Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL is the founder of Cobra Beer, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited, a Joint Venture with Molson Coors, and Chairman of Molson Coors Cobra India. In the Monde Selection, one of the most prestigious quality awards in the world for beer, the Cobra range have collectively been awarded a total of 110 Gold medals since 2001, making it one of the most awarded beers in the world. Lord Bilimoria is the Founding Chairman of the UK India Business Council, a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, a former Chancellor of Thames Valley University (now the University of West London); he was the youngest University Chancellor in the UK when appointed. Karan was a former Senior Non-Executive Director of the Booker Group now TESCO PLC (2007-2016); he is one of the first two visiting entrepreneurs at the University of Cambridge; he is a founding member of the Prime Minister of India’s Global Advisory Council. In 2006, Karan Bilimoria was appointed the Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, making him the first ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords.  In 2008 he was awarded the Pravasi Bharti Samman by the President of India. He is an honorary fellow of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Judge Business School, Cambridge University.  He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and graduated in law from the University of Cambridge. He is also an alumnus through executive education of the Cranfield School of Management, the London Business School and the Harvard Business School. In July 2014, he was installed as the seventh Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, making him the first Indian-born Chancellor of a Russell Group University in Great Britain, and he is the President of the UK Council for International Students Affairs (UKCISA). Since 2017 Lord Bilimoria has been a Bynum Tudor Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford. Lord Bilimoria is an Honorary Group Captain in 601 Squadron Royal Air Force. In June 2020, he was appointed President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Duncan is a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s supply chain practice with over 17 years of broad experience across consumer products supply chains. He is an expert in the development of supply chain operating models with a focus on planning, manufacturing, and logistics.

He is responsible for successful client delivery of our SupplyCycle production optimisation tool with a focus on helping our clients move from pilot to scaling across their manufacturing footprint.

Professor Sam Turner is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult. Sam works across the HVM Catapult centres and stakeholders, including government, to develop manufacturing strategy for the UK. He is part of the Made Smarter strategy implementation group led by Juergen Maier and was part of the review team. In this role Sam has chaired the D4I digital industry group, the Through Life Engineering Services (TES) Council and the IMechE Manufacturing Industries Division.

He joined the HVM Catapult team in 2017 from his role as CTO of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, where he worked on a range of projects and capabilities including the flagship digital facility Factory 2050, machining, casting and composites technology.  As a founding member of the AMRC, Sam led the growth of the AMRC’s Machining Group, with successes in delivering impact to UK industry, before moving into the CTO role. Sam has over 20 years experience in manufacturing working across the aerospace, steel, defence, automotive sectors.

Prior to joining Cambridge, Ian had 35 years of industry experience, working at senior levels in multinational companies such as Dell, Philips and Groupe Bull, as well as setting up and running small and mid-sized technology and consulting businesses in the USA and the UK.

He has a strong interest in Innovation and Change and works with Business Modelling and Innovation researchers at the IfM and the Centre helping and advising in the development of new models and tools. He has considerable experience in delivering business model, innovation and value analysis workshops to industry and other sectors.

Other responsibilities include the management of marketing and administrative activities, the recruitment and relationship management of new industry and academic partners and the development of international collaborations. He also has particular interest in the development of guides and tools for industry.

With a wealth of industry experience within the software technology sector, Tony Pottle has spent the last 25 years with Exel Computer Systems. Tony has worked with customers of all sizes and at every level in the manufacturing and distribution sectors.

Bringing an in depth understanding of customer needs both for ERP and Field Service solutions, Tony plays a key role in delivering consistent successful software implementations. Tony is an accomplished speaker and presenter of technical software solutions and regularly presents Exel’s products to large and small corporate audiences.

Agata has recently joined a very ambitious business with a great market product and the team of remarkable people and currently holds the position of Head of Operations.

Since coming to the United Kingdom in 2005, Agata worked in manufacturing and held various positions mainly in the automotive industry. Throughout the career she often acted as a link between supply chain and operations, using her personal and professional experience to build strong relationships between management and all employees through empowerment and engagement strategies. She has lead and taken part in major business transformations.

