Speakers

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.

Eman Martin Vignerte is Director External affairs and government relations Bosch UK. She holds B.S and M.S. degrees in electrical and Medical engineering from the University of Paderborn/Ulm, Germany. She was responsible for business development for telehealth in UK and Ireland. She has more than 6 years of experience in Software and hardware engineering in automotive industry. In 2004, she was the project manager for electronic pump, Hyundai customer and moved for a year to Korea. She was involved in developing the ceramic Medtronic control units for vehicle engine at Bosch GmbH. She is a board member at BBF (Buckingham Business First). She is the Chair of CBI Southeast and board member of Local enterprise partnership Buckinghamshire. She is a board member at Success Essex Partnership.

She sets on the advisory board for UK5G. She is a member at OCAVIA – The Oxford- Cambridge ARC Virtual Institute for Aviation. She is an advisor for WE- Transform, Workforce Europe transformation agenda for transport automation, EU commission.” She is advisor at Autotech Europe. She is fellow at Leadership Fellow Society of Leadership Fellows, St George’s House, Windsor Castle

Nikesh Mistry is the Sector head of Industrial Automation and Test & Measurement at GAMBICA, the Trade Association for Instrumentation, Control, Automation and Laboratory Technology in the UK.

Nikesh is a highly motivated individual who has developed an extensive understanding of both technical and commercial areas of manufacturing and automation industry.

With a robust background in Industrial Automation and developing knowledge of the Test & Measurement industry, his role at GAMBICA helps to drive innovation and efficiency across various sectors. With a commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of both technical and commercial dynamics.

He has an honours degree in Electronic Engineering from The University of Birmingham and believed with the right mind-set and maximum use of innovation in the UK will excel throughout the fourth industrial revolution.

Ronald is an expert in leading data analytics and AI teams with extensive experience in digital transformation. His proven vision is that a better world for future generations can be achieved with data analytics. He has worked for over 15 years in Data and Analytics and is currently Head of Data & Analytics at Van Oord, a global Marine Contractor with a 2B turnover. He is responsible for deploying the Enterprise Data Platform, the central way of working on data products and the Data Governance and Enterprise Data Management.

Dr Hadi Moztarzadeh is an R&D and innovation specialist with over 20 years experience in both academia and industry. He is the Head to Technology Trends at APC, where he oversees the technology strategy, and a portfolio of supply chain and insight analysis as well as technology and system-level roadmaps, working closely with the Automotive Council, industry and innovation ecosystem. As part of the APC, Hadi collaborates with research and technology organisations, academia and industry, to de-risk innovation, accelerate technology transfer, and drive growth in the UK manufacturing and automotive sectors.

Prior to joining the APC, he was the Associate Dean (& Director) for Research, Innovation and Enterprise at the University of Salford, and before that, he had a 9-year career at WMG, University of Warwick and High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, most recently led the cross-Catapult portfolio.

Hadi has a PhD in Engineering from Warwick University and an MSc from University of Sheffield. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE), and the vice-chair of the IMechE Midland region.

Nipuni Karunaratne is the Head of Model Factory at Rolls-Royce, an entrepreneur, and a passionate advocate of STEM education.  At Rolls-Royce she heads a team of experts delivering a large portfolio of project in advance analytics to support the next gen Digital Technologies.

She actively supports the future talent and STEM awareness across the world. She has also worked as the Chair of Rolls-Royce Gender Diversity Network in the past and have won many awards under various categories included being listed in Forbes Europe.

Steve has over 30 years of experience in Manufacturing Facilities, predominately Automotive having been involved in over 40 vehicle launches across multiple Tier 1 Automotive companies (BMW, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover).

Started his career as an engineering apprentice, progressing within in various maintenance roles through to a senior manager within Manufacturing Engineering. With a passion for technology, he is now currently a Chief Engineer within Digital Engineering at the Manufacturing Technology Centre.

Oscar Yang is a seasoned Data Governance Lead with a passion for driving transformative change and reshaping perspectives. With over 7 years of dedicated experience in the realm of Data Management consulting, Oscar has played a pivotal role in spearheading large-scale transformation programs centered around Data Governance, Master Data Management and Data Quality for industry giants in the Netherlands such as NS, VodafoneZiggo and PostNL.

Oscar holds an MSc in Strategic Management from Rotterdam School of Management, a testament to his dedication to understanding the strategic implications of data within organizations. His extensive background and relentless pursuit of excellence have solidified his position as a thought leader in the field of data governance.

Currently working for Van Oord, a global maritime engineering company with more than 5000 employees and more than $2 billion in revenue, Oscar is responsible for setting up the Data Governance initiative and realizing the vision where all data used within the company is owned, managed and secured.

Martyn Williams is the UK Managing Director of COPA-DATA, a global developer of industrial automation software. Martyn has been in the industry for over 20 years, has led the company’s UK operations for over a decade and in his free time, volunteers as a STEM Ambassador. As Industrial Automation Chair for GAMBICA, the UK’s trade association for control, automation and lab technology, he is well versed in speaking about the technological and leadership challenges in the manufacturing sector. 

