Digitization in Manufacturing is always evolving. That said, there is a sharp contrast between the strategies and implementation cycles of large OEMs and those of SMEs. See a short video report by GBR’s Alexander Demmer on this subject. Share your feedback with him at alexander.demmer@gbr.io
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Francois Germain
Francois Germain holds a Masters’ degree in General Engineering. His career spans power generation, chemicals, refining and offshore. In 2014 he joined Total Refining and Chemicals as VP Health & Safety where he leads global Safety Culture transformation programs for several Business Unit’s within Total. Francois is now leading Digital Innovation within Total Refining and Chemicals
Ron Wissenburg
Ron his main experience is redesigning and implementation of the changes in supply chain processes and organization by leveraging IT solutions. He started his career in consulting at Deloitte where he supported business transformations with SAP in various industries. He Joined Alstom Power in March 2010 which in 2016 Alstom became General E. At Alstom/GE he had various IT leadership roles and the past 3 years he has been working on driving Digital Technology programs within Quality and EHS for Gas Power.
Pierluigi Petrali
Pierluigi Petrali has been working Whirlpool Europe since 1989. He started his career in Information Technology, working at introduction in Whirlpool of CIM, MES and Fault Tolerant Networks. He has then worked in innovation projects, contributing to the spread and growth of TRIZ methodology in Italy and Europe and to the development of product/process design support approaches. Presently he coordinates manufacturing research and development activities for EMEA region. Directly involved as technical and main partner in more than 10 funded research projects under FP7 and H2020 program in the last five years, he’s currently working in definition and implementation of Whirlpool Industry 4.0 strategy. He’s the inventor of five patents and author several technical papers and public speech on TRIZ, Technology Forecasting, Manufacturing Quality, Internet of Things and Industry 4.0.
Henrik Fransson
Henrik Fransson is a Swedish manager with an aeronautics and computer science background working for Airbus in Hamburg, where he has held various management positions. He is passionate about finding new ways of working and influencing the lives of others by making their daily life easier.
“Use my data to serve me, do it wisely and with care”
Bjoern Neal Kirchner
Bjoern Neal Kirchner, a graduated economist from Munich and London universities, has almost 20 years’ experience in logistics and supply chain management at senior level. Shifting twice between China and Europe, he has worked in 5 countries moving along the entire supply chain. He gained experience in emerging markets and led teams through challenging SAP-implementations and post-merger integration projects. With the focus on building high performance teams, Bjoern has been engaged in various business process optimization and organizational transformation projects. Currently, he is leading the Global Supply Chain team in Amsterdam for Adhesive Technologies of HENKEL.
Stefan Schrauf
Dynamic, self motivated and results-oriented cross-cultural team player with a proven track record of digital operations and supply chain strategy, excellence and transformations across several industries including industrial products, automotive, consumer goods and chemicals.
Dr. Stefan Kluge
• Education: Chemistry, Information Technology, General and Environmental Law, Toxicology • Companies: DASA, General Electric Capital/ BMW, Siemens, Infineon, Intel • Functions: R&D, Systems Engineering, Factory Automation, Strategic Planning, Manufacturing Strategy, Business Planning, Outsourcing Strategy, Supplier Development, External Manufacturing Management • Currently: Sr. Director Operations & Systems Enabling, Corporate Planning Group, Intel
Toni Sirviö
Mr. Toni Sirviö has been working at Konecranes Plc. since 2005 with various responsibilities within Sales development, Commercial Excellence and Supply Chain Management including Project Management, Global Order Management, Pricing, Planning and ERP Tool process and conceptual development/deployment. Mr. Sirviö has also been working in the Commercial Excellence program as a project director for the sales lead development process.
Håvard Jörgensen
Håvard Jörgensen is in his role as VP Group Supply chain in Electrolux, leading the work on the strategic direction and plans for the Electrolux supply chain. Specific focus on SC Resilience, digital development, E2E SC integration, SC Sustainability, processes and capabilities. He has +20 years of experience within Supply Chain and Operations from various leadership roles in Procter & Gamble, Arla Foods and Coca-Cola European Partners.
