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Bruce Ainsworth is VP Automation Innovation for Georgia-Pacific (approx. 30,000 employees and 150 locations). He graduated Texas A&M-Kingsville with a BS in Chemical Engineering and has been with Koch Industries, GP’s parent company, since 2005. Bruce has vast experience in oil & gas, pulp & paper, automation, and is recognized for his leadership skills in process innovation, operational effectiveness, workplace safety and environmental stewardship. He is the champion for utilizing technology to enhance workforce effectiveness in an Industry X.0 world.

Jane Arnold is the head of Global Process Control Technology at Covestro. In her role, she is responsible for all digitalization in manufacturing at over 30 production sites globally. Jane has spent her nearly 30-year career bringing the value of control, automation, and digitalization to the forefront of chemical production.

Mary Claire McLaughlin is the Digital Capabilities Lab Manager at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS). She was born in Norfolk and raised in Hampton Roads. McLaughlin earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Old Dominion University in 2010.

In 2011, McLaughlin joined NNS and worked in submarine engineering as the lead of the external hydraulic system on the Columbia Class Submarine Program. Early in her career, Mary Claire recognized the potential of Augmented Reality (AR) to empower the industrial workforce and knew that she wanted to be a part of integrating this important technology into the shipbuilding industry. McLaughlin joined the AR Team at NNS in 2014 after many years of following the development of the technology. In 2017 she became the AR Project Supervisor leading an experienced team of AR experts that develop and deploy innovative industrial AR solutions to the shipyard, the Navy, and commercial clients. In 2018, McLaughlin and her team took on the responsibility of conducting research and rapid prototypes across multiple strategic technologies forming Newport News Shipbuilding’s Digital Capability Lab. In 2019, the Lab’s area of responsibility grew to include the NNS Mobile Center of Excellence. McLaughlin and her team are focused on creating advanced technology solutions to drive the digital transformation at Newport News Shipbuilding.

Jon Crane is a senior executive at Shell, currently based in Houston. His current role is to deliver the Digital Transformation of the Shell Wells organization through a combination of cloud data storage, robotic process automation and use of AI. He has held international roles in Wells Management, Development Planning and Technology. Jon previously lead Shell’s WellVantage work, the Well delivery team on Norway’s giant Ormen Lange Field, the development program for the Draugen CO2 storage and capture project, and the Bonga SW Deepwater development.

Claire Dobbertin is the Manager for Integrated Engineering Systems and has been at Swagelok for 7 years. She started in project engineering for chemical processing facilities and has since worked in Marketing as an analyst and leadership roles for Assembly Operations and Technical Service. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Miami University. She leads the Industry 4.0 program strategy and activities and has been a change ambassador for operations and engineering technology, including their required equipment, data, connectivity, and staffing. Claire spends her time outside of work with her husband and son in Reminderville, Ohio where they enjoy hiking, kayaking and gardening.

Nick Drucker is the Manager of Enterprise Architecture and Strategy at Newport News Shipbuilding. In this role, Mr. Drucker leads Enterprise Architecture for NNS, aligning current technical capabilities against business needs and establishing strategic plans for the adoption of innovative solutions to meet NNS’ future goals. Prior to taking on this role, Mr. Drucker managed the Data Analytics and Advanced Technology team which was responsible for delivering products and services as well as the long-term technology strategy for NNS’ analytics, IoT, and Cloud capabilities.

Drucker has also held roles at NNS as a Product Manager, identifying new application areas for NNS M&S capabilities in the federal energy market space and providing strategic guidance to NNS product teams as well as a Modeling and Simulation Analyst, leading project teams during the creation and utilization of modeling and simulation applications for multiple shipyard operations. Before joining NNS, Drucker held multiple leadership roles for a small modeling and simulation company in Portsmouth, VA. Drucker possesses a Master’s Degree from Old Dominion University in International Studies with a concentration and certification in Modeling and Simulation as well as a Bachelor’s Degree from Christopher Newport University in Political Science with a minor in Psychology.

Tyrone Ellis serves as Enterprise Director of Global Engineering Excellence for Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator. He joined the company (Formerly Ingersoll Rand) in 2012. In this role for the past two years, Tyrone is responsible for developing and leading the deployment of operational excellence initiatives in the business operating system for key Engineering driven processes such as new product development across the corporation. Before this role, Tyrone held two leadership positions as VP of Integrated Supply Chain and VP of Quality in one of the company’s strategic business units, winning the coveted Chairman’s Award as global leader of the year in 2016 for driving transformation in quality and customer performance.

