at Kraft Foods Inc., the predecessor to Mondelēz International, since he joined the company in September 2011.  The spin-off of the company’s North American grocery operations occurred in October of 2012.  Under his leadership, Mondelez funded a major reinvention of its worldwide supply chain delivering more than $3 billion in savings over 3 years. He has extensive experience in investor management including representing Mondelez in the investor presentations at CAGNY and Barclays.

Prior to Kraft Foods, Daniel worked for Procter & Gamble for 33 years, serving in roles across all areas of the Supply Chain. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Product Supply, where he led the supply chain function for P&G’s Global Hair Care business. He was also responsible for coordinating the company’s $28 Billion Beauty & Grooming business.  He had responsibility for P&G’s Customer Service and Logistics operations globally for four years and while in this role he led the integration of the operations of the Gillette company, a $56 Billion acquisition.

Daniel has strong experience launching new brands and building operations in emerging markets. He has over 25 years’ experience delivering winning innovation leading major global expansions. He has worked in 54 countries and lived outside the U.S. for more than 10 years. Daniel has mastery in the successful implementation of best practices including building High Performance Organizations and Lean Six Sigma. During his successful career, he has had responsibility for over 250 manufacturing plants and 400 warehouse and distribution centers.

Daniel received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and served on the Board of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee for over 10 years.

Daniel and Karen, his wife of 40 years, are Christians who have led music and youth groups for 5 churches in three different countries over a period of 25 years. They have been active in mission work helping support and build schools or orphanages in Venezuela, Romania, Nigeria, Kenya, India and Myanmar.

Kelly Boyle is a seasoned Supply Chain professional with an impressive career track record of over 25 years. Beginning her vibrant career journey at General Mills, Kelly spent a decade honing her skills in the manufacturing facilities. During this period, she undertook multiple cross-functional assignments, leading teams across Business/Brand support, Logistics, Customer Logistics, and Global Sourcing. Her leadership at General Mills culminated in her overseeing the Natural and Organic Supply Chain end-to-end.

Transitioning to Walmart, Kelly’s initial role saw her spearheading the redesign of the Fresh Supply Chain. Her strategic input was instrumental in transforming the movement of highly perishable food from field to shelf, enhancing shelf life and ultimately customer satisfaction.

Progressing further, Kelly assumed the responsibility of ensuring Walmart’s entire food supply chain adhered to the Everyday Low Costs (EDLC) policy without compromising on customer needs. Her strategic foresight and leadership acumen were pivotal in balancing cost-effectiveness with customer satisfaction. In her current role, Kelly oversees the Supply Chain Maintenance organization and the Centers of Excellence for Safety, Quality, Reliable Operations, Continuous Skills Development, and Lean/Continuous Improvement. These centers aim to standardize processes and provide transformative tools to enhance Walmart’s Supply Chain operations.

Beyond her professional life, Kelly cherishes her personal life with her supportive husband, Ray, of 33 years and their three wonderful children: Sean (28), Caitlin and Jack (both 26). Kelly’s blend of professional expertise and personal balance make her a standout leader in the supply chain industry.

Over the course of her 34-year career at General Motors, Kelly DiPucchio’s leadership skills and hands-on approach in manufacturing environments differentiated her expertise. In her last role as Vice President, Global Manufacturing Engineering, she led 5000 global team members designing and installing tooling and processes across the global footprint for all new vehicles and propulsion systems including batteries and electric drive units. In addition to executing new product launches, her team implemented automation, device level analytics and AI to improve manufacturing quality, efficiency and cybersecurity. She has extensive background in new product development and global program management and is recognized for cross-functional collaboration and innovation. Key roles include Manufacturing Operations Executive Director leading ten plants in the U.S. and Mexico, Executive Director Global Manufacturing Program Management, Global Manufacturing Chief Engineer for the global portfolio of midsize vehicles, and Director, Body Engineering, where her team designed and engineered vehicle body closures, including the innovative multi-pro tailgate.

Throughout her career, DiPucchio has had a commitment to mentoring the next generation of engineers and encouraging women to drive for success – especially in a manufacturing environment. DiPucchio earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Engineering Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Paisley Matthews is the vice president of Manufacturing and Safety for Boeing Defense, Space and Security and a member of the Boeing Manufacturing Operations Council. In these roles, she is responsible for ensuring the Defense, Space & Security production system consistently operates in an integrated, lean and effective manner.

Prior to these roles, she was the vice president of Operations for Bombers and Fighters (B&F) and also served as the St. Louis site leader. Matthews oversaw manufacturing, quality, cost, schedule and safety performance for the F/A-18, F-15 and T-7A programs. She was the lead Boeing executive responsible for working with the Defense Contract Management Agency across the St. Louis region to ensure that B&F programs met customer requirements. In addition, she chaired a cross-business and cross-functional team responsible for site-related activities across the St. Louis region.

Previously, Matthews was director of Operations for Phantom Works and Autonomous Systems, two other divisions within Boeing Defense, Space & Security. In that role, Matthews set the strategic direction for manufacturing, helped execute the One Boeing Production System and implemented cutting-edge production initiatives.

Prior roles included director of 787 Final Assembly at Boeing South Carolina, leading 787 Mid-body Program Management, site leader for 787-10 Business Operations and Program Integration leadership for the Space Launch System program. She first joined Boeing in 2002.

Matthews is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Management and the Florida Institute of Technology where she earned a Master of Business Administration.

Becky Crane has 20 years’ experience at General Mills working across the company’s end-to-end supply chain, in multiple U.S. and international locations. Highlights include plant manager at one of our largest facilities (Hannibal, Mo.), as well as standing up a global procurement organization in Switzerland as an expat. She’s known for leveraging her breadth of experience to build bold strategies and highly effective cross-functional teams to solve problems and create long-term advantage for our businesses.

Crane leads manufacturing, engineering and global safety teams with accountability for over 9,000 employees (approximately 30% of the company’s employee base). This includes responsibility over $1B in capital across the enterprise, standardizing processes and establishing strong business partnerships to enable advantaged agility and accelerate innovation. In less than one year, her team stabilized line performance, reduced open headcount to less than 4% (industry leading), while delivering the capital plan.

Becky Crane joined General Mills in 2003 as a Distribution Management Associate at the Buffalo, N.Y., Flour Mill. Over the next 10 years, she held various roles with increasing responsibility moving around the U.S. in the process. Roles included Logistics Operations Planner (Minn.) for Yoplait, implementing a new planning system (Minn.), Logistics Manager (Avon, Iowa, and Buffalo, N.Y.), Operations Manager (Hannibal, Mo.) for Progresso Soup and Chewy Bars, and Supply Chain Development Manager (Walmart Sales; Bentonville, Ark.).

