| NAME | ORGANIZATION | |
|---|---|---|
| Bryan Bauw | ||
 No bio yet | ||
| Brent Ruth | ||
 No bio yet | ||
| Amanda Dotten | A Symphony Industrial AI Company | |
 Amanda Dotten recently relocated to beautiful Sarasota, Florida with her husband and two teenage sons. Amanda is excited as the new Senior Account Executive at Proceedix. Amanda is passionate about bringing technology to the frontline of the manufacturing industry. She is particularly focused on the prioritization and transition to each manufacturers Industry 4.0 Strategy. Proceedix is the opportunity to bridge technology with a company’s most important asset: Their People. Reducing risk, improving quality and upskilling their workforce, Proceedix is leading the way enabling the new digital workforce. Amanda’s career in manufacturing working began with Intertek, and grew into a Senior Management position driving sales throughout the Eastern United States. Prior to joining Proceedix, Amanda spent two years with Bright Machines, a startup in the software and automation space which pioneered the change in on-demand manufacturing. Amanda's passion has one core objective: To help manufacturers leverage technology to increase their brand value and ultimately make “making things” easier." | ||
| Chris Kuntz | Augmentir | |
 Chris is the VP of Strategic Operations at Augmentir, where he oversees the planning and execution of the company’s go-to-market strategy. Chris has over 20 years of experience in high tech solution delivery, marketing, business development, and consulting in the industrial software sector. Prior to Augmentir, Chris was the VP of Marketing at ThingWorx, the leading Industrial IoT (IIoT) platform company (acquired by PTC), where he managed the IoT marketing activities and partner programs. Previously, Chris held executive positions in marketing and business development at multiple successful software companies. Chris has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science from Binghamton University. | ||
| Stefan Plotz | Board Member & President | |
 No bio yet | ||
| Prashanth Sankaran | Bunn | |
 I am a technology professional who enjoys being in the middle of the IoT space. It is exciting for me to see the various innovative ways in which businesses have deployed IoT solutions and brought out significant value to their customers. IoT and its potential is what gets me excited about BUNN. My role as the leader of Digital Solutions is on all things digital and customer facing including our own IoT Solution “BUNNlink” for commercial beverage equipment. | ||
| Ben Davis | Cambria USA | |
 Ben joined Cambria as its EVP and Chief Digital Officer in June 2015. Since joining Cambria, Ben has overseen a transformation that has allowed Cambria to generate more and higher quality product at a lower cost. He has transformed Cambria’s digital capabilities into a customer-centric and scalable operation that uses automation and data to serve the company’s growth. Ben now serves as Cambria’s EVP of Information Technology, focusing his expertise on Cambria’s smart manufacturing, cloud computing and cybersecurity strategies. Ben’s career includes service as an Operations Executive for multiple “born in the cloud”, startup businesses and has delivered data and content systems to customers on six continents. He’s owned many facets of technology delivery to customers as part of his Operations experiences. Ben began his career working for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He holds a BS, Business Computer Information Systems from St. Cloud State University. | ||
| Aneesa Muthana | CNC Precision Manufacturing | |
 Aneesa Muthana is a hands-on leader with extensive experience in almost every aspect of a production machining environment. Aneesa attributes her success to building a team that embraces continuous improvement, diversity, and leading-edge technology. She’s won numerous awards including the Manufacturing Institute’s Award, 2019 NAWBO Woman Business Owner of The Year, Crain's 2019 and 2020 Notable Woman in Manufacturing, and SWE “Women Engineers You Should Know.” | ||
| Francisco Torres-Diaz | Cummis Inc. | |
 Francisco is an Industrial Engineer and operational excellence professional accomplished at developing, improving, and implementing manufacturing systems. Francisco is originally from Tampico, Mexico. He moved to the US in 2012 to attend college and then move to Indiana in 2017 to begin his career. He has 5 years of experience working with Cummins Inc. at their Fuel Systems Plant in Columbus, Indiana as part of their Operational Excellence and New Product Introduction teams. Francisco is experienced in product introduction, industry 4.0, project management, lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, manufacturing simulation, and facilities layout design. In 2021, Francisco became the site leader for the plant’s CoBot Rapid Deployment program, managing the deployment of more than 25 collaborative robot units and industrial mobile robots. He is now the Industry 4.0 leader for Fuel Systems Columbus and leads the largest CoBot program in Cummins worldwide. Francisco holds a BS and MSE in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. | ||
| Srikanth Hari | Ford | |
 No bio yet | ||
| Michael Starkey | Fuchs Lubricants | |
 No bio yet | ||
| Sam Nafziger | Gripple USA | |
 Sam is currently an IT Manager for Gripple Inc, Gripple UK’s American division for 2 years (been with Gripple for 4 years total). He implemented the “Visual Factory”, a series of data visualizations via Power BI hosted by Optisigns, on display in our newly built manufacturing space (certified in Microsoft Power BI data analysis and administration). Sam is also working with UK company Razor to implement versatile data and machine learning technologies in our manufacturing spaces/work alongside our automation machines, to capture data (to eventually be added to our “Visual Factory” series). He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a major in Economics from St. Louis University’s John Cook School of Business. | ||