Her goal has always been to be inspirational to those who work with her and leave a legacy for use going forward. According to Agata: ‘Find a solution’ attitude is a must in any leadership position and she strongly believes that the utilization of other people’s skills and knowledge is vital in this aspect.

She has a passion for adding value in the eyes of the customer by implementing Lean methodologies, which had developed when she was a part of a core team who lead her organisation to achieve Lean Model Site status.

Maryam Qureshi is a 3D Application Engineer. Maryam works specifically with HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology. Working directly with customers to assess their current manufacturing limitations, HP help find bespoke and cost-effective solutions to their problems. Maryam helps to implement the MJF solution into customers’ businesses by encouraging them to use the technology to innovate and design, specifically by designing for additive manufacturing.

I believe everything begins with great design. When it’s done right, it leads to exciting new products and businesses that create value for both the companies that make them and the people they employ.

We need more great design in the world, and can only achieve it by thinking beyond productivity, whilst embracing design and manufacturing as a single discipline. At Autodesk, I lead a collaborative initiative focused on enabling the design and manufacturing industry to succeed in a world that’s becoming increasingly connected, where we have to do more with less.

There’s a lot of hype, jargon and boundaries that need to be challenged along the way, so it’s important to have a clear vision of the future, a clear path to it and the courage to work together and make it easy for the industry to engage.

My favourite quote by no one famous “None of us is as smart as all of us”

Juergen Maier is Chair of the Digital Catapult, co-Chairs Made Smarter and serves on the Industrial Strategy Council which advises Government on Industrial Strategy. Juergen argues strongly for the modern re-industrialisation of the North of England and is a board member of both the Greater Manchester LEP and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

Juergen is the former Chief Executive of Siemens UK. A position he held from July 2014 to December 2019. Over his 33 year career with Siemens he held a number of senior roles within Siemens in the UK and Germany. This included Managing Director of Industrial activities for the UK and Manufacturing Director of the award-winning Drives factory in Congleton (where he started his career as a Production Engineer)

Juergen joined Siemens in 1986 with a BSc in production engineering from Nottingham Trent University, on a Siemens-sponsored graduate programme. He was made an honorary professor of Engineering at the University of Manchester in March 2014 and became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in September 2017. Juergen has also received honorary doctorates for his services to UK Science and Engineering from the Universities of Lincoln, Nottingham Trent, Salford Manchester, Cranfield, Sheffield and Manchester Metropolitan. Juergen was awarded a CBE in the New Years honours list 2019.

Juergen is a passionate advocate of rebalancing the UK economy and has supported many UK-wide initiatives championing manufacturing and engineering skills. In 2017 he was asked by the Government to lead a review into how to increase the digitalization of the UK manufacturing sector. The subsequent report led to the creation of the joint industry/government ‘Made Smarter’ Commission, which Juergen co-chairs with the BEIS Business Secretary.

I believe everything begins with great design. When it’s done right, it leads to exciting new products and businesses that create value for both the companies that make them and the people they employ.

We need more great design in the world, and can only achieve it by thinking beyond productivity, whilst embracing design and manufacturing as a single discipline. At Autodesk, I lead a collaborative initiative focused on enabling the design and manufacturing industry to succeed in a world that’s becoming increasingly connected, where we have to do more with less.

There’s a lot of hype, jargon and boundaries that need to be challenged along the way, so it’s important to have a clear vision of the future, a clear path to it and the courage to work together and make it easy for the industry to engage.

My favourite quote by no one famous “None of us is as smart as all of us”

Dan joined JAM Recruitment in October 2003 as a Trainee Recruitment Consultant and within 12 months was the Account Manager for the largest company account. He was promoted to Senior Account Manager in 2006, Principal Account Manager in December 2007, Team Leader – Major Accounts in March 2008, Business Unit Manager in January 2009, Accounts Director in January 2011, Client Services Director in January 2012 where he held responsibility for business development throughout JAM (both new and old clients), the integration of new clients into JAM and subsequent client satisfaction including added value offerings. Most recently, in April 2018, he was promoted to a Group Director with responsibility across all group companies but mainly within JAM and its sister company, Hunter. He’s currently focusing on the development of Hunter as a standalone business to JAM (but one that does also help JAM provide a more rounded service to our clients) – this involves new business development, development of the company offering and customer success within current clients.

