Industry Elite Speakers

As President, Operations, Steffen Lang leads a team of more than 25 000 associates dedicated to manufacturing and supplying high-quality medicines to patients, and providing operational support with latest technology and business solutions to the entire Novartis enterprise. Operations at Novartis incorporates the company’s manufacturing, quality, and supply organization, as well as information technology, data and digital, procurement, environmental sustainability, facility services, and global business services. Prior to taking on this role, Steffen was Global Head of Novartis Technical Operations (NTO). Under his leadership, NTO underwent a transformation to become one of the leading manufacturing and supply organizations in the industry, providing agile, efficient support to the business, and reliably delivering life-changing medicines to patients around the world. During this time, the unit adapted its manufacturing capacity and capabilities to the changing needs of the Novartis strategy and product portfolio, maximizing the potential of its assets and expertise. As well as delivering technological innovation to enable the production of advanced therapeutic platforms, the unit collaborated with industry partners to support global demand for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies.

Mourad Tamoud joined Schneider Electric in 1997 as Supply Chain & Logistics Manager. In 2012 he became Senior VP of Global Supply Chain China, a post in which he had oversight of manufacturing and distribution operations for the region, and was responsible for safety, quality, customer satisfaction, procurement, and supply chain. Over his 20 year career with Schneider Electric, Mourad has held positions in Low Voltage and Medium Voltage Industrial Operations, Industrial Strategy, Manufacturing Logistics, Production & Logistics, Procurement, and ERP Information Systems. In June 2016 he was appointed as Executive Vice President of Schneider Electric’s Global Supply Chain operations. Since February 2019, Mourad has served as a member of the Executive Committee as Chief Supply Chain Officer, overseeing the operations, transformation, logistics, network design, and strategic agenda for the entire Supply Chain organization. Mourad holds a degree from Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (France).

Biswaranjan (Bish) Sen is the Global Chief Product Supply Officer Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever under the company’s new Compass organization. He joined Unilever in 1991 and has worked in R&D and across various parts of the Supply Chain including manufacturing, planning, logistics, customer service and procurement. Bish was a member of the Board of Directors of Unilever Indonesia with responsibility for the Supply Chain between 2009 and 2012. Following his subsequent roles as Vice President Procurement Chemicals and Vice President Group SC Personal Care, he became an Executive Vice President in Unilever in May 2017, responsible for Unilever’s Beauty and Personal Care Supply Chain thru 2021. He was the architect of the end-to-end Digital Transformation of Unilever’s Global Supply Chain. Bish is also responsible for Unilever’s global Decarbonisation Technology strategy. Bish holds a degree in Chemical Engineering.

Torsten Pilz oversees Honeywell’s global integrated supply chain, with responsibility for driving improvements in plant efficiency, working capital, quality and delivery. Before joining Honeywell, Torsten was Vice President, Supply Chain, for SpaceX, where he was responsible for planning, purchasing, material management and logistics. His team supported dozens of launches a year, as well as the development and production of the Falcon and Falcon Heavy Rockets, the Dragon Spacecraft and SpaceX’ satellite program. Torsten earned B.S. and M.S. degrees, as well as a doctorate in chemical engineering, from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

Frank Cervi is the Chief Supply Chain Operations Officer of Mondelēz International, a global snacking leader with 2024 net revenues of approximately $36.4 billion driven by iconic brands such as Oreo, Ritz, LU, Clif Bar and Tate's Bake Shop biscuits and baked snacks, as well as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate. In this role, Frank leads the organization’s supply chain operations across 134 plants and more than 60,000 employees. His leadership style is defined by his commitment to the safety of our consumers and employees and a desire to provide value to our customers.

Neha Singh has extensive experience in supply chain management, currently serving as the VP of Global E2E Supply Planning Transformation for Project Voyager at Diageo since April 2021, where the focus is on the digital transformation of supply planning processes. Prior to Diageo, Neha held multiple roles at Unilever from July 2016 to March 2021, including Global SC Manager for Ponds and Category Planning Manager across various product lines, driving cost-saving initiatives and innovation management. Earlier experience includes positions at Procter & Gamble, where roles spanned from Material Supply Manager to Product Line Manager, and a foundational role at Telco Construction Equipment Co. Ltd. Neha holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from SPJIMR and a B.Tech in Metallurgical & Material Science Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Durgapur.

