May 18-22
Russ Agrusa started ICONICS in 1986 to create off-the-shelf HMI and SCADA and Visualization software for factory automation. He has over 30 years of experience in the development and management of HMI/SCADA and process control software for a wide variety of industries. Russ started his career at Westinghouse Electric Corporation designing software systems for Fossil and Nuclear Power Plant turbine control systems. He then worked at Foxboro Company leading the HMI development of the "IA" Distributed Control System.
After Foxboro, Russ then worked at Analog devices to work on control software for real-time PC based applications. Russ holds several patents and has been awarded the Clifford Furnas award for engineering innovation. Russ has a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from University of Buffalo and has taken graduate classes in computer science from Boston University. He is a member of the OPC Foundation Board of Directors since 2003 and is a member of the University of Buffalo Engineering Dean's Council.
Barry Anderson was the estimation manager for Australia's two largest privately owned SIs. Barry has been responsible for the successful redesign and improvement of multiple systems and processes.
He is still actively involved in business transformation projects and is a director of both training and auditing businesses.
Alan Carty has worked in automation since graduating with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1985. In 2000, he founded a company that evolved into two businesses: a Technical Recruiting and Staffing Firm focused on all automation related positions (Automationtechies); and an automation industry online magazine (Automation.com). In 2014, the International Society of Automation (ISA) acquired Automation.com.
Before starting Automationtechies/Automation.com, Alan worked for more than 11 years for a large independent Rockwell-Automation distributor, where he held positions including automation specialist, automation sales, and operations manager. Prior to that, Alan worked as a field engineer, plant engineer and systems programmer.
Alex Chausovsky is an accomplished speaker and the director of speaking services at ITR Economics. He is a highly experienced market researcher and analyst with more than a decade of expertise in subjects that include macroeconomics, industrial manufacturing, automation, and advanced technology trends.
He has consulted and advised companies throughout the U.S., Europe, Brazil, China and Japan for the last 15 years and has been featured on NPR, the BBC and in the Wall Street Journal.
Travis Cox started with Inductive Automation in 2003 and has previously served as director of training and director of support. Travis has overseen numerous successful launches of HMI and SCADA projects across various diverse industries.
His exemplary work as an Ignition trainer and sales engineer has helped produce hundreds of vocal Ignition advocates who continue to drive the company's growth.
Spencer Cramer founded ei3 in 1999 to bring secure Internet technologies to manufacturing. Since then, Spencer has built ei3 into an award-winning leader in the Industrial Internet of Things. As chief executive officer he provides leadership, vision and sets ei3’s strategy.
With 30 years of experience in creating and managing technology companies, Spencer’s track record of success comes from his ability to inspire innovation. In addition to ei3, Spencer serves on the boards of PaceWorx, an energy assessment company and the Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC). He holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.
Tony D'Avino is founder of The Performance Collaborative. Tony applies nearly 20 years of experience in leading B2B media organizations serving the industrial sector. He was instrumental in creating the first digital business model for Industry Week magazine and most recently was the founding publisher of Smart Industry and organizer of the Smart Industry conference.
During his career in professional business media, Tony navigated cultural shift, change process (transition) and talent needs of an organization transforming from a print publishing business to a digital media organization. Change and development is a messy process, and without the people strategy to support the business strategy, your success is at high risk. Tony is a certified partner with The Predictive Index and a Certified Six Seconds Vital Signs consultant. Tony applies these tools in helping companies and revenue leaders develop insight and action into the people-side of performance.
Luigi De Bernardini is the CEO of Autoware, S.R.L. He received his degree in electrical engineering in 1991 from Padua University in Italy. After some years working as R&D manager in an industrial automation company, he started Autoware in 1996. From the beginning he was in charge of managing the company and directing the technical, commercial and financial activity. As the sole owner, De Bernardini says he has the “responsibility to decide the direction of the ship."
He works personally with local and multinational companies as a consultant in implementing state-of-the-art solutions and innovative projects for control and MES systems in smart manufacturing and digitization initiatives. He also serves CSIA as chair and is a MESA EMEA board member and part of the MESA Smart Manufacturing Workgroup.
Having worked in various capacities and roles within the industrial automation market segment for nearly 20 years, as the president of elliTek, Inc., Brandon Ellis has utilized his knowledge and experiences to assist customers striving to remain at the forefront of the Smart Manufacturing movement.