Before joining JAM Recruitment Dan completed a BA in Economics specialising in Finance followed by an MSc in Social Research Methods and Statistics, both at the University of Manchester. Prior to this he attended Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire and did A-Levels in Maths, Economics, Ancient Greek and Christian Theology.

Duncan is a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s supply chain practice with over 17 years of broad experience across consumer products supply chains. He is an expert in the development of supply chain operating models with a focus on planning, manufacturing, and logistics.

He is responsible for successful client delivery of our SupplyCycle production optimisation tool with a focus on helping our clients move from pilot to scaling across their manufacturing footprint.

Dr Watson has a MEng in Mechanical Engineering (University of Hull, 2005) and a PhD in Chemical Engineering (University of Leeds, 2010). From 2010 to 2014 he was a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds. His research there was performed in the Food Physics Research Group and was funded by Innovate UK, BBSRC and via numerous industrial collaborators. In 2013 Dr Watson became a chartered engineer and he is a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and an Associated Member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 2013 he was also one of the founding directors of the start-up company Albion Crystallisation Ltd, who specialise in developing energy efficient food processing technology. In 2014 he was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Nottingham. In 2015 he became a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dr Watson is a member of the Food, Water, Waste (FWW) Research Group.

Fiona joined Exeter Business School in May 2019 after working for eight years at Cranfield University as a Senior Lecturer in Circular Innovation. Fiona has a background in Industrial Design and has established herself as a thought leader in the Circular Economy, working at the interfaces of Design, Innovation and Manufacture.

Fiona is an investigator on a number of research grants including the EPSRC funded projects ‘Circular4.0: Data-Driven Intelligence for a Circular Economy’, ‘Small is Beautiful’ and ‘Manufacturing Immortality’. Fiona also successfully led the EPSRC funded Network in Re-Distributed Maufacturing, Big Data and Consumer Goods (RECODE) and is a member of the management group for the Connected Everything Network Plus.

Fiona has extensive experience of working with organisations from across sectors to identify new approaches to design, innovation, manufacture and business modelling to transform resource use and value creation. She has also led multiple education and executive training programmes to support future leaders in developing the skills and capabilities necessary to transform our industrial system from linear to circular. In 2018 Fiona was recognised as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering by the Women’s Engineering Society and the Telegraph for her contribution to Circular Economy research and education.

Qualifications:

BA Industrial Design (Loughborough), MSc by Research (Cranfield), PhD Whole System Design (Cranfield)

Maryam Qureshi is a 3D Application Engineer. Maryam works specifically with HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology. Working directly with customers to assess their current manufacturing limitations, HP help find bespoke and cost-effective solutions to their problems. Maryam helps to implement the MJF solution into customers’ businesses by encouraging them to use the technology to innovate and design, specifically by designing for additive manufacturing.

Agata has recently joined a very ambitious business with a great market product and the team of remarkable people and currently holds the position of Head of Operations.

Since coming to the United Kingdom in 2005, Agata worked in manufacturing and held various positions mainly in the automotive industry. Throughout the career she often acted as a link between supply chain and operations, using her personal and professional experience to build strong relationships between management and all employees through empowerment and engagement strategies. She has lead and taken part in major business transformations.

Her goal has always been to be inspirational to those who work with her and leave a legacy for use going forward. According to Agata: ‘Find a solution’ attitude is a must in any leadership position and she strongly believes that the utilization of other people’s skills and knowledge is vital in this aspect.

She has a passion for adding value in the eyes of the customer by implementing Lean methodologies, which had developed when she was a part of a core team who lead her organisation to achieve Lean Model Site status.

