Ramon Kuczera
SVP, Engineering
GKN Automotive
October 21, 2025
* JOIN US FOR THE PRE-EVENT HAPPY HOUR on October 20, 2025 FROM 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
7:00 am – 8:00 am EST
Delegate Registration and Networking Breakfast
Sponsored by:
8:00 am – 8:10 am EST
Chair's Welcome and Opening Remarks
Manufacturing & Quality
Supply Chain
Randall Pappal
VP, Supply Chain
Gentex Corp.
Design & Engineering
Scott Bodjack
Vehicle New Product Introduction
Tesla
8:10 am – 8:40 am EST
Keynote
Jean-Christophe Marchal
SVP, Manufacturing Division, Vehicle Process Engineering
Stellantis
Rethinking Innovation: From Concept to Production at Scale
- Creating an innovation framework that aligns R&D, engineering, and manufacturing
- Scaling breakthrough technologies such as SDVs, electrification, and sustainable materials
- Integrating supplier ecosystems early to reduce time-to-market and increase design flexibility
- Cultivating a culture of experimentation and speed within a traditionally process-heavy environment
8:40 am – 9:10 am EST
Plenary
Chris Styles
VP, Supply Chain Management
Nissan North America Inc.
Optimizing Manufacturing and Supply Chain Operations for Resilience and Efficiency in a Dynamic Global Market
- Strategies to build resilience across North American manufacturing and supply chain operations
- Balancing quality and output to meet market demands and maintain operational excellence
- Leveraging advanced technology for improved efficiency and streamlined production processes
- Navigating the challenges of supply chain fluctuations in North American and South American regions
- Building a people-centered leadership approach to foster growth and innovation in manufacturing
9:10 am – 9:40 am EST
Plenary
Steve Hornyak
CEO
Turntide Drives
Turntide Technologies: Driving Hybridization through Axial Flux Innovation
- Delivering compact, high-power axial flux motor solutions for hybrid ICE platforms
- Enhancing existing ICE architectures with integrated hybrid capabilities
- Driving OEM adoption through flexible, scalable motor technologies
- Supporting global sustainability goals with efficient, lower-emission powertrain solutions
9:45 am – 11:25 am EST
Refreshments, Networking, and Pre-Arranged 1-2-1 Meetings
11:30 am – 12:00 pm EST
Sessions
Manufacturing & Quality
Meredith Westafer
Director, Factory Design
Tesla
Next-Generation Automation: Transforming Material Flow in Automotive Manufacturing
- Overcoming complexities in automating highly variable parts and packaging
- Deploying AI-driven robotics for smarter, more efficient trailer unloading and warehouse management
- Enhancing operational resilience through real-time tracking and predictive analytics in material handling
- Maximizing ROI with flexible automation solutions tailored for high-mix, high-volume production environments
Supply Chain
Joshua Bobrow
VP, Purchasing
Magna International
Reducing Dependency on Global Supply Chains Through Nearshoring
- Localizing critical supply chain operations to reduce exposure to global disruption and tariffs
- Building supplier ecosystems closer to manufacturing hubs for greater speed and flexibility
- Leveraging digital tools to identify vulnerabilities and enable proactive sourcing strategies
- Balancing cost efficiency with resilience and sustainability in nearshoring decisions
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
Harsha Badarinarayan
VP, Advanced Engineering
Astemo
Driving Next-Generation Vehicle Innovation: High Performance Compute
- Traditional single-purpose ECUs are being replaced by multifunctional, centralized systems
- Artificial intelligence is optimizing system-on-a-chip designs by streamlining neural networks, enhancing real-time data processing, and reducing component complexity
- Technologies like steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire are revolutionizing vehicle control systems
- Multi-camera setups are emerging as cost-effective solutions, enabling 3D environmental mapping for autonomous functions, self-parking, and more
12:05 pm – 12:40 pm EST
Workshops
Room 1
Stephen Werst
Director, Customer Success, Product Strategy
Sigmetrix
Using 3D Tolerance Analysis as Your First Step to Model-Based Definition
- Leverage 3D tolerance analysis to validate design intent before production, reducing errors and rework
- Integrate tolerance data into model-based definition (MBD) to improve collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, and quality teams
- Identify potential assembly and fit issues early in the design cycle to minimize downstream costs
- Use analysis insights to optimize part and process designs, accelerating time-to-market and improving product quality
Room 2
Michael Moore, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Strategy and Innovation
Neo4j
Revolutionizing Manufacturing with Knowledge Graphs and AI
