2013 Presenters

Jeff Russell, Operations Manager, Factory Floor Automation, PepsiCo
PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 22 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Their main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other foods and drinks that bring joy to consumers in more than 200 countries.
Presentation: Keynote: Factory Automation and Enterprise IT convergence

Bryan Cleal, Infrastructure Engineer, PepsiCo
Bryan is an infrastructure engineer at PepsiCo. He has over twenty years of experience in the IT infrastructure field including extensive experience designing and building networks. His current responsibilities include the design and deployment of interconnected office and automation networks.
Presentation: Keynote: Factory Automation and Enterprise IT convergence

Arnav Anand, Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR), Research Scholar & Instructor, Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, UC Berkeley
Mr. Anand is an Instructor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at the Coleman Fung Institute of Engineering Leadership, UC Berkeley. He is an experienced executive and entrepreneur with an engineering background. His experience includes product development, manufacturing, consulting and business development in the medical devices and technology industry. Mr. Anand's current research focus is to leverage mobile and cloud computing technology, encouraging IT enabled manufacturing to boost the productivity of U.S. manufacturing companies and assist the White House's "Reshoring" initiative. Mr. Anand is working on a "real-time remote collaboration with augmented reality technology" for manufacturers. He is a thought leader and frequent industry speaker in the digital manufacturing space.
Presentation: Keynote: Revolutionizing the Manufacturing Space using Mobile and Cloud

Mitch Free, Chairman and CEO, MFG.com
Mitch Free has built his career solving problems, eliminating inefficiency and not listening to conventional thinking. Mitch founded and now serves as the Chairman and CEO of MFG.com. Through his vision, creativity and persistence, Mitch has grown MFG.com to a global company that has become the platform by which the world's manufacturing economy does business. Mitch is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the company and overseeing the overall management of MFG.com. Under his leadership, the company has experienced tremendous growth and innovation in a market segment he is continuing to help define.
Presentation: Keynote: The Next Industrial Revolution

Eric Byres, CTO and VP Engineering, Tofino Security
Eric Byres is recognized as one of the world's leading experts in the field of SCADA security. Eric started his career as a process controls engineer and has been able to combine a deep technical knowledge with practical field experience to develop his vision for industrial cyber security. This vision includes two key pillars: robust security tailored for industrial requirements, and easy installation and configuration. Before starting Tofino Security, Eric founded the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Critical Infrastructure Security Center. He shaped this Center into one of North America's leading academic facilities in the field of SCADA cyber-security, culminating in a SANS Institute Security Leadership Award in 2006.
Presentation: Keynote: Unicorns and Air Gaps - Do They Really Exist?

Suhel Dhanani, Industrial Business Unit, Altera
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR), a technology leader in programmable logic ICs, is a trusted design partner to electronic system design teams around the globe. Altera builds these relationships on a foundation of advanced silicon technology: from the world's fastest and the world's lowest-power 28-nm FPGAs, to unrivaled leadership in multi-GHz transceivers and optical interconnect, to the continued evolution of complex PLDs.
Presentation: Keynote: How New ARM Technology Will Impact Factory Automation System Design and Capabilities

Howard Skolnik, President and CEO, Skolnik Industries
SKOLNIK is an independently owned manufacturer located in Chicago. Since 1985, SKOLNIK has aimed to be the industrial container leader, as measured by customer satisfaction, relationships and product dependability. Known as the foremost problem solving manufacturer in the industry, SKOLNIK focuses on excellence in technology, quality, applications engineering, sales and marketing, and emphasizes continuous business improvement to benefit their customers.
Presentation: Keynote: Energy Efficiency and Manufacturers: An Unrealized Opportunity

Gary R. Bertoline, Ph.D., Purdue University, College of Technology
Dr. Gary R. Bertoline is the Dean of the College of Technology and a Distinguished Professor of Computer Graphics Technology and Computer & Information Technology at Purdue University. He earned his PhD at The Ohio State University and was on the faculty in the College of Engineering for 3 years before coming to Purdue University in 1990. From 1995 through 2002, Gary served as Department Head of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University. He served 5-years as the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in the College of Technology.
Presentation: Keynote: How Higher Education's Fatal Flaw Impacts Manufacturing

Robert Lowe, Executive Director, CSIA
The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) seeks to advance business practices of control system integration. CSIA helps members improve their business skills, provides a forum to share industry expertise, and promotes best practices for business management. Member companies that become CSIA Certified have demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and excellence. Founded in 1994, CSIA is a not-for-profit, global professional association for control system integration companies. CSIA has more than 400 member firms in 27 countries.
Presentation: Keynote: How to Select a System Integrator and Manage the Relationship

Steve Goldberg, Director, Industrial Systems, Matrix Technologies
Matrix Technologies, Inc. is a full service process design and automation engineering provider. Matrix provides civil/structural engineering, facility design, mechanical, piping, process, electrical, control, automation, system integration and MES solutions to the industrial marketplace. Industries served include food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, oil and gas, metals, glass, and automotive.
Presentation: Keynote: How to Select a System Integrator and Manage the Relationship