Crane stepped into two Plant Manager roles – first in Vineland, N.J., and shortly thereafter was approached to lead one of General Mills’ largest facilities in Hannibal, Mo. Continuing to broaden her experience, Crane embraced a unique opportunity as Director of Global Sourcing Packaging for Sourcing in Nyon, Switzerland. Upon her return stateside, Crane joined an executive leadership team, leading Supply Chain Transformation and Business Performance Management (BPM) for the North America Retail segment. Crane then stepped into an executive business leadership role as the Supply Chain Leader for the Morning Foods Operating Unit where she had accountability for the end-to-end supply chain.

Crane grew up in Golden Valley, Minn. and attended the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management where she holds degrees in Marketing and Supply Chain Management. She and her family currently reside in the Minneapolis.

Anup Dutt is an accomplished Industrial Operations Director with extensive experience in leading development and launch of greenfield manufacturing sites, managing consolidation, and transforming existing operations. He has a proven track record of driving business continuity in response to major external and internal events.

With a Master of Engineering degree in Integrated Engineering from Cardiff University, Anup is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer (CEng MIMechE) registered with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. He has held various leadership positions within L’Oréal, including VP Technical Director for the Consumer & Professional Products Divisions in the US, Industrial Operations Director for the Latin America Zone, and Industrial Operations Director for the Hispanic Zone.

Throughout his career, Anup has successfully led cross-functional teams at multiple locations across large regions, leveraging his ability to adapt to different cultures and geographies. He has a strong focus on continuous performance improvement to optimize efficiency, costs, quality, and delivery speed. Anup is known for his strategic vision, ability to define and execute multiyear strategies, and collaboration with key stakeholders to achieve short-term and long-term objectives

Bart Talloen is a senior executive supply chain leader with thirty five years of global experience in Asia, Europe, and North America. His expertise and achievements in supply chain strategy and leadership, continuous improvement, and technology innovation are broadly recognized. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including most recently the “2023 Manufacturing Leader of the Year Award” from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) & Manufacturing Leadership Council (MLC) for his transformational leadership throughout his career.

During his career in pharmaceuticals Rx, OTC, consumer goods, and medical devices, Bart managed large E2E manufacturing and supply chain networks (including procurement, planning, manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution); acquired and divested businesses and manufacturing operations; lead strategy and technology innovation teams; and oversaw large scale business transformation programs. He also successfully executed an FDA Consent Decree and re-certified multiple sites.

A dynamic and resilient leader with vision, Bart thrives on big challenges and stretch goals. He excels at mobilizing and guiding organizations through large transformations, as well as delivering step-change performance improvements. With a focus on customers and people, he energizes large organizations by inspiring confidence in others, through strong communication, influencing skills, and an open & authentic leadership style.

Bart is a strong believer in the power of collaboration. At Johnson & Johson he successfully established global eco-systems and strategic partnerships (with academia, industry consortia, industry, technology providers, and governments) that were leveraged to advance technology innovation and supply chain capabilities. He participates in forums to contribute and influence the global innovation and I4.0 agenda, driving progress across industries and economies.

Bart is also a frequent speaker at manufacturing, supply chain, and innovation conferences. Past speaking engagements include Executive Platform events (e.g. NAMES); WEF advanced manufacturing and supply chain forums; NAM/MLC Rethink Summits; IoT Solutions World Congress; and the Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium. Bart has also done multiple podcast interviews with Gartner, McKinsey, and Executive Platforms.

After 27 years, he retired from Johson & Johnson on October 1, 2023. Now he is an Executive Fellow at the World Economic Forum for the Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains Center and a member of WEF’s Global Future Council. Bart is actively evaluating company advisory and coaching commitments, has ongoing external speaking engagements, and continues to participate with the Manufacturing Leadership Council (MLC) in various capacities.

Bart’s drive, energy, and passion for excellence radiates in everything he does, including his personal life. He is an avid workout and fitness fanatic, having attempted and broken (but not officially certified) Guinness World Records in pushups and chin-ups, affirming his believe in the power of setting a goal, going for it, and never giving up! In 2022, he launched “Bart’s Challenge” in collaboration with the Greater Somerset County YMCA, of which Bart is an active supporter and fundraiser. The Challenge is an annual event that encourages everyone to stay active and promotes physical fitness.

As part of the Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains Platform at the World Economic Forum, Stacey works across initiatives that include sustainability and technology while also supporting the work of the US Centre of Advanced Manufacturing. Before joining the World Economic Forum, Stacey ran a series of successful industrial and sustainability portfolios across the New York City Economic Development Corporation and SecondMuse, a global innovation firm. After receiving her master’s in urban planning from the City College of New York, Stacey worked for General Electric in the transportation and renewable industry, focusing on supply-chain and product cost initiatives, specific to large-scale energy portfolios.

Mark Mews leads the operations and supply chain for the Periperhal Business Group and has been at W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc. for over 16 years spending a majority of that time leading cross-functionally in various operations & supply chain leadership roles across both new product development and commercial life cycles. Prior to Gore he worked across multiple industries in different financial and business leadership roles. Mark is an advocate for continuous improvement, creating a lean culture, and focusing teams and organizations on delivering targets that improve both top and bottom line growth.

Michelle Oakes leads the Aortic supply chain and operations as a part of the Aortic Business Group.

Michelle began her Gore career in engineering supporting new product development and then transitioned into various leadership roles within the Medical Products Division.

Prior to joining Gore, she has spent 10 years in consumer product goods in a variety of R&D and business process development roles. She graduated from Michigan State University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA.

Michelle has a passion for continuous improvement, learning and being outside with her family.

Saad has 20 years of experience in E2E supply chain roles, across various consumer goods organizations, in multiple international and US locations. Saad has a passion for leading global supply organizations, digitization, process improvement, operational excellence, and transformational programs.

Saad started his career with Unilever moving to British American Tobacco and currently working for Reckitt. He has held roles across entire supply chain including roles in engineering, plant operations, demand and supply planning, projects management, quality, logistics, warehousing, and customer services. He has work experience in different geographies across the globe which give him a unique perspective of different markets and global supply challenges.