With a wealth of industry experience within the software technology sector, Tony Pottle has spent the last 25 years with Exel Computer Systems. Tony has worked with customers of all sizes and at every level in the manufacturing and distribution sectors.

Bringing an in depth understanding of customer needs both for ERP and Field Service solutions, Tony plays a key role in delivering consistent successful software implementations. Tony is an accomplished speaker and presenter of technical software solutions and regularly presents Exel’s products to large and small corporate audiences.

Dr. Peter Colman is a Partner and shareholder at Simon-Kucher. Peter joined Simon-Kucher in 2008, and divides his time between his base in the North of England and the London office. He leads the consultancy’s Technology & Industrials practice for the UK and Ireland.

Peter has generated strong profit enhancement results throughout his 20 years in consulting and industry. He specialises in Commercial Excellence programmes to address strategy, sales & marketing, pricing and product management topics. He has worked for corporate clients, private equity-backed companies and venture capital-backed start-ups across Europe and North America.

Peter has written over 25 articles for publications such as Institute of Sales Management, Sales Initiative Magazine, Chartered Institute of Marketing, Professional Pricing Society and The Manufacturer.  He is a regular speaker / panellist at conferences, a Manufacturing Excellence Awards judge and a Member of Institute of Sales Management, Chartered Institute of Marketing and Institute of Directors.

Prior to joining Simon-Kucher, Peter worked for digital marketing and technology consultancies focusing on eCommerce and Customer Relationship Management transformation programmes.

Peter holds a PhD in Electronics from the University of Cambridge and a First Class degree in Physics from the University of Nottingham.

Xi Bing is a Senior Director based in the London office of Simon-Kucher & Partners, having previously also worked in the New York office covering the North American market. He specialises in go-to-market strategy and pricing projects for both industrials as well as B2B technology/software and services clients. His main topics of work include growth strategy formulation, pricing strategy design, revenue model innovations and sales incentives scheme design.

Xi Bing has 13 years of strategy consulting experience; prior to joining Simon-Kucher, he worked in strategic planning, growth strategy and large-scale transformation for multinational clients across technology, industrial, oil & gas and chemicals sectors. He also has a uniquely international business and cultural perspective having lived and led projects in various global hubs including London, New York, Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.

Xi Bing earned his M.B.A. from Columbia University and holds a First Class Bachelors degree in electronic and communications engineering from the University of Bristol.

Lee is Deputy Director for Research Partnerships at the ERC, and is responsible for project managing and delivering the flow of research commissioned by partners on small businesses and entrepreneurship. Lee’s career has focused on understanding business performance and the impact of policy on decision-making and outcomes, she was previously Chief Economist at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation (now Make UK).

Dr Alicia Greated is the Chief Executive Officer for KTN. KTN exists to connect innovators with new partners and new to accelerate ideas into real-world solutions.

Previously Alicia was Global Director, Research Engagement at Heriot-Watt University and prior to that, led the Newton Fund (a £735 million research and innovation fund to enhance the UK’s engagement with global emerging economies) delivery team at the UK’s Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

In 2008, Alicia moved to Delhi, India where she was founder and Director of Research Council UK (RCUK) India at the British High Commission. After four years in India, she moved to Beijing to become Director RCUK China at the British Embassy in Beijing.

Alicia has worked as acting Director of Research for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). She also spent five years at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) where she was Head of Engineering.

Alicia has a PhD in Molecular Genetics. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a representative on the UK Government’s Jet Zero Council. Alicia is a member of various advisory groups including Scottish Funding Council’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee, the Una Europa External Advisory Board and will join the Royal Society’s Science, Industry and Translation Committee from 2021.

I believe everything begins with great design. When it’s done right, it leads to exciting new products and businesses that create value for both the companies that make them and the people they employ.

We need more great design in the world, and can only achieve it by thinking beyond productivity, whilst embracing design and manufacturing as a single discipline. At Autodesk, I lead a collaborative initiative focused on enabling the design and manufacturing industry to succeed in a world that’s becoming increasingly connected, where we have to do more with less.

