Featured Speakers
Jonathan Alexander | Albemarle
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Jonathan Alexander is the Manufacturing AI & Advanced Analytics Manager within Albemarle’s global Manufacturing Excellence team. He has held a variety of roles within Manufacturing, including working within both Maintenance & Operations for both the Hydroprocessing Catalyst Plant in Bayport, TX and the Aluminum Alkyl plants in Pasadena, TX, along with leading a site’s Technology Implementation for Competitive Advantage (TICA) program. In his current global role, he has been focused on powering the potential of people by scaling AI (Albemarle Intelligence) and changing Albemarle’s culture around Manufacturing Data Analytics, an integral part of their journey towards Digital Transformation. Mr. Alexander holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana State University and a Masters in Business Administration from The University of Houston in Clear Lake.
Mark Sen Gupta | ARC Advisory Group
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Mark has over 30 years of expertise in process control, SCADA, and Industrial IT applications. He began his career as a Process Control Engineer with Mobay Corporation (Covestro) in Baytown, TX working with instrumentation, PLCs, and DCSs. He spent much of his career as a sales consultant and product manager for SCADA, batch, DCS, Foundation Fieldbus, and hybrid control products. He has worked with numerous end users in in the refining, chemical, specialty chemical, pulp & paper, and oil & gas industries. He currently studies process control related topics at ARC including digital transformation in the process industries and adjusting to the new dynamics of the labor market.
Johan Hultman | Sartorius Data Analytics
Johan joined Sartorius Data Analytics (former Umetrics) in 1999. During his 20+ years within the Advanced Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning arena, he has held several key positions within the organization. With numerous Digital Transformation projects ongoing as well as already successfully delivered, his combination of technical knowledge, leadership and solution selling expertise, he is now managing and mentoring a Sartorius Team with responsibilities for built-in, connected applications and solutions using AI and ML with proven, documented quality and financial benefits.
Mary Beth Seasholtz | Dow
Mary Beth is well known in the chemical industry and has played an integral role throughout her 27-year career at Dow. Perhaps most notably, she was an early developer of advanced multivariate technologies, having the foresight to see the opportunities inherent in process chemometrics and hiring talent that proceeded to set Dow’s analytics apart. Her initial idea has since delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to Dow in vetted value/ROI. She is also responsible for introducing Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence (EMI) to Dow, and as technology leader, she continues to develop new analytics tools through the Manufacturing 4.0 program.
Ken Froedge | Kaneka
Ken Froedge is the Director of Digital Technology and Innovation at Kaneka North America. He has held a number of roles in manufacturing and finance in his career both at Kaneka and other chemical producers. In his current role, Ken has been responsible for the initiation and development of the digital transformation effort within the Kaneka North America organization. Digital transformation efforts extend not only into the operations and maintenance functions, but across all business functions including Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Accounting, and HSE. Ken holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and Accounting (CPA) from the University of Alabama, and a Masters in Business Administration from Wichita State University.