With 36 years of experience in Industrial Distribution, working with some of the most well know companies in the UK Europe and the US. An innovative business Director who achieves results with objectively constructed strategies across a multi-site business, A builder and leader of teams who achieves results by motivating and inspiring staff with a ‘Make something happen’ approach to business. 

Martyn Loukes is a Change and Communications Consultant working in the Automotive Industry, and is also a Diversity and Inclusion speaker.  He is best known for work in London creating the world’s first LGBT+ transport related public awareness campaign ‘Ride with Pride’.

His Change Management career started in 2007 while at Transport for London. There he spent most of his focus on improving the overall communications within the organisation, and to customers while working as a Change and Communications Business Manager for the Managing Director of Communications, Marketing and Technology.

After leaving TfL in 2017 he worked as an independent consultant in several different industries before ending up at the largest Automotive Safety Industry based in Stockholm, Sweden. He works remotely from his home in Brighton, East Sussex.

His creative approach to communications has seen many innovations, including using AI to replace lengthy FAQs, digitalisation queries and error code resolution. This saw a huge drop in simple support queries and increased productivity for a multi-million Euro Finance Transformation Project. This was the first use of AI in this company’s 80-year history working collaboratively with the Innovations Team and Information Technology Teams.

He regularly speaks at conferences and to companies about the importance of Mainstreaming LGBT+ Diversity, and received a medal for his work from the late Queen in her 2015 Birthday Honours.

This year has seen him continuing his far-reaching influence on mainstreaming LGBT+ inclusion by contributing to Waltham Forest’s Material Witness exhibition, speaking at Auckland’s Women in STEM conference in Auckland (ICESW19) and to New Zealand’s Diversity Agenda organization.

Among his well-known campaigns are the 48 LGBT+ Traffic Lights in Trafalgar Square, the world’s first rainbow bus, train and taxi and delivered in one joined up outwardly focused communications campaign. This changed the diversity landscape for many other cities that followed London’s example.

Kirsty has over 30 years experience in the metals industry. She is the Managing Director of Professional Polishing Services Limited, Director and current Chair of the British Stainless Steel Association, Founder of Women in Industry Podcast and Founder of Women with Metal Conference. She consults internationally on surface finishing on non-ferrous material and her finishes are visible worldwide.

Cindy has over 28 years of industrial experience of working within all areas of the organization and in many high technology markets. Predominantly bridging engineering strategies with customer requirements, as well as many years driving technology and innovation, by focusing on true customer needs and fully understanding the pain-points to deliver higher value- added solutions. Cindy is Certified in Design Thinking from both the Design Thinkers Academy London, and MIT Sloan, USA. In parallel is the focus on our internal customers, integrating digitization and intelligence into our operations, that optimize efficiency and output.

Cindy is a Chartered Engineer (IEEE) with a Bachelors in Engineering BEng, and a Masters in Manufacturing Systems and Technology Msc(Eng), with Project Management PMP Certification, and also an active advocate for STEM in education.

Cindy recently formed and started Avanya Consulting Ltd. due to the many years of understanding the resource limitations and struggles that keep us busy with our day-to-day operational activities, preventing time to take a step back and evaluate our development pipelines and operational processes. This evaluation then allows us to match the right technology and capabilities to the needs and value of the business.

Michael Larner, Research Director, is part of ABI Research’s End Markets team tracking the development and adoption of emerging technologies within the context of smart manufacturing and industrial solutions. Michael’s research focuses on manufacturing technologies, such as product life cycle management and simulation software, plus the adoption of data analytics, robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and connectivity technologies on the factory floor and by industrial firms. 

Prior to joining ABI Research, Michael was an independent market analyst and delivered reports and consulting projects on behalf of GlobalData, IDC, IHS Markit, Informa, Juniper Research, Machina Research, and Ovum, among others. During this time, he led various research projects providing custom and omnibus online surveys, working alongside management teams to deliver quantifiable insights into adoption rates, addressable markets, and sales enablement 

Michael has covered numerous vertical markets, including automotive, healthcare, media, public sector, smart cities, and technologies, such as Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), chatbots, cybersecurity, Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI), mobile app development platforms, and robotics. 

Adele Baker is the Commercial Director within Digital and Innovation at RS Group Plc. With a background in Corporate Sales, Research and Innovation, Adele has forged a senior level career across the Industrial, Mechanical and Electronics industry. Adele is now the commercial lead for new initiatives across the digital function which supports the entire global omni channel organisation. 

Nicole Ballantyne is a chartered Mechanical Engineer, and a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers with 3 decades of industry experience in the manufacturing sector, and in innovation support. In her current role, Nicole was taken on as employee 12 at MESTEC – a high growth, innovative Manufacturing Execution Software company – helping manufacturers embrace digital transformation through facilitating the provision of the right data, at the right place, at the right time, to make great management decisions. Just a year later, the company now employs more than 35 staff, and specifically managing customer success, and partnerships is the current challenge that Nicole is wrestling with.

