Dr Peter Weber has led Plant Munich, BMW’s mother plant located next to it headquarters, since September 2021. Here he is helping to drive the next phase of the plant’s transformation, including the launch in October 2021 of the BMW i4 electric vehicle, the relocation of engine production from the plant, and preparing to implement a new EV platform, the ‘Neue Klasse’. Prior to this role, Dr Weber was chief executive officer of BMW UK Manufacturing, including Mini production at the Oxford plant and its pressing plant in Swindon. Dr Weber, who has a PhD in engineering, has been with BMW since 2005, holding leadership roles in the group’s research and innovation centre, including in technical planning for production systems, as well as at BMW’s plant in Leipzig, Germany.

Dr Seonhi Ro is top specialist in manufacturing technologies, analytics and processes at Ford’s advanced R&D centre in Aachen, Germany, which is focused on cutting edge production tools and concepts. She is currently focused on high potential technologies for the factory of tomorrow, including generative design, 3D and 4D printing, AR/VR, AMRs, cobots and more. She has worked at Ford for more than 20 years, with experience in manufacturing analytics, in powertrain manufacturing and cycle planning. She also worked for eight years as research engineer and project manager at tier-1 supplier Vaillant. Dr Ro has a PhD in mechanical engineering from the Technical University Braunschweig.

Michel Peña has led technical engineering since 2019 across automotive supplier Teknia, which builds metals and plastic components. His responsibilities include the transfer of technology between the group's global plants, the improvement of global processes, the management of technological innovation and the group's investments and divestments. His career in Teknia began the year the company was founded in 1992. Since then, Peña has developed different technical and management functions. His achievements in the company encompass the growth, development and internalisation of the metal, machining and aluminium activities, as well as the creation and development of new technical directions by technology. Michel Peña is Industrial Technical Engineer from the University School of Industrial Technical Engineering of Bilbao of the Basque Country University and he studied a PDG (General Management Programme) in the IESE of the University of Navarre.

Francisco Carranza is the chief executive for Basquevolt, a battery cell and energy storage startup that aims to become a leader in solid state batteries. It was founded in 2022 and aims to produce solid state batteries by 2027; it is also bringing to market new electrolyte and anode technology for lithium-ion batteries. Previously, Carranza led strategy, sales and marketing, and was a member of the executive committee for battery cell producer ACC, a venture between Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Saft. During his career he has worked in vehicle R&D, external affairs, corporate planning and in managing new business opportunities such as connected services, electric vehicle grid integration (V2G, smart charging), renewable energy generation and stationary energy storage using second life vehicle lithium batteries. Francisco Carranza has two engineering degrees (Escuela Superior de Ingenieros of Sevilla and Ecole Nationale Superieur de Petrole et Moteurs) and an MBA (EM Lyon and Cranfield School of Management).

Timothy McGrath hold key roles in areas of quality and maintenance for BMW Mini. He has worked at the carmaker since September 2001, where he started as an apprentice. Once qualified he became a maintenance associate followed by a maintenance technician. After several years he moved into a Joining Specialist role with his area of expertise being resistance welding techniques. He then progressed to an area manager looking after maintenance, production, joining specialists and weld destruct. He also manages BMW’s input in a collective group of likeminded companies on the ‘Weld Zero Project’, an initiative to develop and showcase the benefits of digital technologies applied to welding operations in an industrial manufacturing context to support a zero-defect strategy. McGrath has spent just over one year of his career working abroad with stints in Turin, Italy, Dingolfing, Germany and Munich, Germany with the majority of this time being at BMW’s R&D headquarters in Munich, known as the FIZ.