Tyrone earned a BS degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University and an Executive MBA from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. He holds professional certifications from SME, ASQ, PMI, and APICS.

Brian Fields is Vice President of Business Transformation and Chief Transformation Officer for Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Named to this position in 2019, Fields is responsible for transforming all aspects of the business to be more agile and efficient with a special focus on people, technology and culture. He leads the company’s digital shipbuilding program, is responsible for the pace of transformation execution efforts across the business, and has oversight of all information systems at NNS and the HII Corporate Office.

Fields began his shipbuilding career as an engineer in the Los Angeles-class submarine program. Since then, he has served in positions of increasing responsibility including several engineering leadership roles and director of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier construction program, where he was responsible for managing ship design, manufacturing and construction efforts. In 2011, he was promoted to vice president of Supply Chain Management. In 2015, he assumed responsibility as vice president of Integrated Planning and Production Control and was responsible for all direct planning, supply chain planning and production control functions across the organization. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and a master's degree in business administration from the College of William and Mary.

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Chris Gilbert is a senior vice president for the NAFTA division of Evonik’s Process Technology & Engineering located in Mobile, AL. In this role, Chris leads his team in the designing, engineering, building and optimizing needs for more than thirty Evonik plant sites.

Twenty years ago, Chris started his career in his current department, before moving to a series of progressive production roles at the Mobile site from plant engineer, assistant superintendent to superintendent. He then moved to Shanghai as Operations Director to lead a group of seven newly built plants and later moved to Germany, as the Production & Technology vice president for the Oil Additives Business Line, where he led global manufacturing for six plants in Asia, Europe and NAFTA. His experience covers world scale commodity and specialty chemicals, both in batch and continuous production. In July 2019, Chris started his current role, leading the NAFTA Process Technology & Engineering Department. In addition to the normal management of Capex projects, the group supports the region in the development and application of artificial intelligence for a variety of functions.

Chris obtained his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and his PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Chris is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Alabama.

Peter Herweck leads Schneider Electric’s global Industrial Automation Business and has served on the company’s Executive Committee since 2016. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the AVEVA Group.

Peter has over 30 years of expertise in the areas of automation, digitization, and industrial software. He is a global executive with senior management experience in Germany, China, the US, and Japan. Prior to Schneider Electric, Peter began his career at Mitsubishi and later joined Siemens where he held several executive positions in factory and process automation and led corporate strategy as Chief Strategy Officer.

Peter holds an MBA degree from the Wake Forest University School of Business, and engineering degrees from Metz University and Saarland University. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Mark Holden is Vice President of Operational Excellence at Indorama Ventures PLC. He has held various leadership roles within the company for more than 15 years. Mark’s background includes roles in process engineering. He holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Clemson University.

Anthony (Tony) Huffman has over 15 years of operations leadership experience in the electronic solutions, life sciences, and aerospace industries. He has expertise in a range of digital transformation technologies and is a recognized expert in strategy deployment, quality systems, risk management, and EBITDA driven operational excellence. Tony has worked closely with operations leaders across 20 countries, establishing capabilities founded on Koch Industries, Market Based Management®, Danaher Business System, and Toyota Production System. Tony has led hundreds of operational excellence and strategy development events all over the world, including leading c-suite level members. Tony is driven to build and grow organizations, markets, and margins. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Iowa State University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Northern Illinois University. In addition, he is certified in Operational Excellence, Six Sigma, and Leadership. Tony sits on the Board Advisory Team for the University of Illinois at Chicago; Supply Chain and Logistics Center, and Enterprise Digitalization; Digital Transformation for Manufacturing.

Brad Keywell is a lifelong entrepreneur and co-founder of seven technology companies, a cultural curator of innovation platforms, and a philanthropist. He is the Founder and CEO of Uptake Technologies, an industrial intelligence software provider that uses data analytics and machine learning to improve productivity and reliability for industrial companies around the world. Uptake was named “Startup of the Year” in 2015 by Forbes, recognized for three consecutive years as a CNBC Disruptor and a Forbes Cloud 100 company (2019, 2018, 2017), and a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.

Brad is the 2019 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™. Brad is a founding investor in Tempus, and co-founder of Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN), Echo Global Logistics (NASDAQ:ECHO), MediaOcean, Drivin (acquired by NYSE:KAR), and the venture capital firm Lightbank. He is on the Board of Trustees of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR).

