Program 2022

Billy Ingram is an award-winning innovator in sustainability, social responsibility, cultural transformation, and new business model creation. He strives to build more sustainable business models through the practical application of innovation frameworks, improvement methodologies and socially responsible engagement practices.
Billy earned a B.S. in Business Management and an MBA from Troy University. He has also been awarded three utility patents for equipment design so far in his career. He is a seasoned Lean and Six Sigma practitioner with over 30 years of experience and is passionate about applying social responsibility principles in organizations

Christina Hudson has successfully branded herself as a Subject Matter Expert in Quality, Business Excellence and Cultural Transformation holding various key roles at TechnipFMC from Business Excellence Manager, Director of OneExcellence, Director of Quality and Vice President of QHSES. 

Her specialty includes Strategy & Objective Planning, Lean Deployment, Kaizen Events, Lean Flow Lines and BE Coaching. She is a Master Black Belt and ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt Certified. Christina is a highly motivated and ambitious team player who thrives on leading her team to Excellence.

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 country 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 Michelin, Genentech, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin, 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.

As Co-CEO of The Nearshore Company, Jorge helps North American, European, and Asian manufacturing companies to successfully operate in Mexico. Due to his personal and professional background, he brings a combination of skillsets, and perspectives, that provide clients a seamless nearshoring experience in Mexico.

From investment banking and private equity, to corporate management and manufacturing, Jorge’s interests have always centered on making the most of the U.S. – Mexico commercial relationship, for the benefit of both countries.

Jorge holds a B.A. in International Relations from Mexico’s Universidad Iberoamericana, and an MBA from New York University.

Jennifer Pelky is a Senior Engineering Manager for the Advanced Interior Safety Group at Toyota Motor North America - Research and Development in Saline, MI. Ms. Pelky earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and joined Toyota in 2008 as an evaluation engineer in vehicle safety. She is a subject matter expert for child passenger safety, and it is certified child passenger safety technician. Additionally, Ms. Pelky is the chairperson of the National Child Passenger Safety Board and serves on multiple industry committees.

Pramatha Payra has more than 20 years of expertise across chemicals and materials manufacturing, from research & development to process implementation and quality management.
His experience ranges from water treatment technology to polysilicon production (for both solar and semiconductor markets), and he has led both US domestic and international projects in South Korea and China. Payra holds a PhD in Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and is credentialed as a PMO & Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

Inspired by the significant value prescriptive AI delivered to local manufacturers as an industry consultant, Frans Cronje co-founded DataProphet in 2014. His mission is to establish this innovative, results-driven company as the leading global provider of AI-as-a-Service for manufacturing. Frans was amongst Fast Company SA’s top 20 industry leaders under 30. He is also a regular keynote speaker on the international circuit at key manufacturing vertical summits, conferences, and other prestigious events.

In 2019, the WEF invited Frans to speak at its Annual Meeting of the New Champions (the “Summer Davos”) in Dalian, China, recognizing DataProphet as a Technology Pioneer.

Steve currently serves as the Program Manager of the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL) and Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) which are working to infuse challenge and crowdsourcing innovation approaches at NASA and across the federal government.  The NTL/CoECI focuses on the study and use of curated, crowdsourcing communities that utilize prize and challenge-based methods to deliver innovative solutions for NASA and the US government. 

In 2015, Steve was named as one of 20 Challenge Mentors for U.S. Government Services Administration’s (GSA) Prizes and Challenges government-wide community of practice.  Steve has worked with various projects and organizations to develop and execute over 100 different challenges.   He speaks regularly about NASA’s work in crowd-based challenges and the future of work both publicly and internally to the NASA workforce to promote the use of open innovation tools.

Steve has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Rice University and has worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for 32 years.  Prior to joining the NTL/CoECI, Steve worked in mission control, flight software development for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, command and control systems development for the X-38, and led the Command, Control, Communications, & Information (C3I) architecture definition for the Constellation Program.

Phil’s career is steeped in thirty years’ worth of business leadership and manufacturing expertise. Phil has successfully worked with and led several business units within Milliken & Company to profitable growth and financial sustainability. Prior to his business leadership roles, Phil led the implementation of Milliken Performance System for the Performance Products Division and served as Director of Cost Improvement, where he was responsible for strategic cost reduction efforts.

 

Phil has also spent time as the Pursuit of Excellence Director responsible for integrating customer needs (and wants) with manufacturing and business capability. Early in his career, Phil worked in four different manufacturing locations, holding multiple positions ranging from quality to cost. Phil credits this early diversity in job responsibility and scope as the beginning of his in-depth knowledge of continuous improvement; his appreciation for sustainable, empowered safety processes and systems; and his understanding of the critical nature of establishing the right financial metrics to drive the right behavior.

