Eric Carroll (Director of Human Resources, Harrison Steel Castings Company)
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Eric Carroll became the Director of Human Resources at Harrison Steel Castings Company in Attica, Indiana, in 2018. Carroll started at Harrison Steel, a global leader in the production of precision-engineered steel casting solutions, in 2010 as a Continuous Improvement Manager. He transitioned to HR in 2015 after completing several company-wide HR projects in his Continuous Improvement role. Bringing a lean and continuous improvement mindset, he has revamped company policies, processes, and the entire HR function to build an exceptional team throughout the organization.
Carroll graduated from Wabash College with a BA in Economics and received his MBA from Purdue’s Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business. A Senior Certified Professional with the Society of Human Resources Management, Carroll helped design and instruct Purdue University’s Human Resources Development’s capstone class. Carroll lives in Noblesville with his wife and one child.
Steven Dunlop (Managing Director, Dauch Center
Global Supply Chain Management Initiative)
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Steven Dunlop is the Managing Director for the Dauch Center for Manufacturing and the Global Supply Chain center in the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business at Purdue University. He has been at Purdue for more 20 years and was previously in the private sector in a variety of positions, including supply chain finance and production scheduling. While at Purdue his experience has included the management of large grants, leading the online evaluation effort for the university, and the development of new technology for a variety of small to large companies.
He has had the opportunity to teach project management, adult education training, and how to develop online courses for the private sector. The Dauch Center currently has more than 35 company projects in process, primarily in manufacturing and supply chain areas.
Ryan Henderson (Managing Director, Innovation and Digital Transformation
Conexus Indiana)
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Ryan executes Conexus Indiana’s Industry 4.0 programs, which support the advanced manufacturing and logistics economy with technology adoption and digital transformation to drive productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability. He is passionate about emerging technologies and research, and strives to lead innovative collaborations between industry, academia and the public sector to accelerate the fourth industrial revolution.
Ryan joined Conexus from Techstars, where he operated The Heritage Group Accelerator powered by Techstars. During the program, Ryan helped 10 hardtech startups grow from early-stage to venture-backed companies by engaging them in Techstars intensive programming including over 85 mentor sessions–the cohort raised a combined $8 million.
Before Techstars, Ryan worked at Current, Chicago’s water innovation hub. He helped build pilot projects and convened key stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of innovative water technologies. Notably, Ryan supported the implementation of H2NOW Chicago, a first-of-its-kind pilot project that provides real-time water quality data from the Chicago River to the general public via novel sensing technology.
Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Eastern Illinois University, and a master’s degree in sustainability from DePaul University.
Ananth Iyer (Dean, School of Management
University at Buffalo)
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Ananth V. Iyer was named dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management in August 2022.
A highly accomplished scholar in operations and supply chain management, Iyer has published five books and more than 50 journal articles and book chapters. His work has been supported by grants from numerous agencies and foundations, including the National Science Foundation, Coast Guard and Indiana Department of Transportation.
Prior to joining UB, Iyer served as a senior associate dean, Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair in Operations Management and head of the management department at Purdue University's Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business. He also was director of the Dauch Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises and the Global Supply Chain Management Initiative.
Iyer previously was associate dean for graduate programs and director of Purdue NExT, a university-wide program that offers non-credit online courses for global distribution.
He has served as president of the MSOM Society of INFORMS and as an editor or editorial board member for numerous journals. Iyer was an American Council of Education Fellow, a visiting professor at the Wharton School and MIT Operations Research Center, and a Purdue University Faculty Scholar.
In industry, Iyer has consulted and provided executive education for such companies as General Electric, Daymon Associates, Dade Behring, Larsen & Toubro, Quint Wellington and Chromcraft Revington
Iyer holds a doctorate is in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology; a Master of Science in industrial engineering and operations research from Syracuse University; and a Bachelor of Technology in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology at Bombay.
Brad Outland (Regional Manager,
Aalberts Surface Technologies)
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Brad Outland is Regional Manager for Aalberts Surface Technologies, a global provider of coatings and surface treatments for aerospace, automotive and industrial manufacturing companies. With over 6,000 colleagues in 80 locations around the world, Aalberts adds value to thousands of mission-critical components through longer life and more efficient performance. Brad’s previous manufacturing experience spans more than 40 years with global automotive and aerospace companies. As the Chief Metallurgist for a GM/Chrysler joint venture, he worked in Mexico and Western Europe to resolve supply chain problems, both technical and organizational.
In 2004, Brad joined Rolls-Royce Corporation in Indianapolis as the Special Processes Manager, leading the heat treating and coating services for gas turbine engine components. In 2010, he was named Head of Advanced Manufacturing, and in 2013, Brad became a Manufacturing Executive for Rolls-Royce, plc. -- leading a multi-national group to design, build, and launch a $135M turbine blade facility outside of Richmond, Virginia.
Brad returned to Indianapolis in 2016 to lead the manufacturing of game-changing technology turbine blades, and after a subsequent stint with disc manufacturing, retired from Rolls in 2021. However, his passion for problem solving and mentoring led him to “unretire” shortly thereafter and join Aalberts.