He is the founder and Chairman of Chicago Ideas, which has grown into one of the largest innovation and ideas gatherings in the world. He is the Chairman of Future Founders Foundation, providing entrepreneurial education to inner-city students in the Chicagoland area. Brad is an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He earned a J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School and a BBA from the University of Michigan School of Business. Brad and his wife, Kim, signed The Giving Pledge in 2016.

Mike Livermore is the Senior IT Manager for the manufacturing and sourcing business platforms. He joined Swagelok in September 2019, bringing a wealth of knowledge from over 30 years of experience in manufacturing and supply chain IT. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology from Cleveland State University. Mike is a change ambassador for an Agile approach to Industry 4.0 initiatives and provides critical IT leadership advocacy and guidance on leverage of current systems capabilities as well as future state requirements. Mike lives with his wife in Brecksville, OH and enjoys cycling and being a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

Rob Miller is the Director of Manufacturing Strategies and Continuous Improvement at Swagelok. He has been with the organization for 12 years, serving various roles in Operations, Engineering, Planning, Raw Materials and Sourcing. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from St. Louis University and a Master’s in Business from Cleveland State University. He is considered the Process Champion for manufacturing end-to-end business processes providing key direction on initiatives and change management requirements for the Industry 4.0 Strategy at Swagelok and aligns advanced manufacturing opportunities with business conditions. Outside of work, Rob is a board member of the Hunger Network of Cleveland. He enjoys his free time with his wife and 2 children and is from Beachwood, Ohio.

Luc Moors is the Manufacturing Operations Technology Transformation Lead at Cargill. He is responsible for the company’s IT business applications globally and has served in various IT-related leadership roles there for more than 10 years.

Chris Nardecchia is senior vice president, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Rockwell Automation. Chris is responsible for strategic vision, operational excellence and change leadership for the development and implementation of information technology initiatives and architecture across our company. Chris drives our corporate information technology strategy and internal transformation, creating digital solutions that enhance our Rockwell Automation capabilities internally and externally.

Chris began his career at Rockwell Automation in 2017. Prior to joining the company, Chris was vice president and CIO, Global Operations and Supply Chain, at Amgen, Inc. He also held leadership roles at Pfizer and Warner Lambert, which was acquired by Pfizer. At these companies he led IT-enabled business and digital strategy and accelerated growth through technology and data analytics. He drove business innovations that improved profitability, globalization, restructuring and mergers. He has an extensive background with portfolio management, engineering, operations, mergers and acquisitions, IT risk management, analytics and using technology to drive business insights. He was also the Rockwell Automation executive sponsor at Amgen. Earlier in his career, Chris also held process, and production engineering roles in the pharmaceutical, chemical and nuclear industries.

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from State University of New York at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, and an MBA from Michigan State in East Lansing, Michigan.

David Roberts is the Vice President, Environment, Health and Safety of The Heico Companies. He has more than 30 years of experience in the EHS discipline and has experience in a variety of industries, including: Aviation, Appliances, Silicones, Locomotive, Metals Processing, Construction, and Equipment Manufacturing. In addition to his vast experience, David holds a Six Sigma Black Belt and is Lead Training Certified.

Adam has spent the last 11 years designing, developing, and deploying Lean-based solutions across various manufacturing functions (operations, quality, engineering, procurement). In his current role, Adam and his team are responsible for worldwide QMS development and deployment within Trane Technologies; Adam serving as the primary architect of Trane Technologies’ QMS solutions.

Denise Sherrod is the Chief of Automation for Occidental Petroleum responsible for Oxy’s corporate strategic vision for automation. She has been with Oxy for over 20 years and has about 30 years of experience in the upstream oil and gas industry. She has spent most of her career developing, implementing, and managing field automation systems. She holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas Permian Basin and is currently working on a Master’s of Engineering degree from Texas A&M.

Ross Story is the Group Supply Chain Director at Unilever. He has been with the company for more than 20 years, holding a variety of supply chain and quality-related leadership positions.

Patti Swope is Senior Director, Health, Safety, Medical & Analytics at Raytheon Technologies where she leads RTX’s Corporate EH&S team and directs all efforts to ensure employee safety and health. In this capacity, Patti is responsible for the health, safety and medical programs and practices that drive the corporate health and safety strategy. In addition she has overall responsibility for the EH&S Data Management System and analytics, RTX global medical policies, Worker’s Compensation, and EHS training for employees and contractors.