Brandon has worked on development of products such as elliTek's Data Commander™ MES gateway appliance and IIoTA™ Industrial Internet of Things Appliance, the simplification of data movement between plant-floor machines and enterprise-level databases is available for control engineers and IT professionals.
Over two decades, Mike has assisted organizations, including numerous Fortune 500 companies, in identifying and capitalizing on growth opportunities presented by the modernization of the energy, manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications industries. Mike's expertise is in analysis, positioning and strategy development for companies facing transformational market drivers. At ARC, he applies his expertise to developments related to industrial internet of things (IIoT) and advanced analytics, including machine learning.
Mike has held multiple senior management positions in business and market strategy. Just prior to joining ARC, he was a key contributor on Oracle's global industry strategy team for utilities. During that time, he spearheaded many strategic planning and go-to-market initiatives covering topics such as utility business model evolution, advanced distribution management, operational analytics, distributed energy, mobility, asset management, workforce modernization and knowledge management.
Since 2007 Henry Hutcheson has been helping family businesses preserve wealth and maintain harmony. He is the founder and president of Family Business USA, and comes from two family businesses, Peerless Woolen Mill and Olan Mills Portrait Studios. Henry has also had an international management career with UPS, Sumitomo Electric, and IBM. As the Director of Business Transformation with IBM/Lenovo, Henry consulted with every functional area to improve performance, in multiple countries around the world
Henry studied psychology at the American College of Switzerland, holds a BA from the University of Texas and an MBA in management from Columbia Business School. He served on the local Board of Directors for the Institute of Management Consultants, is a certified management consultant® (CMC), is a certified family business advisor (CFBA), and is an FFI fellow, the highest level of achievement in the family business field. Henry is the author of "Dirty Little Secrets of Family Business," now in its 3rd edition,
Joe LaRussa is an automotive industry veteran with diversified experience in manufacturing, product development, and project management. He currently serves as director of industrial engineering for the Seat Business Division at Brose, an automotive mechatronics solutions provider. At Brose, Joe leads a regional team responsible for process planning and development, capital equipment procurement and launch management in North America for Brose’s seat structure products.
In addition to his PE license, Joe holds a bachelor’s in electrical engineering, a master’s in automotive systems engineering, and a master’s in engineering management, all from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Renato Leal is the founder and CEO of GreyLogix Brasil, a leading system integrator in digital transformation for industries. Starting in a garage, GreyLogix Brasil kept growing consistently for more than a decade. Currently with over 100 employees, the company was ranked by Deloitte as one of the Brazilian’s Top 100 fastest growing companies for two years in a row.
With 15 years of experience in the industrial automation field and having worked in Brazil and Germany, Renato helped developing a true international company with several projects being delivered in Central America, South America, Europe and Asia.
Renato has two master of business administration degrees, with an emphasis in marketing and finance, as well as a bachelor degree in automation engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. He also took courses in corporate finance and innovation from Ohio University and UC Berkeley, respectively.
Eve Machol is the national airport/transportation industry lead for the U.S. market at Microsoft, with a focus on IoT, data analytics and business applications. She has engaged with U.S. airports to showcase innovation through modern technologies and real-time data insights, which will enhance the passenger experience and improve operational excellence.
The implementation of IoT and Digital Twin are key technologies that enable these transportation business outcomes. The breadth and depth of Eve’s experience is focused on integrating services with software solutions, and working with partners. Her deep industry relationships with clients, partners, professional associations and work groups has helped in shaping Microsoft’s focus on the U.S. airport market.
Keith Mandachit is an engineering manager and a member of Huffman Engineering’s leadership team. Keith began working at Huffman Engineering in 1996 as a student intern and has spent over 20 years designing, developing and delivering industrial automation systems for regulated industries.
After being promoted to engineering manager in 2018, Keith oversees the development of technical expertise and direction of technical application while acting as a negotiator, ambassador and business partner for Huffman Engineering. He has a BSEE from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. Keith is a registered professional engineer in the state of Nebraska.
Since February 2018, Jorge Mendoza has been the CEO of Idaapps, an integrator specialized in automatic surveillance systems for railways transportation companies and radio communication systems for airports. Prior to this role, he was CEO of Automatik, a well-known player in power, food, and beverage sectors, especially in the sugarcane mill industry. Since 2010, he has been a counselor for different financial institutions.