Brad holds a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Butler University. He is a certified Journeyman in Shainin Problem Solving and a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma.
Tony Papke (Director, Business Development
MxD)
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Tony Papke is the Director of Business Development for MxD. In his role, Tony develops and drives partner engagement through business development initiative, aligning prospective partners with the goals and strategy of MxD.
Over the last 15 years and prior to joining MxD, Tony worked in medical devices in a variety of roles including account management, strategy, customer service, engineering, operations and business development. Most recently at Brianlab Inc, Tony managed corporate level relationships within National Accounts to increase net new sales and grow existing business.
Tony holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University and his MBA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. When not working, Tony enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.
Rick Raber (Chief Technology Officer
Northern Apex Corporation & API Alliance, Inc.)
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Rick has been involved with successful manufacturing and field support systems' design and development for more than 30 years. Included in this experience is a 20-year tenure as CTO at Northern Apex Corporation. Rick has led Northern Apex’s engineering team to create electronic designs and complete RFID/automatic identification solution integration, and has provided total engineering and technology management.
Paul Ryznar (Founder, President & CEO
LightGuide, Inc.)
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Engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur Paul Ryznar created LightGuide and is the founder, president, and CEO of Wixom, Michigan-based LightGuide, Inc. The technology uses proprietary software and high-powered projector systems to guide and confirm the completion of complex tasks from automotive assembly to quality control to training. Prior to LightGuide’s invention in 2005, he held senior management roles including Vice President of Operations positions at Detroit Diesel, Bosch, and Energy Conversion Devices, and has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience.
Swatish Sridharan (Senior Engineer,
Cummins)
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Swatish Sridharan is a Senior Engineer at Cummins’ New Power manufacturing, which is responsible for Controls, Test and Maintenance in Battery and EV powertrain assembly lines in Columbus, Indiana. He is a Weekend MBA student at Purdue’s business school and has an MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UIC. He has more than 10 years of experience in manufacturing (Tires, Engines, Battery, and EV Powertrain). He is passionate about new battery technologies and EV adoption strategies, and enjoys traveling and spending time with family. He lives in Columbus, Indiana.
Roy Vasher (Assistant Professor of Management,
Purdue University)
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Roy Vasher began his career at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. He served as Information Systems Manager in Ford Division and Finance Staff. During his 19+ years at Toyota, Roy developed deep insight and experience on how to integrate Information Technology to support lean processes by serving as General Manager, Information Systems. He led a cross-functional team to streamline and integrate Toyota's vehicle supply chain to reduce Order-to-Delivery lead-time and optimize vehicle inventory, leading the industry in these innovations. Roy is currently Assistant Professor of Management at Purdue University. Roy is also a Lean Consultant and President of RPV Consulting, LLC. He co-authored Toyota's Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach to Toyota’s Renowned System.
Ben Wrightsman (Strategic Global Industry Executive)
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Roy Vasher began his career at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. He served as Information Systems Manager in Ford Division and Finance Staff. During his 19+ years at Toyota, Roy developed deep insight and experience on how to integrate Information Technology to support lean processes by serving as General Manager, Information Systems. He led a cross-functional team to streamline and integrate Toyota's vehicle supply chain to reduce Order-to-Delivery lead-time and optimize vehicle inventory, leading the industry in these innovations. Roy is currently Assistant Professor of Management at Purdue University. Roy is also a Lean Consultant and President of RPV Consulting, LLC. He co-authored Toyota's Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach to Toyota’s Renowned System.
Paul Grandillo (Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain
Moderna)
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Paul Granadillo has served as Moderna’s Head of Supply Chain since April 2018. Paul has 19 years of experience in Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Operational Excellence at Pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly and Company and Novartis. He has focused the past 11 years on transforming and building Supply Chain systems, processes, and organizations in pharmaceuticals from clinical supply through commercial at manufacturing sites and global levels. Through ascending Supply Chain responsibility in the U.S., Turkey, and Switzerland, Paul has global experience implementing MRPII Class A Supply Chains, Lean Methodology, and Organizational Change Management.
At Moderna, Paul has built Supply Chain from a from clinical supply through commercial supply. Starting in 2020, Paul transformed Moderna’s supply chain through the COVID-19 development, material sourcing, scale-up, commercialization, and mass production. Moderna rapidly established internal production, contract manufacturing, and third-party logistics capabilities to meet pandemic requirements. To date, Moderna has distributed more than 1,000,000,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses globally.
Paul has a BS in Industrial Technology from Purdue University, is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and is currently enrolled in the General Management Program at Harvard Business School.
October 8, 2021
Conference Recap Watch welcome Watch closing
Robert Bierwagen (VP of Digital Strategies, MPI Corporation)
Bob has over 35 years of executive experience in in software and technology in both the software and manufacturing industries. His career includes executive leadership roles in product development, product management, marketing, operations, sales management and technology. Bob has also operated his own small business as a direct marketer and software reseller. His unique combination of background and experience has provided the ideal qualifications for his current role at MPI Corporation as VP of Digital Strategies where he is leading the company’s efforts in IIoT and Advanced Analytics.