Prior to moving to UTCHQ (Now RTX) in September, 2016, Patti held the role of EH&S Manager at United Technologies Research Center (UTRC). In this capacity she led UTRC’s EH&S team and directed all efforts to ensure employee safety and health. Previous work experience also includes Senior Project Director, WSP Environment & Energy, Inc., Madison, CT; Principal Engineer/Consultant and founder of Practical Safety Solutions, Old Lyme, CT; Senior Process Engineer, Pfizer Pharmaceutical, Groton, CT; Marketing Manager, McGraw Hill, Monterey, CA; and Financial Planning Manager, USPA & IRA Financial Serivces, Monterey, CA.

Patti holds an M.S. in occupational safety and health management from the University of New Haven; an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from Golden Gate University; a B.S. in civil engineering from Tulane University, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Information Management from Steven’s Institute of Technology. In addition, she is a board certified safety professional, certified worker’s compensation professional and certified process safety auditor. Patti has over 25 years’ experience in the health and safety profession.

Trever White is a Group Manager & Divisional Information Officer with responsibility for all North America Manufacturing Application Experiences supporting Production Engineering & Manufacturing. He is the IT Executive lead for the Advanced IT for Manufacturing / IIoT – Industry 4.0 program.

Trever has been with Toyota for 21 years and has worked in the Information Technology field for 23 years. He worked for IBM as a Systems Engineer before moving to Toyota in 1999. 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. After this, he was responsible for North America Regional Site Operations then Manufacturing Systems and later became the General Manager of Automotive Business Systems where he also assumed responsibility for R&D and the North American Parts Supply Chain Systems.

Trever graduated from University of Kentucky with a Bachelors in Decision Science & Information Systems. He has served as Vice Chair and is currently on the Board of Directors for MESA International and has been a speaker at the Industry Week Best Plants Conference, Center for Automotive (CAR) conference, Connected Manufacturing, IoT World, and other Industry leading forums. He has been recognized with awards by CIO 100 & Smart Industry Top 50 Innovators.

Saip Eren Yılmaz is Director of Industry 4.0 Innovation at Stanley Black & Decker. Prior to joining SBD, Eren took various leadership roles in management consulting, home appliances, aerospace and automotive industries with a focus on R&D effectiveness, innovation, digital transformation and technology. Eren received various awards in innovation and advanced analytics and completed a successful turnaround as a COO. Eren earned his MBA in Technology Management and has a BSc degree in Industrial Engineering. He is an active CSSBB, CMA, PMP, and serves on the advisory council of IISE.

PETER BUSSEY is a Research Analyst with LNS Research; he focuses primarily on environment, health and safety (EHS), the connected worker, integrated risk management, and sustainability in the industrial sector. Mr. Bussey has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing, consulting and technology to support EHS management, R&D, asset management, risk management, product lifecycle management (PLM), enterprise asset management (EAM), and supply chain. He has held key positions at global companies such as SAP, Alcoa, Michael Baker Corporation, Arthur D. Little and Oracle. Mr. Bussey earned a Masters of Science in Environmental Health from Harvard University, a Masters of Public Management with distinction from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in natural sciences with departmental honors from Johns Hopkins University.

TOM COMSTOCK is a Principal Analyst with LNS Research. In this role he conducts research on a broad range of topics including Industrial Transformation Readiness, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and manufacturing operations management (MOM), with collaborative coverage across and asset performance management (APM), industrial analytics, and the factory of the future. Prior to LNS, Tom was the Executive Vice President Marketing, Product and Strategy at Apriso Corporation, where he redefined the company’s strategy, product roadmap, and positioning to capture market leadership, all with a strong ROI focus. Tom has more than 35 years of experience in industrial and manufacturing software, marketing and product management with proven results in building executable strategies to grow revenues and profits. His other roles have included CMO at Edison Energy, VP Global Marketing at Schneider Electric, Vice President of Strategy and Digital Production Marketing with DELMIA, a division of Dassault Systèmes, VP Product Marketing at Brooks Automation, VP Marketing at Sequencia Corporation and Palette Systems, and Director of Product Marketing at Consolidated Micrographics. Tom holds an MBA from Pepperdine University and earned a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley.