Nicole started her career as an engineering sponsored student with Metalbox – a 15yr career that led to exciting manufacturing leadership roles throughout Europe, in World Class Manufacturing, and ERP Implementation Management. Subsequent varied management roles in an SME corrosions coatings manufacturer, and in the support sector have seen Nicole develop and collaborate in technology & innovation strategies in a whole variety of companies in a plethora of sectors. She holds a M.Sc. from Cranfield, and a B.Eng.(hons) in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College

Jason is a Partner for 5G Acceleration, Verizon Business. He is an experienced sales leader and general manager with an aptitude for creating diverse teams and fostering global perspectives. He is responsible for catalyzing the adoption and commercialization of 5G across industries and enabling rapidly scalable deployment of 5G solutions to enterprises in the UK and around the world. With keen knowledge of customers’ operations and unique needs, Jason and the 5G Acceleration Team use Verizon’s strength in building reliable networks and intelligent connectivity solutions to help businesses realize new capabilities, solve operational problems, and get to revenue faster. 

 Prior to joining Verizon Jason served as the Vice President for ADStech in EMEA, and Managing Director EMEA for FogHorn Systems Inc., where he led FogHorn’s entire EMEA team and ran a sales vertical focused on Edge Technology, AI and ML and Business Services customers. He brought together the knowledge, resources, and skills of the global team to address customers’ complex digital transformations with insight, consistency, and agility. Jason is also an advisor to the Intel Board in EMEA. 

 Jason earned his Master of Arts at the University of Aberdeen, his Master of Philosophy from the University of Stirling and is currently an Associate Professor at LSBU in London. Jason was also a founding investor and CEO of IoT Systems Group, a startup focused on IoT for capturing data across many business verticals, that was accepted onto the NatWest Accelerator programme in London in 2019. Jason currently resides in South-west London, UK with his wife, son and daughter. 

Suresh Daniel is an internationally recognised keynote speaker at Technology, Manufacturing and Supply Chain events from Bangkok, Dubai, Frankfurt to San Diago. His expertise in IT, combined with his business acumen in manufacturing and supply chain, distinguishes him as a unique speaker. 

He is the Group Director for Data and Architecture Integration @  Coats Plc (FTSE 250), a certified Enterprise Architect and tech investor in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Agriculture. 

Matthew Scherba is the CEO of Konektio and is an entrepreneurial technology investor with over 25 years of strategic and operational scale-up and VC investment experience with IoT, IIoT and deeptech companies. His experience covers the full company lifecycle development, from start-up to exit, with a focus on strategy and commercial-scale. He has spent the last 10 years dedicated to investing and strategically supporting the scale development of disruptive technology companies like Konektio in the UK, Europe, and the US, and in particular those with novel artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capability. 

Paul is the VP EMEA at Device Authority leading both Partner /Alliance and customer engagement. He has over 25 years’ industry experience, delivering value-based customer solutions, building GTM strategy and creating shared success. For the last 10 years Paul has focused on building rapid growth start-up technologies and markets and prior to that he worked within the Enterprise solutions divisions for companies such as EMC and Computacenter focussed on the Global 500 sector.

Head of Business Development and Digital Enterprise Sales. Totally curious about how things are made; manufacturing and productivity focused. Fan of all things digital and making things possible through creativity and innovation #theartofthepossible. Fascinated about the ethical application of AI in human centred organisations in the industrial metaverse. Committed to sustainability and saving the planet one factory at a time.

Love everything about Business Process, Customer Relationship Management, Operational Excellence, Change Management, IT/OT convergence and emerging market and tech topics.

Leader of Corporate Citizenship in Manchester bringing STEM subjects to life through strong partnerships in science, education and the arts. Committed to being inclusive. Please don’t be offended if I don’t like, comment or share your posts which don’t support inclusion.

James Brougham is a Senior Economist within Make UK’s advocacy division. In this role, James drives the creation of economic insight, analysis of government & corporate policy, and maintains an economic outlook for the UK’s manufacturing sector. By overseeing the organisation’s quantitative fieldwork and with almost daily engagements with British manufacturers, James has a close and current knowledge of the industry’s pressure points across the policy spectrum

I am a Digital Transformation Manager working to support digital transformation across 23 sites globally within Terex Materials Processing.  I have an MSC in Physics from the Queen’s University of Belfast and have over 20 years’ experience working in manufacturing industry, from automotive and oil and gas to crushing and screening. In the past 20 years I have worked across a range of functions including design, process engineering, supply chain and quality and as such have a clear understanding of operational demands and requirements.  I am a stickler for processes and get a buzz from getting the right processes in place to drive business success.

I am persistent, focused and results driven, I know that digital transformation will improve results deliver business success.  I work to inspire everyone around me, digital transformation is a journey we are all on together and without full buy in from the all team members transformation cannot be recognized and achieved.    I am responsible for developing and leading the business digital transformation strategy, no business can achieve Industry 4 or 5 over night you need a clear defined strategy to move the business forward.  At the centre of this transformation are the team members, I am without the people digital transformation will fail.  I am an advocate of diversity and work to deliver diversity within the teams to guarantee success of digital transformation.