Critical Technologies for Sustainable Vehicle Production 2023
DEVELOPMENTS SHAPING INTERIOR, EXTERIOR, AND POWERTRAIN APPLICATIONS, MATERIALS, AND MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
Date: February 15 and 16, 2023
Venue: Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel. 21111 Haggerty Rd., Novi, MI 48375 USA
Format: In-Person
Sponsored by (click logos for information):
CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
Mitra O'Malley
Managing Director and Co-founder - The ITB Group
Ms. O’Malley is one of the founding partners of The ITB Group in 1992. As Managing Director, she focuses on technology feasibility and business development activities in automotive acoustics, interior and exterior. Her specific areas of specialty include cabin technologies (materials, processing and function integration). Ms. O’Malley has 39 years of experience in the automotive industry in a variety of roles. She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Master’s degree in Plastics Engineering.
Dr. Rose Ryntz
Vice President, Sustainability - The ITB Group
Dr. Ryntz is a partner of The ITB Group and serves as Vice President, Sustainability. She is also on the Automotive Advisory Board of Directors for Carbon 3D as well as a Business Development Partner for 10EQS. Prior to this, Dr. Ryntz held several industrial positions at Dow Chemical, Akzo Nobel, Ford Motor Company, Visteon Corporation, and most recently was the VP of Global Advanced Development at IAC. Dr. Ryntz holds over 50 patents, has written over 100 technical papers, and is the author of 4 books. She has been presented with numerous awards, including the SPE Automotive Division Lifetime Achievement Award, and was named one of the Top 100 Leading Women in Automotive by Automotive News.
Gina Oliver
Durable Markets Advocacy Leader - American Chemistry Council Plastics Division
Ms. Oliver heads the American Chemistry Council’s Durable Goods Market Advocacy group where she leads the strategic direction to advance durable plastics sustainability through responsible public policy. This encompasses advising the U.S. Congress and federal agencies, national and international organizations about the essential role durable plastics play in solving some of society’s biggest challenges – including achieving a more sustainable automotive future. Ms. Oliver has a background in regulatory and product support within the global automotive sector, trade association leadership and management, and public policy and advocacy. Ms. Oliver actively participates in numerous councils and groups and holds a Master of Business Administration from Wayne State University.
Dr. Soydan Ozcan
Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies Group Leader - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Dr. Ozcan is the Group Leader for the Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and leads their Hub and spoke R&D program with the University of Maine. He is also the Technical Director of Sustainability for the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing Composite Innovation where he facilitates the development of recycling technologies and utilizes various composite techniques to repurpose them into useful applications. Dr. Ozcan has received multiple prestigious awards in his career and has published nearly 100 papers,10 book chapters, and holds 25 patents.
Sophie Louis
Global Director Energy & Sustainability - Kautex Textron
Ms. Louis joined Kautex in October 2022 as their new Global Energy and Sustainability Director. She has more than 20 years of international automotive experience, most recently serving as the Senior Manager R&D at Nissan Technical Center in Barcelona. In this role, she held overall responsibility for coordinating the introduction of e-power hybrid technology in Europe. Prior to Nissan, Ms. Louis worked at Volvo where she held various roles in research development from environmental management to technical concepts. Ms. Louis holds a Master of Science degree from INSA Lyon with a focus on Energy and Environment, as well as a Master in Business Administration from University of Cumbria with a focus on Sustainability and Leadership.
Carsten Niermann
Application Engineer Sustainability - AKRO-PLASTIC
Mr. Niermann is an Application Engineer with a focus on sustainable products at AKRO-PLASTIC in Niederzissen, Germany. Prior to this role he worked as a Project Engineer at FKuR Kunststoff specializing in development, production, and distribution of biobased and biodegradable plastics. Mr. Niermann holds a Master’s degree in Science in Plastics and Textile Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University.
Frank Schumann
Global Segment Director, Mobility - Trinseo
Mr. Schumann is currently Global Segment Director for Trinseo’s automotive business where he heads marketing strategy. Here he is engaged with plastics with a quantified environmental advantage, and tailored products to enable sustainability with regards to lightweighting or metal replacement. Mr. Schumann has experience working at major exterior and under-the-hood automotive tiers and prior to joining Trinseo in 2018, he spent 11 years working with IAC Group leading the Advanced Material and Process Group in Europe. Mr. Schumann holds an MBA from Aston University and a degree in material science from the University of Applied Sciences, Bonn.
Fernando Caccia
CEO - Bader Leather
Mr. Caccia has been involved in the leather industry for over 20 years and through experience, has a thorough understanding of the entire supply chain from purchasing of raw materials, R&D, design and sales, all the way to program management involving OEM and Tier1s. Mr. Caccia is currently CEO for BADER Leather in North America where he leads teams in four production facilities in Mexico and over sees operations in the USA.
