Speaker Biographies
Greg Augustine, VP Information Systems; Network Engines
 | Greg Augustine joined NEI in 2002 and serves as the VP of Information Services and Technology. In this capacity, he is responsible for all aspects of managing, maintaining and enhancing NEI's systems. This includes all core business applications, the reporting and analytical environment and tools, the network infrastructure and interfaces with external partners. Prior to joining NEI, Mr. Augustine was the VP of CRM and eCommerce Systems at TidalWire for two years, responsible for overseeing the creation and implementation of the organization's web portal, eCommerce and CRM capabilities. Previous to that, he was a Senior Manager with Andersen Consulting for eight years and with iXL for two years. As part of these organizations he was responsible for all aspects of delivery to clients including assessing client needs, developing potential resolutions to problems, analyzing alternatives, designing recommendations, and implementing solutions. He has experience managing both internal and external personnel and building cohesive teams that work together in delivering solutions of the utmost quality. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University. |
Rick Bullotta, Industry Luminary
 | Rick Bullotta is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Burning Sky Software, a pioneer in the emerging field of collaborative, real-world aware applications. Mr. Bullotta was previously Chief Technology Officer at Invensys Wonderware, a leading global provider of manufacturing operations software solutions and was a Vice President with SAP Research, responsible for research activities in the future manufacturing area. Bullotta was also the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Lighthammer Software Development, where he was responsible for the conceptualization and development of innovative Web-based and service-enabled software products targeted at the manufacturing industry. At Lighthammer, which was later acquired by SAP, Mr. Bullotta identified and created a new market segment for manufacturing intelligence and integration software. He has also contributed to a number of industry standards organizations, including ISA-88/ISA-95, and the OPC Foundation. In addition, Mr. Bullotta has been involved in the industrial sector in diverse roles, including factory operations and management, systems integration, sales and marketing, product management and industrial engineering. He holds a degree in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell University. |
Scott Daugherty, Director of Operations; Cormetech Inc.
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| Scott Daugherty has 25 years of management experience growing profitable business operations and is the Director of Operations for Cormetech Inc., a leading producer of titania-based ceramic honeycomb catalyst for NOx emission control used in Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems for air pollution control. He sponsored the project team responsible for design, development and implementation of the MES solution at the Durham operation. Prior to joining Cormetech, he was a Plant Manager for Lenox Incorporated's fine dinnerware operation, a Group Manager at AVX Corporation for their military and medical ceramic capacitor business and a Direct Electronics Salesman and Digital Control Engineer at Corning Incorporated. He earned a MBA from the UNC Kenan-Flager Business School, a BS in Computer Engineering from Clemson University and is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt. |
Michael Durak, Director of IT; General Motors
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Michael Durak has been working for General Motors since 1998. Currently working in Manufacturing Information Technology, he has also worked for Controls, Competitive Operations, and Industrial Engineering. In his current role he is responsible for Strategy, Development, Deployment, and Operations of Real-Time Plant floor systems across GM's global manufacturing footprint. This includes Production Monitoring and Control, Error Proofing, Materials Systems, Scrap Management Systems, and Process Control Systems. Michael has Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oakland University, and a Master's of Business Administration from Walsh College. |
Tim Easterling, VP Corporate Engineering; Keystone Foods
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| Tim Easterling is the Director of Engineering at Keystone Foods LLC. Over the past six years at Keystone, Mr. Easterling has lead three of Keystone's largest capital projects, all multi-million dollar initiatives. Most recently, he led the development and construction of a Greenfield fully cooked poultry processing facility in Gadsden, Alabama, which was the recipient of Food Automation's Plant of the Year award. Over the past 16 years in the food industry Mr. Easterling has held several engineering roles/project management for major capital projects including processing automation and construction. Prior to joining Keystone, he held leadership positions at major companies such as Con Agra, Gold-Kist, Seaboard Farms and Tyson Foods. Mr. Easterling has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Engineering from the University of Georgia. |
Bob Erb, VP of Operations; Biotronik Bob Erb has 30 years experience in Operations Management. He is Vice President of Operations for Micro Systems Engineering (MSEI), a German based Medical Device Manufacturer. He has extensive experience in Microelectronics Manufacturing, Global Supply Chain Management, Planning, and Materials Management. Prior to MSEI he was NEC's Manufacturing Manager for North American Cell Phone Manufacturing. Bob earned a MBA from the University of Portland and a BS in Finance and Mathematics from Oregon State University.