Karthik Krishnamurthy is the Global Strategy and Business Development leader for Automotive Manufacturing and Supply Chain at AWS. In this role, he works with Automotive customers (OEMs, Suppliers, dealerships and startups) to help with their digital transformation journey for shop floor modernization such as Industry 4.0/ Industrial IOT/smart factory use cases and Supply chain workloads (planning, visibility, traceability and operations) across the automotive value chain. Prior to his current role in AWS, he led Business Development for Amazon.com's exports business and critical cross border supply chain initiatives for 4 years and has 12+ years of industry experience leading production ramp ups for model launches, process optimizations, strategic sourcing, parts logistics and distribution working for Auto OEMs and suppliers such as Toyota, TVS and as part of consulting engagements for Ernst & Young.

Sébastien Salze has worked for more than 10 years leading marketing activities for SAMES automotive division. He has worked for more than 20 years in the automotive industry, including more than 10 years at a major French OEM, where he was responsible for product, platform and market analysis, as well as in performance and consumption modelling. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Erich Barnstedt has worked in various engineering roles at Microsoft for almost 20 years, initially in the Windows team and later in the Azure team. Throughout his career, he focused on the automotive and manufacturing verticals and has more recently shifted his work to the support of standards and commitments to open-source and consortia work at Microsoft. He holds a bachelor and two master degrees in computer science from Trinity College, Dublin.

Ravi is a product management leader with extensive experience delivering high-quality products and services that have generated revenues and cost savings of over $10B for companies such as Motorola, GE, Bosch, and Weir. His expertise spans industries such as Mining, O&G, Industrial Automation, Automotive, Mobile Devices, Enterprise communications, Automotive and Fleet Management. He also has technical expertise in Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Data Security, Product Marketing, Product Engineering, Cloud Platforms, SaaS/PaaS, and Agile Methodologies.

Lars Eklöf leads the automotive arm of the Atlas Copco Group. Before joining Atlas Copco more than 20 years ago, he received an undergraduate degree in business from Dartmouth College in the US and a graduate degree in mechanical engineering from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. Today, Lars complements his high-profile role at the forefront of automotive innovation at Atlas Copco as a board member of software companies Beijer Electronics Group and ISRA VISION.

Thomas Hörnfeldt heads SSAB's sustainable business operations. He has unique insights in how to incorporate sustainability into the business model of the entire organization. Thomas Hörnfeldt has an MSc from Stockholm Technical University and an MBA from Uppsala University. He has vast experience in general management & sales, market intelligence as well as sustainability.

Katerina Moliadou, who is helping to drive internet of things (IoT) solutions across industrial automation specialist ATS, represents 5GEM (5G-Enabled Manufacturing), a consortium of companies exploring use cases for 5G private networks in different manufacturing environments, which has been supported by the UK government. She has more than 10 years of experience in R&D and innovation of new products, manufacturing processes and Industry 4.0 technologies. She joined ATS in 2019 and has since helped to secure and manage more than £4m of external funding for the development of new technology offerings. She has previously worked in product and technology development for highly regulated sectors such as medical devices and pharmaceutical industries, including for Johnson & Johnson family of companies. She has an Honours BEng degree in Product Design Engineering from Loughborough University, a MSc in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College London and is currently an Executive MBA candidate at Warwick Business School where her research is focused on enabling data driven organisations.

As Deputy Director of the £330m ($407m) Faraday Battery Challenge, Jacqui Murray helps lead government investment to develop batteries that are cost-effective, high-quality, durable, safe, low-weight and recyclable. Her background in the steel industry, environmental regulation and advanced materials innovation provides industrial relevance in her role as a Visiting Professor (Royal Academy of Engineering) at the University of Leicester, where she enhances the engineering programme. A keen STEM ambassador, Jacqui takes an active leadership approach on diversity and inclusion throughout her work. She was named as one of Autocar’s Top 100 Women in Automotive based on Seniority and Influence in 2020.

Nitin Rajurkar is a well-respected professional from the Automotive industry, with 40+ years of rich experience in the Automotive industry. He has served at Senior Positions with leading Automotive OEMs in Asia, like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra and Vinfast LLC. He has a strong domain experience in Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, New Product Development, Program Management etc. He has been instrumental in planning and setting up of the Modern Manufacturing facility. He has been driving Automation and Robotics projects, to bring in efficiency and quality robustness. He is an exponent of promoting Digital Manufacturing Planning, Digital Twins, Manufacturing Execution System and Industry 4.0 in the Automotive Industry.