Sean Garoghan
An experienced and results orientated Sustainability and Compliance senior manager with a background of 10 years working within the service and energy sector with strong leadership and people management skills and specialising in Sustainability and Compliance. A professional buyer with a wealth of experience in stakeholder management and developing supplier compliance frameworks. Pro-efficiently experienced in various procurement and supplier systems such as; ORACLE 11i & R12, SAP, Proactis and Avetta. Experienced within all Microsoft and Google packages, highly proficient in Excel and highly experienced in data analysis and commercial intelligence with extensive knowledge within OHSAS and ISO audits and accreditation's and CDM regulations.
Vera Bartsch
Vera Bartsch is the Sustainability Manager for UPM Raflatac’s EMEIA region. She leads the self-adhesive label company’s sustainability efforts in the market. Vera’s activities include providing expert sustainability consultancy for sales, stakeholder and partnership development, management of eco-design, life cycle assessment with UPM Raflatac’s Label Life tool, recycling of label waste through the company’s RafCycle program as well as sustainability marketing and communications.
Vera has a background in sales of label material with regards to sustainability in Central Europe, working with both label printers and brand owners. She coordinates the cooperation with other UPM business units for UPM Raflatac and has worked on several international projects for the development of UPM Raflatac.
Rebekah Bell
Rebekah currently serves as the Work Management & Planning Manager for Southern Company’s Fleet Performance & Reliability organization. Rebekah was the leader in the integration and implementation of CiM Visual Planner for daily work scheduling and has spent the last seven years of her career as a subject matter expert on work management, maintenance strategy, and process improvement across the Southern Company fossil, hydro, and renewables fleet.
Rebekah began her career with Southern Company in 2006, and over the last 16 years Rebekah has served in a variety of maintenance roles, including experience additionally in contractor relations, fleet outage optimization, and reporting and analytics.
Rebekah holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of South Alabama and a Master of Engineering in Construction Engineering Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is the proud mother of Kimberly Grace, 17.
Harald Kirsch
Dynamic, entrepreneurial business strategist with over 30 years of professional experience in organizational and business development in the segments of Digital Transformation, IIoT, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, automation of enterprise processes, sales of innovative SW solutions and services, portfolio management, consulting, system integration services, outsourcing as well as business transformation, change management, product management and product development.
Jean Charbonneau
Mr. Jean Charbonneau is a renowned worldwide speaker with over 30 years of experience in asset reliability and a leading influencer on the best methods for asset intensive organizations to achieve maintenance excellence. He founded the Maintenance Excellence Group in 1997, putting together a team of asset reliability experts to assist organizations with maximizing their production output while minimizing asset maintenance costs. MEG’s flagship solution, the Visual Planner Digital Platform, is used by over 10,000 maintenance professionals from all industrial sectors worldwide, allowing them to execute the right maintenance, at the right time, at the lowest costs.
Rachel Cooke
I am a technical leader with over 15 years of experience in global operations in food and drink and logistics. I have held a range of supply chain roles including engineering, manufacturing, purchasing and project management.
I currently lead Reliability Engineering for Amazon Europe, which includes robotics, reliability programs, learning and information services, predictive analytics (machine learning), computerized maintenance management systems, new technology introduction and new site launches. Previously, I was Head of Central Programs and Capability for Amazon Engineering Services Europe, where I led several teams that supported the growth of Amazon's warehousing capacity. Prior to this I was responsible for manufacturing performance measurement and operational excellence for SABMiller (FTSE-10), who were the world’s second largest brewer by volume with over 100 operations worldwide in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the USA. Before this I led a team delivering a portfolio of product change initiatives from project initiation through to implementation and launch at Cadbury. I have spent three years living in Poland, where I worked on the design, construction and commissioning of two new-build confectionery factories.