Dave Frede, Global Marketing Manager of Operations Management Software; GE Intelligent Platforms
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David Frede is the global marketing manager of Operations Management Software for GE Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Home & Business Solutions. His experience spans from plant floor control technologies through production management systems and finally ERP business systems. He currently manages marketing for products ranging from MES and portal technologies to historian and workflow. Prior to joining GE, Mr. Frede served with Rockwell Automation, ActivePlant and ROI Systems. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Kettering University (formerly known as GMI Engineering & Management Institute) and a Master of Science in Finance from DePaul University. |
Charlie Gifford, Chief Manufacturing Consultant; 21st Century Manufacturing Solutions
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| Charlie Gifford received his Bachelors of Science, both in CHE and Material Engineering, along with his Masters in Solid State Physics from the University of Maryland. For the past 25 years, Mr. Gifford, Lean Production Management Consultant, has developed advanced manufacturing systems in a wide variety of industries: aerospace, electronics, automotive, food & beverage, telecommunication, energy, and life sciences. He is a nationally recognized expert in combining Lean Manufacturing practices with Production Management Systems. His background includes hands-on design, design supervision and team leadership in Production Transformation. As an industry leader in professional organizations such as ISA, Supply Chain Council and MESA International, he has contributed to and taught many manufacturing operations standards, such as ISA-88, ISA-95, Next Gen MESA and SCOR models. He has published over 35 papers on the subject of production management best practices, most recently as Chairman of the ISA-95 Best Practices Working Group. He was the Chief Editor and contributing author for the book, Hitchhikers Guide to Manufacturing Operations Management: ISA-95 Best Practices Book 1.0. He was awarded the 2007, Outstanding Contribution to MESA award. |
Dr. Michael Grieves, Author and NASA Consultant
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Dr. Michael Grieves is an internationally recognized author, speaker and educator on Product Lifecycle Management, with over 35 years of technical and executive experience in a wide range of industries. In addition to numerous papers on PLM in engineering, manufacturing and sustainment, he is the author of "Product Lifecycle Management: Driving the Next Generation of Lean Thinking" (McGraw-Hill, 2006). Dr. Grieves consults and delivers executive education to a few select organizations, including NASA. On the academic side, he is a professor at The University of Iowa and CIMBA in Italy and is affiliated with Purdue University's PLM Center of Excellence. His new book, "Virtually Perfect: Driving both Innovation and Productivity through PLM" will be available later this year. |
Dr. MIchael Heidingsfelder, Senior VP of Operations; Freudenberg-NOK
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Dr. Michael Heidingsfelder is one of the three members of the Office of the CEO, a team in charge of managing Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership (FNGP), the Sealing Technology Business of Freudenberg & Co., Germany and NOK Corporation, Japan in the Americas with sales close to $1 billion per year. As the Senior Vice President for Operations, Dr. Heidingsfelder is responsible for the financial and operative performance of all 24 manufacturing sites of FNGP in six divisions in North and South America. He oversees and supports the operative teams in each plant and in each of the divisions to achieve their financial metrics targets as well as Continuous Improvement and Quality objectives. Prior to his current assignment, Dr. Heidingsfelder was the Gasket Division and the Trading Division Manager of FNGP. Before this, Dr. Heidingsfelder was the Co-General Manager of NOK-Freudenberg Group China, the Sealing Technology Business of Freudenberg and NOK in Mainland China. Prior to this responsibility, Dr. Heidingsfelder worked at Freudenberg & Co. in Germany, for the global consulting company Roland Berger in Europe, Brazil and the US, as well as for Siemens and Volkswagen in Germany. Dr. Heidingsfelder holds a Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration from the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany and a Doctorate in Technology Marketing from the University of Saarland in Saarbruecken, Germany. |
Lance Holmer, Technical Specialist, Refining Engineering; Marathon Petroleum Company
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Lance Holmer has served in a number of diverse positions from Electrical Supervisor in Detroit, Michigan to Area Maintenance Supervisor in Robinson, Illinois, during more than 30 years at Marathon Petroleum Company (MPC). In 1997, he was promoted to the position of Technical Specialist, and assumed responsibility for the development and implementation of asset management systems at MPC's seven refineries. Over the last ten years, his team has focused on "leveling the playing field" at each plant through the introduction of new software that manages daily work flows, material inventories, equipment inspections and reliability analysis. He received his Electrical Engineering degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. |
Simon Jacobson, Research Director, AMR Research
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| As a member of AMR Research's Engineering and Manufacturing Operations team, Simon Jacobson examines how manufacturers apply IT within both the local production environment and across the entire product supply network. He researches and works closely with clients on current and future manufacturing architectures, measurement strategies, and technology best practices across the manufacturing industries that AMR Research serves. Mr. Jacobson is frequently quoted in the press and presents often at industry events on such topics as manufacturing compliance and Manufacturing 2.0. He provides insights on technology markets, including Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence (EMI), Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Quality Management Systems (QMS), as well as the evolving role of manufacturing-focused service providers. Prior to his role as Research Director, Mr. Jacobson was a Sr. Research Analyst covering both manufacturing operations and the midmarket ERP segment. Before that he worked as the Program Manager for AMR Research's manufacturing operations service. In this position, he managed the team's strategic client relationships, business development efforts, and coordinated research efforts to ensure that market trends and demands were adequately reflected. He also worked to create cross-functional synergies with AMR Research's sales, marketing, and research departments. Mr. Jacobson earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Vermont. |