Jim Sellitto, Sales Project Manager, Martin Control Systems Inc.
Jim currently holds the position of Sales Project Manager at MartinCSI and is a Principal owner. He is a graduate of Lakeland Community College in Mechanical Engineering Technology and joined MartinCSI in 2005. Jim is a contributing author to Control Engineering Magazine and a presenter to the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers.
Presentation: Keynote: How to Select a System Integrator and Manage the Relationship

Eduardo Acosta, Director, Omnicon, (a CSIA Certified Integrator)
The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) seeks to advance business practices of control system integration. CSIA helps members improve their business skills, provides a forum to share industry expertise, and promotes best practices for business management. Member companies that become CSIA Certified have demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and excellence. Founded in 1994, CSIA is a not-for-profit, global professional association for control system integration companies. CSIA has more than 400 member firms in 27 countries.
Presentation: Keynote: How to Select a System Integrator and Manage the Relationship

Ed Diehl, Owner, Concept Systems
Concept Systems began operations in 1999 to provide customers with a reliable resource in what can be a very complex, fast-paced world of technology and automation controls. "Technology moves so fast," says co-CEO, Michael Gurney, "it is difficult for people focused on running a lean manufacturing process to keep up with it all, let alone make sound decisions that will benefit them now and in the future." Concept Systems provides automation/technology expertise so their customers can focus on what they do best.
Presentation: Keynote: How to Select a System Integrator and Manage the Relationship

Perry Piccard, Business Process Architect, Perrigo
Perry has held a variety of positions in Operations and Supply Chain Management, both at the site and corporate level. His areas of experience include Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Health & Safety, Material & Production Planning, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Information Technology. Over half of Perry's twenty plus years in industry have been in various leadership positions. He currently holds the position of Sr. Business Process Architect with the Perrigo Company in Allegan Michigan. Perry holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Chemistry and an MBA in International Business. He is also certified in Production and Inventory Management by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).
Presentation: Track session: Automated, Wireless Way to Bring Packaging Materials to Packaging Lines

Trent Martin, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Perrigo
Trent Martin currently serves the Perrigo Company as a Lean Sigma Black Belt. Perrigo Company is a leading global healthcare supplier that develops, manufactures and distributes over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription pharmaceuticals, nutritional products, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and consumer products. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of OTC pharmaceutical products for the store brand market. Perrigo maintains nearly five million square feet of manufacturing and logistics space worldwide and produces over 45 billion tablets, 2.5 billion liquid doses, 1 billion semi-solid doses, and 49k tons of API/powder annually. Perrigo's primary markets and manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, Israel, Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Presentation: Track session: Automated, Wireless Way to Bring Packaging Materials to Packaging Lines

Tom Jensen, Manager, OEM Business Development Team, Lenze Americas
Tom Jensen is manager of the OEM Business Development team – his key responsibilities include developing and executing sales strategies for select, targeted OEM customers in the OEM packaging and material handling industries. He brings over 20 years of experience in machine development, motion control and robotics. Jensen has contributed significantly to the industry-wide standards, the expansion of mechatronics education, and the adoption of advanced control technologies and competitive strategies for packaging system providers and users. He previously held a variety of positions and leadership roles in engineering, service, and business development with B&R Industrial Automation, Elau Incorporated, and Fanuc America. Mr. Jensen is a member of the OMAC Packaging Workgroup, PMMI Education Committee, and the Institute of Packaging Professionals.
Presentation: Track session: Centralized or Decentralized: Application-Specific Drive Strategies

Shane Loughlin, Technical Director, SL Controls, Ltd.
Shane Loughlin is an Instrument Master Craftsman with a degree in Electronic & Software Engineering and Masters Degree by research in industrial networking utilizing PLCs, PCs and RTOS. Shane is a recognized expert in the area of equipment systems integration and is currently completing a Ph.D. part-time by research at Dublin Institute of Technology in order to determine if the utilization of a benchmarking process (DiVOM) can reduce the risks associated with equipment system integration projects, with particular reference to heavily regulated industries. Shane has provided large equipment integration services for companies such as Intel, HP, Wyeth, Abbott, Pfizer, MSD, Boston Scientific, Patheon, Nypro, Johnson & Johnson.
Presentation: Track session: Managing Equipment Risks for Today's Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturers

Dennis Brandl, Founder, BR & L Consulting, Inc.
Dennis Brandl is a globally recognized authority on manufacturing execution systems (MES), batch control, and manufacturing operations management (MOM). He is the founder of BR&L Consulting Inc., a firm that specializes in manufacturing automation, operations, and IT. He is also co-author of a new book, Plant IT: Integrating Information Technology into Automated Manufacturing, which explores the range of information technologies that industry professionals must understand to effectively operate in the corporate IT environment.
Presentation: Track session: Applying IT in Manufacturing: The Good, Bad and Really Ugly