| Carlos Gonzalez | IDC | |
 No bio yet | ||
| David Boulay | IMEC | |
 My leadership has developed from diverse settings that extend from a family-owned business, to manufacturing, universities and non-profits. These various experiences help guide our public-private partnership’s strategic direction to serve as a catalyst for small and mid-sized company competitiveness. I grew up in a family-owned business where I learned first-hand about the trial, challenges, and pride that I see in the owners and leaders of companies we work with today. I recognize their situations, understand their challenges and have the tools and knowledge to help accomplish their goals. I have also had the good fortune to work in various manufacturing roles from food plant sanitation to maintenance supervision to production, plant manager and business unit manager in companies such as Frito-Lay and Pillsbury.Through these experiences, I learned how company success is reliant on the skills and talents of its’ workforce. This has driven my passion in human resource development. My Ph.D. included a primary focus on high performance work practices in small and mid-sized companies and career pathways for workers.I bring a diverse blend of expertise in performance management, small business development, and organizational growth strategies to IMEC. I have helped create and implement several initiatives to increase the flow of state and federal funding to manufacturers for projects, update worker skills, and help smaller manufacturers adopt new technology and business practices and to improve energy efficiency. | ||
| Mike Ungar | Industry 4.0 Club | |
 Mike Ungar is a certified FocalPoint Business Coach and Executive Coach helping business leaders improve their profitability and achieve their personal and professional goals. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Mike spent nearly 5 years leading Infantry units in the United States Army. Following Mike’s service to our country, he joined Michelin North America. Over Mike’s 35-year career at Michelin, he held managerial roles in continuous improvement, manufacturing, training & development, and recruiting retiring from Michelin in May 2020. Mike also has an MBA from Clemson University. In addition to his work as a Business and Executive Coach, Mike is currently a Founder of the Industry 4.0 Club with the purpose to engage the power of diverse worldwide talent to accelerate the global evolution to Industry 4.0. He co-chairs the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee for the Greenville Society of Human Resource Management and is a member of the Workplace Advisory Council with the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. Mike is also a Board member for the Upstate Veterans Business Network. | ||
| Amaury Carrasco | Infor | |
No bio yet | ||
| Vinay Indraganti | Ingredion Incorporated | |
 No bio yet | ||
| Josh Blacksmith | Kimberly-Clark | |
 Josh Blacksmith serves as the senior director for global consumer relationships and engagement at Kimberly-Clark. Blacksmith, who has over 20 years of integrated marketing, digital transformation and brand-building experience, is a passionate proponent of leveraging the sophisticated activation of data, technology and creativity to help Kimberly-Clark’s iconic brands such as Kleenex®, Huggies®, Kotex® and Cottonelle® make the most of every consumer moment – deepening consumer relationships and delivering unparalleled growth. In his role, Blacksmith partners with the company’s global, regional and local marketing teams to build and scale best practices in digital execution while accelerating transformation and disruption throughout the organization’s omnichannel data-driven marketing efforts. As a result of Blacksmith’s leadership, the organization has built a zero and first-party data strategy that is helping ensure Kimberly-Clark begins to take control of its own consumer relationships. He has also introduced and scaled a new global, consumer-centric marketing model rooted in building cross-channel marketing plans that maximize the ROI of every consumer interaction. In addition, he has worked to introduce data science into the organization by uncovering behavioral and transactional data signals and demonstrating how to work with agility to drive growth by activating these signals and scaling wins through automation. Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Blacksmith was the senior vice president and general manager of customer relationship management (CRM) at FCB Chicago for nearly seven years. During that time, he provided strategic direction and oversight to the global CRM, MarTech and omnichannel direct marketing practice for an extensive client list that included Toyota, Lexus, Samsung, Allergan, State Farm, Clorox, PACCAR, Volkswagen and Anheuser-Busch. Prior to his work at FCB, Blacksmith spent more than 10 years at several marketing and advertising agencies, including MXM (acquired by Accenture Interactive) and Biggs-Gilmore (acquired by VMLY&R Commerce), leading global CRM, performance marketing and digital programs for Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, Fiat Chrysler and Walmart, among others. Blacksmith, who is referred to by many of his peers as a “marketing transformation maven,” regularly provides expert commentary on numerous marketing topics and represents Kimberly-Clark as a speaker at conferences and summits around the country, where he is known for his “innovative yet user-friendly” content, “authentic voice” and “powerful understanding of the consumer experience.” Blacksmith was honored as the ‘2021 Charles S Downs Response Marketer of the Year’ by the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing (CADM), was selected as a ‘2020 Consumer Goods Visionary’ by Consumer Goods Technology, was named a ‘Top 40 Under 40 Marketer’ by Direct Marketing News in 2014, and he was recognized by Marketing EDGE as a ‘Rising Stars Honoree’ in 2016. He serves as a board observer for Thinx, which is an apparel company that exists to create sustainable solutions to menstruation and incontinence. He is also the past chair of the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) ECHO Board of Governors. Blacksmith holds a Bachelor of Arts in advertising from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Iowa. | ||
