"The Factory of the Future" Speakers

We are excited to present the roster of speakers for our first annual conference, centered around the theme of "The Factory of the Future." We can't wait to hear about their inventive concepts and advanced studies. Explore their speaker spotlights and biographies below, delving into their accomplishments and the reasons behind our enthusiasm in having them as guests at our first annual conference! Discover further details and secure your spot at our official conference webpage.

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Bill Good, Vice President of Supply Chain, GE Appliances, USA

Bill Good began his career in manufacturing on an assembly line while working his way through college. His experience sparked his passion and interest in manufacturing as a career, and he set a goal to one day lead manufacturing for a large U.S. company. Over the course of Bill’s 35-year career, he has honed his knowledge of supply chain management through his various roles of increasing responsibility at Tri-Glass, Charbroil, Whirlpool, and now in his dream job as the Vice President of Manufacturing at GE Appliances, a Haier company. Bill holds a BS in Operations Management from Auburn University and an MBA and a MS in Human Resources from Troy State University. Bill is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, with expertise in Theory of Constraints, HOSHIN Planning, and the Toyota Production System. He places a high value on employee engagement, building relationships, and leading transformational change. Currently, Bill and his team are focusing on expanding plant capacity, increasing automation in the supply chain, and implementing new digital tools to create a Zero Distance approach with consumers.

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Jeffrey Lorch, Partner, McKinsey & Co

Jeffrey Lorch is a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Boston Office and leads McKinsey’s North American Metals Practice, Global Aluminum Practice, and is a co-leader of McKinsey’s sustainable material hub. Jeffrey has led strategic and operational transformations of numerous metals companies ranging from industrial metals (steel, aluminum, and copper) to smaller commodities such as the major battery raw materials markets. Jeffrey’s work has led to hundreds of millions of dollars of financial impact for clients in addition to building significant capabilities in their team. We would like to welcome Jeffrey to the stage so that he can now discuss how to prioritize action in a world of constant innovation.

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Vignesh Markandan, Head of Manufacturing and Consumer Goods, Hitachi Vantara

Vignesh Markandan is the Head of Manufacturing and Consumer Goods business at Hitachi Vantara. Vignesh has around 25 years of experience helping customers achieve successful business outcomes in Discrete and Process manufacturing industrials. He is passionate about solving business problems and has had multiple successes in helping his customers leverage the world’s most advanced digital technologies through business and technical consulting. Vignesh brings vast experience and expertise in digital transformation, new product development, service delivery management, practice incubation, and more. Prior to his current role, Vignesh held roles P&L management and sales, and as a practice and service delivery leader in IT and ITeS industries.

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Jai Sundararaman, Chief Transformation Officer, Intertape Polymer Group

Jai Sundararaman is Chief Transformation Officer at Intertape Polymer Group, global leader in packaging / protective solutions responsible for driving innovation, digital transformation & strategic initiatives. Mr. Sundararaman has served as Vice President, Transformation Office since 2015 spearheading capital planning/execution, acquisition integration & operational excellence. Prior to joining IPG, Mr. Sundararaman served 15 years at Dell Inc in a variety of leadership positions in Product Engineering, Lean Transformation/Manufacturing, and Acquisition Integration. Jai has coached, trained & mentored hundreds of Lean change agents & executives in driving transformation. Jai holds a Master of Manufacturing Systems Engineering degree from University of Texas, Austin and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Bharathiar University, India. Mr. Sundararaman also serves as Board of Governor with Manufacturing Leadership Council, part of National Association of Manufacturers, USA. As a long time meditator, he teaches mediation and ancient breathing techniques to manage stress & improve health in his free time.

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Maria T. Zuber, Vice President for Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Maria T. Zuber is vice president for research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is responsible for research administration and policy, including research relationships with the federal government. She also co-chairs the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), appointed by President Biden in 2021. At MIT, she oversees more than a dozen interdisciplinary research laboratories and centers, as well as MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and leads MIT's Climate Action Plan. Her own research, as the E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics, bridges planetary geophysics and the technology of space-based laser and radio systems. She was the first woman to lead a science department at MIT and the first to lead a NASA planetary mission. She was appointed to the National Science Board under both the Obama and Trump administrations, chairing the board from 2016 to 2018.

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Teresa Hayes, Human Resources Manager, Logan Aluminum

Teresa Hayes is the Human Resources Manager for Logan Aluminum in Russellville, Kentucky. Logan Aluminum manufactures aluminum sheet, currently providing over 45 percent of the aluminum used in the beverage can market. Teresa’s love for manufacturing started early with roles in supply chain and customer service. This experience validates the trust her colleagues have in Teresa’s HR expertise. Her well-established career in human resource leadership includes global organizations and greenfield start-ups. Teresa most enjoys using her diverse range of skills to support the success of individuals, teams, and leaders. She is passionate about solving workforce issues of today and the future.