Saad holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School, Global Supply Chain certification from Wharton Business School and Mechanical Engineering degree. He lives in New Jersey with his lovely wife and daughter (13)

Robert (R.J.) Shiels
Senior Director, Manufacturing Center of Excellence at W.R. Grace

An industry veteran, R.J. leads Grace’s newly formed Manufacturing Center of Excellence, helping identify and implement opportunities for operational improvements, best practices implementation and scalable systems and processes across a network of 20 manufacturing sites worldwide. Over his two decades at Grace, R.J. has amassed a breadth and depth of experience, starting with a rotational leadership program and progressing through supply chain, production and operational roles. Before being tasked to lead the CoE, he managed the company’s Curtis Bay plant with approximately 550 team members producing silicas as well as fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), hydroprocessing and polyolefin catalysts. A LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt, R.J. earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering at Penn State University.

Tim Lodl is currently the Director of Operational Excellence & MIP (Margin Improvement Program) for the Healthcare Systems & Technologies division of Baxter International Inc. In his role, he is responsible for deploying & sustaining lean manufacturing principles as a part of the Baxter Operating System.

Before to taking his current role, Tim was the Plant Manager for the cardiology portion of Baxter’s portfolio in Milwaukee, WI and served as the Continuous Improvement Manager before that.

Prior to joining Baxter, Tim worked with GE Healthcare for 12 years where he held a variety of positions implementing lean methodologies at the plant level, as well as division level for both the MRI and CT modalities.

Tim has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Saint Louis University and has a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma.

Parthiban Ravikumar is the Manufacturing Engineer at Bray International Inc., Houston, Texas.

Parthiban accomplished his Bachelor’s in Production Engineering from Anna University, India with the award as University First Rank holder.

He worked in multi-national Valve business at India as Senior Engineer; executing improvement projects, before coming to United States for his graduate program.

Parthiban got his Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University (TAMU), College Station during 2014 and then started to work for Bray International Inc as Manufacturing Engineer.

During his Master’s program at TAMU, Parthiban received Graduate Scholarship and worked as Graduate Teaching Assistant at CAD lab and Plastics Manufacturing lab.

Parthiban has 10 years of experience in Manufacturing Engineering and worked at international locations of Bray for executing Manufacturing projects.

He has expertise in developing and mentoring manufacturing teams for Lean manufacturing projects, Safety practices and Efficiency improvement.

He has published articles in Valve Magazine on two topics.

Behavioral aspects of compliance with workplace safety measures
https://www.valvemagazine.com/articles/behavioral-aspects-of-compliance-with-workplace-safety-measures
Steps to integrating LEAN principles into Valve manufacturing
https://www.valvemagazine.com/articles/steps-to-integrating-lean-principles-into-valve-manufacturing
Parthiban has been instrumental in Bray during new process developments, cost reduction and tooling experiments.

Parthiban continuously keeps him abreast with new technologies and currently works on Robotic projects at Bray.

He enjoys sharing his knowledge with peers and had been invited by Texas A&M University Alumni Association to share his industrial knowledge with Bachelor’s and Master’s students of Industrial engineering department.

Parthiban feels privileged to join the panel of NAMES 2024 and looking forward to learn and share Manufacturing concepts.

Robert Honer is a seasoned professional with a solid background in finance, supply chain management, and software solutions. He currently holds the position of Senior Director, Supply Chain Practice at Anaplan where he leverages his vast experience to develop effective supply chain strategies and support new software launches. Robert’s education background includes a Masters degree in Finance and Supply Chain Management from Syracuse University. Prior to joining Anaplan, Robert spent over a decade at Blue Yonder, serving in various supply chain-focused leadership roles.

Paul Simard brings over 25 years of experience in the fields of operations and supply chain management. After joining Bombardier in 2010, he was named Vice-President of Operations in 2015. In this role, Paul leads the team responsible for managing eight manufacturing sites, and over 8500 employees across the world. In his time as Vice-President of Operations, Paul launched a new product, opened two manufacturing plants, and successfully deployed a three-year strategy to help ramp up production of Bombardier’s industry-leading Global 7500 business aircraft.

Prior to being appointed Vice-President of Operations, Paul worked as the Senior Director of Supply Chain, and as General Manager of Operations for Global aircraft. Before joining Bombardier, Paul also held key roles in two start-up businesses.

Paul holds a Master’s degree in Production and Operations Management from HEC Montréal.

Laura Connolly, as the Continuous Improvement Manager at CHS Inc., leverages her extensive expertise in Kaizen, Change Management, and problem-solving to optimize efficiency and drive profitability. With a solid background in agricultural accounting and finance, Laura embarked on her career journey at Cargill. Since then, she has successfully led continuous improvement teams across both the agriculture and construction sectors.

Laura’s unwavering commitment to Lean principles and her proactive approach to sustainable change initiatives have not only streamlined processes but also positively impacted individuals within the organization. Her leadership fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, seamlessly integrating with emerging technologies. Laura’s passion lies in empowering others and cultivating a Lean process improvement culture that enhances end-to-end processes and overall performance.

Scott Rahn is a seasoned design-build professional and currently he holds the pivotal role of Market Leader at a distinguished design-build company, Clayco. With a comprehensive background and extensive experience in the consumer products industry, Rahn has emerged as a dynamic leader and influential figure.

As the Market Leader, Rahn oversees and drives the strategic direction of consumer products and supply chain offerings within Clayco. His expertise lies in navigating the intricate landscape of consumer preferences, market trends, and supply chain dynamics and how that equates to clients capital spend. Rahn and his teams are at the forefront of developing and executing innovative projects that not only meet but exceed the expectations of clients.

With a keen eye for design and construction and a deep understanding of consumer behavior, Rahn has successfully propelled the company’s consumer products division to new heights. His visionary approach is characterized by a perfect blend of creativity, market insight, and operational efficiency. Rahn is adept at identifying emerging trends and opportunities, ensuring that the design-build company remains ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving industry.

Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely and sustainably delivers the highest quality solutions to clients across North America on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With over $6 billion in revenue for 2023, Clayco specializes in the “art and science of building,” providing fast track, efficient solutions for industrial, commercial, institutional and residential-related building projects. For more information, visit www.claycorp.com.

Education: Missouri State University
Bachelor’s of science, Finance
Bachelor’s of science, Construction Management

Malissa has served as the VP of Manufacturing at Dubois Chemicals for four years overseeing more than 250 employees across nine specialty chemicals manufacturing plants in the United States. She is responsible for managing key initiatives across safety, quality, delivery, cost, cash and footprint optimization for the company managing a mix of legacy and acquired plants in the Midwest and Northeast. For over 100 years, DuBois has delivered improved product quality and lower costs to customers in target industries by combining advanced chemistry, equipment solutions, manufacturing process knowledge, and local technical service to create unsurpassed value for key customers in key industries to include aerospace, automotive, commercial heat treatment, general manufacturing, heavy equipment, metal working, metal finishing and defense.

