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Speakers
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Featured Speakers
Andrew Bielat, President and CEO, EIS Analytics
Founder, President and CEO of EIS Analytics, Andrew is a nationally recognized expert in business performance and leadership. Andrew’s background is in corporate America as a fast-track leader at Frito-Lay, an organizational performance expert in the U.S. commercial nuclear power industry, and a manufacturing executive in the steel industry, followed by a decade as an executive coach and performance advisor to hundreds of business executives. This background uniquely enabled him to develop the “Prescriptive Analytics” EIS now provides. Having seen the best companies in the world struggle with decision making because of inadequate information and semi-automated analytics, Andrew and his partners combined the best of Business Intelligence and business practices to create profound advantages for their clients (GPS for the business).
Jose Bravo, Chief Scientist, Shell Global Solutions Inc.
Jose Bravo is a world-renowned expert in separation technology, and his work has been extensively recognised by various professional organizations.
Jose gained a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, and Graduate degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He moved through various technical and commercial roles, building up extensive industrial and academic networks as an independent consultant before joining Shell Oil in 1995.
Jose is a Member of Executive Committee of Fractionation Research Inc in the US and has published more than 60 technical papers, several patents and two books in the Distillation area.
Jose was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and is Shell's Chief Scientist in the area of Physical Separations. His role includes leadership of the global Physical Separations discipline in Shell (group-wide) as well as direct consultancy in separation matters to initiatives such as Novel Crude Upgrading, Unconventional Resources, Bio Fuels, CO2, and other technology platforms. Another dimension of his role includes coordination of Shell's Chief Scientist Team.
Lisa Cadenhead, Global Supply Chain Director at the The Dow Chemical Company
Lisa Cadenhead is a Global Supply Chain Director at the The Dow Chemical Company. Twenty-one years with Dow she has worked in various businesses within Dow including Global Chlorinated Organic business, Environmental Operations business and Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol business, and in various functions including Purchasing, Manufacturing, EH&S, Six Sigma and Supply Chain. She holds a bachelor of science in Technical Management from Oklahoma City University, and is a certified Six Sigma black belt in both MAIC and DFSS methodologies. She has been an active member of the Women’s Innovation Network (WIN) since 1996.
Lisa is married to Chuck Cadenhead and they have 3 children, Annie 17, Brooks 10 and Cade 9. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, church and family activities such as watching her children compete in youth rodeos.
Charles Childers, IT Director, Metrolina Greehouses
Charles Childers is the Director of Information Technology for Metrolina Greenhouses, Inc., the largest single sight greenhouse facility in the United States. He has been in the IT field for 16 years. Since he started at Metrolina in the spring of 2006, he has overseen, designed, and implemented multiple projects to automate and streamline business processes throughout the enterprise, in many areas, but not limited to warehouse automation, production, planning and forecasting systems, inventory control programs, RFID, asset management, maintainence programs, Wi-Fi, and a trunking radio communication system. Charles and Metrolina Greenhouses were recently honored with the 2008 Sage Customer Award for Best Use of Customizations utilizing MAS 500 ERP at the Sage Summit in Denver, CO in November.
Born and raised in North Carolina, Charles lives with his wife of 12 years and two children in Troutman, NC. He holds a Bachelors degree in Business from Montreat College. He also serves on the advisory board at ECPI College of Technology for IT curriculum. Charles served in the United States Marine Corp and is a current member of the American Legion and a member of the NRA.
Thomas L. Dadmun, Vice President, Program Management Office, ADTRAN
Tom has recently taken on the role of Vice President, Program Management Office at Adtran architecting enterprise wide systems, processes and solutions for the company. Prior to this Tom was the Vice President of Supply Chain Operations for Adtran and was responsible for end to end supply chain functions including demand supply planning, all forecasting processes, masterscheduling, production control, procurement of raw material and related purchases, outsource manufacturing, distribution, order fulfillment, transportation and logistics, and shipping and receiving. Also, the development and redesign of Adtran’s supply chain architecture, coordinated with IT functions, falls under his responsibility.