Lynn Kubik
Manager Research & Development, Artificial Leather - Continental Surface Solutions
Ms. Kubik manages the North American Artificial Leather Development Team for Continental Surface Solutions. She is involved with product development of sustainable automotive interior materials as well as communicating the meaning of sustainable terminology, materials, processes to automotive customers. In off hours, Ms. Kubik is training to be a Master Naturalist for the state of West Virginia.
Chris Mayville
Market Development Manager - Kraton Polymers
Mr. Mayville is a Market Development Manager at Kraton Polymers focusing on automotive innovation. Prior to Kraton he held roles at various automotive Tier 1 manufacturers focusing on advanced product and process development and engineering program management.
Kristin Oswick
Sales Director - Monolith
Ms. Oswick is the Sales Director for carbon black at Monolith, where she leads the commercial development and go-to-market strategy for sustainable carbon blacks into the tire & rubber industry. Here she brings 20 years of experience in the tire & rubber industry, most recently serving as the North America Sales Director for specialty rubber chemicals at Lanxess. Prior to this, Ms. Oswick held technical and commercial leadership positions at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and served as their first Global Product Stewardship Manager. Here she championed sustainable materials usage in the tire industry as a member of the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment and ETRMA environmental committees. Ms. Oswick holds a degree in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University.
Amy Stephen
Senior Application Engineer - The Materials Group
Ms. Stephen is a Senior Application Engineer at The Materials Group (TMG) focused on new business development and promoting sustainable resins and filler technologies. Since 1998, she has held various technical roles focused on product design and plastics in both the automotive and healthcare industries. Ms. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics from Hope College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Fred Lee
CEO and Co-founder of KTON
Mr. Lee’s career spans the global automotive and Testing Inspection and Certification industries where he has applied his degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering to the development of automotive component test chambers and systems. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of KTON where he focuses on bringing EV battery testing technology to the American automotive market. In addition, he is CEO and co-founder of Pacific Tango Group where he assists APAC companies to successfully onshore to the US market. In this capacity, he is also the Co-chair of the newly created OnShoring Technology Committee at NAATBatt.
Karen Guzman
Mobility Marketing Manager - Covestro
Ms. Guzman is Mobility Marketing Manager in Covestro where she leads and coordinates strategy and marketing activities for polycarbonate-based material applications for the Automotive industry. She is also be responsible for identifying and developing new market opportunities. Prior to joining Covestro, Ms. Guzman held technical and business development positions at BASF. Ms. Guzman is a Chemical Engineer by trade and holds a Master Degree in Marketing and International Business and a diploma in Automotive Design and Engineering.
Jiwon Hyun
CEO -Dongnam Realize
Ms. Hyun has graduated from Economic school at Chungnam National University and successfully opened and managed online stores, and later becoming the founder and manager of a successful marketing company. In 2018, Ms. Hyun became the CEO of Dongnam Realize where she leads the development of CXP Wood and global company growth.
Leo Mazurek
Sales Director Interiors NAO - Forvia
Mr. Mazurek is Sales and Program Director for MATERI’ACT where he is directly responsible for the business development and deployment of sustainable materials in North America. In his 12 years with FORVIA, Mr. Mazurek has held roles within engineering, operations, and purchasing. Mr. Mazurek holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Walsh College.
Akim Khalef
Feedstock & Recycling Manager - Forvia
Mr. Khalef is Sustainable Feedstock and Recyling Manager where he is directly responsible for the creation and development of feedstock supply and value chain for FORVIA’s new sustainable materials entity, Materi’Act. In his 6 years with FORVIA, he has held a number of purchasing roles within the US, Czech Republic, and Japan. Mr. Khalef holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Lille and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Procurement Management from Grenoble IAE.
Drew Geda
Senior Polymer Materials Development Engineer - Hyundai Motor Group
Mr. Geda works as a member of the Materials Development team at the Hyundai America Technical where he focuses on interior plastic material development, NVH sensitive componentry, and raw material sustainability. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University, and has spent time within the automotive and aerospace industries over the past 14 years, working with such companies as DuPont, General Motors, Meggitt Polymers and Composites, and Hyundai. Mr. Geda is an active member of SPE and sits on the board of directors for the automotive division. He has co-authored a several papers related to advanced material research and development, and holds patents in similar technologies.
Fred Gersdorff
Senior Manager, Socially Responsible and Sustainable SC - General Motors
Mr. Gersdorff is passionate about unlocking human potential and views sustainability as a pursuit that puts people at the center of what we do. Mr. Gersdorff currently leads the sustainability efforts in GM’s Global Purchasing and Supply Chain organization and has prior extensive business experience working in medical devices, power distribution and automotive industries. His educational background is in Chemistry with an MBA, and he is currently pursuing a PhD in Systems Engineering.