Malissa started with DuBois in August 2020 as Chief of Staff with responsibilities to coordinate and lead global communications as well as driving and integrating key project and business strategy execution across the executive leadership team to support the overall business strategy. Before coming to DuBois, Malissa spent five years in a variety of sales and operational roles at General Electric Aviation in their military systems and services division. Prior to GE, she spent five years in the United States Army as an Engineer Officer including two overseas tours leading units in combat operations. Malissa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy, a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Liberty University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Purdue University.

Chris Barone began his career in 1989 at BIC Pen Corp, where he worked for ten years as a engineering manager before moving in 1999 to Edgewell Personal Care (Warner Lambert, Pfizer/Energizer/EPC). Today he is a Sr. Director of Engineering for Edgewell Personal Care where he is responsible for Advanced Engineering Solutions, including problem-solving across all Business Units (Wet Shave, SunCare, FemCare, Wet Ones, etc), as well as Central Engineering Systems; Operation Sustainability Programs, Lean, Automation, Robotics, and Injection Molding. Chris has also been an Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the University of New Haven, where he obtained his BS and MS of Mechanical Engineering. Throughout his career he has worked from Product Concept through to Production. He holds several US and EU Patents.

Antonio Villagomez is a seasoned Supply Chain professional with over 30 years of diverse, global experience in CPG, Retail and Food industries. Beginning his dynamic career in Procter & Gamble Co., Antonio held multiple leadership roles in global supply chain and engineering functions, leading transformational business results across diverse markets and several business units. His contributions in P&G span the entire value chain spectrum, from the development of new technology innovations, new products and processes, Industry 4.0 and digital supply chain transformation, all the way to leading supply network design and optimization programs across multiple regions, M&A due diligence activities and new business integrations, as well as the design, implementation, and start-up of several greenfield manufacturing facilities across Latin America, Europe, Asia and North America.

After a rewarding career in P&G, Antonio joined Walmart to lead the company’s sustainability innovation program, including the selection and origination of value- accretive renewable energy contracts, development of breakthrough innovations in energy efficiency, the deployment of electric vehicles solutions, circular economy and zero waste, and the implementation of reverse logistics programs at stores, clubs, and DC’s. He co-authored strategic plans and developed a feasible conversion roadmap that enabled Walmart’s declaration and commitment as a Regenerative, Zero Emissions Company by 2040.

Antonio currently leads Supply Chain Engineering for Rich Products Corporation, responsible for the development and implementation of breakthrough growth and productivity solutions, the deployment of Rich’s capital investment portfolio across the enterprise, the operational sustainability program, and the organizational transformation to accelerate both the short-term business goals as well as the company’s long term strategic vision.

Throughout his entire career, Antonio has had a passion and relentless commitment to the development of the next generation of supply chain professionals, having the honor to grow diverse organizations across multiple global geographies.

Antonio holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and Material Sciences from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Management from Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico.

Dr. Bigleman, Best-selling Author with degrees in Industrial Engineering, Business and Motivational Management, is an accomplished sales and operations executive with demonstrated success driving profitability and growth in domestic and global high-tech industrial firms. With a solid foundation in manufacturing, educating customers on both stated and understated needs. “Gregg has an uncanny ability to find solutions for customers in a way that moves far away from simply selling a product to becoming a partner on a journey with the customer.” Join him for a humorous and inactivation discussion on “Building a Better Product through AI”. From Design to Manufacturing to Distribution.

Eric has spent 30 years in lean roles beginning as a “Rapid Continuous Improvement Engineer” and used that thinking style for Operational roles leading multi-site manufacturing companies in Residential Furniture, Kitchen Cabinets, and Pulp & Paper Industries. He helped guide a large 4PL organization to grow from 300 clients to over 1500+ clients in North America, while managing over $5B in Freight management services.

Interestingly, Eric was trained by Shingijutsu, TBM, and TSSC (Toyota Supplier Support Center) while implementing kaizen methodologies. Eric was deemed a “Pro to Know” in 2015 by Supply & Demand for helping to develop “Extended Lean” concepts mapping supply chains. All this experience is used today to lead the Supply Chain for Artisant Lane while training the organization in lean principles. He has been a Shingo Prize Examiner since 2003 and is a Shingo Prize Research Examiner.

Mark Allan is the Senior Director of Operational Excellence for Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics with 25 years of experience. He has a passion for continuous improvement and strives to facilitate excellence from order to delivery in all areas of operations including, estimating, ERP systems, project management, supply chain, manufacturing, and engineering. He has worked in defense and commercial industries both in general practice and consulting. He has been in a range of positions from Industrial Engineer, Project Manager, ERP Director, Director Programs, Director Operations, and Director Operational Excellence. Mark is a Professional Engineer registered in Ontario, Canada with a diploma in Engineering from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, and a degree in Industrial Engineering from Dalhousie University in Halifax. He completed his Project Management Professional Certification in 2006 and more recently Six Sigma Black Belt in 2022.

Neha Shah is a transformational servant leader and the current Senior Director of Manufacturing for Land O’Lakes Inc.’s Dairy Foods Division. With over 20 years of experience in the food manufacturing industry, Neha has a history of driving visionary business growth through successful turnaround and growth initiatives. Prior to her role at Land O’Lakes Inc., she held diverse manufacturing leadership positions at Nestle USA and General Mills, Inc., showcasing a proven track record of leading large-scale operational transitions, restructuring efforts and strategic initiatives based largely on fostering cohesive management teams.

Neha holds an MBA from California State University and a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University. She is a Certified TPM instructor and holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, highlighting her commitment to excellence in operational management. Neha’s professional journey is marked by her ability to navigate complex operational challenges and deliver tangible results, making her a respected leader in the industry.

Using his experience in manufacturing, Hugh looks for visibility, inventory and planning wins as he currently leads the Transportation Management System integration for Lutron Electronics. This System integrates with Operations, Purchasing, Carriers, Suppliers and eventually customers. In his 16 years with Lutron, he has led manufacturing plants in the US and Caribbean, quality and customer service. Hugh led the design and location projects for the newest manufacturing plant in Costa Rica.