A highly accomplished Global Executive, Nadia Stoykov has a proven track record of building and leading world-class Commercial, Supply Chain, and Service Organizations. Nadia's expertise extends to driving customer-centric business transformations within large multinational industrial organizations, spanning both public and private sectors. Recognized as a strategic thinker, innovator, and productive disruptor, Nadia thrives in ambiguous environments and consistently delivers impactful results. Their focus centers on developing strategic growth platforms and game-changing business operating models, expertly leading complex implementations while achieving significant ROI, cost optimization, and successful value creation through the strategic application of technology and simplification.

As COO, of the US Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Stephanie Wright supports the Center by designing and leading the company culture and vision to ensure sustainable growth and success for the Center and its partners. Her passion for creativity, innovation, diversity and action allows for pathways to progress in advanced manufacturing be seen, understood and implemented. Stephanie is the founder and Chief Transformation Officer at Agora Leadership focusing on enhancing organizations in developing strategy with purpose and leaders grounded in authenticity. Prior to the partnership with the Centre, Stephanie spent 25 years in leadership roles in Supply Chain and Procurement leading transformational projects, organizations and team members in 60 countries around the world. Her international business experience and track record of building sustainable positive culture is a valuable asset to the Centre.

Maite Jiménez joined Ricoh in March 2009 as Customer Satisfaction Manager, and was appointed VP Supply Chain Management for EMEA in 2019. She previously worked at General Electric and has over 20 years of experience focusing on manufacturing, supply chain leadership, continuous improvement (Lean Six Sigma), project management, P&L management and transformation projects. Maite is an advocate for increasing diversity, and is currently an executive sponsor of the Women’s Forum at Ricoh. She has a degree in industrial engineering from Pontificia Comillas University in Madrid and a master’s in Supply Chain from the Technical University in Eindhoven. She was born and raised in Alicante, Spain, and has been living and working in The Netherlands since 1993.

Hanno is the Executive Vice President heading Supply Chain and Logistics at Covestro for all businesses in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America relating to about 5 billion € in sales. With over 20 years in the process industry he is experienced in reserach, large scale production and technology development, in investment programs for multi-million $ facilities as well as strategy development in shaping and leading large organizations across the globe. Furthermore, Hanno holds a PhD in chemistry starting in research, and has subsequently worked at several production facilities in Germany and the USA as well as in global coordination for investments. His technology expertise ranges from chlorine, technical gases over hydrogenation and nitration of aromatics to phosgenation technology for isocyanates.

Wolfgang is a pioneer in Supply Chain Management and an internationally recognized thought leader in this field. He has also played a key role in the development of many innovative Supply Chain concepts. And, he was the Project Manager of the first ever recorded Supply Chain Management project in the world. He has a great deal of experience in integrating and coordinating the entire Supply Chain on an international basis with over one hundred major projects in about 20 countries around the world leading to performance and profit improvements of several billions of Euros.

Bjoern Neal Kirchner is the Global head of supply chain for adhesive technologies at Henkel. He is an experienced economist who has studied in both Munich and London. After completing his studies, he opted to travel to China where he was awarded a scholarship to study the Chinese language and immerse himself in the country's culture. It was during this time that he began his career in logistics, as he sought to better understand China's supply chain landscape. He secured a position at a logistics company, where he became captivated by the real-world challenges faced by businesses and their employees. From there, he continued to grow within the supply chain industry, holding various positions in different locations, including China, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Germany. He has since gained a wealth of knowledge and experience that has enabled him to take on leadership roles, such as his current position as Head of Global Supply Chain at Henkel, where he is responsible for driving transformational change. Kirchner was instrumental in driving Henkel’s customer centric Supply Chain (SC) transformation programme.

Danny is a dynamic, entrepreneurial management strategist with a 10+ year record of achievements and demonstrated successes. Driving continuous supply chain improvements while providing winning leadership in highly dynamic international surroundings. Improving team performance and being able to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. Exceptional mentor and coach. Outstanding in developing and improving business processes, securing employee, vendor and customer loyalty and forging strong relationships with other business partners. Core competences include: Strategic Supply Chain Positioning, Strong Customer Focus, Key driver of Kaizen, Lean Six Sigma, Developing Supply Chain Strategies, Creative, Hands-on attitude , Supply Chain Operational Leadership, Team Building, High impact Improvement plans and Developing Operational KPI’s.