Vani Dantam (Chief Project Consultant, Lucas TVS Industries)
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Vani Dantam has close to 40 years of experience in Business Development (BD), Sales & Marketing, Operations, Finance and Engineering in Transportation and Energy industries. He is currently retained by Lucas TVS, as the Chief Project Consultant for the 5GWh Li ion battery plant to be built near Chennai, India. Before joining Lucas TVS in 2019, Vani was at Landis+Gyr, Toshiba for ~5yrs, as the V.P. of Strategic Planning & Partner Management and prior to that as the V.P. of Sales & Business Development for Energy Storage Systems. Before this, Vani was the Senior V.P. of BD, Sales & Marketing at Axion Power, a start-up lead carbon battery company in Pennsylvania. Prior to that he worked as the V.P. of BD and Sales at Ener1, a Lithium ion battery manufacturer in Indiana.
Vani Dantam’s educational qualifications include continuing executive course work from Wharton School of Business – University of Pennsylvania, Kelley School of Business – Indiana University and Daniels School of Business – Purdue University, an MBA in Finance & International Business from Indiana University, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, a Diploma in Quality Engineering from Kettering University and a B.Tech (Hons) in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT, Banaras Hindu University, India. He spent a year at Trinity College, Cambridge U.K. as a Churchill Scholar.
Richard F. (Rick) Dauch (President & CEO, Workhorse)
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Richard F. (Rick) Dauch became the President & CEO of Workhorse during the summer of 2021. He founded PointeWest Capital, LLC and was the Chairman & CEO of Century, LLC. During complementary corporate and military careers, he has amassed 30 years of cumulative global leadership and management experience. He developed skills across a broad range of functional disciplines, including operations, sales & marketing, labor relations, strategic planning, finance, investor relations and M&A.
Dauch is a member of the board of directors of The Shyft Group, Inc., the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA), Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) and the DHCAU SPAC. He also serves on the board of directors and is a past president of the Army Football Club. He is married with seven children, 10 grandchildren and is an avid sports enthusiast, golfer and enjoys military history.
Danny J Ernstes (CAP Coordinator Indiana, Retiree Representative Indiana, UAW Region 2B)
Danny Ernstes has been a twenty-eight-year member of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW). He has modeled his life and work around the UAW adage, “That there is no greater calling than to serve your fellow man. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well.”
Danny has served the UAW in various capacities and is currently employed by the International Union Region 2B as the Indiana CAP Coordinator. Before his employment with the UAW, he worked for Navistar International as a Journeyman Millwright/Machine Repair.
Robin Fleming (Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Anvl)
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Robin Fleming is the co-founder of Anvl, an award winning software company helping companies unlock real-time data to improve product quality, safety and productivity. Robin has over 34 years experience in the tech industry where she focused on building and delivering software solutions across a broad set of industries. She is applying her experience to help companies engage the frontline workforce with smart guided workflows, easy to use applications that collect data and provide valuable analytical insights.
Sydney Hollingshead, Ph.D. (Development Engineer, Cook Biotech, Inc.)
Sydney works as a development engineer for Cook Biotech Inc. Cook Biotech creates medical devices that support the regrowth of healthy patient tissue in both surgical- and disease-caused wounds. As a development engineer, Sydney contributes to the discovery and innovation of new medical device technologies. Sydney evaluates potential technologies for their scientific rigor, patient risk, and scale-up and manufacturing practicality and safety. In addition to product research and development, Sydney designs equipment and develops processes for the scale-up of device manufacturing.
Dr. Ananth Iyer (Director, DCMME & GSCMI | Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair in Operations Management)
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Professor Iyer is the Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair in Operations Management at the Daniels School of Business and the Department head of the management department. He is the Director of DCMME and the GSCMI.
Jeremy Konkle (Chief Operating Officer, Tipmont REMC)
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Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jeremy earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette. After graduating he worked as an engineering consultant at Spectrum Engineering for 10 years. While working as a Project Engineer Jeremy earned a Master’s in Business Administration from Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne and became a licensed Professional Engineer. Jeremy then worked for Wabash Valley Power Alliance before joining Tipmont REMC in 2016. In 2020 he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
Amanda Raver (Powertrain manufacturing engineer, Subaru of Indiana)
Amanda has nearly a decade of experience in the automotive industry. Focusing on powertrain, she has developed her skills in diverse roles including supervision, lean process improvement, quality, and manufacturing engineering. Amanda’s most recent role is on the launch team for Subaru of Indiana’s new transmission facility. She is passionate about using her experience and knowledge to encourage women to consider careers in manufacturing and engineering.
Jonathan Schalliol (Director, Heritage Group Ventures)
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Jon is Director at HG Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of The Heritage Group. HG Ventures partners with entrepreneurs building a sustainable future in materials, infrastructure and industrial systems. Jon leverages experiences in corporate development, strategy, and entrepreneurship. He has spent the past ten years in roles across The Heritage Group, most recently as Director, Strategy + M&A. Jon is an active member of the local entrepreneurial community who takes pride in sourcing groundbreaking and sustainable technology. Prior to THG, he was a founder of a tech startup and held positions at Plug & Play, Merrill Lynch Investment Banking, Ernst & Young, and Apple.