 

Phil holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Wake Forest University.

Deepa Swaminathan, Director of Supply Americas Strategy & Digital Acceleration which includes  North & South America and Canada.
She holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from University of Texas at Arlington, credentialed Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Ericsson, PROSCI Change Practitioner, Innovation Coach, SAFe Scrum Master 4.5, and former adjunct professor at UT Dallas for capstone projects in Supply Chain for graduate students. She has a diverse experience in Architecture, Education, Telecom & Retail industry.
In her spare time, she provides guest lectures and presentations related to continuous improvements and design thinking for innovation.

Dr. Graciela Perez (Grace) has held digitally focused roles at Chevron, Microsoft, and GE.  She brings over 30 years of experience across industries, including Federal Compliance, Nuclear, Pharma, Biotech, Energy, Tech (Cloud), and Healthcare. 
Grace earned a Doctor of Science in Engineering with additional certifications in Data Science, Lean, and Human Operational Performance.  Augmented reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have enabled her to drive digital transformation across industries and teams beyond basic IoT (connected devices) and she is dedicated to sharing her expertise to bring out the best in people globally.
At GE Healthcare, Grace serves as VP, Chief Digital Program Officer and Executive Lean Leader.

Amit Lodh leads the AWS Solutions Architecture team(s) to partner with enterprise customers in Central US (Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and Kansas) and running a practice of operation technology Solutions architecture to address the needs of enterprise industrial customers.

Before joining AWS, Amit worked in Schlumberger in various leadership roles in the areas of digital product development/management, strategic marketing and M&A for over 20+ years. Amit received an MBA from London Business School, a MS in Computer Science from University of Houston, an MS in Geophysics from Rice University and an MS in Geophysics from Indian Institute of Technology, India. Amit is based in Houston, Texas.

Antonio is the head of Manufacturing Digital Solutions, Global Supply Chain for Stanley Black and Decker. He is responsible for over 150 production facilities and distribution centers creating solutions to improve the operator experience along with generating digital data to prepare for advanced analytics.

Antonio is a manufacturing expert whose versatility allows him to bring digitization in processes in, but not limited to, safety, quality, product engineering, lean, supply chain, inventory, and value stream enhancement. Antonio’s keen ability to see the improvement value in all aspects of manufacturing allow him to identify how changes impact the Operating Margin and ultimately improve the bottom line.

Antonio has a background in economics and human resource development. These topics coupled with his skill in manufacturing processes and leadership capabilities empowers people and the organization to benefit in a way that is a win for the company and the individuals involved.

Maria Araujo is an Engineering Fellow, Director Sensing and IoT at Johnson & Johnson, focused on advanced technology scouting, development, and scaling for J&J’s supply chain.

Areas of focus include Smart Asset Optimization, Digital Worker, Advanced Process Control, end-to-end visibility track & trace, robotics and automation. Prior to J&J, Maria was a manager of R&D at Southwest Research Institute, where she led a large team of engineers on a variety of embedded and machine learning-based automation systems development.

Maria holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is the recipient of an R&D 100 Award, has several publications in the area of sensing and machine learning and was named one of San Antonio’s Top 40 Under 40 by the San Antonio Business Journal.

Billy Ingram is an award-winning innovator in sustainability, social responsibility, cultural transformation, and new business model creation. He strives to build more sustainable business models through the practical application of innovation frameworks, improvement methodologies and socially responsible engagement practices.
Billy earned a B.S. in Business Management and an MBA from Troy University. He has also been awarded three utility patents for equipment design so far in his career. He is a seasoned Lean and Six Sigma practitioner with over 30 years of experience and is passionate about applying social responsibility principles in organizations

Billy Ingram is an award-winning innovator in sustainability, social responsibility, cultural transformation, and new business model creation. He strives to build more sustainable business models through the practical application of innovation frameworks, improvement methodologies and socially responsible engagement practices.
Billy earned a B.S. in Business Management and an MBA from Troy University. He has also been awarded three utility patents for equipment design so far in his career. He is a seasoned Lean and Six Sigma practitioner with over 30 years of experience and is passionate about applying social responsibility principles in organizations

Jeff Winter is an Industry Executive for Manufacturing with Microsoft, where he acts as an industry advisor helping U.S. manufacturers digitally transform their business at scale. 