Simon Nance, STIHL, Inc.
Simon started his career as an industrial engineer in aerospace manufacturing, working predominantly on process improvement. In 2003, he joined STIHL, Inc. as an Engineer in charge of the process improvement program, and in 2005 he became the Manager of Training & Development. In his current role, he has uniquely applied engineering approaches to re-establishing the educational systems at STIHL Inc. Simon is a graduate of WPI with degrees in Industrial Engineering and Humanities. His specialties include curriculum design, academic network building, technical writing, public speaking, and process improvement.
Presentation: Track session: Universal Approaches to Automation Technology Training

Ralph Whitney, Instrument/Electrical Reliability, Nova Chemicals
Ralph Whitney is an Instrumentation and Electrical Reliability Specialist with Nova Chemicals Canada Ltd. at its Corunna Plant in Ontario, Canada. He has 32 years of experience working with various control and information systems ranging from single control loops to large scale DCS systems. During his time with Nova, Whitney has led many instrumentation and DCS upgrade and installation projects, as well as preventative maintenance programs.
Presentation: Track session: Asset Management in Continuous Process

Joseph Sanguinetti, Manufacturing Information Systems Manager, General Mills, Inc.
Joe has 17 years of experience with General Mills. In his current role, he is responsible for all of the core information systems applications in GMI manufacturing facilities. He started his career at General Mills' Lodi, California facility where he held positions including operations team leader, maintenance team leader, project engineer, and logistics planner. Joe then moved to the Cedar Rapids facility where he lead an effort to provide information to operators on the plant floor to enable them to make more informed decisions in real time. Joe then took on a project/control engineering role where he supported the Betty Crocker Mix plant at Cedar Rapids as well as the Iowa City Pop Secret Popcorn plant. From Iowa Joe moved to Minneapolis where he joined the CIS group and held positions of Control Engineer, Manager Plant Productivity and Planning, CIS Matrix Manager, and CIS International Manager. Joe then became a Business Unit Manager supporting the Yoplait Division. 

Blair Fraser, Lead Process Automation, Lifecycle Services, Lakeside Process Controls
Blair Fraser is Team Lead for the Process Automation Lifecycle Services group at Lakeside Process Controls, the local business partner in Ontario and Manitoba for Emerson Process Management. Blair's primary focus is to ensure the existing process automation solution is sustained and enhanced throughout the lifecycle of the system.
Presentation: Track session: Asset Management in Continuous Process

Kai Mariappan, Plant Controls Specialist/Senior Controls Engineer, Coca-Cola Company
Kailash Mariappan has been a plant controls specialist/senior controls engineer for the Coca Cola Company since 2006. He is responsible for maintenance and technological improvements of automation and controls systems in Coca-Cola plants. Kai has 27 years of manufacturing automation systems experience with PLCs, HMIs, servos, vision and industrial networks. His experience with these systems includes design, engineering, marketing, system integration, commissioning, configuration, maintenance, trouble shooting and technology upgrades of process controls and automation systems. He also has extensive experience across various industries that include chemicals, pulp & paper, sugar, tea, automotive, health care, personal care, and food and beverage.
Presentation: Track session: How Coca-Cola Uses Cloud Computing for Automation System Maintenance

Cliff Pedersen, CIO, North West Redwater Partnership
Cliff is currently Chief Information Officer (CIO) at North West Redwater Partnership (NWR), a startup company whose proposal to build a new 75KBPD bitumen upgrader/refinery at Redwater AB had been selected by the Alberta government to implement the province's BRIK (Bitumen Royalties In Kind) programme. His career in the oil refining industry has spanned technical and management leadership positions with Imperial Oil, Shell Canada and Suncor Energy in process control and optimization, plant automation and Information Technology. His industrial collaborations include active roles in AFPM, ISA, MIMOSA, MESA and many user associations.
Presentation: Track session: ISA-95 for the Continuous Process Industries: Interpreting and Applying the Standards in Specific Case Studies

Tom Braydich, Director, Controls and Maintenance Systems Engineering, Campbell Soup Co.
As Director of Controls and Maintenance Systems Engineering, Tom Braydich is responsible for electrical engineering activities at all Campbell plants and its subsidiaries within North America and international Campbell plants located across Europe and Asia Pacific. These responsibilities include leading the controls engineering designs for new plant construction, new production lines, new technology development, robotics & automation, MES and maintenance & reliability systems.  Tom has 21 years of plant engineering experience and 15 years at a corporate level.  He is a graduate of Youngstown State University with a BE degree in Electrical Engineering.
Presentation: Track Session: Capturing Process Data to Improve Manufacturing Performance

Paul R. Selzer, Principal Calibration Engineer, Baxter Bioscience
Paul R. Selzer is principal calibration engineer for Baxter Bioscience in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 as a nuclear engineering major. Paul has presented on the subject of metrology at the Palais De Congress in Paris, France 2010; Abbott World Metrology Conference in 2009; the Measurement Science Conference; and NCSLi Conference in 2011.
Presentation: Track Session: Why Calibration is Important to Process Controls Automation