David Schmitz
Business Development Manager - Evonik Corporation
Mr. Schmitz is currently a Business Development Manager in the segment Automotive and Mobility at the Evonik Corporation. Here he is leading technical marketing campaigns in North America in alignment with the global strategy for Evonik’s High Performance Polymers. Prior to this role, he held various positions in Application Technology, Marketing and Sales for Evonik in Germany. Mr. Schmitz holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry and Master’s degree in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Applied Science in Aachen.
April Tang
Technical Manager Surface Treatment - Henkel
Ms.Tang is a Surface Treatment Technical Manager at Henkel where she provides technical expertise and support for Automotive OEM’s conversion coating processes, focusing on innovations in sustainable metal pretreatment technology. Prior to joining Henkel, she held roles in R&D and Marketing at AkzoNobel and worked as a scientist at the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, and at Cayman Chemical Company. Ms. Tang holds a master’s degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Michigan.
Rob Kaminsky
Business Development Engineer - Arkema
Mr. Kaminsky is a Business Development Engineer in the High Performance Polymers group at Arkema. He has been supporting the automotive industry through various positions in this group for over five years, and currently focuses on finding ways their advanced material portfolio can support emerging technologies such as battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles. Mr. Kaminsky earned his degree in Material Science and Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and he is pursuing an MBA from Villanova University.
Timothy Dean
Senior Market Development Lead - ExxonMobil Product Solutions
Mr. Dean is a Senior Market Development Lead with the Polymers business of ExxonMobil Product Solutions. His prior experience includes pilot plant design and operation, process engineering, capital project management and execution, business planning, and application development. Mr. Dean holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alabama.
Chris Johnson
Director of Sustainability - Ascend Performance Materials
As the director of sustainability for Ascend Performance Materials, Mr. Johnson is responsible for driving the company’s efforts around environmental impact reductions and setting sustainability targets throughout the business. Here he has been an important part of the launch of Ascend’s Redefyne recycled polymer product line. Prior to this, Mr. Johnson held a number of roles at Ascend over the past 25 years. He has extensive experience in manufacturing and capital projects, including stints as a production supervisor for acrylonitrile, as a turnaround and reliability lead, and as director of capital planning. Mr. Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Texas Tech University.
Dr. Christoph Koffler
Technical Director Americas - Sphera
Dr. Koffler is the Technical Director for the Americas of Sphera’s Sustainability Consulting practice. In this role he is responsible for the quality of all sustainability consulting projects across the region, methodological development, and project oversight. In addition, he is the primary lead in selected areas such as the automotive sector. Over the last 17 years, he has worked on hundreds of Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Footprint projects across a wide variety of industry sectors. Dr. Koffler received his Ph.D. in Engineering from the Darmstadt University of Technology in 2007. His work centered on Automotive Product Life Cycle Assessment and was carried out at the Volkswagen Group Research Department in Wolfsburg, Germany. He has published numerous papers in the field of Life Cycle Assessment and frequently provides his expertise in peer and critical reviews.
Dr. Shyaam Ramkumar
Lead Business Developer & Strategy North America - Circularise
Dr. Ramkumar is the Lead Business Developer and Strategy for North America at Circularise and is a circular economy innovation expert with over 10 years of experience in sustainability and circular economy in Europe and the United States. He has previously worked as the Knowledge and Innovation Manager at Circle Economy in Amsterdam, has interned with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and was a sustainability consultant with Accenture. Dr. Ramkumar holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Northwestern University, a Master’s degree in Industrial Ecology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and a Ph.D. in Economic Sociology from the University of Milan.
Katie Kutskill
Technical Director - Sustainable Leather Foundation
Ms. Kutskill has 10 years of experience in automotive leather with Eagle Ottawa-Lear and Pangea (formerly GST Autoleather), with her most recent role being Global Executive Director of Product Development and Sustainability Officer. She has now entered the non-profit sector as Technical Director of the Sustainable Leather Foundation and is dedicated to showcasing leather’s capability to fulfill cost, design, and innovation requirements as a sustainable product. Ms. Kutskill earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan and her Master of Science in Leather Technology from Northampton University.
Shinya Shimizu
Co-founder, CEO and CTO - Elephantech
Mr. Shimizu co-founded Elephantech (formerly AgIC Inc.) in 2014 and currently operates as CEO and CTO. Prior to this role, he worked for McKinsey & Company and provided consultancy services to manufacturers in Japan. Mr. Shimizu holds a Master degree in electronics and information engineering from the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at The University of Tokyo.
David Rice
SVP Business Development - TactoTek
Mr. Rice leads TactoTek Business Development and focuses on building a complete IMSE ecosystem in the Americas. He has extensive experience identifying and developing high value, addressable market opportunities for innovative electronics and software solutions. His background includes roles as CEO and leader in Marketing, Business Development, and Product Management for early-stage startups and public companies. Mr. Rice holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, and an MBA from the University of Oregon.