Prior to Lutron, Hugh worked in a variety of roles in Ford Motor Company and Visteon ranging from Engineering to Production Superintendent to Program Manager over 12 years. Hugh served as an Engineer Officer in the Army in Active Duty and Reserves. His passion is working with manufacturing and warehouse teams, who bring transformative value and opportunity to companies.

Hugh has been married 34 years, has 2 grown sons and 2 grandchildren. Hugh has a Bachelors Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Military Academy, a Masters Degree in Manufacturing from Purdue University, and holds a Professional Engineering License

Terry Secrest is the Executive Vice President of Manufacturing and Product Sales for Martin Sustainable Resources L.L.C. Terry is responsible for the sale of all plywood, timbers, and OSB products, along with the safe and efficient manufacturing of the products. The manufacturing and sales departments make up 1,100 members of the RoyOMartin workforce.

Terry earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University. After graduation, Terry worked 18 years in the paper industry at International Paper, progressing from Process Engineer to Plant Manager before joining RoyOMartin in 2004. He was the Plant Manager of LeMoyen OSB, the OSB Business Unit Vice President, and the Corporate Safety Director before being promoted to Executive Vice President of Manufacturing and Sales in 2018. Terry led the effort to build successful teams to start up and operate the two largest manufacturing investments in company history and is heavily involved in the newest expansion at Corrigan. In addition, he has helped shape the safety culture that RoyOMartin values today.

Aswin Mannepalli leads product and solution marketing for manufacturing at ServiceNow. He has worked in the manufacturing and tech sectors for the past 15 years – as an analyst, consultant and product owner. Aswin lectures at the Wharton School of Business and is an advising entrepreneur there.

Tatiana is a solutions-driven professional with over 20 years of experience in diverse senior management roles in Supply Chain, Global Security and Health & Wellness. Having spent the last 10 years at Walmart, Inc she feels blessed for having occupied positions with responsibilities both in the US and Internationally, where she was known for both her entrepreneurial mindset and the ability of moving with speed. This combination has led her to roles with direct ownership for overall strategy, implementation, operations, compliance, technology, program management, and continuous improvement.

Tatiana is an Influential leader who collaborates with cross-functional teams while driving transformation and effectively building relationships with decision-makers at all levels. She is skilled on establishing credibility and trust while guiding the business through risk and change across Walmart’s global operations. Currently, Tatiana is responsible for directing the Continuous Improvement program for the Non-Store Operations side of the Walmart Health & Wellness division, comprised of multiple fully automated Central Fills, Mail Order and Specialty segments.

Furthermore, Tatiana has a bachelor’s degree in International Business & Marketing, and also an Executive Master in Business Administration from Saint Mary’s College of California. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her family and friends.

Natalia Méndez DeBriones, leads the medical devices manufacturing cluster for Philips. In her current role she is responsible for leading 13 manufacturing plants, located across the world. She has been in Medical Devices manufacturing for the past 16 years and has experience in different roles: Quality, Product Design, Plastic Molding & Extrusion, and is passionate about Lean, Six Sigma, and Continuous Improvement.

During her career, she has been able to transform and optimize manufacturing processes to better support customer needs and increase value brought to the company. She enjoys working with interdisciplinary teams and finding new ways to achieve goals, while creating development opportunities for her team and others.

Through commitment, empowerment, and improving skills, not only for herself, but for her team, she has been able to triple productivity under high regulated environments, lead teams through challenging regulatory situations, and influence deep cultural shifts that have yielded on improved customer satisfaction and optimized cost of operations. She has led her teams through Manufacturing Excellence Competitions, being awarded repeatedly on several categories in some of her factories.

Natalia is native from Costa Rica, where she lives with her husband. She loves art, reading, and cooking. She gets her energy from working with others and learning from different backgrounds.

Bob is the Senior Director of Continuous Improvement at Flowers Foods. Responsible for driving both Supply Chain and business resources to deliver maximum value and benefits for 46 bakeries. With more than 20 years of Continuous Improvement I have manage, developed, and implemented multiple initiatives to reduce cost, eliminate waste, improve customer satisfaction, and increase capacity. During my time at Flowers Foods the team has implemented visual managements to give the bakeries tools to identify targets and react to trends. Establish standard work to optimize existing routines, utilize data to improve their process, and leverage the digital tools to help bakery drive continuous improvement. Rolled out Total Productive Maintenance aimed at achieving overall effectiveness of the production system through the involvement of all the people in the organization.

Darcy MacClaren is a strategic global leader who has spent 30 years growing, differentiating, and improving businesses through technology transformation with a focus on supply chain. She has held various leadership roles at SAP over the last twelve years, most recently serving as the Senior Vice President of Digital Supply Chain and Industry 4.0 for SAP North America. Today, she serves as Chief Revenue Officer of SAP Digital Supply Chain, overseeing the global supply chain business.

With an emphasis on customer success, Darcy is responsible for driving risk resilient and sustainable Digital Supply Chain business, including the thought leadership towards solution portfolio investments, go-to-market strategy as well as overseeing core operations in pipeline development, demand management, and revenue growth. Darcy is committed to guiding organizations in their digital transformation journey through innovative technology including artificial intelligence and next generation business processes. She is passionate about collaborating with and empowering companies to elevate the strategic value delivered to their ecosystem. Her central focus is to help companies build resilient, agile, and sustainable supply chains.

Darcy is a true expert in her field, an active champion for women in supply chain, and a recognized thought leader. Recently named in Fortune’s Broadsheet newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women, Darcy has also been featured in Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s 2022 Women in Supply Chain and as a 2022 and 2023 Supply Chain Pro to Know. Darcy’s expertise has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg Radio, NPR, Protocol, SupplyChainBrain, and Supply Chain Quarterly among other supply chain outlets. She is a frequent moderator, panelist, and keynote speaker at major supply chain events. She is the founder of the Empowering Women in Supply Chain Network which is dedicated to improving diversity in the supply chain field and since its inception in 2020, has grown to over 800 members. Last year, she was awarded the SAP Diversity and Inclusion Award for her work with this group.

Before joining SAP, Darcy held several senior supply chain leadership positions at companies such as Blue Yonder, Infor, G-Log, (acquired by Oracle), and Hewlett Packard. Darcy graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She has an MBA from SUNY at Buffalo.

Amber Ficht, VP Business Excellence, has more than 20 years’ experience in the Medical Device Industry in Quality, Manufacturing, Engineering and Business Excellence. She has extensive experience driving lean transformations in manufacturing plants.

