Connie is the Vice President of Business Excellence for Greenfield Global, a leading producer and supplier of high-value, mission-critical raw materials, ingredients, and additives that are vital to businesses and integral to a lower-carbon economy. Connie is responsible for creating and implementing long-term integrated business improvement and technology projects. She leads multiple teams that will collectively and collaboratively deliver an enterprise-wide transformation program. This includes enterprise software selection projects, multi-year ERP and other technology implementations, foundational projects, business optimization, and continuous improvement projects. As Vice President of Business Excellence Connie is accountable for developing and leading a center of excellence to provide advanced leadership, training and support for optimizing the business, resolving complex business issues and driving continuous improvement/ learning across the organization. Connie is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Ottawa University. She has received a Black Belt certification in Lean.

Prof. Dr. Dimitris Kiritsis is Faculty Member at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the School of Engineering of EPFL, Switzerland, where he is leading a research group on ICT for Sustainable Manufacturing. He serves also as Director of the doctoral Program of EPFL on Robotics, Control and Intelligent Systems (EDRS). His research interests are Closed Loop Lifecycle Management, IoT, Semantic Technologies and Data Analytics for Engineering Applications. He served also as Guest Professor at the IMS Center of the University of Cincinnati, and Invited Professor at the University of Technology of Compiègne, the University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard and at ParisTech ENSAM Paris. Prof. Kiritsis is actively involved in EU research programs in the area of Factories of the Future and Enabling ICT for Sustainable Manufacturing. He has more than 220 publications. From September 2013 to September 2019 Dimitris was Chair of IFIP WG5.7 – Advanced Production Management Systems. From 2013 to 2017 he was member of the Advisory Group of the European Council on Leadership on Enabling Industrial Technologies – AG LEIT-NMBP. He is also founding fellow member of the International Society for Engineering Asset Management (ISEAM), of various international scientific communities in his area of interests including EFFRA and among the initiators of the IOF (Industrial Ontologies Foundry).

Elaine Finley is serving as the Director of Innovation Commercialization & Continuous Improvement at Daily Harvest. At Daily Harvest she is responsible for managing 3 teams of excellence to manage the current portfolio of products, launch new ideas from benchtop to scale up, and drive productivity across the supply chain. Prior to joining Daily Harvest, Elaine spent 15 years at PepsiCo growing her business acumen and skillset by holding various roles in Research & Development, Procurement, Marketing, and Supply Chain Operations. PepsiCo generated more than $64 billion in net revenue, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. During her tenure at Frito-Lay, Elaine won National Packaging Awards for her design in the paper and glass packaging industry. She saved PepsiCo millions of dollars in productivity projects ranging from material research & selection, contract negotiations, process engineering, and transitioning coupons from printed paper to the Ibotta App. Elaine joined Daily Harvest from PepsiCo Frito Lay North America in 2019. Prior to that she spent 3 years at ConAgra Foods Grocery Foods Group. She earned a Bachelors of Science at Michigan State University in Packaging Engineering. Outside of work, she and her husband stay busy with 3 kids ranging from 9-17 years old, are road bike enthusiasts, and serve their community through local charities.

Fred Thomas is the Global Industry Director for the Transportation & Mobility and Industrial Equipment industries for the DELMIA brand of Dassault Systèmes. Mr. Thomas focuses on manufacturing operations management strategies and solutions to support global, complex discrete manufacturers. Mr. Thomas spent 12 years with Volkswagen of America as part of the IT leadership team, responsible for manufacturing, distribution, finance and dealership management systems. As Vice President of IT for Ross Roy Communications, his organization was responsible for developing many of Chrysler Corporation’s original web sites and interactive advertising programs. Thomas has also held senior management positions with BRAIN NA and Descartes Systems and industry positions with Baan and Novell.

Results-driven and strategic leader who develops and aligns key business initiatives with more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing and quality systems from plastics, steel and other industries. Heinz holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, a certificate in project management from University of British Columbia and a master’s degree in organizational psychology from Adler University. He currently works for Primex Technologies as VP of Manufacturing, where he seeks advice and insight from his team members on how as a team, they can best drive growth. Heinz was a speaker at “Advantage through Excellence” by Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) in Toronto last year and collaborated this year with the University of Waterloo with an interview for their operations and supply chain management graduate studies.

Jerry Hamilton is a Procurement Engineer at Lockheed Martin. Jerry works with a team of engineers to employ the use of Lean Six Sigma and statistical tools/methods to production processes within the supply chain. He has worked in the semiconductor, transportation and aerospace industries and is certified through the American Society for Quality (ASQ) as a Six Sigma Master Black Belt. He holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico State University.

Joe Gerstl is the Director, Digital Product Management for GE Digital’s Plant Applications MES software. He has worked in the software industry and in manufacturing for over 30 years spending time in various roles including engineering, sales and product management while working at leading companies such as Microsoft and now GE Digital.