Prith Banerjee (Chief Technology Officer, ANSYS, Inc.)
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Banerjee brings a unique combination of experience to Ansys – from serving in academia and industry, to leading research labs and large engineering organizations, to founding two startups. He has driven transformational change at large enterprises as the executive vice president and CTO of both Schneider Electric and ABB. Banerjee’s extensive research experience includes leadership positions at Accenture Technology Labs and HP Labs. His academic career includes the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was dean of College of Engineering. During that time, he founded two electronic design automation solution developers, AccelChip and BINACHIP Inc.
Jody Hamilton (Director of Business Development, Tipmont REMC)
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Jody Hamilton joined Tipmont and Wintek in the role of business development director. She was previously with Greater Lafayette Commerce for 24 years, most recently as vice president, economic development. Her new role builds strong relations with existing and new customers throughout Tipmont and Wintek’s service area. She also works closely with the local community leadership to attract new industry and help create economic opportunities.
Blair Milo (Indiana, Secretary for Career Connections and Talent)
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Blair Milo currently serves as the State of Indiana’s first Secretary for Career Connections and Talent and works to fill an estimated one million job openings over the next ten years. She also serves on the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, a body dedicated to shaping education and workforce training for a 21st Century workforce.
Rene Yamin (Founder & CEO, AkcelitaPrit)
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Rene Yamin is CEO of Akcelita Innovation Labs. Akcelita works building creative solutions to hard to solve business problems using Applied Mathematics, Software and Hardware. Rene was previously President and Chief Innovation Officer- Founder for Celero Health Solutions and holds an ongoing role as Director-Advisory role for V2A Vision to Action Strategic Management Consultants. Rene holds a PhD from Purdue University in Civil Engineering- Construction Management.
Mark Sheets (Supply Chain Change & Capability Management, Frito Lay)
Mark Sheets is a Supply Chain Change and Capability Manager at Frito Lay. Highly accomplished and results driven Operations professional with over 35 years of experience developing groundbreaking and transformative strategies, design improvements, and processes which save millions of dollars in costs and drive significant revenue growth. Known for being a truly trusted leader in change management and the supply chain and for training and mentoring large diverse teams to unprecedented success.
Robert Wu (VP, Production Control & Information Systems, Subaru of Indiana Automotive)
Robert is currently the VP, Production Control & Information Systems at Subaru of Indiana Automotive. Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is an automobile assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana. Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA) is home of North American production for the Ascent, Impreza, Legacy and Outback models with more than 6,000 Associates.
Jessica Zak (Controller, Tru-Flex LLC)
Jessica has worked as a controller with Tru-Flex LLC since June 2014 and has held previous position as Senior Accountant. She is an experienced Controller and CPA with a demonstrated history of working in manufacturing. Jessica graduated from Purdue University's Daniels School of Business with her BS in accounting and business management.
Kasey Zimpfer (Human Resources Manager, BraunAbility)
Kasey Zimpfer serves as Director of Human Resources for the North American Manufacturing Division of BraunAbility, located in Winamac, Indiana. BraunAbility is the world’s leading manufacturer of mobility transportation solutions, including wheelchair accessible vehicles, wheelchair lifts and seating, storage and securement products.
Roy Vasher (WHIN Education Consultant)
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In his roles at Purdue, Roy is a consultant that is responsible for development of next-Gen educational programs for manufacturing companies in 10 county area adjacent to Purdue University. Roy is also an assistant professor for Purdue’s Executive Management of Business Administration program and is the instructor for the course “AI for Lean Business”. Roy also provides technical assistance to HDS Mercury, a Silicon Valley start-up company, that is developing a robotics solution for fulfillment centers and manufacturing material handling operations.
Angus McLeod (WHIN Education Consultant, VP of Coaching at AMA)
In his position with Purdue, he brings together a wealth of experience in corporate leadership at Board Director level, in thirteen companies in the UK and USA., with development and manufacturing experiences including roofing, membranes, adsorbents, wound-dressings, nano-engineering including sensors, thick-film electronic printing, environmental technologies and magnesium melting/casting. His consultancy work includes national Government, CBRE., Johnson & Johnson Medical, British Aerospace and Glencore-Xstrata where he has delivered management & leadership development as well as leadership coaching. He does ongoing work with leadership on four programs at Wharton College. He is author of books, now in many languages including ‘Performance Coaching’, Self-Coaching Leadership and Me, Myself, My Team’. He supervises PhD students at the Business School of Birmingham City University, UK. He has over 20,000 graduates from his web-based trainings and designs digital apps for leadership and for Small & Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises via Gnowbe.com
Ananth Iyer (Senior Associate Dean, Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair in Operations Management and Operations Management)
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Slides (Product Opportunities)
Slides (Approach to Manage Manufacturing Competitiveness)
Professor Iyer is the Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair in Operations Management at the Daniels School of Business. He is the Department head of the management department. He is currently the Director of DCMME (Dauch Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises) and the GSCMI (Global Supply Chain Management Initiative). From 2012 to 2016, he was the Director of Purdue NExT - a University wide modular online interactive courses for global distribution. He was the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs (2011-2013) and Director of DCMME and the founding Director of GSCMI (2006-2011) at the Daniels School of Business. Previously, he was Purdue University Faculty Scholar from 1999-2004.