There’s a lot of hype, jargon and boundaries that need to be challenged along the way, so it’s important to have a clear vision of the future, a clear path to it and the courage to work together and make it easy for the industry to engage.

My favourite quote by no one famous “None of us is as smart as all of us”

Lee is Deputy Director for Research Partnerships at the ERC, and is responsible for project managing and delivering the flow of research commissioned by partners on small businesses and entrepreneurship. Lee’s career has focused on understanding business performance and the impact of policy on decision-making and outcomes, she was previously Chief Economist at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation (now Make UK).

Thang Vo-Ta co-founded Callaly with leading UK gynaecologist Dr Alex Hooi, who invented the company’s first product, the Tampliner®, after decades listening to women talk about their frustration with the choice of period care products available.

He has helped secure global patents for Callaly’s various innovations and leads the Callaly team and its strategic direction. Thang manages Callaly’s commitment to the environment, people and communities as a certified B-Corp.  Thang is a former private equity professional in the New York and London offices of Goldman Sachs, where he helped manage the firm’s venture capital investments.  In 2019, he was named a Sunday Times Maserati Top 100 entrepreneur and The Manufacturer’s Top 100 manufacturing leader. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from MIT.

Simon Reid is Head of Advanced Manufacturing at Growth Platform – the Liverpool City Region Growth Company. Growth Platform has been set up by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to act as a single body responsible for inward investment, business growth, skills and education initiatives and destination marketing www.growthplatform.org

After graduating from London Metropolitan University in 1989 Simon returned to Liverpool to deliver Government funded training programs to the long term unemployed before starting a career at engineering and manufacturing recruitment company Kinetic plc in 1993.

For the next 13 years Simon played a pivotal role in the company’s growth which was predicated on delivering on site provision to manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, pharmaceutical, FMCG and food and drink sectors. Simon held the role of Service Director with a portfolio of OEM and large Tier 1 companies throughout the UK including Airbus, Kimberley Clark, Arla Foods and Ford. Simon set up a new permanent recruitment wing of the business specialising in senior and executive positions in manufacturing before joining rival Beresford Blake Thomas in 2008 to set up their engineering divisions in Manchester and Liverpool.

Simon joined The Mersey Partnership (TMP) in 2010 as an Investor Development Manager working with foreign owned companies in the Liverpool City Region helping them to attract additional investment and internationally mobile projects. Following a stint as SuperPORT manager for TMP Simon then joined Peel Ports as the Commercial Manager for bulk liquid products for the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal, account managing international companies like Shell, Cargill, Ineos and Essar. In 2014 Simon joined the LEP to head up Advanced Manufacturing and working with the Making It Board to deliver economic growth in this critical sector before making the transition to Growth Platform in November 2019.

Simon was instrumental in devising, developing and implementing “LCR 4.0” – a European funded program to deliver Industry 4.0 technologies to 300 SMEs across the Liverpool City Region  – www.lcr4.uk Simon also sits on the Made Smarter NW Pilot Steering Group.

Growth Platform, in collaboration with the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, STFC Hartree Centre and Sensor City launched LCR4 START in October 2019 to help SME companies in the Liverpool City Region to develop a digital roadmap.

Ruth is an award-winning Engineer and Inventor. In 2006 she was Young Engineer for Britain with her GCSE product ‘The StairSteady’ which is now sold internationally and for which Ruth holds a number of patents. Ruth started her first business when she was 16 and was the youngest person to be listed on ‘Management Todays 35 under 35’. Ruth is passionate about STEAM careers (particularly encouraging women into STEAM).  She co-founded Kids Invent Stuff with Shawn Brown aimed at inspiring young people into STEAM. Ruth is a keen welder and maker and co-founded #GirlsWithDrills with Kisha Bradley and works with Lincoln Electric on a programme to get more women into welding.

Prior to joining Cambridge, Ian had 35 years of industry experience, working at senior levels in multinational companies such as Dell, Philips and Groupe Bull, as well as setting up and running small and mid-sized technology and consulting businesses in the USA and the UK.