Jay Koganti is the VP Supply Chain COE at Estee Lauder Companies. Jay has more than 24 years of experience in leading and transforming complex supply chains. His core focus is developing global supply chain strategies, solving complex supply chain problems by leveraging cutting-edge technology innovations with process excellence and a value creation mindset. Jay has ample experience in consumer goods supply chains and has dedicated 12 years to leading supply chain planning, distribution, IBP, analytics & intelligence, and executed transformations for Fortune 100 companies. In his current role as VP Supply Chain COE at Estee Lauder Companies, Jay leads end-to-end planning transformation to create next-generation enterprise planning capabilities and an operating model to support growth and value creation.

Alexander Press is a seasoned technology leader at Sanofi, currently serving as VP, Head of CIO Office & Technology Modernization. In this role, he leads the global unit responsible for CIO Strategy, Performance, External Partnerships, and Technology Modernization. He is also at the helm of one of Sanofi's top 3 Digital Programs, focused on modernizing the company's technical landscape, significantly reducing obsolescence, and establishing a robust digital lifecycle framework. Additionally, Alexander holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors for Sanofi, Spain, and is the Site Leader for the Global Innovation Center in Barcelona. Prior to his current role, Alexander served as Head of Digital - Factory 4.0 & Industrial Collaborative Ecosystem, where he drove the transformation of Sanofi's global manufacturing operations towards Smart Factories, implementing a wide range of Industry 4.0 digital products. He also established the vision and launched a Value Chain digital ecosystem to enhance automation, integration, and analytical capabilities across Sanofi's end-to-end Value Chain.

Graham Sommer is an executive vice-president at Unilever and was appointed as the global head of customer operations from November 2024 after a remarkable career of 28 years with the business. Previously he was responsible for Unilever’s supply chain across North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. He is part of Unilever’s supply-chain executive board and its regional leadership. A mechanical engineer by training, he joined Unilever in 1996 in Boksburg, South Africa. He started his international career in Germany, where he held roles including total productive maintenance manager, operations manager and late differentiation director. In 2009 he became mergers and acquisitions director and led the supply-chain integration of the Sara Lee and Alberto Culver businesses into Unilever. He then moved to Copenhagen as the Nordics supply-chain director and joined Unilever’s European supply-chain board. He has also worked as the supply-chain transformation director at Unilever’s Schaffhausen offices in Switzerland, as vice-president of supply chain for the beauty and personal care division, and as vice-president of supply chain and operations for Middle Europe.

Zbigniew is a purpose-driven leader with a proven track record of creating successful products, teams, and partnerships. With over 26 years of experience across the Food, Beverage, and Wellbeing sectors, [he/she] has consistently delivered value through innovation and sustainability.. He has a knack for building high-performance teams, fostering collaboration, and empowering individuals to achieve their full potential. [He/she] has successfully led teams in both developed and emerging markets, driving growth for iconic brands such as Lipton, Magnum, Hellmann’s, Tazo, Pukka, and Knorr.

Marc Winkelman is a global director of Procter & Gamble’s “Product Supply Manufacturing, Innovation & Capability center of excellence”. Marc is from The Netherlands. He completed his studies at the Rotterdam University of Business Management, and he became additional a Certified Production and Inventory Manager during his army time. His 25+ years of professional experience in P&G spans multiple supply chains, manufacturing sites and corporate functions. He has worked in many areas of product supply: at country-, regional- and global level, from initiative planner to manufacturing execution roles, from site responsible to manufacturing excellence within and outside P&G. He is recognized as a very pragmatic expert in applying and coaching the IWS methodology. For the last 4 years, he has a leading role in consulting P&G’s manufacturing excellence methodology, “Integrated Work System” (IWS) in the alliance with EY Consultancy to coach the methodology at non-P&G’s companies. He has successfully coached this methodology in various environments (low & high tech) and various areas (from production line to boardroom) around the globe with multiple companies.