Industry Expert Discussion: TP3 Technology, People, Process, Products Managing People Panel Discussion
Mark Sheets, Robert Wu, Jessica Zak, and Kasey Zimpfer
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Angus McLeod (WHIN Education Consultant, VP of Coaching at AMA)
Slides
In his position with Purdue, he brings together a wealth of experience in corporate leadership at Board Director level, in thirteen companies in the UK and USA., with development and manufacturing experiences including roofing, membranes, adsorbents, wound-dressings, nano-engineering including sensors, thick-film electronic printing, environmental technologies and magnesium melting/casting. His consultancy work includes national Government, CBRE., Johnson & Johnson Medical, British Aerospace and Glencore-Xstrata where he has delivered management & leadership development as well as leadership coaching. He does ongoing work with leadership on four programs at Wharton College.
He is author of books, now in many languages including ‘Performance Coaching’, Self-Coaching Leadership and Me, Myself, My Team’. He supervises PhD students at the Business School of Birmingham City University, UK. He has over 20,000 graduates from his web-based trainings and designs digital apps for leadership and for Small & Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises via Gnowbe.com
Ananth Iyer (Senior Associate Dean, Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair in Operations Management and Operations Management)
Slides
Professor Iyer is the Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair in Operations Management at the Daniels School of Business. He is the Department head of the management department. He is currently the Director of DCMME (Dauch Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises) and the GSCMI (Global Supply Chain Management Initiative). From 2012 to 2016, he was the Director of Purdue NExT - a University wide modular online interactive courses for global distribution. He was the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs (2011-2013) and Director of DCMME and the founding Director of GSCMI (2006-2011) at the Daniels School of Business. Previously, he was Purdue University Faculty Scholar from 1999-2004.
His teaching and research interests are operations and supply chain management. Professor Iyer's research currently focuses on analysis of supply chains including the impact of promotions on logistics systems in the grocery industry, and analysis of the impact of competitors on operational management models and the role of supply contracts. His other topics of study include inventory management in the fashion industry, effect of supplier contracts, and use of empirical data sets in operations management model building.
Bryce Brumm (President, Standard Industrial Supply & Standard Manufacturing Inc.)
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Bryce Brumm the President of Standard Industrial and considers himself fortunate to lead his team towards the goal of providing "Solutions for Manufacturing". He loves the Lord, his family, and his community and is a 1995 Graduate of Purdue.
John Funcheon (President, Kokusai Inc.)
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John Funcheon is the President of Kokusai, Inc, where he has been since 2002. Prior to that he has been responsible for Manufacturing and Operations at companies making products ranging from Recreational Vehicles to complex million-dollar machinery. John has implemented 80/20 methodologies as well as InLining techniques. John graduated from Purdue University in 1984 with a degree in BSIM and later added and MBA from Indiana University.
Mike Ryba (Senior Manager, RPA Practice Lead, Centric Consulting)
Slides
Mr. Ryba is currently the Senior Manager and RPA practice lead for Centric Consulting. Mike attended Roosevelt University where he received a Bachelors degree in Computer Science. Prior to working at Centric Consulting, Mike had many positions. He worked as the Executive Services Senior Manager for NCR Corporation in 2015, and worked as Manager of Governance and Configuration Management at Gogo. He has been working at Centric Consulting since 2017.
Natalie Huestis (Manager Employee Initiatives, Skillful Indiana)
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Natalie Heustis is the Manager of Employer Initiatives for Skillful Indiana working with partners and employers to adopt skills-based talent management practices. Natalie has extensive knowledge of the workforce system, employer engagement, and career pathways from her experience at the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. She also serves as President of the Indiana Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration and a school board member for Invent Learning Hub in Indianapolis, IN.
Natalie holds a Masters in Public Administration from John Jay College, City University of New York, as well as dual Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice and a minor in Dance from Indiana University, Bloomington.
Tim Lawrence (Senior Vice President)
Slides
Tim Lawrence was appointed senior vice president, Operations in September 2017. Prior to joining Hillrom, Mr. Lawrence spent 15 years in various positions with increasing responsibility at Baxter International Inc., including most recently as corporate vice president for Operations where he oversaw 60 manufacturing plants spanning 30 countries. Earlier in his career, he served as a general manager for Precision Components International, part of The Wertheimer Group, and for Pratt and Whitney. Prior to his business career, Mr. Lawrence was a commissioned infantry officer in the U.S. Army. He holds a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a master's degree in management from Purdue University.
Monique Apter (Vice President of Sales, HDS Global)
Ms. Apter is currently the Vice President of Sales for HDS Global. Monique attended the University of Delaware where she received a degree in psychology. Prior to working at HDS, Monique was the Vice President of Enterprise Sales & Marketing at Dasan Zhone Solutions for 4 years. She was also a National Sales Director at Rethink Robotics for three years prior to that. She has been working at HDS since 2018.
Roy Vasher (WHIN Education Consultant)
Slides
In his roles at Purdue, Roy is a consultant that is responsible for development of next-Gen educational programs for manufacturing companies in 10 county area adjacent to Purdue University. Roy is also an assistant professor for Purdue’s Executive Management of Business Administration program and is the instructor for the course “AI for Lean Business”.