Background:
Tom has held various senior positions in Materials, Operations, Manufacturing and Finance at Compaq Computer Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, Control Logic Inc. and RCA in the following roles: Director Supply Chain Operations, Director World Wide Module Manufacturing, Director of Strategic Alliances, Plant Manager Module Manufacturing, Plant Manager Field Service Manufacturing and Repair, Group Controller America’s Manufacturing, Group Controller Puerto Rico Manufacturing. Tom is a frequent speaker on Supply Chain Management at APIC’s, CSCMP, IBF, Institute of Supply Management and various Supply Chain Forums.
Eric W. Golden, President and CEO of Equipois Inc.
Eric is the President and CEO of Equipois Inc., manufacturer of the patented zeroG® technology that allows tools, parts or equipment to be maneuvered as if weightless, but with full range of motion. Equipois’s products are designed to support a range of manufacturing, heavy industrial, bioresearch, medical and other applications in order to reduce workplace injuries and associated costs while increasing productivity. Previously, Eric founded Imagility Inc., a venture dedicated to acquiring innovative technologies in the entertainment industry. He served as CEO of Imagility and two of its operating companies: Luminys Systems Corp., which manufactures the Lightning Strikes® and SoftSun® lines of high-intensity lighting; and Actua Systems Inc., which manufactures a unique lift system for live entertainment, military and security applications
Before these ventures, Eric was the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Panavision Inc.; Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Washington Redskins; and Vice President and Special Counsel to the Chairman for MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc. He received a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and a B.A. magna cum laude from Brown University.
Brad Heath, President, VirTex Assembly Services, Inc. (PM Winner)
Brad Heath is the CEO and founder of the national recognized VirTex Assembly Services, Inc., an Austin, TX provider of quality electronics contract manufacturing services to the Texas market. Heath started VirTex in 2000 after spending several years with Technology Manufacturing & Design as its vice president for engineering and sales. In the years since, VirTex has been selected by Deloitte in 2006 as one of the top 50 fastest growing technology companies in Texas and has been in Inc. Magazine’s annual ranking of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the country for the last two consecutive years. Heath was recently recognized by Managing Automation for its lead-free manufacturing initiative. Heath is a graduate of the University of South Florida
Paul Hoy, Global Industry Director, Industrials, IBM
Paul A. Hoy, Manufacturing Industry Director at IBM Cognos, is responsible for leading Cognos’ growth in the manufacturing industry. He is responsible for identifying target markets, aligning products with those markets, and driving revenue to meet corporate goals.
With over 20 years experience helping manufacturers tackle business and technology issues, Paul’s understanding of supplier relationship management, materials handling, inventory management, production, and demand and fulfillment challenges enable him to assist IBM Cognos customers to realize the efficiencies and returns IBM Cognos solutions deliver. He has senior management experience with a number of application software vendors, and has held materials management positions in industry. His experience includes the areas of ERP, supply chain management, and labor management solutions. His roles include senior sales, support, marketing, and product management positions.
Prior to joining IBM Cognos, Paul was a Vice President at Kronos, Inc. where was responsible for Kronos’ $100 million manufacturing industry division. Paul also held the position of Vice President of Product Management at Pivotpoint, Inc. a start-up organization that launched one of the first client/server ERP product offerings for the midrange manufacturing market.
Paul is a frequent speaker on manufacturing industry topics. He holds a BA degree from The College of The Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.
Donna Lasher, Vice President, OKAY Industries
Donna Lasher has been the Vice President at OKAY Industries since 1984 where she has helped create electronic solutions for company management, specifically for the plant operations, where none were readily available. As an active member of her local community, Lasher has served on many Boards of Directors including YWCA, United Way and the Boys & Girls Club of New Britain, among others. Lasher is a graduate of Southern Connecticut University.
Morris M. Lenczicki, Vice President, ISIS North America Project Manager, L'Oréal
Morris M. Lenczicki is Vice President, ISIS North America Project Manager at L'Oréal. Morris has over 20 years experience in management, first as a Controller, then in supply Chain, then in IT development and deployments; and, now, as Project Manager in Operations for the North American implementation of SAP & Systems for L'Oreal.
Morris has worked extensively in Consumer Products companies with a continued diversification in multiple support departments. Morris has had experiences in USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and overseas. Over his career, Morris has been able to define functional specifications, perform unit & volume testing, develop training programs &materials, manage multi site deployments, and determine the IS structure strategy for an International Corporation.
Maha Muzumdar, Vice President, Supply Chain Marketing, Oracle
Maha Muzumdar is Vice President, Supply Chain Marketing at Oracle, where he helps formulate, define and drive the market strategy for Oracle's supply chain applications, including go-to-market planning and thought leadership campaigns. Prior to joining Oracle, Mr. Muzumdar was Vice President Supply Chain at Aspen Technology, where he had overall responsibility for supply chain applications marketing. Mr. Muzumdar also held senior positions with the management consulting practices of PricewaterhouseCoopers (IBM) and Ernst & Young (CGEY). In these roles, he was involved in global, multi-million dollar engagements covering complex implementations in supply chain, reengineering, process improvement and ERP in the consumer and industrial products industry. Mr. Muzumdar holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Ph.D. in Business Administration and is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and Kent State University. He actively develops and promotes Oracle's relationship with leading industry associations and academic institutions including APICS, the Supply Chain Council, Stanford University and the Stanford Supply Chain Forum.
Jean-Sébastien Pelletier, Responsable amélioration continue, secteur bois de construction, Maibec Inc.
A graduate of the University of Laval’s Forestry Engineering program, Mr. Jean-Sébastien Pelletier started his career in the province of New Brunswick as a mill supervisor for primary transformation of softwood lumber. In 1999, Mr. Pelletier was recruited by Maibec Inc. for a position as a procedural engineer. Even this early in his career it was clear that he had great analytical skills and was able to find new procedures increasing efficiency and overall performance within the softwood lumber complex at Maibec. These skills and the successes gained from them propelled Mr. Pelletier into new roles and responsibilities within the company. His work to maximize the value of the raw material as well as the implementation of the most recent technologically advanced equipment brought Mr. Pelletier to the role of Project Leader. From this point a focus on the diversity of the products offered within the softwood division lead to the title of Quality Control Supervisor. Mr. Pelletier then became Responsible for Continual Improvement and in this role conceived and developed starting in 2006 the “Consolidate plant floor manufacturing data to improve execution performance” Project. While leading this project Mr. Pelletier is also responsible for the strategic planning and management for the operations part of the Softwood Lumber Division at Maibec.
Dave Pierson, Senior Design Engineer, MAGNET
David is a Senior Design Engineer with the Manufacturing Growth Network (MAGNET), a nonprofit organization based in Cleveland, Ohio. His extensive experience in the use of GoldFire Innovator, Pro Engineering, and STRATA Sys’ rapid prototyping equipment, and his own creative abilities have contributed to his attaining the status of Lead Innovator for MAGNET. As Lead Innovator David has been responsible for a wide range of projects. Some of those are the: Development/Design and installation of production equipment for Mr. Coffee, Design of the Accessmount recessed light fixture, Reverse engineering of vintage Porsche parts and Streamlining of the manufacturing process for a Cleveland Clinic heart assist pump.
Presently, David is deeply involved in the approaching product launch of American Innovative Products SiphonFlush™. His expertise with TRIZ was key to his success in the design and development of a flapper less toilet flushing mechanism. Because of David’s creative approach to the design and engineering solution for SiphonFlush™ it has been recognized as a Level Five Innovation. In addition to its fail proof flapper less Mechanism it has the further advantage of reducing water usage, thereby conserving a valuable resource. When one considers the number of toilets in daily use the reduction in water usage will be significant. SiphonFlush™ is currently awaiting EPA Water Smart certification.
John Sedgwick, Co-Founder and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Solaicx
John Sedgwick is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Solaicx, a leading manufacturer of mono-crystalline silicon ingots and wafers optimized for solar applications. Mr. Sedgwick played a key role in growing the company from inception to a major player in the solar manufacturing space with a high throughput manufacturing facility in Portland, Oregon. With over twenty years in the technology start-up arena, Mr. Sedgwick has an established reputation in marketing, sales management, and business development.