Mike James, Group Managing Director; ATS International BV
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| Mike P. James started his career at Plessey Electronics in a research and manufacturing environment. He gained his first international experience with Allen-Bradley's CNC division and then moved to The Netherlands to lead Allen-Bradley's expansion into Europe. At Indivers and Intech NV, Mr. James gained experience in the aerospace, defense and semi-conductor manufacturing industries, working closely on USA/Dutch Government contracts. As co-founder, he has been instrumental in growing ATS, founded in 1986, into Europe's largest Independent Solution Provider. Mr. James is the Treasurer of MESA International's EMEA Board of Directors; he also participates on MES Governance Boards at Rolls-Royce Aerospace and at Carlsberg while also leading a number of initiatives in the automotive, food and pharmaceuticals industries. He regularly leads product selection processes across a number of industries and has found the common threads which lead to a successful selection process. |
Khris Kammer, Senior Information Solutuions Consultant, Rockwell Automation
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| For nearly twenty years, Khris has focused on the application of computer software and information systems to the improvement of manufacturing processes. His experience began with the design, development, and application of SPC (Statistical Process Control) software, and expanded into the more general field of MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) in the mid-90s. Since then, Khris has served in various MES functions for large and small companies, ranging from the management of engineering, consulting, and support departments to customer account management and hands-on business consulting. In his current role at Rockwell Automation, he orchestrates MES solution consulting globally. Khris is also active in the larger MES community, holding the chair of the MESA Technical Committee since 2003, and working collaboratively with WBF, ISA, and other industry cornerstones to develop and extend the profession of MES. |
Dr. Gilad Langer, Consulting Manager; NNE Pharmaplan
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Dr. Gilad Langer's 15+ years of experience in the manufacturing and quality system domain spans a variety of industries where he has spearheaded projects involving strategic complex software solutions in both Europe and the Americas. He has served as a trusted advisor and business consultant in the areas of technology directions, industry strategy and manufacturing system implementations for companies such as GE, Caterpillar, J&J, Bang & Olufsen, Abbott, Maersk, Roche, Zimmer and Novo Nordisk. He is an accomplished leader with experience from military, academic and security organizations. Dr. Langer has a Masters degree in Manufacturing, Industrial and Software Engineering, and a Doctorate from the Technical University of Denmark, one of the top technical institutes in Europe. His research was focused on advanced concepts for highly agile manufacturing systems. He pioneered Agile methods for software development and has been involved in major European research projects. |
Kasper Larsen, Sr. Technical Manager; Novo Nordisk
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Mr. Kasper Larsen has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Copenhagen University of Engineering and is a Certified Project Manager. He joined the NNE Pharmaplan MES team in 1995 and participated in various MES project implementations within Novo Nordisk A/S, first as technical lead and later as Project Manager (from large scale biotech to fill finish, packaging and QC Laboratories). He was appointed manager of the NNE Pharmaplan MES group in 2002 and took over the Automation Solutions Architect group in 2004. He was contracted as Automation/MES Project Manager in 2006 to develop and implement the manufacturing IT solution for Genentech's fill and finish facility in Oregon, USA. Currently, Mr. Larsen is the Senior Technical Manager responsible for Novo Nordisk's global MES roll-out. |
Matthew Littlefield, Senior Research Analyst; Aberdeen Group
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As a Senior Research Analyst with the Aberdeen Group, Matthew Littlefield drives Aberdeen's manufacturing research agenda and studies how manufacturing enterprises manage people, process and technology to address continually changing market pressures. His areas of expertise include: Food Safety and Traceability, Manufacturing Operations Management, Quality Management, Sustainability, and Technology Interoperability. Over the past three years at Aberdeen, Mr. Littlefield has benchmarked the performance of over 5,000 manufacturing executives, authored more than 50 research reports and given over 25 presentations to audiences ranging in size from 25 to over 1,000. He is also a frequent contributor to Aberdeen's Manufacturing Advisor newsletter (reaching more than 60,000 subscribers globally), Aberdeen's Manufacturing Research blog and many other leading industry publications. Finally, Mr. Littlefield is a recognized industry expert and continually advises manufacturing executives on how to best leverage technology in their operations. Prior to joining the Aberdeen Group, Mr. Littlefield spent the last five years working for multi-billion dollar food manufacturers (Unilever, HP Hood) in both engineering and management roles. He graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Masters in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. |
Rob Markevics, Director MES Discrete Business Development; Siemens PLM Software, Inc.