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Dr. I.S. Jawahir, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, James F. Hardymon Chair in Manufacturing Systems, & Founding Director of Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing at UK

Dr. I.S. Jawahir is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, James F. Hardymon Chair in Manufacturing Systems, and Founding Director of Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing at the University of Kentucky. His current research includes predictive modeling and optimization of sustainable manufacturing processes and sustainable product design for circularity.

His early pioneering work on sustainable manufacturing processes (dry, near-dry (also known as MQL), and cryogenic machining/processing of materials) is well-recognized worldwide. He has published extensively with over 450 research publications, including 170+ journal papers; awarded with 5 U.S. patents; delivered 78 keynote/plenary presentations in major international conferences and over 150 invited presentations in 38 countries. He has received significant research funding (over $70M) from US federal agencies and from numerous industry groups. He has also directed/supervised the research of 26 postdoctoral researchers, 45 PhD graduates and over 70 MS (thesis) graduates.

He is a Fellow of CIRP (International Academy for Production Engineering), ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers). He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing; and Technical Editor of Journal of Machining Science and Technology. In 2005, he established the ASME’s Research Committee on Sustainable Products and Processes and served as the Founding Chairman for six years (2005-11). He has been active in international collaborative research through CIRP since 1990: he led five international CIRP research groups --- Chip control in machining (1990-93); Modeling of machining operations (1995-2001); Surface integrity in manufacturing processes (2007-11); Cryogenic manufacturing processes (2012-16); and Integrated Machining Performance for the Assessment of Cutting Tools (IMPACT) (2021-24). He founded the CIRP Conference Series on Modeling of Machining Operations in 1998; co-founded the CIRP Conference Series on Surface Integrity in 2012; and continued to play a major role in the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM) series since its founding in 2004. The current CIRP’s IMPACT Cooperative Research Group has over 55 researchers from 34 major research labs in universities, manufacturing industry groups and national/federal research labs in 18 countries. During the last three decades, Professor Jawahir has also established active international collaboration with 28 universities from 20 countries.

Professor Jawahir received numerous awards and honors, including the 2013 ASME Milton C. Shaw Manufacturing Research Medal, 2015 William Johnson International Gold Medal and the 2022 SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal. He has also recently been named as the recipient of the 2023 ASME’s Kos Ishii – Toshiba Award (will receive this award in August 2023).

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Dr. Dan Popa, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UofL, Director of the Louisville Automation and Robotics Research Institute (LARRI) and Head of the Next Generation Research Group

Dan O. Popa (Senior Member, IEEE), has nearly 30 years of research experience in robotics and automation. His early research work (1993-1998) include Adaptive Force Control and Motion Planning for Nonholonomic Robots. In 1998, he joined the Center for Automation Technologies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as a Research Scientist, where he focused on precision robotics, micromanufacturing and MEMS. In 2004, he became an Assistant and then an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington until 2015. Since 2016, he has been the Vogt Endowed Chair in Advanced Manufacturing and a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Louisville. He is currently the Director of the Louisville Automation and Robotics Research Institute (LARRI) and the Head of the Next Generation Research Group (NGS) conducting research in two main areas: 1) social and physical human–robot interaction through adaptive interfaces and robot tactile skins; and 2) the design, characterization, modeling, and control of micro, nano and precision robotic systems. Dr. Popa is the recipient of several prestigious awards and the author of over 300 peer reviewed conference and journal articles, mainly in IEEE and ASME publications. He has been very active in the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), including extensive competition, workshop, conference, and journal service.

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Rohini Prasad

Bio coming soon.

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Max Risinger, Digitalizaion Supervisor, North American Stainless

Maxwell Risinger is the Digitalization Supervisor for North American Stainless. He started at NAS in 2018 working in electrical maintenance engineering in the meltshop and hotmill before moving into digitalization. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

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Dr. Markus Schulte, Vice President for Digital Solutions, SMS Group Inc.

Markus Schulte is the Vice President for Digital Solutions at SMS Group Inc. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in Metallurgy from RWTH Aachen in Germany and has more than 10 years of experience in the steel industry. Prior to his current role, he worked on improvements of electrical steel sheets, deployment of software solutions in the metals industry, and project management.

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Meghan Watkins, Talent Development Team Leader, Logan Aluminum

Meghan Watkins has spent her entire career in human resources, including the last eight years at Logan Aluminum in Russellville, Kentucky, where she is a Talent Development Team Leader. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Kentucky and a master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology from Western Kentucky University.