Roy also provides technical assistance to HDS Mercury, a Silicon Valley start-up company, that is developing a robotics solution for fulfillment centers and manufacturing material handling operations.
Roy’ previous experience included 19+ years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing & Engineering, North America in Kentucky. His roles at Toyota included the General Manager of Information Technology for Toyota’s North American Manufacturing business as well as Project General Manager for Toyota’ Supply Chain reengineering program.
Roy co-authored the book Toyota's Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach to Toyota’s Renowned System.
Dilip Chhajed (Associate Dean of Online Programs & Strategic Innovations)
Slides
Dilip Chhajed is Associate Dean for Online Programs and Strategic Innovations at Daniels School of Business, Purdue University. Professor Chhajed is leading the development and launch of all online programs and new initiatives that have long term implications for the Daniels School.
Prior to joining the Daniels School, he was Professor of Information, Operations, Supply Chain and Analytics in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At Illinois, he has been Associate Head and Executive Director of Masters Programs. In this administrative role, he managed four and lead the formation of three new Master of Science programs: MS in Technology Management, MS in Management and the fully on-line MS in Strategic Brand Communication, which jointly offered with the college of Media.
He earned his PhD at Purdue University, MS from UT-Dallas and B. Tech from IIT Bombay. He has taught at the University of Warsaw, Poland; Sogang University, South Korea; Purdue University; and GISMA in Hanover, Germany. His current research and teaching interests are in product design and healthcare operations. He is an associate editor of Decision Sciences, and has served on the editorial boards of INFOR, MS&OM and International Journal of Operations, and Quantitative Management. He has co-edited (with Tim Lowe) the book titled, "Building Intuition: Insights from Basic Operations Management Models and Principles."
KeyNote
James Keppler (vice president of integrated supply chain & quality, Whirlpool):
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In his position with Whirlpool, Keppler heads the company’s North American Integrated Supply Chain and Quality organizations, which includes the manufacturing, logistics, planning, trade-partner customer support, and quality functions. Among his accountabilities in this role is leading the execution of the company’s “Invested in America” strategy, which includes the investment of approximately $1 billion in our U.S. manufacturing facilities during the past 5 years. He also has accountability for the strategic development of global supply-chain initiatives to drive operating excellence across the global operations for Whirlpool.
In his previous assignment with the company, Keppler served as vice president of Manufacturing with responsibility for our 13 manufacturing facilities in North America. Before joining Whirlpool, he served in various manufacturing-leadership roles in the automotive industry, including senior vice president, North American Operations for International Automotive Components, where he was responsible for 32 manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
In the community, Keppler serves on various charitable and industry boards. He currently is vice chairman for the Lakeshore Excellence Foundation, which supports the local public schools, and also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Whirlpool Foundation and United Way of Southwestern Michigan. In addition, he represents Whirlpool Corporation on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Manufacturers.
Cory Wykoff (Packaging Department Manager, Pepsico, Purdue Grad (Engineering)):
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Cory Wykoff is the packaging department manager for Frito Lay at the Frankfort, Indiana facility. He is responsible for the annual of packaging of ~1.5 billion bags of chips that delight the consumer.
In addition to overseeing the packaging department, Cory also led the site automation project that transformed the facility to utilize industry leading automation which improved the site performance and winning culture.
Cory assumed the role in early 2016 and held various other manufacturing and warehouse roles within Frito Lay starting in 2008. Prior to Frito Lay, he held various roles with Aerofil Technology Inc. from 2005 – 2008.
Cory attended Purdue University from 2000 – 2004 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering.
Dr. Satya Ramaswamy (Executive Vice President, Mindtree Limited):
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Dr. Satya Ramaswamy heads Mindtree’s Enterprise Reimagination Business, an entrepreneurial business unit that is on a mission to help clients reimagine their businesses across multiple industries including the Manufacturing industry, by leveraging Digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain and Big Data. In a career spanning 25 years, Dr. Satya has rich leadership experience in engineering, product management, corporate strategy and general management.
Prior to his current role in Mindtree, Dr. Satya was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Digital business in TCS, where he entrepreneurially built the Digital business from the ground up to a fully scaled global organization over a seven-year period, and helped TCS win several recognitions. Prior to TCS, Dr. Satya founded a successful digital technology startup in Silicon Valley and was in the founding team of another startup in Boston. Earlier in his career, he has held leadership roles in IBM and Motorola. Dr. Satya is recognized as a thought leader with publications in Harvard Business Review Digital and has been quoted widely in global media. He is an innovator with ten granted US patents.
Dr. Satya holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and a Ph.D in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai. He is based out of Mindtree’s Silicon Valley office.
Lou Rives (President, Versa Tech Automation):
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He is a founding partner of Versa Tech Automation established in 1978 and a graduate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.
The company provides engineering and design-build services to Manufacturing and Process Industries and to the US Department of Defense. The company services include design and implementation of IoT, providing Plant-wide Ethernet networks connecting the front office to the plant floor equipment. Software implementations range from Realtime and Historical data collection from the manufacturing equipment to commissioning of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) for plant planning and control.