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Rob Markevics is responsible for Siemens' SIMATIC IT manufacturing execution system proliferation, in discrete manufacturing vertical markets, in North America. Mr. Markevics has BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and earned his Master of Science in Management (MBA) from Purdue University where he also devised and delivered a course, in Total Quality Management (TQM) and Lean, to senior level students. |
Ugan Maistry, Managing Director; EOH Mining and Manufacturing
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Ugan Maistry is the Managing Director, at EOH Mining and Manufacturing (www.eohmm.co.za), a company specialising in delivering "sensor to boardroom" applications spanning multiple industries including, manufacturing, mining, mineral processing, metals, food and beverage, consumer products, and petrochemicals. As an engineer by profession, Ugan has fulfilled many consulting and end-user roles over the past 17 years. His experience as an end-user has been a key contributor to his success in designing, developing, and managing innovative IT solutions that add true business value. |
Michael Meaden, VP Services & General Procurement, IBM Corporation
| Mike Meaden joined IBM in 1984 as a production planner. He held various management positions within production procurement, and in 2000 he was appointed Director of Production Procurement Sourcing. In 2003, he joined Services and General Procurement (S&GP) and has held six different executive positions within S&GP over the last seven years, including a two-year assignment in Hong Kong as the Director of Asia Pacific Sourcing. |
Rodney Neal, Practice Manager; Global Automation Partners
 | Rodney Neal has over 30 years of experience in solving manufacturing issues via application of information technology solutions. He brings a unique perspective developed through positions of responsibility in operations, application development, system design, strategy, and consulting. He worked direct for manufacturing for 15 years and has worked as a consultant for over 15 years. His perspective is shaped by virtue of cross-industry experience having worked with such clients as Genentech, Life Technologies (now Invitrogen), St. Jude Medical, Becton Dickinson, Antigenics, Pfizer, Novartis, Gates Rubber, Corning Cable Systems, Advanced Glassfiber Yarns, Avery Dennison, PPG, Scott Paper (now Kimberly-Clark), Cormetech, and Kraft / Nabisco. |
Melissa Nippert, Director of Capital and Strategic Projects; Pinnacle Foods Group LLC
Ms. Nippert has eight years of experience in the food industry, with roles ranging from front line supervisor to corporate productivity manager. She currently oversees all of Pinnacle Foods' strategic supply chain projects, and manages the company's capital program. She holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.
Darren K. Riley, Sr. Manufacturing Consultant; Rockwell Automation
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| Darren Riley has over 25 years of experience serving the manufacturing industry from software development, program management, solutions development, solution marketing and his current role as a operational consultant, helping improve business and operations through automation and information solutions for Rockwell Automation. His education includes a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Central Florida.