Prior to joining Solaicx, Mr. Sedgwick co-founded and served as a general partner of Virtual Founders, LLC and Virtual Founders Funds, which mentored and provided seed investment capital to start-up companies, including semiconductor and capital equipment providers. Mr. Sedgwick served as the VP of Sales for Multipoint Networks Inc. a pioneer in wireless data transmission that was acquired by Interwave Wireless Inc, where he established OEM and international distribution networks, offshore manufacturing agreements, and secured venture capital financing. He founded and become President of Kb/Tel International, and lead the development of advanced multi-protocol RF systems at California Microwave.
Mr. Sedgwick has a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering.
Glenn Servis, Senior Director, Information Technology, Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS)
A Senior Director of Information Technology for Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS), Glenn Servis has led a number of IT-related initiatives that have helped Toshiba achieve its critical customer service goals. Glenn directed the implementation of a CRM application suite to automate Toshiba’s field sales force and service engineer functions, and improve call center operations. He also implemented an award-winning remote field service application utilizing mobile devices. Glenn is currently responsible for driving the implementation of Oracle’s eBusiness application suite. Glenn joined TAMS in 1989 and held various management positions in application development before assuming leadership of the Information Technology organization in 1993.
Prior to joining Toshiba, Glenn served as director of applications development for National Healthcare and Hospital Supply in Orange, CA, and held information technology positions with Bergen Brunswig, also in Orange. Glenn has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University at Sacramento.
Cathal Strain, Senior Director, Pfizer PGM
Bio coming soon.
William A. Strauss, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
William A. Strauss is a Senior Economist and Economic Advisor in the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, which he joined in 1982. His chief responsibilities include analyzing the current performance of both the Midwest economy and the manufacturing sector for use in monetary policy. He also produces the monthly Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index, organizes the Bank's Economic Outlook Symposium and Auto Outlook Symposium. He also conducts several economic workshops and industrial roundtables throughout the year.
Mr. Strauss earned a B.A. in economics and geography from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and an M.A. in economics from Northwestern University. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member for both Loyola University, Chicago and Webster University, Chicago. He currently teaches at the University of Chicago, Graham School of General Studies and at DePaul University, Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.
His research paper topics include analysis of the manufacturing sector, the auto sector, the Midwest regional economy, the trade-weighted dollar, business cycles, and Federal Reserve payments operations.
Mr. Strauss has been interviewed on numerous television and radio shows and quoted in the major business magazines and newspapers. He is a past president of the Chicago Association of Business Economists and currently serves as a board member for the National Association for Business Economics and as a member of the Advisory Council for the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Economic Education.
Jim Wetzel, Technical Director, Control and Information Systems, General Mills
Jim is currently the Technical Director for Control and Information Systems at General Mills Inc. He has 29 years of industry experience, starting with 6 years in the Plastics Industry and 23 in the Food Industry with GMI. While at General Mills, Jim has had roles in proprietary machine design, Manufacturing System Improvement and Optimization, Cheerios and Wheaties Product Improvement , Control System Application Development and MES Application Development.
In Jim’s current role he is responsible for Manufacturing Execution Systems, Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence, Engineering Tools ( Enterprise project and portfolio management , Process Simulation and Sharepoint /Collaboration for the Technical Community ) , Control and Information Technical Innovation and Next Generation Application Architecture.
In 1993 Jim led the development of General Mills’ MES system. Today it is installed in all of their North American locations and 40% of International. It has driven significant productivity and quality improvements. This system captures more than 50 Million data points a day across the enterprise and delivers many of the KPI’s for GMI Supply Chain as well as core MES functionality.
Jim has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MBA both from the University of Minnesota. He is also a certified Project manager (PMP).
Mark Yatskievych, Manager, Technical Support, General Dynamics (2008 Progressive Manufacturer of the Year)
Jim is currently the Technical Director for Control and Information Systems at General Mills Inc. He has 29 years of industry experience, starting with 6 years in the Plastics Industry and 23 in the Food Industry with GMI. While at General Mills, Jim has had roles in proprietary machine design, Manufacturing System Improvement and Optimization, Cheerios and Wheaties Product Improvement , Control System Application Development and MES Application Development.