Neil D’Souza
Neil D’Souza is CEO at Makersite, a data and software technology company that builds digital twins to interrogate and improve products across multiple criteria including cost, compliance, risk and sustainability. He has more than fifteen years of experience which encompasses building industry-leading products, leading teams, and directly helping customers through technical consulting work. Prior to Makersite, Neil was CTO at Thinkstep, the leader in product and corporate sustainability solutions where he led the development of the Sofi sustainability platform. He holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Physics from the University of Bremen and a Bachelor of Science degree in Astrophysics from Jacobs University Bremen.
Maaike van 't Zand
Maaike van ‘t Zand is currently responsible for the sustainable integrated supply chain and sites program to lower the environmental footprint of Philips. She leads transformations to sustainable results, by connecting the end-to-end value chain from innovation, marketing & sales to the integrated supply chain. Her focus is on people, process and performance. She is a Master of Science in Industrial Design Engineering, Master in Marketing and Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt. She has experience in aerospace, consumer goods and health tech, of which the last 19 years at Philips. She is passionate about sustainability and sailing.
Francisco Morcillo
Francisco Morcillo is a seasoned sustainability leader with a strong track record in driving environmental and social impact across industries. As Director of Sustainability, he brings over a decade of experience in strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and ESG integration. Francisco has worked extensively with both public and private sectors, leveraging data-driven insights to guide organizations toward more sustainable futures. His expertise spans climate resilience and circular economy initiatives, making him a trusted voice in shaping sustainable business practices. Passionate about innovation and collaboration, Francisco continues to champion transformative solutions that align profitability with purpose.
Peter Lukassen
Dr. Peter Lukassen is a recognized expert in sustainable operations, known for translating climate ambitions into scalable, industrial solutions. As Director of Operational Sustainability for Bosch’s Mobility Aftermarket division, he drives the integration of sustainability and circular economy principles across global aftermarket value chains. A respected thought leader, Dr. Lukassen regularly contributes to high-level international forums, including the Climate Hub in Davos, London Climate Action Week, and The Economist Sustainability Week. In 2026, he was named one of Sustainability Magazine’s Top 250 Leaders in Sustainability, recognizing his impact at the intersection of strategy, operations, and transformation. Since joining Bosch in 2008, he has built and led key sustainability initiatives, most notably founding the division’s Center of Competence for Circular Economy in 2019. His work draws on more than 17 years of leadership experience across logistics, manufacturing, and controlling, enabling a pragmatic, business-driven approach to sustainability at scale.
Peter Lukassen
Dr. Peter Lukassen is a recognized expert in sustainable operations, known for translating climate ambitions into scalable, industrial solutions. As Director of Operational Sustainability for Bosch’s Mobility Aftermarket division, he drives the integration of sustainability and circular economy principles across global aftermarket value chains. A respected thought leader, Dr. Lukassen regularly contributes to high-level international forums, including the Climate Hub in Davos, London Climate Action Week, and The Economist Sustainability Week. In 2026, he was named one of Sustainability Magazine’s Top 250 Leaders in Sustainability, recognizing his impact at the intersection of strategy, operations, and transformation. Since joining Bosch in 2008, he has built and led key sustainability initiatives, most notably founding the division’s Center of Competence for Circular Economy in 2019. His work draws on more than 17 years of leadership experience across logistics, manufacturing, and controlling, enabling a pragmatic, business-driven approach to sustainability at scale.
Peter Lukassen
Dr. Peter Lukassen is a recognized expert in sustainable operations, known for translating climate ambitions into scalable, industrial solutions. As Director of Operational Sustainability for Bosch’s Mobility Aftermarket division, he drives the integration of sustainability and circular economy principles across global aftermarket value chains. A respected thought leader, Dr. Lukassen regularly contributes to high-level international forums, including the Climate Hub in Davos, London Climate Action Week, and The Economist Sustainability Week. In 2026, he was named one of Sustainability Magazine’s Top 250 Leaders in Sustainability, recognizing his impact at the intersection of strategy, operations, and transformation. Since joining Bosch in 2008, he has built and led key sustainability initiatives, most notably founding the division’s Center of Competence for Circular Economy in 2019. His work draws on more than 17 years of leadership experience across logistics, manufacturing, and controlling, enabling a pragmatic, business-driven approach to sustainability at scale.