His experience ranges across process through batch/hybrid to discrete solutions and was gained at stops with Wonderware, Invensys and Visiprise. Mr. Riley has helped manufacturers in automotive, electronics, discrete, CPG, converting and hybrid industries surrounding MES applications with a concentration on manufacturing convergence to enable financial benefit and fit. Mr. Riley has authored industry articles and white papers on the MES space and currently is a Metrics Working Groups Chair and authoring member of MESA (www.mesa.org) and former contributor to ISO standards (incl. S95). |
Jan Snoeij, Principal Consultant; Logica
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| Jan Snoeij is a principal member of the consultancy team of Logica's MES Centre of Excellence. He contributed to Logica's position as all-round Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Specialist, and as one of the largest Systems Integrators on Manufacturing IT in Europe. In the 1980's, Mr. Snoeij was active in assisting companies in improving their production and business performances by making use of information systems and other innovative technologies. He has broad experience in many different industry sectors, varying from textiles and clothing to metals, steel and automotive. Mr. Snoeij holds a Masters degree in Applied Physics. Mr. Snoeij currently is a MESA International Board Member at Large, Chair of the MESA EMEA Board and Chair of MESA's EMEA Expansion Committee. Annually, he publishes the MES Product Survey report. |
John Southcott, Co-CEO; Brock Solutions
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John is co-CEO of Brock Solutions, an engineering solutions company specializing in Manufacturing Executions Systems, Automation & Controls, Software Engineering, Computer Systems Validation and Drives Engineering. Brock Solutions is one of North America's largest independent integrators serving a wide range of industries including Metals, Newspaper & Printing, Baggage & Material Handling, Discrete Manufacturing, Process Manufacturing and Life Sciences. Brock has been named one of Canada's 50 best managed companies for the past 10 years, and has executed thousands of projects for Fortune 1000 companies around the world. Prior to joining Brock Solutions, John was a senior partner with Deloitte Consulting for over 20 years. He held many leadership roles during his career with Deloitte, including North American Manufacturing Industry Practice Leader and CEO of ICS Canada (Deloitte's SAP and Baan practice). |
Mark Sutcliffe, President; CDC Software
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Mark Sutcliffe is President of CDC Factory, a packaged manufacturing operations management solution. Mr. Sutcliffe is an acknowledged authority on continuous improvement and change management practices, centered on technology. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences in Europe and the U.S. on the subject of deploying technology to leverage "human capital" and achieving "breakthrough performance" across the whole enterprise. After an outstanding career in enterprise software sales, Mr. Sutcliffe formed MVI technology in 1991 to provide leading-edge improvement technology to the food & beverage manufacturing sector. In the fourth quarter of 2006, MVI was acquired by CDC Software and the product line has posted consistent record sales quarters. |
Dr. Arnesh Telukdarie, Senior Engineering Manager; Sasol
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Dr. Arnesh Telukdarie is currently Senior Engineering Manager at Sasol, MES Centre of Excellence. Mr. Telukdarie has a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the Durban University of Technology a Pr Eng from Engineering Council of South Africa and is completing a Doctorate in Business Leadership at the University of South Africa. He has presented at more than 20 international conferences with six journal papers published. His current area of interest includes optimization of MES application with a focus on seamless integration together with optimum business beneficiation. |
Kevin Uhls, Supply Chain IT Leader; GE Consumer and Industrial
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Kevin is a graduate of Murray State University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics, in 1989. He is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt and also participated in the executive Six Sigma Black Belt program. Kevin worked as consultant with EDS and Keane after college. He joined GE in 1996 and held several IT leadership positions within GE Appliances in Louisville, Kentucky. He moved to GE Plastics in Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands in 2000 where he was CIO for Europe and then to GE Security in Austin, TX in 2002 where he was CIO and Customer Service Leader. Kevin left GE for ADT Security Services in 2004 to be their Chief Information Officer. He returned to GE Consumer and Industrial in March 2007 as the Director for Supply Chain IT. |
Mitchell Weisberg, Managing Director; Lumen, Inc.
 | Mitchell Weisberg, Managing Director of Lumen, Inc., specializes in Business Transformation and Strategy Execution for High Performance. He has led organizations to implement performance metrics/management, process improvement and change management. Mr. Weisberg was the Global Practice Leader for Business Performance Management at HP and led global practices at Arthur D. Little and Nolan, Norton/KPMG. He has broad cross-industry and international experience.
Mr. Weisberg was a member of the team that developed the Balanced Scorecard with Norton and Kaplan. He has customized and implemented that methodology and trained practitioners in performance metrics. Mr. Weisberg is on the Advisory Board of the IBM/Cognos Innovation Center for Performance Management and a Fellow of Suffolk University's Center for Innovation and Change Leadership. He teaches Management Strategy at Suffolk University, he received his Bachelors of Science from Cornell University in Mechanical/Biomedical Engineering and Masters Degree from University of North Carolina. |
Larry White, Executive Director, Resource Consumption Accounting Institute
 | Larry White is the Executive Director of the Resource Consumption Accounting (RCA) Institute.
He retired from the U.S. Coast Guard as a Captain with over 28 years of service, 21 years in financial management and accounting. As Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Finance Center which provides the accounting and financial systems support to the Coast Guard and TSA, he implemented Lean and Six Sigma cutting work in process from 22 days to one day, creating millions of dollars in savings to meet escalating financial reporting requirements. He was served as Deputy CFO of the Coast Guard, Chief of the Office of Financial Systems and Policy and comptroller of three major field commands. Mr. White holds a Bachelors Degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a Masters in Business from Columbia University and is a Certified Management Accountant, Certified Financial Manager, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Government Financial Manager. |
