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 20 European Funded Projects under FP7 and Horizon 2020 program on various topics such as Internet of Things, Technology Forecasting, Big Data, Edge Computing, Blockchain, Process Engineering, Cyber Physical System, Digital Platforms, Electromagnetic Welding, Predictive Maintenance, Collaborative Robotics, and Zero Defect Manufacturing.

He contributed to the strategic preparation of Whirlpool Manufacturing 2020 program, based on Industry 4.0 principles as a member of the Global Steering Technical Committee,  and he is now involved in Whirlpool IdX, the  Industrial Digital Transformation Global program.

Currently he is involved in 9 H2020 Projects (SERENA, UPTIME, ROSSINI, QU4LITY, XMANAI, COALA, I4Q, 5GINDUCE, ODIN ) 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, 14 scientific papers and gave a speech in more than 30 national and international conferences.

Dr. Patricia Parlevliet, Senior Research Project Leader at Airbus Blue Sky, a small but effective Airbus research group with the aim to shape the future of aerospace. This is achieved through collaborative research activities with renowned scientists around the world.

Key personal information:

• MSc in Materials Science and Engineering – TU Delft (NL), with a specialisation in fibre reinforced polymer composites.
• PhD at Aerospace Engineering – TU Delft.
• More than 10 years’ experience in R&D projects on aerospace polymer composites at Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Central R&T.
• Since 2018 – one of the ambassadors for Airbus Blue Sky. Current projects deal with topics ranging from computational neuroscience to synthetic biology.
• Author or co-author of >50 scientific publications and inventor or co-inventor of >10 patents.
• Mentor for female colleagues, engineering students and PhDs.

With more than 12 years of experience working for Volkswagen Group, being project lead, innovation driver and experienced in strategic topics, I use my ability as team lead to focus the strength of the team and enable them to integrate our in-house developed products into the VW Group.

My vision is to break silos with being open-minded and believe in synergy that might not exist on the first glimpse.

Liang Yu is a senior data scientist at CARIAD and Audi AG. She currently leads a team of data scientists and software engineers dedicated to the development of an in-vehicle corner case detector for autonomous driving systems. Before joining CARIAD, she was a data scientist at ExxonMobil in Texas, USA. She specializes in using statistics, machine learning and physical modelling to solve complex real-world problems.

Liang holds a BS in Astronomy & Physics from Yale University, and a PhD in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Pierre is Chief Digital Officer of the Radio-Communication Products Business Line at Thales. He leads the large scale digital transformation of Thales’ #1 Business Line across 15 industrial countries, a wide partners’ ecosystem and a worldwide customer base, through three key pillars: Innovation & Growth, Competitiveness and People. Structuring and empowering teams, he leverages strategically and operationally digital technologies fueled by data: AI, Big Data Analytics, Smart Connectivity & IoT, Cybersecurity, and Digital Twins.

Pierre is an expert in the Information & Communication Technologies industry, with 13 years in Thales, amongst which 10 years so far in the Radio-Communication Products BL, after 3 years spent in the Ground Radars Business Line.

With 30+ years overall in the Aerospace & Defense industry (Airbus, Safran, Thales), Pierre has a strong experience in Artificial Intelligence, Operation Research, Data Science, Mathematical Modelling & Simulations, and Complex Systems Engineering. Pierre has lead for 12 years the Systems Design & Engineering of fully autonomous intelligent systems: multinational cruise missiles family (MBDA) and smart air-launched armament (Safran).

Pierre is Thales’ representative for the EU’s Digital Strategy through the CCE, delivers keynotes in various organizations, and is member of several CDO professional groups.

Pierre holds a MSc in Aerospace from Isae-SUPAERO (Fr), a MSc in Astrophysics from Paris7 University, a global EMBA (HEC Paris, London School of Economics & NYU Stern), and certifications in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science from Ecole Polytechnique & Stanford University.

Carolina Pinart is the Global Product Director for New Generation Technologies at Nestlé, in charge of industrializing emerging technologies across the Group such as AR/VR, AI, chatbots, advanced nutrition or voice. She also leads the Use Cases Pillar’s of Nestlé’s company-wide AI Strategy Program. She holds a PhD in Engineering from the Technical University of Catalonia and has conducted business studies at the London Business School and New York University. Prior to Nestlé, she was the Chief Operating Officer of a New York City based startup, where she developed and launched an app ecosystem to match taxi supply and demand in real time. She also led Telehealth and Connected Car product development and new business launches for wireless carrier Telefónica, based in Madrid and the UK, with operations in Europe and Latin America. Carolina started her career as a consultant for Altran in France and worked in research and innovation for Siemens in Germany and for a leading technology center in Barcelona. Over that period, she published over 70+ papers in international journals and conferences and obtained 1 patent in diverse areas such as mobile video, wireless communications and optical networking.