As portfolio director in charge of steel solutions and co-engineering for automotive, Jérôme Favero is in charge of piloting engineering activities for automotive applications and customers, including in areas such as forming techniques, sustainability and additive manufacturing. He has worked in ArcelorMittal Global R&D for ten years, and has managed R&D projects in areas including hot stamping processes, and has worked as key leads for ArcelorMittal at major automotive manufacturers.  

Dr. Peter Wilson is an engineer with extensive experience in developing processes, including specification of production equipment and defining equipment validation criteria, and managing the installation of new products to manufacturing processes. He is currently a senior research association at Lancaster University in the UK, where he works closely with research, technology, OEM and suppliers. He has also been a process specialist at aerospace manufacturer Rolls-Royce. He has a PhD from Loughborough University in data analysis and machine learning for manufacturing, as well as an MBA in technology management from the Open University.

Romain Herry has been responsible for business development of automated industrial vehicle solutions at Conductix-Wampfler since 2020. He coordinates system solutions from all product lines for AGV and AMR projects, as well as for AGV/AMR stakeholders who are in the design phase or optimization phase of their new vehicles. His main office is located at the company's headquarters in Weil-am-Rhein (Germany). Romain joined Conductix-Wampfler in 2016 initially at JAY Electronique (France), which, following the acquisition, has become the group's center of excellence for safety radio solutions – an important added value for automated industrial vehicles. Previously, Romain held several positions in business development and sales management for complex technical solutions in an international context. He holds a master’s degree in Engineering from Hautes Etudes d'Ingénieur, Lille, France.

Václav Švub is responsible for ABB digital solutions and Innovations in Automotive Tier 1 segment. He is focusing on digital strategy, developing of new solutions and supporting the digital transformation of ABB customers. Václav is also in close collaboration with global digital ABB partners and working with them on joint innovative solutions. Václav started his journey with ABB in 2006 as a developer in ERP area. He was heading from 2011 ERP competence center for Central and Eastern Europe before he become responsible for digital portfolio in 2019. Václav has a master diploma in Telecommunications from Brno University of Technology Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication.

Edgar Faler is a Senior Industry Analyst at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). Edgar joined CAR in January of 2020, and has more than 25 years of experience as an automotive analyst. Most recently, he was a member of the M&A Transaction Advisory team at Ducker Worldwide LLC, a strategy consulting and transaction advisory firm, with offices in Troy (MI), London, Berlin, Paris, Bangalore, and Shanghai. He also previously consulted for Center for Automotive Research, during 2015-2016, for the Technology Research Group (e.g., Fleetwide Material Technology and Costs to Lightweighting Vehicles, and Assessment of Powertrain Technology Associated with Meeting CAFE and DHG Standards), and during 2018-2019 (e.g., Cost Benefits Analysis of Container Tracking for the Automotive Supply Chain). His experience includes 15 years of strategy consulting, M&A transaction advisory and due diligence. Also, he has 10 years of experience as an equity research analyst, for an NYSE/NASDAQ member firm, and for a boutique investment research firm that served institutional investors. Also, Edgar was previously interim Chief Operating Officer / Chief Financial Advisor for a non-profit, The Empowerment Plan (TEP), which focused on breaking the generational cycle of homelessness. TEP hires single parents from homeless shelters and provides them with training and full-time employment. Also, it manufactures the EMPWR coat, which is designed to meet the needs of the homeless community, i.e., can transform into a sleeping bag or bag when not in use. Career highlights include being twice-named to the Wall Street Journal “All-Star Analyst Team / Best of the Street – Automotive Industry” and honorable mention twice more by Fortune Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. He was also lead financial analyst on the $9 billion financial assistance proposal for automotive suppliers, as presented by OESA to the U.S. Treasury Department (2009). Edgar has a BBA from the University of Michigan, with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting.