Meet our Session Hosts
At the #IOTSWC24, Session Hosts play a vital role in ensuring the smooth flow of each session. They are the backbone of our event, responsible for introducing sessions, maintaining timing, and assisting speakers to ensure a seamless experience for all attendees.
Session Hosts will have the exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of each session, guiding participants through insightful discussions and ensuring that everything runs according to plan.
DAILY SESSION HOSTS
Steve Mustard
Steve Mustard is an independent automation consultant and a subject matter expert of the International Society of Automation (ISA). Backed by more than 30 years of engineering experience, Mustard specializes in the development and management of real-time embedded equipment and automation systems. He serves as president of National Automation, Inc., and served as the 2021 president of ISA.
Mark Kraeling
Mark is a Solutions Architect for GE Transportation, a Wabtec Company, based out of Melbourne,
Florida, USA. He works with railroad customers worldwide to integrate computing, networking, and
information networks into their operations. Mark has presented at numerous conferences, and
participates on industry standards committees to enable standardization and interoperability.
Rene Matthiassen
Mr. René Matthiassen is a seasoned Senior IT/OT Security Consultant, with close to 25 years of experience in the field of Information and Operational security. Mr. Matthiassen has co-authored ISO 27001 standards and are contributor to the European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). Beside having his own compliance consulting firm; Frontdoor security Aps, Mr. Matthiassen serves as President for ISA Denmark section.
Francisco Alferez
Professional with more than 20 years of experience in process engineering and automation in the Food and Beverage sector, currently focused on improving the productivity and efficiency of Process and Packaging engineering, including automation, in projects within Europe, the East Middle and Africa; through processes and tools.
Carlos Mandolesi
Carlos Mandolesi is an electrical engineer, graduating from the Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI) in 1992 and post-graduated in Business Management from the University São Francisco in 2006. He has a career of over 25 years in the field of industrial automation and industrial networks. Carlos is the President-elect for the 2021-2022 term of the International Society of Automation (ISA).
Solomon Almadi
Dr. Soloman Almadi is currently professional engineering Principal Scientist in Process Control Systems, Digital
Transformation Programs, and Open Process Automations in Saudi Aramco. Soloman Almadi holds a PhD in
simulation and computing from Brunel University, UK, M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Southern
Methodist University, USA, and B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Texas, USA.
Jeff Winter
Jeff Winter is the Sr. Director of Industry Strategy for manufacturing with Hitachi Solutions. With over 18 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 board room.
Madhu Pai
Madhu Pai, Ph.D., is the Global Partner Tech Lead for Manufacturing at Amazon Web Services, leading strategic initiatives enabling ISVs, consulting partners & strategy consulting firms to achieve business outcomes for their customers on AWS. He advises clients seeking to derive benefits from the cloud, IoT, AI/ML, including Generative AI, and high-performance computing.
Shyam Nath
Shyam V Nath is author of three books on IIoT, Digital Transformation and Digital Twins. He areas of
expertise are IIoT Platforms, Digital Twins and AI. Shyam has work experience with large
companies like Deloitte, Oracle, GE, IBM and Halliburton. He has undergrad degree from IIT Kanpur,
India as well as MBA and MS Computer Science from FAU, FL, USA. He is a regular speaker in large
global events including IoTSWC since 2016
Hervé d'Halluin
Traceability & RAIN RFID Leader
How Decathlon is answering to sustainability challenge and future regulations thanks to the RAIN RFID?
For 15 years now, Decathlon has implemented the RAIN RFID all along its value chain. Today, 100% of Decathlon’s products bear an RFID Tag, stuck directly during manufacturing.
Today, facing sustainability expectations and future european regulation challenges, discover how RAIN RFID technology is key for Decathlon to build a disruptive product traceability system.
Join the session to discover Decathlon, learn more about the history of its RAIN RFID project, and understand how the technology is an enablers to the future.
Hervé is leading the Decathlon RFID Project. This project is one of the first, biggest, and most advanced in the retail segment. It is deployed all over Decathlon supply chain in the entire world. Since the beginning of the year, 100% of Decathlon products bear a Rain RFID Tag. Hervé is leading the team in charge of building these high-value creation solutions implemented in Decathlon stores, warehouses and factories.
Yasser Alsaied
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Reinventing Business and Operations with IoT Solutions
Billions of IoT devices will connect with the cloud over the next five years. Organizations are unlocking their data to create new business models through these connected devices, coupling them with artificial intelligence and driving outcome-based analytics that enhance customer experiences, optimize operational efficiencies, streamline asset management, and improve workflow safety. This session highlights new innovations in IoT and robotics that are helping commercial, industrial, and automotive organizations securely and reliably transform business and operations by sending data to the cloud and bringing actionable insights back to the device to effectively deliver business value.
Jessica Poliner joined relayr in February 2022 as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and also serves on the board of directors for relayr, IoT Financial Services, and Munich Re’s IoT Advisory Council. Jessica brings over fifteen years of leadership experience working in global diversified industrial companies and has a strong track record of growing businesses. Jessica holds a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from Marquette University Law School and a Bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University.
Dmitri Belotchkine
Technical Director, Europe. TXOne Networks
ICS Security: How to Navigate Successfully in a Multi-Vendor and Multi-Site World
Production and process industry digitalization and connectivity to IT services and cloud introduce new threats in OT. New connections and smart IoT devices tear down the ICS isolation myth. Vendors must be prepared and support OT asset owners to manage the risks of possible consequences. When new IoT assets and connectivity are added to production networks, new countermeasure requirements must be considered. Valmet is developing and deploying secure ICS products and services using on-premise and cloud computing. The session introduces concerns and new OT countermeasure solutions responding to new threats and managing risks for production.
Since 2006 Heinz Lux has been responsible for the KNX Association which promotes the KNX protocol: The worldwide STANDARD for Home and Building Control.
Before that, he advised industry on their strategic projects concerning Home and Building Management & Control networks as an independent consultant. From 1990 to 2000 he was employed by Siemens in various positions related to home and building automation.
Andrei Ciobotar
Chief Technology Officer, Relayr
Celebrating 10 Years of IoT
In this interactive session, relayr’s CTO Andrei Ciobotar discusses how the IoT use cases have evolved from their earliest days to the present – opening new pathways across industries. Join Andrei as he examines the rise of IoT through the lens of the relayr’s journey. Discussion will focus on how the Industrial IoT came into being – the relayr story, the next generation of predictive maintenance, the rise of mature IoT solutions: from edge to end-to-end platforms, and practical use cases illustrating the power of IoT-powered solutions
Andrei Ciobotar joined relayr in 2017 as Director of Analytics. A former CTO and co-founder of the AI startup Neokami, acquired by relayr, he brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Today, in his role as CTO, Andrei is the driving force behind the success of relayr’s three engineering disciplines – cloud development, edge development, and artificial intelligence.