- Leveraging AI for predictive maintenance and manufacturing optimization
- Adopting knowledge graphs to enhance productivity on the factory floor
- Improving quality control through machine learning driven inspections
Room 3
Eric Whitley
Director, Smart Manufacturing
L2L
Maintenance as the Bedrock: Leveraging Manufacturing Intelligence to Eliminate Automotive Downtime
- How a leading OEM used L2L’s platform to achieve its best 12 months in 23 years, scaling across 23+ facilities
- Panel insights on unifying maintenance, quality, and production data to eliminate downtime and boost shop floor performance
- Breakthrough results: predictive maintenance, streamlined workflows, enhanced visibility, and measurable profitability gains
- Proven strategies to make maintenance the foundation of operational excellence and a true competitive advantage
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm EST
Lunch & Learn Roundtable Discussions and Open Seating Lunch
Doug Erwin
CEO
ChainLink SRM
Breaking the Supply Chain Visibility Barrier: Achieving Supply Chain Resilience and Agility with ChainLink SRM
Mark Gordon
Senior Director, Supply Chain Solutions
Anaplan
Smarter Supply Chain Planning for the Road Ahead
Will Chu
CEO
Vector
How Leading Shippers Use eBOL and AI to Protect Assets and Reduce Risk
Jo-Elsa Jordan
Business Manager
Virginia Economic Development Partnership
State Incentives & Workforce Solutions for Automotive
Greg Boschetti
Director, Enterprise Sales
Squint
The Frontline Fix: How To Empower Operators to Fix Downtime
Edward Van Amstel
Managing Director
Musashi AI North America
The Utilization of AI for Quality Improvement Efforts
James Howard
VP, Business Development - Automotive
GXO
Smart Warehousing for Automotive: From Static Storage to Dynamic Fulfillment
David Dichmann
VP, Product Marketing
Cloudera
Driving the Future of Automotive Manufacturing with AI, Data, and Connected Intelligence
Ian Silver
Global Head, Alliances and Partner Delivery
Samsung SDS
From Complexity to Clarity: Direct Procurement Insights for Automotive Leaders
Nelli Schmidt
Global Relationship Manager
Genpact
Inhoon Choi
Global Relationship Manager
Genpact
How Advanced Technology is Supercharging Lean Six Sigma to Drive Supply Chain and Order Management Transformation
Stephen Werst
Director, Customer Success, Product Strategy
Sigmetrix
Is Your Company Using Dimensional Variation Models Created During Design to Make Better Decisions During Production?
Matthew Vorce
Staff Solutions Engineer
Unity
Accelerating Innovation in Automotive with Real-Time 3D
1:50 pm – 2:20 pm EST
Sessions
Manufacturing & Quality
Anna Schneider
SVP, Industry-Government Relations
Volkswagen Group of America
Donald Davidson
Head, Federal Affairs and Political Strategy
Volkswagen Group of America
Fireside Chat: Navigating Tariff Turbulence in the Global Automotive Market
- Assessing the impact of shifting U.S., EU, and China tariff policies on automotive trade
- Traditional lobbying no longer works. The need to refocus to protect competitiveness
- Collaborating across industry and policy stakeholders to shape a sustainable path forward
Supply Chain
Amarish Kapadia
Global Head, Product Strategy
MiNDCAN, Martinrea International
Unlocking Cost Efficiency and Resilience in the Automotive Supply Chain
- Driving cost efficiency and resilience amid rising costs, supply chain constraints, and labor shortages
- Leveraging AI, predictive analytics, and real-time data to enhance supply chain visibility and cost control
- Institutionalizing a scalable and sustainable cost-saving culture across global, cross-functional teams
- Implementing next-gen supplier collaboration and digital procurement strategies to drive profitability and agility
Design & Engineering
Tsutomi Wakitani
VP, Executive Chief Engineer
Honda
Harnessing AI, IoT & Autonomous Machines to solve the industrial challenges
- How demographic trends and work conditions are creating critical manpower gaps and the need for safe alternatives to manual labor
- How AI enables autonomous recognition of tasks and decision-making on job sites
- Cloud connection for task execution in different environments, and the seamless integration of the Honda Solution Systems into existing work operations
- AWM/MWM system for the L&G industry
- Next hurdles: rich-environment perception, cost and market recognition, before wider roll-out across the industries
2:25 pm – 2:55 pm EST
Workshops
Room 1
Chris Van Dyke
CEO
Overview
What We’ve Learned From 500+ AI Camera Installations in 2025: Unexpected Variables That Can Make or Break Actual ROI
- What are common ways vision projects fail on the plant floor, from pilot to production?
- How is AI vision in 2025 fundamentally different from what was possible even just 2 years ago?
- What deployment strategies actually work in production environments in this "brave new world"?