Steve Varga has led engineering and R&D developments for more than 25 years. He is a certified AIA Vision Professional and Level 3 Certified Thermographer, with deep and broad experience having designed and installed thousands of inspection and imaging systems. Currently a Principal Scientist at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati Ohio, Steve leads Vision and Sensing R&D for P&G’s assembled products businesses.

Steve has been a pioneer in and leader of imaging science technologies. His mastery is sought both inside and outside the company as he has consulted with nearly every sector and has presented at multiple international conferences. He also is an innovator in the field holding many patents. Using his mastery, he has revolutionized process, product, and quality measurement methods in manufacturing systems. He has designed and implemented automated systems to replace, improve, or quantify subjective evaluations involving real-time product defect detection, skin sciences, fluid flow, thermodynamic modeling, biometrics, marketing, and consumer research.

Persian-French, Graduated from Kedge business school in Paris, I have been working in Purchasing & Innovation for several international big corporations since more than 16 years.
My expertise and in-depth experience come from working in the construction, energy and automotive sectors. I have occupied positions such as strategy manager and senior negotiator on main strategic accounts, directing corporate strategy in innovative ways which led to excellent results. Lately I gave a new dimension to my career by integrating the consultancy team of my company in order to lead the new strategy change our company is currently undergoing.

I am a woman of integrity and conviction, think I’m a natural leader and tend to always act as a good and reliable team player with focus on successful outcomes.

Juhi Ajmera, Senior Engineer- Data Science and IoT at Eaton presented on “Transformation of Manufacturing Industry by Advanced Data analytics and IoT” on Wednesday, 9th December 2020 – the second day of the Industrial, Manufacturing & IoT – Virtual Sensor World Week.

Juhi has over 5 years of industry experience as an IoT expert and currently works for Centre for Intelligent Power in Pune, India. (www.eaton.com) She is currently working as a solution architect for various use cases such as OEE and Predictive Maintenance for factories aligned with Industry 4.0. Apart from manufacturing, she has experience working on other domains like retail, healthcare. She has published a number of papers and patents.

Juhi’s current interests include Edge computing, Machine Learning, Data Science, and Robotics. She is currently working on using data science techniques aimed at improving energy consumption and improving OEE for factories and buildings.

Jesus Flores has 20 years of experience in the development and implementation of monitoring technologies, advanced process control and advanced analytics solutions.

Jesus has been with Praxair/Linde since 2004 where he currently manages the Smart Operations and Advanced Technologies Group in Linde’s Center of Excellence. The Smart Operations and Advanced Technologies Group develops and implements novel monitoring, instrumentation, machine learning, IIoT and process control solutions to improve the efficiency and reliability of Linde’s processes and systems. Jesus’ experience includes multivariate statistics, automation, novel sensors and advanced process control among others.

Jesus leverages his technical expertise, multidisciplinary project management skills and business insights to solve complex problems in collaboration with diverse business units.

Jesus holds a PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University and he is author or co-author of more than 20 peer reviewed journal papers. Jesus is also a frequent reviewer in many Journals and an invited speaker to multiple industrial and academic forums. He and his team actively collaborate with multiple universities and research consortia in the process systems engineering area.

Kris is currently the Digital Transformation Lead, Global R&D at ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel manufacturer. In this role Kris is actively contributing to his organisation’s transformation to maximize technology contribution to its operations and innovation.

In the last 25 years Kris held various roles in international corporations like EDS (Electronic Data Systems), Hewlett-Packard and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise from Systems Engineer, Business Analyst, Project and Programme Manager, Regional Manager and Account Executive mainly in Automotive and Manufacturing sectors. He also contributed to non-profit organisations as a Non-Executive Director and a Board Member.

In the past Kris also was a member of The Institute of Directors in the UK and was a member of its Welsh leadership council.

Kris is passionate about technology and its role in transforming organisations and people lives. He created and led multinational teams and is always on the lookout for new ideas and creative collaboration.

He is committed to lifelong learning and is currently conducting PhD research related to Digital Transformation and Digital Maturity with the University of Oviedo in Spain.