Maria Villablanca is the Co-founder and CEO of The Future Insights Network, the fast-growing network of over 130,000 manufacturing and supply chain leaders, the host of the supply chain transformation podcast, Transform Talks and the author of the Transform Thoughts newsletter. Maria has interviewed hundreds of senior practitioners, thought-leaders, academics, and innovators from the world's most admired organizations to cut through the hype and noise around supply chain, manufacturing and transformation. 

Futurist, technology and AI evangelist, renowned public speaker, geopolitical risk and value chain expert. He holds positions as a board member, adjunct professor, lecturer, CPO, researcher, and multilingual thought leader. As a trusted advisor, thought-leading supply chain practitioner, and published author (100+ publications), he has over 20 years of success working with CEOs, CSCOs, CPOs, CIOs, and other C-level executives, investors, and stakeholders. Koray specializes in global risk management, geopolitics, value chain strategies, and advanced technologies. He excels in designing disruptive scalable business frameworks, advanced technology strategies, risk and governance processes, and deploying full-scale transformation projects to drive efficiencies through advanced technology and AI. He works with Technology Firms, Corporations, Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms, Consulting and Research Organizations, and Events and Conferences to maximize their impact and reach, effectiveness, and efficiencies through actionable insights, customized strategies, and (re-)prioritization of activities to elevate their organization sustainably. 

Andrea Rapetti is an experienced Digital Thought Leader with a native addiction to identify, evaluate and design Digital Transformation roadmaps and solution. He has more than 20 years of demonstrated history of IT Product, Project and Programme Management, applied to several Industrial domains: automotive, electronics, heavy machinery, electrical and electronic manufacturing industry, and more. Skilled in Business Process Analysis, Product Lifecycle Management, Quality Management and SAP ERP. Strong design and manufacturing professional with a Industrial Technology Engineering MSc. Majoring in Business Administration - Manufacturing Systems from Politecnico di Milano.

Dr. Thomas Schamberg is the SVP Supply Chain at Evonik, one of the largest specialty chemicals groups in the world. As a global lead, Thomas ensures consistency and excellence across the supply chain, overseeing standards, performance, and best practices. In his previous role as VP of Supply Chain Solutions, he led an in-house consulting team, delivering transformative results through the implementation of innovative solutions and operational efficiency improvements. With a strong background in strategy, organizational development, and IT, he possesses a versatile skill set. Renowned for his analytical skills, strategic mindset, and ability to navigate complex challenges, he is committed to achieving exceptional outcomes. Colleagues have praised his leadership and talent for breaking down barriers.

Bart has worked in Supply chain roles at Unilever, Reckitt, GSK and his last role was on the executive management team at Haleon as the Chief Supply Chain Officer. The company was created in 2022 and was the biggest FTSE listing for a decade at £40bn market cap. Bart now works as non-executive director, adviser and consultant.

Stuart's experience spans Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America. He has physically resided in four of these territories developing a strong track record in profitable business growth by aligning business enterprises to customer buying behaviours and the markets in which they operate. In parallel such leadership has seen Stuart deliver continually improved customer and employee satisfaction results and a reputation as an inspiring, challenging, but fair people leader who believes strongly in the coaching and support of his team members.

Christian Keck is Vice President Global Supply Chain at Knorr-Bremse, where he leads optimization and digitization to drive an integrated supply chain strategy. With twenty years of experience in logistics and supply chain, Christian served as Head of Process & Knowledge Management for Swarovski’s supply chain operations prior to joining Knorr-Bremse. As a leader in digital supply chain innovation, Christan speaks regularly at industry events and serves as a board member of Zurich-based Nexxiot, which supplies digital solutions for freight asset management.

Paul Campbell became Senior Vice President Europe at PepsiCo in January 2020. In this role he was responsible for Pepsico’s European supply chain (60 plants, 230 co-manufacturers, 400 warehouses, 25,000 FTEs) from end to end, which involved planning, development, manufacturing and delivery.

Daniel Hickling is responsible for technology that streamlines the way Haleon collaborates with their suppliers and customers. With a strong background in industry and consulting, he has led major change programmes, post-merger integrations, and divestments—delivering faster cycle times, improved service levels, reduced working capital, and over £500m in EBIT gains. He holds an MBA with a focus on Supply Chain Operations.