In Jim’s current role he is responsible for Manufacturing Execution Systems, Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence, Engineering Tools ( Enterprise project and portfolio management , Process Simulation and Sharepoint /Collaboration for the Technical Community ) , Control and Information Technical Innovation and Next Generation Application Architecture.
In 1993 Jim led the development of General Mills’ MES system. Today it is installed in all of their North American locations and 40% of International. It has driven significant productivity and quality improvements. This system captures more than 50 Million data points a day across the enterprise and delivers many of the KPI’s for GMI Supply Chain as well as core MES functionality.
Jim has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MBA both from the University of Minnesota. He is also a certified Project manager (PMP).
Julie Fraser, President, Cambashi, Inc.
Julie is a recognized industry analyst, consultant and marketer, specializing in manufacturing and distribution strategies and application solutions. Her reputation and expertise in supply chain, plant floor, integration, and e-business software solutions has kept her in demand as a leading advisor, speaker, and consultant. Julie is Principal of Industry Directions and has 17 years experience as a manufacturing systems industry advisor. Prior to joining Industry Directions, she was VP Marketing for Baan Supply Chain Solutions, and Senior Analyst on Manufacturing Execution Systems and Integration at Advanced Manufacturing Research (AMR). She was editor-in-chief of the CIM Strategies newsletter from the mid-80s to the early 90s. Julie has a degree with honours from Lawrence University in Wisconsin. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, APICS and CASA/SME, and has also served on boards for the local Massachusetts CASA/SME chapter.
Kamal Garg, Manager, Sprint Converged Network Solutions, Business Development
Kamal Garg is the leader of the Business Development, Converged Network Solutions (CNS) at Sprint Nextel. In this position he is responsible for the development and launch of next generation solutions providing in-building wireless and advanced campus solutions for Sprint’s largest and most important customers. By implementing successful strategies and selling wireless and converged solutions to enterprise, public sector and general business customers, Mr. Garg and his team enables Sprint to maintain a one billion dollar annual billed revenue stream while also growing new contracted revenues at over $2 million a monthly.
From 2003 until currently, Mr. Garg oversaw the development of several strategies and solutions within CNS catapulting Sprint into being the number one provider of in-building and campus solutions for business customers among all wireless carriers in the United States. Prior to joining Sprint in 2003, he held multiple positions in marketing and strategy in wireless business services. Mr. Garg earned his BS in Economics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and holds a certificate in the “Privatization of Public Economies” from Vysoka Skola Ekonmicka in the Prague, Czech Republic.
Tim Hanley, Vice Chairman and U.S. Process & Industrial Products Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Tim Hanley has been working in the accounting profession since 1979 and has served as a Lead Client Service Partner and as an advisory partner to both attest and non-attest clients. He currently is a Vice Chairman and the U.S. Process & Industrial Products sector leader. In his role as the U.S. Process & Industrial Products sector leader, Tim is responsible for leading the organization-wide services of a growing Process and Industrial Products sector.
During the course of his career, Tim has worked most significantly with consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and many other clients in the manufacturing industry. The majority of his clients have been large global organizations with significant international operations. He had lead teams serving all business aspects including consulting with top management regarding organizational financial strategy development and execution, acquisitions and market development.
Tim has been a formal speaker and presenter to many industry organizations, including Northwestern University’s Masters of Manufacturing program. He was recently interviewed by the Chicago Tribune on the 2008 employment outlook, quoted in the Executive Decision magazine cover story on the 2008 manufacturing economic outlook, and quoted in the Employment Outlook 2008. He has also written several articles for Managing Automation and U.S. Industry Today, and he most recently published a report titled: 2008 Process & Industrial Products Industry Outlook.
Tim received a bachelor of science in Accounting from Marquette University. Tim is a member of the American and Wisconsin Institutes of Certified Public Accountants.
Jim Huempfner, Area Vice President, Industry Solutions Practice, AT&T
Jim Huempfner brings more than eighteen years of expertise in developing and implementing strategic business solutions, managing process improvement initiatives, technology integration, professional management consulting, financial analysis, operations management, and industrial engineering.