He has a strong interest in Innovation and Change and works with Business Modelling and Innovation researchers at the IfM and the Centre helping and advising in the development of new models and tools. He has considerable experience in delivering business model, innovation and value analysis workshops to industry and other sectors.

Other responsibilities include the management of marketing and administrative activities, the recruitment and relationship management of new industry and academic partners and the development of international collaborations. He also has particular interest in the development of guides and tools for industry.

Jessica Leigh Jones MBE is a multi-award-winning Engineer and Astrophysicist. She is Co-Founder and CEO of iungo, a CareerTech Company democratising access to excellent careers for everyone. Jessica is a Non-Executive Director of Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and Vice Chair of Wales’ largest exam board, WJEC. She is the Womenspire 2020 Board Member of the Year. Jessica has received the Freedom of the City of London and represents the fastest progression to the rank of Liveryman at the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers. She was 2017’s Woman of the Future for Technology & Digital, featured in the 2020 Who’s Who list of influential British people and appeared as one of the youngest in the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe List 2018.

Brenna Sniderman leads the Center for Integrated Research, where she oversees cross-industry research for Deloitte. In this capacity, Brenna leads a team of researchers focused on global shifts in technology, mobility, climate, and workforce; in other words, how organizations can operate and strategize in an age of digital, cultural, environmental, and workplace transformation. Her own research focuses on connected digital and physical technologies and their impact on how companies operate – specifically additive and advanced manufacturing, Industry 4.0, Digital Supply Networks, and the Future of the Enterprise. She works with other thought leaders to deliver insights into the strategic, organizational, and human implications of these technological changes.

Agata has recently joined a very ambitious business with a great market product and the team of remarkable people and currently holds the position of Head of Operations.

Since coming to the United Kingdom in 2005, Agata worked in manufacturing and held various positions mainly in the automotive industry. Throughout the career she often acted as a link between supply chain and operations, using her personal and professional experience to build strong relationships between management and all employees through empowerment and engagement strategies. She has lead and taken part in major business transformations.

Her goal has always been to be inspirational to those who work with her and leave a legacy for use going forward. According to Agata: ‘Find a solution’ attitude is a must in any leadership position and she strongly believes that the utilization of other people’s skills and knowledge is vital in this aspect.

She has a passion for adding value in the eyes of the customer by implementing Lean methodologies, which had developed when she was a part of a core team who lead her organisation to achieve Lean Model Site status.

Mark is the Executive Director of the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA). The AREA is a membership funded alliance, helping to accelerate the adoption of Augmented Reality (AR) through a comprehensive ecosystem.

With a focus on creating value and ROI for its members, his goal is to develop a robust and active ecosystem for AR. His background includes a strong interest in mobile, AR, VR, and IoT and he is excited to work with enterprises, providers and research organizations to the benefit and growth of the AR within the enterprise.

Dan Rossek is the UK Marketing Manager for Omron Electronics, a global supplier of automation and robotics solutions. Passionate about technology and innovation, he has spent his entire working career in the field of automation within the manufacturing sector.
Since graduating with a degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, he has worked in a number of roles from technical support, application engineering, product management and marketing.

As a member of the IfM ECS team Liz works with companies of all shapes and sizes to help them develop their business strategies and build the operational capabilities they need to create sustainable step changes in business performance and profitability. She leads the IfM ECS participation in the Government-funded Sharing in Growth activity, a £110m programme of intensive supplier development in the  UK aerospace and nuclear industries.

Liz also works closely with the IfM’s Distributed Information and Automation Laboratory research group in developing and applying approaches for advanced factory design and automation. Projects have been completed with a range of companies, including Foxconn, Laing O’Rourke and Jaguar Land Rover.