ANDREW HUGHES is a Principal Analyst with LNS Research, where he leads the Factory of the Future coverage area. He primarily focuses on industrial operations and manufacturing operations management, with collaborative coverage across the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), industrial analytics, the Digital Twin, product lifecycle management, discrete manufacturing, and other industry verticals served by LNS Research. Andrew has more than 30 years’ experience in manufacturing IT, software research, sales, and management across a broad spectrum of manufacturing industries. Andrew has led teams and initiatives across prominent companies like Aspen Technology, Philips Electronics, Honeywell and GEC Marconi. Hughes holds a BSc honours degree in Computer Science from York University.

MATTHEW (MATT) LITTLEFIELD is co-founder and President of LNS Research; in this role, he leads the organization as it fulfills its mission of driving industrial transformation. He is also a principal analyst and contributes to research across the breadth of topics covered by the firm. Littlefield is a recognized industry expert, and an active speaker and contributing author across the breadth of industry publications, associations, and events. His passion, however, is advising manufacturing executives on Industrial Transformation and Operational Excellence. Prior to LNS, Matthew spent five years with Aberdeen Group leading its global manufacturing research practice. During that time, he authored hundreds of thought leadership reports and frequently spoke at industry events. Earlier in his career, he worked for several global manufacturing organizations in engineering and shop floor management roles. Littlefield graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a BA in Economics and an MS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research.

JOE PERINO is a Research Analyst with LNS Research; where he focuses primarily on Industrial Transformation and operational excellence for oil and gas, process manufacturing and other asset-intensive industries. He also provides collaborative coverage across the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Big Data, Cloud, advanced analytics, Edge computing, the Digital Twin, robotic process automation, blockchain, and asset performance management. Perino started his career as a process engineer in the refining, chemicals, and pipeline sectors, and then spent several years in sales and business development with process automation and technology suppliers before moving into product and industry marketing, strategy, corporate development, M&A and management consulting. He has worked for operating companies (Phillips Petroleum, Diamond Shamrock, Northern Natural Gas) as well as automation and software firms (Emerson Process, Honeywell Process Solutions and i2/JDA) and services firms (IBM, Schlumberger, Logica/ CGI and CSC/DXC). Throughout his career he has helped process manufacturing companies with strategy development, digital transformation initiatives, and market development. Before joining LNS, Perino was the President and CEO of PERTEX Management and Technology Consulting, a company he founded to help industrial organizations drive business results. Joe is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the Professional Petroleum Data Management Association (PPDM), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and the International Society of Automation (ISA). Mr. Perino holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and has completed executive education programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and Harvard Business School.

MEHUL SHAH is a Senior Associate with LNS Research, advising industrial executives in their Operational Excellence and Industrial Transformation initiatives. In this role, he guides program members as they benchmark capabilities maturity, strive for operational and enterprise performance, and competitive advantage. He is instrumental in the work LNS Research conducts with clients as they develop and refine the organizational culture, operational architecture, and processes necessary for true and beneficial Industrial Transformation. Prior to LNS Research, Mehul was a research analyst with Aberdeen Group, with a focus on the operational and financial objectives of industrial executives. Shah holds an engineering degree from the University of Mumbai, and earned an MBA in finance and international management from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Experienced Account Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. Skilled in attracting new business, Client Retention, Client Relationships Building, Customer Service, and Sales. Strong sales professional with a Bachelor's Degree focused in Economics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Rob Clark is a Senior Sales Director at LNS Research. He has almost a decade of experience working with IT and business executives in the research and advisory world. He is passionate about helping develop the appropriate solution to overcome the challenges facing his clients. A U.S. Army veteran, before joining LNS Research, Rob also worked at other research and advisory firms such as Forrester, Gartner, and Technology Business Research.

Currently, Rob works with LNS Research’s vendor and industrial manufacturing clients. He is responsible for working with business and IT leaders to help them with their digital transformation journey, as well as helping vendors to be successful with their go-to-market framework.

Outside of work, Rob enjoys spending time with his kids, antiquing, traveling, watching football, and college hockey. He graduated from Boston College with a degree in Marketing and Babson College with an MBA.

VIVEK MURUGESAN is a Research Associate with LNS Research; where he conducts market data analysis, creates data models, and contributes to research reports that span the breadth of LNS coverage areas including Industrial Transformation and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), along with factory of the future, industrial analytics, Manufacturing Operations Management, quality and compliance, connected worker, and Environment Health and Safety. Vivek holds a Masters of Science degree in industrial engineering from Northeastern University and earned a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in mechanical engineering from Anna University in Chennai, India. Prior to LNS, Vivek worked with ARRIS where he focused on supply chain analysis, and co-founded Namma Café, a social and collaborative learning environment for young professionals.

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