Jim presently serves as an Area Vice President, Industry Solutions Practice for AT&T. Jim’s professional experience as strategic management executive has focused on enterprise development and deployment of process improvement, product innovation, technology integration, and transformational ideation for large Fortune 500 Companies. Jim has a highly successful track record at top organizations, including PepsiCo, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG Peat Marwick, and United Parcel Service.
Jim has an extensive background in developing dynamic enterprise mobility solutions, instituting organizational transformational business process improvements, and leading marketplace execution of world-class sales force / field service force automation capabilities.
Prior to AT&T, Jim led PepsiCo’s (Frito-Lay Division) Transformation & Strategy Team as the National Director of Customer Enterprise Solutions. Jim has held several positions with Frito-Lay, including National Director of Emerging Technology & Business Processes, Director of Go-To-Market (GTM), Director of Sales System Strategy, Senior Group Manager for Productivity for Growth, Region Finance Performance Manager, and Divisional Finance Analyst. In addition, Jim was a Principle Consultant for four years with PricewaterhouseCoopers and KMPG focusing on Business Process Improvement. Jim also worked for United Parcel Service in a range of diverse roles including Industrial Engineering, Operational Management, Technology Implementation, & Frontline Supervision.
Jim has an M.B.A. in marketing from Loyola College in Maryland and a B.S. in business management from George Mason University. Jim and his wife, Elaina, have two sons, Paxton and Hudson and reside in Houston, Texas.
Dan Miller, Director, Industry Solutions Practice, AT&T
In this role, Dan is responsible for providing industry expertise and focus to better identify and deliver key mobile line of business applications across AT&T’s Enterprise Business Services group.
Dan works closely with the Mobility Application Consultants across the country to provide insight into the emerging trends and technology in the Industrial and Manufacturing segments. These trends are key to AT&T’s focus on providing the right solution at the right time to maximize the ROI of our clients. Dan’s attention spans all aspects of a manufacturer’s business and includes; telemetry/SCADA, Sales Force Automation, Field & Plant service automation, Location based services, proof of delivery, and custom mobile applications.
Dan has held several industry focused roles in the wireless industry, including leading the manufacturing vertical for a business centric wireless carrier, leading the industry practice for the Midwest region and holding the title of national accounts manager. Prior to joining the wireless industry, Dan worked for a diverse global manufacturer of energy related products and services, a specialty chemical manufacturer and a maker of municipal and industrial water and process equipment.
Dan is a native of Rochester, NY. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. Dan and his wife live just east of Rochester with their two boys.
Wes Olson, Director, Verticals Sales, US Enterprise Manufacturing , Cisco Systems, Inc.
Wes Olson brings more than 28 years of manufacturing, engineering, International General Management and Management Consulting experience as Cisco’s Director – US Enterprise Manufacturing Vertical Sales. In this role, Mr. Olson is responsible to drive US Enterprise Solution Sales for Cisco’s business with enterprise manufacturing companies. Integral to Cisco’s strategy for manufacturing customers is the integration of solutions that produce real-time visibility and context-rich collaboration for Continuous Innovation, Supply Chain Agility, Operational Excellence and Customer Intimacy across the manufacturing value chain.
Prior to joining Cisco, Mr. Olson worked at the Tompkins PLC Company, contributing to both top-line growth and bottom-line profitability as he advanced through several business units with increasing leadership and General Management responsibilities. Mr. Olson spent 4 years in India creating a new division for hydraulic assemblies in the fast moving heavy equipment industry in the late 90’s. Mr. Olson is one of the original patent holders for rubber tracks in the agricultural industry and he is a Six Sigma Blackbelt. His experience includes product & equipment design, plant design and construction, Operations Management, Quality Assurance, and General Management. Mr. Olson has been with Cisco for 9 years and worked in Singapore as a Management Consultant to the SE Asian Manufacturing arena for Cisco’s IBSG Consulting team.
Mr. Olson earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and holds a Master’s in International Management from Thunderbird University.