As part of his contributions for the private sector, Jorge has designed an IoT for molasses production control, and has implemented Heinzmann Governors for Steam Controls, between other new product lines. In the financial sector, he developed, integrated and automated media payment services for mid-size institutions, including solutions like ATM integration, portal and security token services and finally, software for credit and debit management.
Jorge majored in computer and information systems at UAM, and holds a masters degree in information technology and business administration from ITAM, a masters degree in networking and enterprise systems from L’École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne (ENSTB) and an executive MBA from IPADE.
Tim Nolan studied at the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a master degree in bioengineering, and is a certified LabVIEW architect and professional instructor.
He currently works at Data Science Automation, out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the technical director of automation and engineering technology, where his responsibilities include supervising internal employee training, quality testing and project management.
Tom Norbut is an innovative and highly accomplished IT manager equipped with 18+ years of combined business and technology experience that includes spearheading the implementation of new strategies for the design, deployment, maintenance and troubleshooting of large-scale network and multi-vendor systems.
Tom’s current role in Trelleborg has him dealing with IoT and production system topics from a corporate IT infrastructure perspective. These new and exciting areas have generated a lot of buzz within his company, and Tom is glad to be a part of the solutions that are being developed.
Andrew Palmberg serves as the vice president of engineering within TSI with 25 years of experience in municipal and industrial wastewater and water projects. He has been with TSI for his entire career and has worked his way up through the engineering ranks. He started as a field service tech and transitioned into a programming role soon after.
Andrew developed his hardware design skills over the course of many projects and became a project manager after nine years with the company. Over time he managed larger projects and stepped into the role of vice president of engineering in 2013.
Lindsey Parker is the manager of business development for the Industrial Network Infrastructure market at Panduit Corp, a global leader in network and electrical infrastructure solutions based in Tinley Park, Illinois.
Lindsey works to create strategic direction, in coordination with product management and engineering, while defining the programs and sales enablement tools that are required for success. She is responsible for the business development team, setting direction across strategic marketing, supporting local marketing events, business planning and sales enablement and engagement.
Lindsey has held a variety of roles during her tenure in the network infrastructure industry, including business development in the data center, enterprise, and industrial network market segments, product management and large corporate account sales. She is an alumni of DePaul University in Chicago.
Agustin is the co-founder and CEO of Ubidots, a low-code IoT development platform enabling thousands of engineers and System Integrators to build production-ready IoT applications without having to hire a software development team.
Agustín has more than 10 years of hands-on experience in IoT Projects; from helping engineer a remote monitoring solution for Airbus Germany, to building a global IoT Startup with over a thousand clients worldwide. A trained electrical engineer from UPB (Colombia) and FH Münster (Germany), he also holds a business degree from Grenoble Ecole de Management (France).
Jose Rivera has held a successful global career in the automation industry working in six countries, most often with a regional or global role. Prior to his current role as CEO for the Control System Integrators Association, he was senior vice president of strategy and communications, industry business at Schneider Electric in France.
He also spent 11 years with Emerson Electric in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Puerto Rico, involving product line, general and regional sales management roles for the process automation market. Jose started his career as a sales engineer with Siemens in Costa Rica with later assignments in Germany. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and a Lic (MS) and BS degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Costa Rica.
Don Roberts brings over 35 years of domestic and international systems integration experience to the position of principal at Exotek LLC. Due to the diversity of his professional experiences and his commitment to the future focus of the industry, Don has become a leader in providing guidance to control system integrators as they steer their companies through periods of significant growth.
In addition to sitting on the boards of a number of companies, he is also responsible for performing business-level audits globally to assess companies’ compliance with the CSIA Certification program. Don has a bachelors and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Waterloo and is a graduate of one of Canada’s most prestigious business programs, the Richard Ivey Executive Management Program.
Chris Schleich is the engineering manager for Enterprise Automation and part of CSIA’s Future Leaders administration group. Chris was employee #4 at Enterprise Automation in 2007 and now oversees a staff of 18. He is a Mechanical Engineer from UC Davis, holds a CA Controls PE, and was CSIA’s 2016 Rising Star award recipient.