Kathy Stoeberl is an accomplished and visionary leader, driving the success of a social enterprise within a non-profit organization. With a strong commitment to social impact and a focus on sustainable growth, she has played a pivotal role in significantly increasing revenue and expanding the organization’s reach. She began working with the Chicago Lighthouse in 2013 and has grown the social enterprise to encompass 15 contact centers contracts and generating employment opportunities for over 550 individuals.

The call centers play a crucial role in generating essential income for The Chicago Lighthouse’s programs and services. As of the fiscal year 2024 projections, they are anticipated to contribute significantly, constituting 64% of The Lighthouse’s overall revenue. Since FY 2017, the call centers alone have generated over $175M in revenue, over $30M in operating income.

The call centers also expand The Chicago Lighthouse’s impact by reaching underserved populations in the greater Chicagoland area. Currently, 22% of call center employees come from our mission population, 80% represent BIPOC communities, and 60% reside in neighborhoods with low median incomes.

In 2023, Stoeberl earned a promotion to Chief Operating Officer (COO) at The Chicago Lighthouse. As COO, Ms. Stoeberl works at the forefront of the non-profit organization’s social enterprise, overseeing its strategic direction and operational execution. She brings a unique blend of business acumen and social consciousness, leveraging her expertise to create innovative revenue-generating models that align with the organization’s mission to help people who are blind or visually impaired.

Under her guidance, the social enterprise has broadened its offerings, diversified revenue streams, and cultivated strategic partnerships with organizations like the Illinois Tollway and UI-Health, just to name a few. In addition, Kathy has been an iatrical part in the development of partnering with an out of State non-profit, BlindSight Delaware and continues to focus on the growth of their social enterprise division, resulting in heightened financial resilience and enduring viability.

With a deep understanding of the non-profit sector, Kathy demonstrates passionate leadership aimed at creating positive change and improving the lives of those served by The Chicago Lighthouse. She has a proven track record of effectively managing resources, optimizing operational efficiency, and maximizing the social enterprise’s impact. Her ability to balance financial goals with social objectives has been instrumental in driving the organization’s success.

In summary, Ms. Stoeberl’s visionary and results-oriented leadership as Chief Operating Officer has led The Chicago Lighthouse’s social enterprise to significant revenue growth, bringing stability to the non-profit organization. Her strategic leadership, business acumen, and commitment to social impact has played a pivotal role in advancing the organization’s mission and creating sustainable change.

Simone Cook is a seasoned professional with 25-year tenure in operations and supply chain management. Her roles as the Senior Vice President of Operations at The Chicago Lighthouse is marked by a commitment to people development and process enhancement. At The Chicago Lighthouse she has implemented lean principles and launched 15 new products, as well as a three-year strategic plan for the company’s clocks and office ergonomic products. During these efforts she has reduces expenses by 15% and increased sales revenue by 20% while building strategic partnerships with other manufacturers. She has also secured multiple grants for her manufacturing team to continue to invest in excellence. Simone has a BS from the University of Iowa and an MBA specializing Operations Management and Organizational Behaviors from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

Professional Summary: Khari is an executive at the Clorox Company. His team is responsible for the implementation of Supply Chain Excellence globally. This includes 12 business units and 34 Manufacturing facilities. His team coaches the General Managers, Supply Chain Leaders, Director of Manufacturing, and Plant Managers for these 12 business units as they drive their Supply Chain Excellence journey.

History: Khari has been with The Clorox Company for 10 years, spending 8 years in Continuous Improvement during this time. Prior to Clorox, he worked for Graham Packaging for 5 years as a site TPM Leader and then as a Plant Manager. Before Graham Packaging, Khari worked at Procter & Gamble for 9 years. At Procter & Gamble he had roles as a Process Engineer, Quality Manager, Department Manager, and Material Supply Manager. This allowed him exposure to many TPM pillars, including Autonomous Maintenance, Focused Improvement, Progressive Maintenance, Early Equipment Management and Supply Chain.

Education: Khari graduated from Tuskegee University in 1997 with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He also received his MBA from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2009.

Leonardo has cultivated an impressive career that encompasses the entirety of the product life cycle, touching upon development, manufacturing, and operational excellence. His journey across various companies has seen him at the helm of transformative processes and the cultivation of continuous improvement cultures, showcasing his leadership and collaborative skills. His expertise in TPM, Lean methodologies, and Six Sigma has markedly enhanced production efficiency and product quality within the Consumer Goods (Appliances) and CPG sectors. This comprehensive experience empowers him to drive strategic operational initiatives that lead to significant savings and performance enhancements. Currently serving as the Associate Director of Best Practices at Clorox, Leonardo spearheads the adoption of best practices and offers expert coaching support through an amazing team of experts, ensuring the methodologies implemented are sustainable and effective across Clorox’s global operation

Kurt Schoenegge is the Senior Director of Assembly and Technology for the Global Manufacturing Engineering Team at Cummins Inc. Kurt is responsible for Standardizing the Design of the Processes, Equipment, and Documents to improve safety, increase quality, reduce lead-times and improve profitability. Kurt’s Team leads the integration of Automation and Digital Analyze Lead Design for the global network.

Kurt has 29 years of experience at Cummins Inc, from Advance Design, Program Leadership and a variety of roles within Supply Chain. Kurt also has 5 years of experience at Kohler and Franklin Power Products. Kurt graduated from University of Michigan in 1990 with a BSME. He also holds a MBA from Ball State University.

Wale is the Senior Global Lean Director at Griffith Foods, headquartered in Alsip IL. In this role he leads the development, implementation and sustainability of the global Lean program called the Griffith Production System. He is also responsible for the implementation and ongoing governance of the project-based continuous improvement program for the organization. Prior to joining Griffith Foods, Wale has worked in several manufacturing related positions in the food and beverage industry, medical device packaging industry, and oil refining. Wale holds a Masters degree in Industrial Technology and Operation from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from Southern Illinois University. Wale is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from University of Illinois and a Certified Lean Manager from the Ohio State University.

Kulwant Sandhu joined Outset as Vice President, Integrated Supply Chain in April 2018, she has 30 years of end to end domestic and international supply chain architecture and optimization experience in high growth environments. Prior to joining Outset, Kulwant was Director if Supply Chain at Abbott’s Heart Failure division where she led global teams in sourcing strategy, procurement, S&OP and logistics. Kulwant has led positions of increasing responsibility at companies including Thoratec, Luxim, Miasole, and Maxtor(Seagate), where she was responsible for strategic sourcing, COGS reduction and logistics and distribution simplification initiatives.