Before joining IfM ECS in 2010, Liz had more than 15 years’ experience in manufacturing, with senior roles in operations management and manufacturing engineering. She initially built her career in the electronics industry, in an environment of highly configurable, build-to-order, complex electronic products on short lead times. She also worked extensively as a management consultant and project manager for a range of manufacturing companies. As a project manager, Liz has led projects in lead time reduction, delivery performance improvement, product transfers, cost reduction, resource planning, new product introduction and strategic reviews.

Liz has a Masters Degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Cambridge University.

Steve has vast experience in digital transformation having worked across the world for Consultancy and Software firms as well as a number of blue chip organisations. He has published many articles and blogs on Industrial Automation and Digital Twins. “Digital transformation has been happening for a while. What was merely buzz words is now reality and organisations need support, insight, education and help in identifying truly transformative digital products and services to help them in their Industrial Automation journey – and I aim to do just that!”

With over 15 years of experience within the automation industry Oliver utilises his skills to drive strategic transformation of companies through uptake of automation. The majority of this has been with FANUC, a market leader in automation solutions including robotics, CNC, plastic injection moulding, wire EDM and vertical machining. Oliver promotes the use of modern IoT technology and manufacturing strategy to ensure businesses can run more efficiently, with less risk, whilst maintaining profitably.

Dr. Peter Colman is a Partner and shareholder at Simon-Kucher. Peter joined Simon-Kucher in 2008, and divides his time between his base in the North of England and the London office. He leads the consultancy’s Technology & Industrials practice for the UK and Ireland.

Peter has generated strong profit enhancement results throughout his 20 years in consulting and industry. He specialises in Commercial Excellence programmes to address strategy, sales & marketing, pricing and product management topics. He has worked for corporate clients, private equity-backed companies and venture capital-backed start-ups across Europe and North America.

Peter has written over 25 articles for publications such as Institute of Sales Management, Sales Initiative Magazine, Chartered Institute of Marketing, Professional Pricing Society and The Manufacturer.  He is a regular speaker / panellist at conferences, a Manufacturing Excellence Awards judge and a Member of Institute of Sales Management, Chartered Institute of Marketing and Institute of Directors.

Prior to joining Simon-Kucher, Peter worked for digital marketing and technology consultancies focusing on eCommerce and Customer Relationship Management transformation programmes.

Peter holds a PhD in Electronics from the University of Cambridge and a First Class degree in Physics from the University of Nottingham.

Dr Steven Barr is a Chartered Engineer, advisor and company director specialising in making data and digital technologies work effectively for business growth. He co-leads EDGE Digital Manufacturing and is a member of the board of DRL-Tool.org, working with the UK’s leading institutions to boost adoption of data and digital technologies. He is the lead technical author of British Standards PAS 1040 guide to Digital Readiness. Steven spends most of his time shoulder-to-shoulder with manufacturing business leaders, helping them to take full advantage of data and digital technologies in dealing with business challenges and achieving growth ambitions. Steven is a former National Director of the Manufacturing Advisory Service, and 30 year veteran of working with over 50 design, technology and manufacturing companies large and small.

Brenna Sniderman leads the Center for Integrated Research, where she oversees cross-industry research for Deloitte. In this capacity, Brenna leads a team of researchers focused on global shifts in technology, mobility, climate, and workforce; in other words, how organizations can operate and strategize in an age of digital, cultural, environmental, and workplace transformation. Her own research focuses on connected digital and physical technologies and their impact on how companies operate – specifically additive and advanced manufacturing, Industry 4.0, Digital Supply Networks, and the Future of the Enterprise. She works with other thought leaders to deliver insights into the strategic, organizational, and human implications of these technological changes.

Juan has a background in Operations, with over 12 years of experience in the manufacturing sector. Always acting as a link between the Operations and the Information Systems, he has a foot on each side of the fence. With extensive knowledge in lean transformation and philosophy, coupled with IS functions such as business analyst and MES implementation Project Manager, Juan is one of the leaders in the digital transformation of SEM Ltd. He also leads an Agile Team of developers in charge of taking advantage of the new I4.0 technologies providing data solutions for the different stakeholders in the company.