Roy Vasher (WHIN Education Consultant, Co-Author “Toyota Supply Chain Management” book):
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In his roles at Purdue, Roy is a consultant that is responsible for development of next-Gen educational programs for manufacturing companies in 10 county area adjacent to Purdue University. Roy is also an assistant professor for Purdue’s Executive Management of Business Administration program and is the instructor for the course “AI for Lean Business”.
Roy also provides technical assistance to HDS Mercury, a Silicon Valley start-up company, that is developing a robotics solution for fulfillment centers and manufacturing material handling operations.
Roy’ previous experience included 19+ years at Toyota Motor Manufacturing & Engineering, North America in Kentucky. His roles at Toyota included the General Manager of Information Technology for Toyota’s North American Manufacturing business as well as Project General Manager for Toyota’ Supply Chain reengineering program.
Roy co-authored the book Toyota's Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach to Toyota’s Renowned System.
Angus McLeod (WHIN Education Consultant, VP of Coaching at AMA):
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In his position with Purdue, he brings together a wealth of experience in corporate leadership at Board Director level, in thirteen companies in the UK and USA., with development and manufacturing experiences including roofing, membranes, adsorbents, wound-dressings, nano-engineering including sensors, thick-film electronic printing, environmental technologies and magnesium melting/casting. His consultancy work includes national Government, CBRE., Johnson & Johnson Medical, British Aerospace and Glencore-Xstrata where he has delivered management & leadership development as well as leadership coaching. He does ongoing work with leadership on four programs at Wharton College.
He is author of books, now in many languages including ‘Performance Coaching’, Self-Coaching Leadership and Me, Myself, My Team’. He supervises PhD students at the Business School of Birmingham City University, UK. He has over 20,000 graduates from his web-based trainings and designs digital apps for leadership and for Small & Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises via Gnowbe.com
Arun Gupta (IBM Watson Consultant)
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Arun Gupta, Ph.D., CSCP is a proven leader with extensive and progressive experience managing and leading complex global initiatives. Certifications include: APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, SAP Certified Associate, IBM Certifications: Watson APIs, Watson on-premise tools, Design Thinking, Blockchain. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computer Science
The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX; Master of Engineering (M.Eng.), Computer Science, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX
Arun is currently with North Carolina University as a consulting research associate with the supply chain resource cooperative. Most recently, Arun was the Sr. Managing Consultant, Cognitive Computing CoC at IBM.
Jody Hamilton (GLC, Tipp. County), and Shan Sheridan (Clinton County)
Paul Jackson
Benton County Economic Development
Christy Householder
Ben Wrightsman (COO of the Battery Innovation Center):
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Ben Wrightsman is a strategic industry executive with over 15 years of experience in high tech manufacturing, electronics, and product development companies. He is passionate about finding and utilizing untapped resources and capabilities within a company to open up new opportunities for growth and revenue generation. His diverse background in executive leadership, engineering, business development, and supply chain provides him with opportunities to tackle problems at various levels. Additionally, Ben has held key positions within leading electronic contract and large format lithium battery manufacturers along with several small business ventures and startup companies.
Ben attended Purdue University at Indianapolis and majored in Electrical Engineering, where he was co-captain of the Electric JAG (Indy) Car Team. He is APICS-CPIM accredited, has professional work training from Lushin/Sandler President’s Sales Training, and is a dedicated Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt.
Doug Mansfield (CEO, Kirby Risk)
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Mr. Mansfield, a Purdue University alumnus, is the CEO of Kirby Risk Corporation. Kirby Risk Corporation is a multi-faceted company, dedicated to understanding and meeting its business partners' needs with innovative and efficient solutions. Its networks of resources provide customers with reliable technical assistance, logistics management, and communications systems.
With its main focus on solutions which help customers meet productivity standards, Kirby Risk provides a wide range of services, including quality electrical supplies, electrical apparatus sales and repair services, wiring harness/cable manufacturing and quality industrial component manufacturing.
Kirby Risk Corporation is financially and strategically focused on helping customers address the growing competitive pressures to reduce costs, conserve resources, improve productivity and reduce the time to manufacture goods and services. They can provide total cost of ownership solutions, such as asset and integration management and consulting services that will allow manufacturers to quickly respond to industry trends.
Michael Fornasiero (Program Manager, Workforce Development and SMM Engagement, UI LABS)
Email dcmme@purdue.edu to get access to Michael Fornasiero's PowerPoint presentation.
Michael Fornasiero is the Program Manager of Workforce Development and SMM Engagement at UI LABS. In his role, Michael is responsible for the development of strategy and programs focused on workforce development, and advancing the adoption of new technologies by small to midsized manufacturers. Workforce development programs focus on building both awareness and capabilities in students and workers that engage with digital manufacturing and design technologies, along with helping industry and academic leaders understand how emerging technologies are impacting jobs and their organizations.