Sean Trainor is senior vice president of HP Inc.’s Personal Systems (PS) Operations, an organization spread across 12 countries and 29 sites. PS Operations is responsible for delivering a resilient, agile, innovative supply chain that supports the PS business portfolio, which exceeds $40B+ spanning PCs, displays, peripherals, services, software, and immersive computing.

Sean joined HP in 2023 and brings more than 30 years’ experience in manufacturing, engineering, supply chain management, and product development. Prior to joining HP, Sean served as chief supply chain officer for Cynosure. His responsibilities included the operation and transformation of the global supply chain network focusing on quality, scale, and efficiency.

Sean led world-class, high-tech, manufacturing, operational, supply chain, and procurement functions.

Previously, Sean was senior vice president of Manufacturing and Distribution for Visionworks, where his teams transformed the end-to-end supply chain driving break-through improvements in service, quality, cost, and customer value.

He was also senior vice president of Global Operations Engineering and Quality at Dell. He was responsible for new product introduction, supplier and factory quality, and operations engineering for all of Dell’s products across the global supply chain. Sean’s teams formed the linchpin between product research and development and supply chain operations to enable flawless product and solution delivery.

During his 18 years at Dell, Sean also served as an executive overseeing many transformative teams. On assignment in Singapore, he led Dell’s Global Supply Chain and Fulfillment organization that focused on the end-to-end supply chain and fulfillment transformation to provide the lowest cost and best value of products for customers.

Sean earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from GMI Engineering and Management Institute and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Louisiana State University. He serves as an advisor to the University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business.

Sean is married with two daughters and is based in Houston, Texas.

Jon Sobel is the CEO and cofounder of Sight Machine, a venture-backed technology company that serves global manufacturers. Sight Machine’s investors include GE and leading venture capital firms from the Midwest and West Coast. The company has operations in Michigan, California, EMEA, and Asia. Sobel previously served as general counsel and as a member of the executive leadership teams of several pioneering technology companies, including Tesla Motors and, in its early years, Yahoo!. Sobel received a JD from the University of Michigan Law School (1990), an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an undergraduate degree in public policy from Princeton University.

John Dougherty has been working with companies in the Industrial Manufacturing, High Tech, Aero Space and Defense, Retail, Wholesale Distribution, and Consumer Packaged Goods industries for the past 24 years with both Symix Software, Oracle, and NetSuite. John is currently Head of Manufacturing for the Americas with ServiceNow. ​

A big part of his role is meeting with companies who are either on or just starting their digital transformation journey in manufacturing and supply chain. John has an experienced and a proven track record of helping companies become more efficient, reduce costs and improve quality. He lives in Pittsburgh PA when not traveling for ServiceNow.

Sam Castro joined SAP in July 2005 with the acquisition of a small company called Lighthammer. At that time he was responsible for implementation consulting, field enablement, custom development, and training for the core products (Illuminator, Xacute, UDS, CMS). Sam is now part of the SAP LoB Manufacturing Product Marketing group, which is directly responsible for strategy and direction of our Manufacturing portfolio or products.

Tyler’s journey began in research and development, where he honed his skills in product innovation and quality assurance. His hands-on experience extended to manufacturing, where he gained valuable insights into production processes and efficiency optimization. Furthermore, Tyler decided to spend time in the realm of Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), ensuring seamless coordination between various departments and supply chain management. His multifaceted background has equipped him with a holistic perspective of CPG operations.

Since 2017, Tyler has been with Siemens where he has continued to be a driving force in the Consumer Products and Retail industry. His extensive knowledge and innovative thinking have made him a respected figure in the field, and he is dedicated to enhancing efficiency, innovation, and quality within the industry.

Justin Lamb is the Accenture Industry X R&D and Engineering Go To Market Lead for the North America Consumer Goods & Services Industry. Justin has 24 years of innovation and product development functional experience in the Consumer Goods and Service industry. During his experience, Justin has partnered with cross-functional leaders across R&D, Regulatory, Labeling, Artwork, Procurement, Manufacturing, Quality, Marketing, and Sales to improve innovation impact on growth, profitability, and sustainability with over 20 global Consumer Goods and Services companies. The companies Justin has worked with are in the Food and Beverage, Home and Personal Care, Beauty and Personal Goods, Tobacco, and Consumer Health Industry Sub Segments. From a technology perspective, Justin helps companies use the combined power of data and digital to reimagine the products, experiences, and outcomes they deliver and revolutionize how they are designed and developed. Justin has 18 years of Product Lifecyle Management (PLM) solution implementation experience and has delivered 10 PLM implementations.

Michael has spent his career aligning solutions to customer’s business goals, analyzing business practices, leading workshops, developing business cases, operating models, and road maps to determine solutions for intricate business problems, and motivating my team to deliver the desired solution. He brings great expertise in the field of maintenance, reliability, facilities, and capital management with a point focus on developing and or optimizing Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), Integrated Work Managements (IWMS), Cloud, Mobile, Internet of Things (IOT), AI/ML Solutions. Hands on leadership roles include growing consulting practices for multiple “big 4” and boutique to enable digital transformation of the clients he serves. Michael has worked with Global 2000 companies including leading utilities, oil and gas, metals and mining, manufacturing, life sciences, financial services firms, real estate firms and federal, state and local governments and municipalities.

Dr. Dhaval Patel is a Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM) at IBM Research, where he has been driving innovation in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) since 2016. With a PhD in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore, Dr. Patel is a renowned expert in applying AI and ML technologies to solve complex industrial challenges.Dr. Patel has received numerous awards for his outstanding technical and research accomplishments, including 10 awards from IBM for advancing AI technology to address real-world problems in various industries. His work has been instrumental in developing flagship IBM Research products such as AutoAI-TS and Maximo Application Suites for Anomaly Detection, which have revolutionized the way businesses operate.

Craig currently serves as a Principal at EY, leading the global Manufacturing Transformation solution. He has 24 years of experience across operations, engineering, continuous improvement, and digital transformation from a combination of industry, including 16 years at Procter and Gamble and other consulting roles. Craig enables clients across sectors to successfully transform through the adoption of technology and new ways of working by empowering the workforce on the journey to zero loss. As the leader of the EY and P&G alliance he leads a team focused on innovating methods and tools to create more effective, efficient, and sustainable transformations.

René Buck completed his study in Economic Geography and Planning (cum laude) at the Radboud University of Nijmegen in 1985. After his study he started the research and consultancy firm Buck Consultants International. Through more than 30 years of experience, René knows the backgrounds and concerns of many stakeholders and he speaks their ‘language’: from international to regional companies; from universities and to specialized research institutes; from broad interest groups to sectoral sector organizations; from (real estate) project developers to investors/investors; and, from municipalities and provinces to ministries and the European Commission.