Room 2
Doug Erwin
CEO
ChainLink SRM
Take Back Your Supply Chain: Leveraging True Visibility, Predictive Intelligence, and Process Automation to Manage Your Supply Chain Proactively
- See issues before they escalate with real-time, supplier-supplied data
- Anticipate risks and disruptions before they impact your bottom line
- Trigger the right actions instantly with smart, structured workflows
- Reducing manual intervention, saving time, and restoring your sanity
Room 3
Annalise Suzuki
COO
Elysium Inc
Reduce Time-to-Market by Elevating 3D Digital Workflows
- Recognize pitfalls critical to production deadlines
- Understand the impact of digital product data quality
- See industry case studies of automating quality CAD translations
- See demonstrations of technology applied
3:00 pm – 4:20 pm EST
Happy Hour, Networking and Pre-Arranged 1-2-1 Meetings
4:25 pm – 4:55 pm EST
Plenary
Alex Blum
SVP, Chief Operating Officer
Unity
From Vision to Value: Driving Emerging Tech for Automotive
- Explore how digital asset management, XR, AI, and HMI innovation—powered by real-time data—are moving from concepts into production across the automotive industry.
- See how digital asset management, XR, AI, and HMI are moving from concept to production.
- Learn how leading automotive companies are streamlining design, improving training, and elevating in-vehicle experiences.
- Discover how to align emerging tech with business goals to drive measurable results and redefine what’s possible.
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm EST
Sessions
Manufacturing & Quality
Mandar Hazare
F1 Performance Engineering Lead, GM Motorsports
Cadillac Formula 1 Team, GM
High-Performance People: Building Team Cultures That Win on Track and in the Plan
- Balance grind + recovery by giving line and track teams clear goals, quick feedback loops, and scheduled downtime
- Onboard new talent—power-unit, aero, body-shop, or battery tech—and have them contributing inside 90 days
- Borrow the race-day routine: 10-minute stand-ups and rapid “red-tag” checks that halve trouble-shooting time on the factory floor
- Measure what really matters: first-pass quality, fix-cycle speed, and team energy—not just lap times or units built
Supply Chain
Gabriel Alonso
SVP, Corporate Production Management
ZF Group
Marcus Vukitsevits
Director, Operations Process Digitalization
ZF Group
Fireside Chat: How Can Automotive Manufacturers Leverage Industry 4.0 to Drive Efficiency and Innovation?
- Utilizing real-time analytics to enhance production agility and operational excellence
- Adopting advanced manufacturing techniques to maximize output and minimize costs
- Aligning global industrial strategies with lean principles for sustainable competitive advantage
- Developing agile teams capable of responding rapidly to evolving market demands
Design & Engineering
Arnd Herwig
VP, Engineering
Brose
Driving Sustainability Forward: Rethinking Polymers and Materials for Next-Gen Automotive Performance
- Innovating sustainable polymers to reduce environmental impact across vehicle platforms
- Integrating lifecycle assessments to balance performance, sustainability, and cost efficiency
- Leveraging digital engineering to optimize material selection for ICE and electric vehicle applications
- Strategies for achieving ambitious carbon-neutrality goals through material innovation and lean manufacturing
- Building industry partnerships to accelerate sustainable practices and continuous innovation
5:35 pm – 6:20 pm EST
Panel Discussion
Peipei Zhao
President, North America
RoboSense
Abhijit Supekar
Senior Director, Global Supply Chain
AevaTammer Jarjoura
VP, Portfolio, ADAS Camera
ZF GroupHarsha Badarinarayan
VP, Advanced Engineering
Astemo
Dushyant Wadivkar
VP, Global Head, AD/ADAS
Woven by Toyota
Travis Hester
VP, Advanced Vehicle Development
General Motors
Navigating the Shift from Semi-Autonomous to Fully Autonomous Vehicles
- How are you and your companies prioritizing investment, resources, and development in an autonomous landscape shaped by shifting customer preferences, rapid technology advancement, and company philosophy?
- With rule-based, machine learning, and AI-driven systems advancing so quickly, how are you preparing for this evolution — and what risks do you see emerging?
- Which autonomous business models (robotaxis, PAVs, commercial trucks, delivery, defense) will drive the fastest adoption and growth? Where do you see opportunities and risks?
- How are you navigating supply chain challenges, tariffs, and geopolitical pressures while accelerating development through global collaboration, partnerships, and joint ventures?
6:25 pm – 6:35 pm EST
Chair's closing remarks
Manufacturing & Quality
Ramon Kuczera
SVP, Engineering
GKN Automotive
Supply Chain
Randall Pappal
VP, Supply Chain
Gentex Corp.
Design & Engineering
Scott Bodjack
Vehicle New Product Introduction
Tesla
6:40 pm – 7:40 pm EST
Networking drinks reception
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