He loves Coke Zero, is only a fan of the best teams in each sport each year, and finds anything below 60° F life threatening.
Tom Sulda is the managing director for Australian-based business transformation consultants ASTAL and lead trainer for LATSA Learning Services. Previously Tom held roles as a project and engineering management executive with Australia's largest independent systems integrator SAGE Automation.
Tom is a certified CSIA best practices and benchmarks auditor and trainer including a certified Agile Project Management and Business Analysis trainer for PRINCE 2 and PMBOK.
Fabio Terezinho has over 25 years of experience in software for industrial automation, in roles that ranged from R&D management, product management, consulting services, and P&L leadership. He is currently responsible for OEM and IIoT initiatives for the monitor & control division of AVEVA.
Fabio holds a patent on Database Connectivity, a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, and a master's degree in business and administration for executives (EMBA). When Fabio is not traveling, he tries to “catch up” with his three children, in Austin, Texas.
Dr. Bob Thomas is a proud Texan (Lockhart, the bar-b-que capital of the world) by birth, but a New Orleanian by choice, having spent most of his life in Louisiana. He earned a B.S. degree in zoology from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana - Lafayette), M.S. and Ph.D. in evolutionary & tropical biology (herpetology) from Texas A&M University, and served a post-doctoral fellowship in biochemistry at Louisiana State University Medical Center New Orleans.
His career has focused on the field of environmental education and communication. He was founding director of the Louisiana Nature Center, served as vice president for environmental policy at the Audubon Nature Institute, and taught various biology courses at the University of New Orleans from 1979-1996.
Dr. Thomas has received recognition for outstanding service in the field of conservation and museum education and communication from such organizations as the Natural Science for Youth Foundation (Elsie M. B. Naumburg Award), Garden Club of America (Margaret Douglas Medal in Conservation Education), Young Leadership Council (Environmental Role Model), Association for Nature Center Administrators (2nd Annual Professional Leadership Award), Louisiana Wildlife Federation (Conservation Educator of the Year) and several local and regional organizations.
Steve Tusa is a managing director at J.P. Morgan in equity research, with over 15 years of experience as the senior analyst covering the electrical equipment/multi-industry sector. He covers companies such as General Electric, Rockwell Automation and Emerson Electric.
For the past 10 years, Steve has been ranked in the top three of the Institutional Investor All America Research Poll and is currently ranked #1. His other awards include Thompson Reuters and Greenwich Associates.
In 1996, Don Ulrich co-founded Stone Technologies, a five-time CSIA Certified SI, that was named 2010 Control System Integrator of the Year by Control System Magazine and has been listed in INC Magazine’s 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies. During his 30-year career, he has managed, designed, developed and commissioned challenging control and MES solutions for small to very large companies in the food, beverage, consumer products and pharmaceutical industries.
He served as a director on the CSIA board, awarded the CSIA Charlie Bergman “Remember Me” award, founder and past chair of the Automation Alliance Group. He has presented papers on strategies for successful SIs, the benefits of CSIA membership and automation strategies. He has a BSEE from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri.
Mark Voigtmann leads the automation and industrial engineering practice of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP - a full service law firm of more than 750 legal and consulting professionals in 14 offices in the United States, United Kingdom and China. He has advised automation providers, OEMs and their end user customers in numerous matters throughout North America, from the structuring of projects and negotiation of contracts to the resolution of insurance coverage questions and other complex automation disputes.
He is the author of The Automation Legal Reference, a Guide to Legal Risk in the Automation, Robotics and Process Industries, published by the International Society of Automation.
Jeff Winter is the senior director of strategic initiatives at Grantek Systems Integration, where he manages of team of technology and industry vertical focused practice leads that support industry 4.0 and digital transformation. With over 14 years of experience working for different industrial automation product and solution providers, Jeff has a unique ability to simplify and communicate complex concepts to a wide range of audiences, educating and inspiring people from the shop floor up to the executive boardroom.
As part of his experience, Jeff is also very active in the community of industry 4.0. He currently is a part of the leadership committee of the smart manufacturing & IIoT division of the International Society of Automation (ISA), a contributor to the International Standards Organization (ISO) as a member of TC 184, the technical committee for automation and control systems. He is newly active in several committees with the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) and CSIA.
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