Adrian Bird is a Partner, leading our ERP practice across the Manufacturing industry for IBM in UK and Ireland. He helps our clients to shape and deliver major business transformation programmes, enabled as appropriate by business process reengineering, cloud and cognitive technology.  He has 35 years experience working in the oil & gas, and manufacturing industries. He has a Masters in Engineering Science.

Thomas is the founder and Head of the IfM’s Cyber-Human Lab, which focuses on how technologies can be used to augment human work and improve human performance in industry. His research is broadly interested in the intersection of human capacity and technology to create solutions that can make a significant contribution towards a better future.

Paul Haimes is the Vice President of Pre-Sales in EMEA. In this role he is responsible for leading teams of Pre-Sales Business Developers and Technical Specialists across PTC’s major geographies within Europe.

Since joining PTC 20 years ago as a Pro/ENGINEER Application Specialist, Mr. Haimes has held a range of managerial positions within the Pre-Sales organisation – initially, leading the UK team, expanding to Northern Europe and since 2006, as VP at an EMEA level.

Working with customers throughout EMEA, Mr. Haimes has over 20 years of Product Development experience. His key areas of expertise are Computer Aided Engineering, Product Lifecycle Management and more recently, Smart Connected Products and IoT.

Mr. Haimes has a Masters degree in Industrial Design and Bachelors degree from Loughborough University.

Mark is the Executive Director of the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA). The AREA is a membership funded alliance, helping to accelerate the adoption of Augmented Reality (AR) through a comprehensive ecosystem.

With a focus on creating value and ROI for its members, his goal is to develop a robust and active ecosystem for AR. His background includes a strong interest in mobile, AR, VR, and IoT and he is excited to work with enterprises, providers and research organizations to the benefit and growth of the AR within the enterprise.

Agata has recently joined a very ambitious business with a great market product and the team of remarkable people and currently holds the position of Head of Operations.

Since coming to the United Kingdom in 2005, Agata worked in manufacturing and held various positions mainly in the automotive industry. Throughout the career she often acted as a link between supply chain and operations, using her personal and professional experience to build strong relationships between management and all employees through empowerment and engagement strategies. She has lead and taken part in major business transformations.

Her goal has always been to be inspirational to those who work with her and leave a legacy for use going forward. According to Agata: ‘Find a solution’ attitude is a must in any leadership position and she strongly believes that the utilization of other people’s skills and knowledge is vital in this aspect.

She has a passion for adding value in the eyes of the customer by implementing Lean methodologies, which had developed when she was a part of a core team who lead her organisation to achieve Lean Model Site status.

Dan Rossek is the UK Marketing Manager for Omron Electronics, a global supplier of automation and robotics solutions. Passionate about technology and innovation, he has spent his entire working career in the field of automation within the manufacturing sector.
Since graduating with a degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, he has worked in a number of roles from technical support, application engineering, product management and marketing.

Gianmarco is an experienced Strategy Senior Manager, with a history of linking commercial opportunities to product offer and corporate strategy.  Within his 10 years in the industry at JLR, GM and Audi, he has introduced and leveraged innovation to launch new products to gain market share. He managed cross-functional teams to launch new Jaguar XEL and XFL in China, led commercial offering transformation project worth £ 100M. Worked globally (UK, US, Germany, Italy), holds PhD, MBA and 6σ Black Belt, speaking 4 languages at business level.

Philip joined Mirakl April 1st 2019 and works out of the London office, exploring how platforms complement incumbent business models whilst returning high EBIT profitability and working with internal teams to assist organisations in their journey towards digital customer engagement.

A solution sales professional working in the technology and services industry for over 20 years, Philip has experience in a variety of clients across the retail, consumer product and B2B sectors and uses these industry insights to tailor offerings and deliver value. His knowledge of customer touchpoints spans across marketplaces, eCommerce, in-store, mobile and contact centre.

In his past 2 roles, Philip worked for digital and commerce agencies focused on providing enterprise eCommerce platforms and digital services and uses these industry insights to tailor offerings and deliver value to customers.