Jordan Workman serves as Global Director of Client Development for Performance Solutions by Milliken. He leads a team focused on partnerships and strategy within the manufacturing and supply chain functions of multi-national clients. Clients served span a variety of industries, including agri-business, pulp & paper, packaging, medical, pharma, chemical, food and beverage, mining and specialty plastics. Prior to joining Performance Solutions by Milliken, Jordan was employed by Owens Corning for almost a decade, where he last served as Marketing Director for a global business unit and was responsible for creating and executing the go-to-market strategy that aligned commercial, supply chain, and operational capabilities. He also served as Business Development Leader for greater China based in Shanghai. He brings a wealth of knowledge on how to bridge cross-cultural differences and drive performance in the journey to business excellence. Jordan holds a degree in Economics & Political Science from West Virginia University.

Dr. Morsi obtained his Doctorate in 1996 from the Department of Materials, University of Oxford, UK, in the processing and properties of particulate reinforced ceramic matrix composites. Following his Doctorate he joined the Department of Materials, Imperial College, UK as a Post Doctoral Research Associate, working on the hot extrusion reaction synthesis of Intermetallics. He moved to the US and joined the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia in 1999 as an Assistant Professor. He is currently Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, San Diego State University, having joined the department in 2003 as an Associate Professor. His research area is Materials Science with a focus on processing and properties of metals, intermetallics, ceramics and their composites. He has published numerous journal articles in the areas of materials processing and powder metallurgy. His current activities and interests include electric-current processing of materials, processing of nanotube reinforced composites, the development of novel metallic composite systems and foams, and processing-microstructure-properties relations in engineering materials. He is a reviewer for more than 10 materials science/Materials Processing Journals. His recent work has largely been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and industry. He has taught on various topics including Nanomaterials, Powder Metallurgy, Engineering Materials, Materials, Design and Manufacturing, Advanced Materials Processing and Thermodynamics. He is the recipient of the 2006 Northrop Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award. He currently serves as Associate Editor for the ASME Journal - Engineering Materials and Technology (JEMT). He has also served as Chair of the Powder Materials Committee and the Advanced Characterization, Testing and Simulation Committee at TMS.

As Global Director, Supply Chain Management, Marco is responsible for all the daily operations pertaining supply chain management for all the global operations of GST Autoleather. This includes: production and materials requirements planning, inventories management, customer care, and inbound/outbound logistics. He joined GST Autoleather in 2003 and since then, has occupied several managerial positions within the company, in areas such as Finance, Project Management, Continuous Improvement and Strategic Planning. Marco received his B.S Degree in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Systems from Monterrey Tech., in Mexico, and has also three master degrees: an MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management, a dual degree on MSc in Information Management from Lancaster and Manchester Business School, and a Master on Tanning Processes from CIATEC, in Mexico.

Markus Mehrtens has early focused on logistics. He accomplished his retail distribution and logistics business studies at the University of Wollongong, Australia and University of Leipzig. After professional stations in Australian logistics, he has accomplished logistics projects across Europe. In various logistics consultancy and logistics project management roles for Metro AG, e.g in Valencia, Zagreb and Kiev, he has worked in warehousing and transportation considering all temperature regimes and flow types. Thereby he specialised in the entire lifecycle of contract logistics. After then being responsible for the international procurement of contract logistics at the DIY retail market leader in central and Eastern Europe he joined the MediaMarktSaturn RetailGroup. There he oversees group-wide the partnering with logistics service providers. In the corona crisis, he navigated MediaMarktSaturn RetailGroup’s logistics response.

Matthew Patrick is a principal consultant and owner of C2 Engineered Solutions. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business Administration from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. He has served as a Principal Consultant for Competitive Advantage, Director of Operations within HEICO (Thermal Structures Inc. and JetSeal Inc.) as well as Industrial Kiln and Dryer Group. These organizations have provided Matthew a wealth of experience in multiple industries including aerospace repair and manufacturing, industrial equipment, pulp and paper, cement, mining, grain as well as both discrete and process manufacturing. In every organization, Matthew has moved the company in a positive direction with efficiency improvements, cost reductions and risk mitigation, while installing a continuous improvement culture. He has since gone on to own and operate a consulting firm, C2 Engineered Solutions where he continues to help organizations achieve their production, profitability, efficiency and continuous improvement goals.

Miguel has over 30 years of experience as a technical leader in industrial automation, electricity, manufacturing execution systems and related engineering activities in manufacturing. His comprehensive technical experience includes functional leadership and guidance, capital investment planning & execution, compliance, building engineering capabilities, operational support, develop and manage strong network of professional and knowledge partners and suppliers, standardization, continuous improvements, operational innovations and renovations, technology evaluation and deployment of IoT platforms and solutions for the manufacturing industry. Thus, enabling manufacturing facilities to achieve high performance targets, manufacturing flexibility, cost improvements, substantial energy consumption reductions and improve manufacturing performance. In his current role as Director of Technology Programs at CESMII (The Smart Manufacturing Institute), Miguel is leading the development and execution of a comprehensive strategic evaluation and implementation program with regards to technical investigation areas and test-beds in Smart Manufacturing, MES systems, and large scale deployment to radically improve the precision, performance, efficiency, energy productivity and growth of U.S. manufacturing. In addition, Miguel’s responsibilities include supporting outreach, training, certification, communications, workforce development and education to improve the precision, performance and efficiency of U.S. advanced manufacturing.