With over 17 years of experience working for different industrial automation product and solution providers, Jeff has a unique ability to simplify and communicate complex concepts to a wide range of audiences, educating and inspiring people from the shop floor up to the executive board room. 

As part of his experience, Jeff is also very active in the community of Industry 4.0.  He currently is a part of the International Board of Directors for MESA (Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association), the leader of the Smart Manufacturing & IIoT Division of ISA (International Society of Automation), a U.S. registered expert for IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) as a member of TC 65, and is on the Smart Manufacturing Advisory Board for Purdue University

Maria Araujo is an Engineering Fellow, Director Sensing and IoT at Johnson & Johnson, focused on advanced technology scouting, development, and scaling for J&J’s supply chain.

Areas of focus include Smart Asset Optimization, Digital Worker, Advanced Process Control, end-to-end visibility track & trace, robotics and automation. Prior to J&J, Maria was a manager of R&D at Southwest Research Institute, where she led a large team of engineers on a variety of embedded and machine learning-based automation systems development.

Maria holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is the recipient of an R&D 100 Award, has several publications in the area of sensing and machine learning and was named one of San Antonio’s Top 40 Under 40 by the San Antonio Business Journal.

Himanshu Joshi is Director of Operations at ThinkOrbital. He is a Strategic Planning and Operations specialist with global experience and experienced in Product and Program management in high-technology domains. He is an alumnus of MIT Sloan School of Management. He consults businesses on scaling, tech implementation and operational excellence.

Additionally, he is a Business and Innovation mentor for start-ups at the Entrepreneur Forum, a member of Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, Cambridge. He is also a Clinical Professor of Practice for Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship and undertakes sessions on continuous improvement and leadership.

Dr. Nourredine Boubekri is currently a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of North Texas (UNT) and the Founding Director of
DOE sponsored UNT Industrial Assessment Center. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial and Management Systems Engineering and Master and Bachelor of
Science degrees in Manufacturing Engineering. 

His experience also includes hisroles as Department chair /Director of Research and Innovation /Directorof UNT SACSCOC reaffirmation. He directed more than fifty Master and Ph.D. Students andpublished more than 100 technical articles and refereed journal papers in the areasof Lean Product/Process Design and Development Methods, and  Agile ProjectManagement. He has contributed to a large number of international conferences as an invited/Keynote speaker, author. He has collaborated on projects with a large number of companies in the areas of Energy Management, Lean Product/Process Design, and Smart Manufacturing.

Ken Snyder, the executive dean and chief administrative officer of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, joined the Shingo Institute as the executive director in 2015. Mr. Snyder has served as a member of the Shingo Executive Advisory Board for the past eight years and has intimate knowledge of the Institute and its history.

Mr. Snyder developed an interest in Japanese business practices while living in Japan during the time he was a student. His interest led him to major in Japanese history and then to pursue an MBA for the purpose of working with a Japanese business expanding to the United States. Inspired by the work of Professor Mike Yoshino and Professor William Ouchi, Mr. Snyder wrote his master’s thesis on “Applying Japanese Business Practices in American Companies.”

Mr. Snyder has served as a member of the Shingo Executive Advisory Board since 2009, and as a Shingo examiner since 2010. He was named chairman of the Shingo board and executive director of the Shingo Institute in 2015.

Neil Betteridge is currently Senior Vice President Category Development for fairlife in USA. fairlife is the fastest growing consumer milk brand in North America which has patented innovative protein concentrating technology. They were recently acquired by The Coca-Cola Company.

 

Neil grew up in New Zealand on a dairy farm and studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Canterbury. Neil has more than 20 years in the dairy industry in a range of roles from Operations Leadership, Maintenance & Technology Leadership through to Capital Project management in a wide array of dairy products from infant formula, aseptic drinks, lipids and whey-based ethanol.

 

Neil is passionate about leadership, developing high performance teams and loves taking great nutritious dairy products to the world. He has been active on University Advisory Boards along with Food & Engineering Society Committees. In 2016 Neil was awarded the NZ Prime Ministers Scholarship to attend the INSEAD Business School in France.

 

Previous employers have been Fonterra Co-operative, Synlait Milk Ltd and Tetra Pak. Neil has helped design, build, commission and manage more than 15 large dairy production lines during his career, and has been lucky enough to work across Oceania, Asia, Europe and now North America. Neil’s current role is looking to expand the current product portfolio of fairlife.

Conrad Leiva is VP of Ecosystem and Workforce Development at CESMII – the Smart Manufacturing Institute (www.cesmii.org/).
In his role, Conrad is accelerating Smart Manufacturing adoption and education programs through a national ecosystem of regional centers, technology partners, and education institutions.