Narendiran is CEO and co-founder of tulanā, a Berlin-based startup that delivers advanced decision intelligence solutions for supply chain and logistics, enabling companies to navigate the intricate challenges of planning under uncertainty. Prior to founding tulanā, he served as a lead data scientist at BCG Gamma in New York City, the AI and machine learning division of Boston Consulting Group, where he developed cutting-edge analytics solutions. Narendiran holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg and an MBA from Collège des Ingénieurs in Paris.

 Brigitte Begasse is the Senior Vice President of Customer Satisfaction & Quality (CS&Q) at Schneider Electric, a global industrial technology leader operating in over 100 countries. Based in Singapore, she leads a team dedicated to customer satisfaction, supplier quality, design assurance, reducing risks and enhancing service reliability through data-driven decision-making, predictive practices, and automation. Over her career with Schneider Electric, Brigitte has held a variety of leadership roles in Quality, Industrialization, Procurement, Customer Satisfaction, and Supply Chain Deployment. She has extensive international experience having worked in Singapore, China, France, and Japan. Since 2021, Brigitte has served on Schneider Electric’s Global Supply Chain leadership team overseeing operations, transformation, logistics, network design, and strategic agenda for the entire Supply Chain organization. Brigitte holds an engineering degree from Institut national des Sciences appliquées de Rennes. She is passionate about leveraging technology to drive customer satisfaction and believes in the power of data to transform business operations. She is known for her collaborative leadership style, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

Sarah is a procurement professional with over 20 years of experience delivering results through strategic leadership and collaboration. In her current role at Rolls-Royce, she drives performance and
transformation across global procurement functions, and has previously managed a £750m annual spend while navigating challenges like supply chain disruption and market volatility. Sarah is passionate about fostering inclusive, high-performing teams and championing diversity as a cornerstone of success. She believes in the power
of varied perspectives to spark innovation and build stronger solutions.

Robert Wieggers is an experienced Principal Consultant with over 25 years of experience in Supply Chain & Logistics. Next to being active over 10 years in supply chain consulting, Robert has worked 13 years for CEVA Logistics in various roles including Head of Solution Design and Key Account Manager.
During his years at BCI, Robert gained experience in a wide range of supply chain related activities. Main areas of expertise are supply chain strategy, network (re-)design, transport management solutions, make or buy decisions, partner selection, transport procurement & optimization and implementations in industry verticals like Healthcare, Industrial, Chemicals, High-Tech & Logistics.

Evrim has 25 years of experience in the Financial Services, Food & Beverage and Software industries in Turkey, Germany and the USA, where he held various leadership positions in Supply Chain Finance, Planning and Software Sales.

His focus areas are Strategy and Planning and related Consulting Projects, including software implementations used in Supply Chain Management functions. He has in-depth experience in the Food & Beverage, Consumer Goods, Retail and Wholesale industries.

Varun Narayanan is a global supply chain and operations executive with a proven track record of driving margin expansion, accelerating product launches, and transforming sourcing organizations. As Vice President of Business Transformation at Lytica, he helps global OEM and EMS companies unlock strategic value through AI-powered cost benchmarking, risk analytics, and negotiation enablement. Prior to joining Lytica, Varun served as Global Category Director – Electronics at Gilbarco Inc. (a Vontier Company), where he led initiatives to strengthen supplier relationships and align design with sourcing for key components and EMS partners.

With more than 20 years of experience in the software industry, Will has advised hundreds of companies on software purchases and digital transformation projects. Will consulted with thirty of the world’s largest private equity firms influencing more than $100M worth of investments. Will served as a research analyst at Gartner for more than 17 years covering such topics as third-party risk management, global trade compliance, and sourcing and procurement.

Max Mascarenhas is a seasoned global business executive with over two decades of experience leading international expansion, accelerating revenue growth, and building high-performance teams across the technology and supply chain industries. He has a distinguished track record of designing and executing growth strategies for both emerging ventures and established global enterprises. As VP of Enterprise Accounts at Optilogic, Max spearheads international business development and enterprise growth, helping Fortune 500 companies transform their supply chains through AI-powered scenario modeling and decision intelligence.

Benjamin is a dedicated and passionate leader in Supply Chain Management at SAP, with over 18 years of experience driving digital business transformation. Together with the incredible experts in his team, he delivers innovative supply chain solutions powered by digitalization, cloud technology, and artificial intelligence, enabling transformation across diverse industries.