Prior to joining UI LABS in 2016, Michael was a mechanical engineer at GE Global Research in the Manufacturing Processes Lab where he worked on challenges in additive manufacturing, non-traditional Machining, automation, and simulation. He has a master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic (NSF GK-12 Fellow) and a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Michael and his twin brother sold over $100,000 in stainless steel pocket combs under their joint venture Hudson Design and Manufacturing.
Ben Larson (Plant Manager, Evonik Corporation)
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Ben Larson is a plant manager at Evonik Corporation, specializing in HPAPI Production. Prior to working for Evonik, he was a senior project engineer at Eli Lilly. He hold a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Purdue University.
David Nedohin (President, Scope AR)
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David Nedohin, president of Scope AR, brings more than 20 years of experience in business development to drive the company’s vision to revolutionize the world of industrial training, maintenance and field support. In this role, David works with some of the world’s leading global companies including Boeing, Toyota, Lockheed Martin, Cenovus, and CNAQ, among others.
After receiving a Civil Engineering degree from University of Manitoba, David moved into entrepreneurship starting a number of successful companies ranging from engineering consulting, to construction, and technology.
Additionally, David serves as the Vice-Chair at Inner City Agency Foundation (ICAF), a joint initiative that combines the efforts of seven inner city agencies to fundraise for and provide a network of services to alleviate poverty-related problems such as housing, addiction, healthcare, nutrition and education in Edmonton.
He is also a 3x world curling champion and national team member for 10 years in waterskiing.
Professor Tong Jin Kim (Associate Professor, Purdue University)
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Tong Jin Kim is an Associate Professor of Industrial Design in the Department of Art & Design. He received his M.S. in Engineering, Design, and Innovation from Northwestern University in 2010 and his B.A. in Industrial Design from the University of Bridgeport in 1998.
Prior to joining Academia, he has also worked at consultancy and corporate for more than 18 years as a design leader, delivering leading edge products and business solutions. His works has won many design awards and holds more than 50 US patents. He has been involved with various universities and design communities, giving lectures on design thinking and coordinating creative workshops for non-designers and community organizations. TJ's research interest is the commercialization of design and building design platforms and communities that helps students to develop their own products and establish a company in collaboration with others, allowing students to gain real industry experience and knowledge by practicing design as a part of a business solution.
List of Awards and Accomplishments:
Scott Hartford (ITAMCO)
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Scott Hartford is a Purdue alumnus who obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering and graduated with a MBA degree from the Kelley School of Business at IU Bloomington. He is specialized in project management and was one of the project management associate directors for Zimmer Biomet; he also worked for the Office of Technology Transfer at the University of Notre Dame as a licensing associate.
John Annakin (Chief Revenue Officer, Clear Object)
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As Chief Revenue Officer for ClearObject (formerly CloudOne Corporation), John lead all sales and business development. Under John’s leadership, ClearObject is Inc. Magazine's fastest-growing IT company in Indiana for the 4th consecutive year (2014-2017). In 2015 and 2016, ClearObject was also named a Red Herring Top 100 Global Award Winner. Finally, ClearObject was named to the Deloitte Tech Fast 500, Entrepreneur 360, and CRN Next Gen 250 in 2016.
ClearObject is an IoT systems innovator helping the world’s best companies connect their bold ideas to the internet of things.
He has over 25 years of enterprise selling and sales team management experience in the application software, cloud services and platform/software-as-a-service space. Before joining ClearObject, John was the Director of Enterprise Sales for Scribe Software Corporation, the leading data integration solution for Microsoft’s Dynamics business applications, where he built a global, enterprise sales team. Prior to Scribe, he was the Director of Strategic Accounts at Newmarket International (acquired by Amadeus Company), the leading software vendor for the hospitality and travel industry; before joining Newmarket, John was the Channel Sales Manager at Navisite, (acquired Time-Warner Company), which is a leading application hosting provider (what we used to call cloud services).
He is a Boilermaker, holding a bachelor’s degree in industrial management and a minor in computer science from Purdue University.
Pamela Fisher (Director of Economic Development & Special Initiatives, Indiana Department of Transportation)
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Pamela Fisher, the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Director of Economic Development & Special Initiatives, is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) experienced in leading competitive economic development projects and advocating for manufacturers with complex state and federal regulatory compliance, logistics and permitting processes.
She has led multi-agency teams through site selection, incentive negotiations and regulatory permitting processes for more than $7B in high-profile competitive economic development projects, ranging from clean-tech start-up companies to Fortune 50 corporations, including General Motors, Nestle USA, Subaru-Toyota joint venture, Cummins, Progress Rail Manufacturing, Amazon.com, Abengoa Bioenergy of Indiana and GE Aviation.
Fisher represented the Indiana Economic Development Corporation on Indiana’s interagency team that managed all aspects of site development, including transportation improvements, utility infrastructure, permitting and construction scheduling, for Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC’s new facility in Greensburg, IN.
At INDOT, Fisher is responsible for assessing the agency’s role in economic development opportunities that will further advance the state’s economy. She serves as INDOT’s liaison with businesses, site consultants, and state and local economic development officials.
She received her MBA from Anderson University and obtained certificates from the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and the National Transportation Advanced Leadership Institute.
1st place Christine Rasquinha
2nd place Shekhar Kumar Jha
3rd place Deepali Jain