Robert Parker, VP Research, IDC
Parker currently leads Manufacturing Insights, one of IDC’s industry research companies that addresses the current market gap by providing fact based research and analysis on best practices and the use of information technology to assist clients in improving their capabilities in key process areas. Before joining IDC to oversee the launch of Manufacturing Insights, Parker spent six years with AMR Research as a Research Vice President covering emerging technology, enterprise software, and industry IT strategies. While there, he launched the e-commerce research program, the most successful new program in the company's history. Before entering the research field, Parker spent more than fifteen years in technology and operations management. He was Managing Director at TDI, a technology based company that included distribution, systems integration, and Internet Service Provider (ISP) business units. He was also corporate CIO at Eastern Technologies, a manufacturer serving the defense and commercial vehicle industries and division CIO at the Acoustic Research business unit of International Jensen, a publicly traded consumer electronics company. He began his career with Sanders Associates, a Fortune 500 defense electronics company and also held a management post with publicly traded firearms manufacturer, Sturm, Ruger. Parker holds an MBA, with a concentration in decision support systems, from New Hampshire College. His undergraduate work was done at Rivier College where he received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Accounting. As a frequent speaker at industry conferences including the IW Best Plants Conference, the NamTech Summit, with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME, Parker is often quoted in publications such as Logistics Management and Manufacturing Business Technology.
Meredith Powers, Sr. Marketing Manager, Manufacturing, AT&T
Meredith is focused on mobility solutions in the manufacturing industry at AT&T, including field service, sales force automation, shop floor applications and enterprise asset management. She has a background in product management and marketing in the manufacturing industry with prior experience at Digital, Hewlett-Packard and Arrow Electronics. Prior to that experience, she was an industry consultant on enterprise resource planning systems, warehouse management systems and other RFID applications. A magna cum laude of Queens University in Charlotte, Meredith holds degrees in business administration and psychology. Meredith has mentored MBA students in international RFID applications.
Sath Rao, Research Director, Industrial Automation & Process Control, Frost & Sullivan USA
Sath Rao is a Practice Director with the Frost & Sullivan Industrial Automation & Process Control Practice and is widely recognized as an expert in the Industrial Automation & Process Control industry.
Since joining Frost & Sullivan in 2002, Mr. Rao has worked on projects for Fortune 500 corporations, and his focus has been on a broad range of topics that include distributed control, process control, manufacturing execution systems, advanced optimization and IT business solutions. His thought leadership contributions towards M&A tools (CAMP toolset) has been recognized by the industry as a vital strategic input to drive CEO’s growth agenda.
Prior to joining Frost & Sullivan, Mr. Rao had industrial experience of over 10 years with companies including Invensys-The Foxboro Company, Bechtel & Pacific Corp. joint venture- EnergyWorks and Kirloskar Electric Company, in areas of electrical engineering, automation, process control design, project management, business development in the power generation, business process improvement, and IT solutions. Mr. Rao has training in Six Sigma quality initiative and has been part of best practices benchmarking assignments.
Mr. Rao has worked on strategic growth consulting, M&A recommendations, and business consulting projects for Fortune 500 companies like IBM, Honeywell, and Emerson as well as venture capital and financial services clients.
Mr.Rao’s contributions have been published in industry and trade magazines and he has been a keynote speaker at several industry conferences and tradeshows. He is also featured under Ask The Expert by the on-line edition of Managing Automation. Mr. Rao is an engineer with management background. Mr. Rao is a certified PMP by the Project Management Institute.
James Robbins, Partner, Accenture Industrial Equipment Practice
James Robbins is partner in our Global Manufacturing and Distribution practice and serves as the North American Automotive and Industrial Equipment (AIE) Industry Lead. He is responsible for defining and developing Accenture’s go-to-market approach for AIE in North America. This includes developing specific client market offerings, coordinating the development of Accenture resources to support and deliver these market offerings to clients, and creating the marketing and media relations outreach around the offerings.
Robbins also advises manufacturing companies on issues, such as supply chain improvement, enterprise resource planning, manufacturing improvement, strategic sourcing, inventory management, planning and scheduling and process improvement. He has been with Accenture since the start of his career.