| Josh Zeidman | KintaAI | |
 Josh is the VP of Business Development at Kinta AI where he leads sales, partnerships and implementations of Kinta's AI-powered scheduling platform. Josh is a chemical engineer by training and has broad leadership experiences in manufacturing in both software and consulting. | ||
| Michael Phillips | Lumen Technologies | |
 No bio yet | ||
| Praveen Moturu | Mars | |
 No bio yet | ||
| Sloan Zupan | Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. | |
No bio yet | ||
| Dr. Federico Sciammarella | MxD | |
 No bio yet | ||
| Sabina Jadda | Nestlé - Freshly | |
 Sabina currently leads training for manufacturing & operations in the West region at Freshly, owned by Nestle. This includes spearheading L&D initiatives for manufacturing plants, distribution centers, and all of their support roles. Previously, she was at Sprouts for nearly 7 years where she supported and led training for the Supply Chain teams and their distribution hubs nationwide. Sabina has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Arizona State University and has called sunny Phoenix home since 2005. | ||
| Amit Dingare | Novelis | |
 Amit is the Director of Data Science at Novelis leading a global team of Data Scientists spanning four continents. Amit has been with Novelis for past 3 years deriving business value in manufacturing operations through use of Advanced Analytical techniques. Before joining Novelis, Amit led Data Science portfolio in various industries including Healthcare, Digital Advertising, Retail and Consulting (pre-merger valuations) in a career spanning 12+ years. Amit holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and an MBA with a focus on Computational Finance from Cornell University. | ||
| Florian Bartholomaeus | Oculavis | |
 Florian is the President of oculavis. Prior to his current role in the U.S., Florian spent the last 3 years shaping oculavis product in different software development and product management positions. | ||
| Renee Eddy | Rinnai America Corporation | |
 Renee Eddy’s background is developing embedded control systems and equipment for global markets. She began her career in the defense industry with the F22 Raptor. This opportunity led to a passion for transforming data and technologies into cool, new products. Carrying that with her as she moved into the HVAC and Refrigeration industry with United Technologies – Carrier, Piping with Victaulic, Energy with Eaton, and now with Rinnai as the VP of Innovation she has become known as a strategic leader who delivers on commitments while transforming global teams to meet evolving business and technology needs. | ||
| Mike Lackey | SAP | |
 Mike Lackey joined SAP in 2008 through the acquisition of Visiprise and is the Global Head of Solution Management, Digital Manufacturing. With previous roles at Visiprise, NetVendor and Teradyne Manufacturing Software Group, Mr. Lackey has a unique set of knowledge that covers both manufacturing software and design collaboration along with over 30 years of experience in the manufacturing sector. Early in his career, he started as a manufacturing engineer with DCA/Attachmate, which provided him with invaluable first-hand knowledge and understanding of how SAP customers can use SAP’s Digital Manufacturing Solution Portfolio to improve their global operations. Mr. Lackey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and an MA in Business Administration from Mercer University with dual concentrations in International Business and Marketin | ||
| Dion Eusepi | Stanley Black & Decker | |
 Dion Eusepi is an insightful technologist, thought leader, and pragmatic innovator in connected device and API ecosystem enablement, cloud native application platforms, and edge device integration architectures. His work in the connected ecosystem space spans multiple vertical industries including retail, healthcare, finance, communications, media, entertainment, and automotive. His contributions in the connected vehicle-connected consumer space include large enterprise players like General Motors and Ford Motor Company with a focus on developing game-changing digital products and platforms with cloud native architecture that integrate broad and deep API ecosystems, continuous deployment models, AI, and IOT technologies to create a holistically integrated consumer and partner experience. | ||
| Robert Joseph | Team Mindshift | |
 No bio yet | ||
| Jake Hall | The Manufacturing Millennial | |
 Jake Hall known as the Manufacturing Millennial is an advocate manufacturing, automation, digital transformation, and skilled trades by helping revolutionize the way people and companies present through social media. With over 10,000,000+ views on his content, he ignites conversations about the latest in manufacturing and automation to excite the current and future workforce on the impact this industry has. | ||
| Andy Anderson | Toptal | |
 Andy leads Toptal’s team focused on helping Industrial Products & Services companies execute on ambitious digital transformation projects by leveraging the power of agile Talent. We partner Toptal with some of the largest manufacturing, aerospace & defense, transportation & logistics, and energy & utility companies - including the Fortune 50. Prior to joining Toptal, Andy was a consulting manager at a Big 4 consultancy leading engagements to help clients navigate substantial organizational change initiatives. | ||