A recognized industry authority, he engages manufacturing business leaders, educators and practitioners across all dimensions of industry to develop and share knowledge on both the How and Why to leverage information technology in manufacturing.

Conrad is Chair of the Smart Manufacturing Working Group at MESA International (www.mesa.org), has over 20 years of experience in manufacturing systems development and implementation, and holds an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Billy Ingram is an award-winning innovator in sustainability, social responsibility, cultural transformation, and new business model creation. He strives to build more sustainable business models through the practical application of innovation frameworks, improvement methodologies and socially responsible engagement practices.
Billy earned a B.S. in Business Management and an MBA from Troy University. He has also been awarded three utility patents for equipment design so far in his career. He is a seasoned Lean and Six Sigma practitioner with over 30 years of experience and is passionate about applying social responsibility principles in organizations

Antonio is the head of Manufacturing Digital Solutions, Global Supply Chain for Stanley Black and Decker. He is responsible for over 150 production facilities and distribution centers creating solutions to improve the operator experience along with generating digital data to prepare for advanced analytics.

Antonio is a manufacturing expert whose versatility allows him to bring digitization in processes in, but not limited to, safety, quality, product engineering, lean, supply chain, inventory, and value stream enhancement. Antonio’s keen ability to see the improvement value in all aspects of manufacturing allow him to identify how changes impact the Operating Margin and ultimately improve the bottom line.

Antonio has a background in economics and human resource development. These topics coupled with his skill in manufacturing processes and leadership capabilities empowers people and the organization to benefit in a way that is a win for the company and the individuals involved.

Dr. Graciela Perez (Grace) has held digitally focused roles at Chevron, Microsoft, and GE.  She brings over 30 years of experience across industries, including Federal Compliance, Nuclear, Pharma, Biotech, Energy, Tech (Cloud), and Healthcare. 
Grace earned a Doctor of Science in Engineering with additional certifications in Data Science, Lean, and Human Operational Performance.  Augmented reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have enabled her to drive digital transformation across industries and teams beyond basic IoT (connected devices) and she is dedicated to sharing her expertise to bring out the best in people globally.
At GE Healthcare, Grace serves as VP, Chief Digital Program Officer and Executive Lean Leader.

Deepa Swaminathan, Director of Supply Americas Strategy & Digital Acceleration which includes  North & South America and Canada.
She holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from University of Texas at Arlington, credentialed Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Ericsson, PROSCI Change Practitioner, Innovation Coach, SAFe Scrum Master 4.5, and former adjunct professor at UT Dallas for capstone projects in Supply Chain for graduate students. She has a diverse experience in Architecture, Education, Telecom & Retail industry.
In her spare time, she provides guest lectures and presentations related to continuous improvements and design thinking for innovation.

Haley Antoine is a Safety and Crashworthiness Engineer at Toyota Motor North America. She earned her BS in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University and her MS in Mechanical Engineering from Johns Hopkins.
Outside of her technical work, her passion lies in developing a diverse talent pipeline in STEM and manufacturing and retaining that talent. She co-founded a non-technical mentoring program for Toyota R&D’s interns and has been an advocate for women in STEM from early childhood through their professional careers through programing she has led within the Society of Women Engineers at the local and international levels over the past 6 years.
She also serves on the Steering Committee of Women Influencing and Impacting Toyota employee resource group and enjoys being a Big Sister to a local high school student in her town through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washtenaw County.

Prior to joining the Manufacturing Energy Supply Chain Office as Chief of Staff, Zack Valdez developed strategy for diversity, equity, inclusion, and future workforce policy at the Office of Advanced Manufacturing within the National Institutes of Standards and Technology.

 

Dr. Valdez has extensive experience with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math outreach and engagement with national non-profits. He is also an alumni of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, where he served on the Energy and National Resources Committee of the U.S. Senate.

Zack received his academic degrees in his native state of Texas with a Ph.D. from Baylor University and Engineering and Physics B.S. degrees from St. Mary’s University.

Prior to joining the Manufacturing Energy Supply Chain Office as Chief of Staff, Zack Valdez developed strategy for diversity, equity, inclusion, and future workforce policy at the Office of Advanced Manufacturing within the National Institutes of Standards and Technology.

 

Dr. Valdez has extensive experience with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math outreach and engagement with national non-profits. He is also an alumni of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, where he served on the Energy and National Resources Committee of the U.S. Senate.

Zack received his academic degrees in his native state of Texas with a Ph.D. from Baylor University and Engineering and Physics B.S. degrees from St. Mary’s University.