Dr. Nourredine Boubekri is currently a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of North Texas. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial and Management Systems Engineering. He received both his Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Manufacturing Engineering. His career started at the University of Miami. There he founded the University of Miami Industrial Assessment Center in the year 2000, which is currently still funded by DOE. His experience includes his roles as Department chair /Director of Research and Innovation /Director of UNT SACSCOC reaffirmation. He directed more than thirty-five Master and Ph.D. Students and published more than 100 technical articles and journal papers in the areas of Green Manufacturing, New Product/Process Development Management, Project Management and Quality Management. His research funding exceeds five million dollars in grants and contracts. He has been an invited/Keynote speaker at a number of international conferences and symposiums.

Paul is Chief Digital Officer within the division of GKN with a team of 70 people globally. His biggest career success is the development of the industry 4.0 strategy for his division which he has been an integral part of. Paul believes the biggest opportunity for the manufacturing industry is data. To date, manufacturers have focused on product, machine and assets which is the core of the business and allows access to data sources. Now it is vital companies make the data visible and transparent, finding the value and resulting in improvements and new business models, new service models – what everybody needs to succeed in Industry 4.0 and a create new realm for manufacturing.

In Whirlpool EMEA since 1989, after a first experience in industrial automation as System and Network Manager and as Project Leader, he dedicated himself to topics of innovation and Product-Process Design support, defining and using processes based on methodologies such as TRIZ, Design for Manufacturing and Assembly, Complexity Management, and contributing to the definition of the global process of New Product Introduction. Afterward he moved his interests to Industrial Research coordinating for Whirlpool EMEA the participation to more than 15 European Funded Projects under FP7 and Horizon 2020 program on various topics such as Internet of Things, Technology Forecasting, Big Data, Edge Computing, Process Engineering, Cyber Physical System, Digital Platforms, Electro Magnetic Welding, Predictive Maintenance, Collaborative Robotics, and Zero Defect Manufacturing. From 2016 onward he contributed to the strategic preparation of Whirlpool Manufacturing 2020 program, based on Industry 4.0 principles as member of the Global Steering Technical Committee. Currently he is involved in eight H2020 Projects (SERENA, UPTIME, BOOST4.0, ROSSINI, QU4LITY, XMANAI, COALA, I4Q) and in several projects in EIT Manufacturing. He’s member of Advisory Board of Osservatorio Industria 4.0 of Politecnico Di Milano, member of Scientific Committee of MADE Competence Center, member of the working group “Research and Development” of American Chamber of Commerce in Italy, member of the Technical-Scientific Thematic Group on High Efficient Production systems of Italian Cluster “Fabbrica Intelligente” He’s author and co-author of 4 patents and 14 scientific paper and gave a speech in more than 30 national and international conferences.

Sydney Badger is a twelve-year fashion supply chain and retail veteran, having spent the bulk of her career between Amazon.com and Ralph Lauren. She lives between Shenzhen, China and Seattle, WA where she co-founded Public Habit in 2019. Public Habit is a fashion eCommerce business committed to making only what we sell in order to eliminate textile waste in the fashion industry. They are disrupting the fashion supply chain by flipping the traditional model, starting with customer demand and producing only what is needed. They ship straight from the source and deliver within 2-4 weeks.

Dr. Tom Butkiewicz is a Core Faculty-Research member in the PhD Management program at Walden University. Dr. Tom is the faculty advisor for The National Society of Leadership and Success and the PhD Management Fellowship program. He is a reviewer for the Academy of Management and the International Journal of Applied Management and Technology. Dr. Tom also serves as the vice president for the Walden University Virtual Fulbright Association Chapter. Dr. Tom worked 26 years as an operations manager in the automotive industry for Mitsubishi Motors. He proudly concluded 20 years of honorable service to our great country as a field operations Chief Warrant Officer (CWO-3) in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Dr. Tom is a certified leadership speaker, coach, and trainer who serves individuals and organizations for sustainable competitive advantage outcomes. He pursues positive social change by supporting the Multiple Sclerosis Society through a fundraising commitment for 20 years. Dr. Tom's positive social change focus also is demonstrated by being a member of the strategic development committee for a new church building project in Southern California.

Bill has worked in the medical device industry for over thirty years in a variety of manufacturing, operations, and design roles. He holds several U.S. and International patents related to surgical implants and instruments, many of which have been successfully commercialized. His design activities range from direct product development and outside collaboration, to manufacturing process and equipment development. Bill is a board member of the Southern California Biomedical Council and Ventura County Workforce Development Board, and he advises academic programs at UC Riverside, Moorpark College, and the national Community College Consortium for Bioscience Credentials.