Robbins holds a bachelor of arts degree in management and a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Mississippi. He is a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta.
Douglas A. Standley, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Doug Standley is a principal in the Technology Innovation Strategy practice with Deloitte Consulting LLP. Doug has more than 25 years of consulting experience and six years of C-level executive experience within technology, wireless telecommunications and media sectors. Recognized as a Digital Convergence Strategist, Doug leads Deloitte Consulting’s Technology Innovation Strategy practice and provides in-depth experience for strategic opportunities to leverage technology across all industry channels. Doug and his team provide guidance on emerging technology trends and application strategy within the Enterprise by leveraging Deloitte’s Technology Innovation Framework™. The team’s current focus is on Advanced Next Generation Internet Implications, Device Intelligence, Ubiquitous Sensory Value, Enterprise Community, Unified Desktop Advancement and Neutral Operating Platforms.
David Tuttle, Regional Manager for Converged Network Solutions (CNS), Sprint Nextel
David Tuttle serves as a Regional Manager for Converged Network Solutions (CNS) at Sprint Nextel. In this position, he is responsible for the leadership of a regional based organization responsible for customized wireless solutions. His teams support all vertical industries and Federal customers nationally.
From 2005 until 2007, Mr. Tuttle developed and managed Sprint’s Interoperability Solutions Team and serves as a subject matter expert on Nextel’s Push-to-Talk iDEN network. Prior to joining the CNS organization in 2005, Mr. Tuttle served as Director Public Sector Strategy for Nextel Communications. Mr. Tuttle has a fifteen year public safety background and is conversant in mission critical voice and data communications design and application.
David R. Brousell, Editor-in-Chief
David R. Brousell has been Editor-in-Chief of Managing Automation since 1998. Brousell started his career in technology journalism in 1978 at Electronic News. In 1985, he joined Datamation Magazine, and was named Editor-in-Chief in 1991. Brousell has covered numerous industry developments, technology shifts and major product introductions, including the mainframe era and the development of relational databases; the rise of the minicomputer; the advent of personal computing, client-server computing and the evolution of enterprise applications, and the dawn of the Internet.
Jeff Moad, Executive Editor
Jeff Moad is the executive editor of Managing Automation Magazine. Jeff has covered information and manufacturing technologies and strategies for the past 28 years. Jeff holds a journalism degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a winner of the Jesse H. Neil award and other editorial awards. For Managing Automation he covers enterprise software. He also coordinates Managing Automation's Progressive Manufacturing Awards.
Paul Tate, Executive Editor, Manufacturing Executive
Tate has been a senior international editor covering the business impact of new technologies for over 25 years. Formerly, he worked as both European and International Editor of Datamation magazine, Vice President of the world’s first open source consortiums, International Contributing Editor for InformationWeek and InteractiveWeek, contributor to Time Digital and UK national newspapers on Technology, Executive Editor of The Economist Group’s Information Strategy Magazine, and chairman of the European Knowledge Management Awards. With an Honors degree in English and Politics, Tate currently sits on the Development Board of the University of Bedfordshire in the U.K. He also leads research, film, and publishing projects with some of the world’s major business consultants and blue-chip operations. Tate has won a number of publishing awards, including the prestigious U.S. Jesse H. Neale Awards for editorial expertise.
Mark Halper, Executive Editor, Manufacturing Executive
Halper has been a freelance business, technology, and media journalist for TIME, Fortune, The Hollywood Reporter and the U.K.’s Independent on Sunday, tracking everything from media moguls to arguably more powerful subatomic particles. Halper brings to Manufacturing Executive his keen eye for disruptive technologies and shifting value chains. Currently based in the U.K., he has published articles for over 20 years in The New York Times, the Financial Times, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Variety, the U.K.’s The Business and Japan’s Diamond Weekly, writing from London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore, Helsinki, Mexico City, and other international locations. His TIME story on Rupert Murdoch and BSkyB was shortlisted for a 2004 European Business Journalist of the Year award. He has provided television commentary for the BBC and CNBC, and moderates lively debates at industry conferences. Halper is a history graduate of Cornell University.