René is a leading consultant in the areas where BCI Global is active and he is a prominent speaker at conferences throughout the world. He is seen by international news media as a leading expert.

Nick Haase is the co-founder of MaintainX, a Series C software company serving 7,000+ global customers. He currently leads Community and works across the go-to-market team. MaintainX’s mission is to drive unplanned equipment and operational downtime to zero.

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, cultural excellence and focused problem-solving methodologies.

Chris is a certified Change Management Practitioner, Master Black Belt, and TPM Instructor.

Kanna Potharlanka is SVP of Pre Sales at Sight Machine. As part of his role, Kanna leads all pre sales activities globally including solution engineering and industry-specific go-to-market motions. Previously, Kanna spent 8 years at Apple and led the iPhone Sustaining-Operations, Product-Planning, and Supply Chain organizations. As part of the core leadership team for iPhone Operations, Kanna played a key role in scaling and supporting the steep growth iPhone experienced (revenue grew from $40B to > $200B). Prior to Apple, Kanna was one of the first employees (founding design verification engineer) at Sierra Logic, a venture-backed storage-networking startup that went through a successful exit within 5 years. Kanna earned his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, holds an M.S. degree in Computer Engineering from University of California, Davis, and a B.E. (Honors) degree in Electrical Engineering from Osmania University, India.

Shawn Smith serves as the Business Leader for the North American Region. Shawn has 20 years of experience in fast paced cost-conscious manufacturing environments. After leading operations for multiple years Shawn joined Performance Solutions by Milliken traveling the globe delivering performance results at more than 30 clients. He is an expert in management systems, leadership development, coaching, and problem solving.

Shawn is a certified Business Coach and Six Sigma Belt.

Willem Sundblad is the co-founder and CEO of Oden Technologies, a company empowering operators by providing real-time, AI-driven prescriptive process setting recommendations and predictive quality directly to the front line. In his spare time, he is a contributing writer to Forbes.com and takes every chance he gets to enjoy the Green Mountains of Vermont.

Chris Rodgers is the Director of TPM for INX International Ink Co. INX with parent company, SAKATA INX Corp., is the third largest ink manufacturer in the world. From the beginning of his career with INX in 1994 to 2005, Chris worked in research and technical services. In 2005, Chris was asked to take on a newly created role in TPM. Since taking on this role, Chris has assisted with or led projects across INX operations to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Shane A. Yount is a nationally recognized thought leader, author, and President of Competitive Solutions, Inc., an international Business Transformation consulting firm which pioneered the acclaimed organizational development system known as Process Based Leadership® – A business transformation methodology designed to create a sustainable culture of clarity, connectivity, and consistency through the use of Non-Negotiable Business Processes.

Shane began his career with Perdue Farms, Inc., the nation’s second largest poultry grower and processor. Having performed such roles as Front Line Supervisor, Site Operations Manager, Quality Manager, Director of Human Resources, and Corporate Continuous Improvement Champion, Shane brings extensive experience in every aspect of organizational dynamics and effectiveness. His “Real World” process driven approach to creating and sustaining high performance has led leaders across the world to embrace the Process Based Leadership® methodology as a core operating system in driving organizational focus, urgency, and accountability.

Since 1991 he has led the offices of Competitive Solutions, Inc. (CSI) in becoming one of the nations most recognized Business Transformation consulting firms, personally working with such organizations as 3M, Zoetis, Pfizer, Impossible Foods, Colgate Palmolive, the Department of Defense, and many others. Shane’s approach of challenging leaders to confront what truly “powers performance” within their organizations often allows leaders a unique glimpse into their personal leadership legacies. His impactful message and delivery has made him a coveted speaker at national conferences and tradeshows. His three books, “Buried Alive: Digging out of the Management Dumpster,” “Leaving Your Leadership Legacy” and “Leading Your Business Forward: Aligning Goals, People, and Systems for Sustainable Success” are required reading in many organizations.

James Newman is the Head of Product and Portfolio Marketing at Augury. He has 20+ years of experience across engineering, manufacturing, and technology adoption, James brings a customer-focused outlook to understanding how technology impacts organizational outcomes. James’ experience has spanned numerous industries, including energy, water, manufacturing, marine, mining; focused on understanding the real challenges within organizations and how digital solutions can augment and accelerate organizational and cultural transformation. James is a passionate evangelist for the power of transformation and has a passion for how digital adoption can improve worker’s lives while increasing value for the organizations they work for.

Srinivasan Prabhushankar also known as Shankar is the CTO of Mechanical Recycling of PET for Indorama Ventures, a Thailand based Global Chemical Company. Shankar has 40 years of industry experience which includes various functional areas viz. Manufacturing, R&D, Technical Services, Project Management etc. Shankar has been working for Indorama Ventures for the past 25 years in Virgin PET, Aromatics and Recycled PET. As the CTO of Recycling, Shankar is responsible for Reliable Operations of the Recycling units, Reaching the Capacity Targets, Quality improvements, Adaption of New Technologies etc. Shankar has a degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Madras and an Executive MBA from Duke University.

Jon Chorley is Oracle’s Chief Sustainability Officer, driving environmental sustainability initiatives inside and outside the company.

He ensures that the company operates an efficient, clean, and circular cloud infrastructure that enables customers (and Oracle) to not only drive business value, but also lower their environmental impact as we all move towards a zero-carbon future.

Jon is also Senior Vice President of Product Strategy for Supply Chain Management (SCM). His team builds supply chain solutions for the cloud that manage and automate planning, sourcing, production, and delivery of goods and services around the globe, helping customers respond to rapidly changing conditions like those we’re seeing in these pandemic-challenged times.

Mr. Creel is a leader within the Accenture Oracle Supply Chain Practice. He is a recognized subject matter expert for supply chain management business process and system design and frequently presents at industry and analyst events on subjects such as cloud supply chain systems. Mr.Creel was a co-founder and President of Inspirage, a leading supply chain consultancy that was acquired by Accenture. Prior to founding Inspirage, Kevin previously worked in supply chain product design for Oracle and has 20 years of manufacturing systems experience in high tech and semiconductor industries.

Craig Halterman joined Cohu in 2016 as Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Prior to Cohu, Craig was Chief Information Officer at Aerojet Rocketdyne and Chief Information Officer at Axcelis Technologies.  Craig also held multiple roles at Honeywell’s Defense & Space business, including Director of IT. Craig has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from Indiana Central University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.