Bios

Toby Brzoznowski

Toby is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of LLamasoft. Over the last decade, he has helped bring supply chain design into the corporate mainstream as a key business process and competitive weapon and has positioned LLamasoft as the leading global supply chain design technology provider. Toby is a frequent presenter and panelist at supply chain and logistics leadership forums, has been named a ‘Pro to Know’ and has authored dozens of articles on the growing importance of supply chain design as a key competitive weapon. Toby has over 20 years of experience in building and growing technology businesses, primarily focused on process improvement and analytics. His expertise has been used to launch new technologies into mainstream use at global Fortune 500 businesses. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Mary Ellen Smith

Mary Ellen Smith is Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Business Operations where she leads digital transformation operational strategy, planning and execution for end-to-end global operations and launch services supporting the breadth of Microsoft products, services, and programs worldwide. She also leads transactional management including order-to-cash capabilities supporting both physical and digital supply chain solutions for more than $110B of Microsoft’s revenue annually.

Her team is known as a center of excellence for launch, transactional management, risk and protection services, compliance, and incubating operations for new business models and go-to-market motions. She leads a global organization of 1,100+ Microsoft professionals and 5,000 external contract providers. Under her leadership, Microsoft’s regional operating centers have been consistently recognized as the Best Place to Work in each of their respective locations.

Smith is a dedicated advocate for advancing accessibility and inclusion in the workplace. She serves as Executive Sponsor of multiple Microsoft Employee Resource Groups committed to diversity and inclusion and was a core member of the team that launched Microsoft’s Autism Hiring Program. In 2015, Smith was honored to represent Microsoft’s inclusive hiring practices as a speaker at the United Nations.

Mary Ellen Smith holds certifications from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. She received her bachelor’s of science degree from Bowling Green State University and master’s degree in business administration from Wright State University.

Russell Hensley

Russell Hensley is a Partner in McKinsey’s Detroit Office and a leader in McKinsey’s Global Automotive and Assembly Practice. He co-leads the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility and specific global initiatives on sustainable mobility, driving thought leadership and client service on both vehicle electrification and shared mobility.

Mr. Hensley joined McKinsey in 2003, and has focused the past 15 years on both strategic and operational transformations with a number of global automotive, mobility and related industry players. Prior to McKinsey, he led Vehicle Engineering Operations in North America for Ricardo Consulting Engineers and the Motor Industry Research Association. He has a Bachelor of Engineering, with Honors, in Mechanical Engineering from Leeds University, England, and a Masters in Business Administration, with Distinction, from The University of Michigan.

He serves on the Industry Advisory Board (IAB) for the Tauber Institute providing industry leadership, cooperation, feedback. Russell lives in Northville, Michigan and, during his spare time, enjoys restoring and riding British motorcycles from the 1940s and 1950s.

Frederick Mauermann

Fred grew in up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, spending summers on the family dairy farm. He attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison graduating with a B.S in Industrial Engineering, and later went back to complete his MBA. He joined GE Power Systems as a power plant construction co-op in 2002, and started full time a year later with GE Healthcare’s Operations Management Leadership Program.

After completing supply chain rotations in CT, MR, Quality & Sourcing, Fred graduated and accepted an operations leader role for reciprocating compressors with GE Oil & Gas in Oshkosh, WI. In 2008, he transitioned back to Healthcare as the Lean black belt & master scheduler for CT X-Ray tube manufacturing at Electric Avenue in Milwaukee. He later became the Lean & materials manager for tube operations coordinating with teams in Mexico, France & India.

In 2012, he relocated to Phoenix, Arizona as plant manager for GEHC’s Ultrasound Probes operation. Additionally, he co-managed for 2 years and remains an active sponsor of the OMLP program. In June 2015, Fred was appointed GM for Lean Manufacturing, driving productivity via continuous improvement and he now leads Brilliant Factory efforts across the Healthcare Supply Chain.

Fred is an outdoor enthusiast, with a passion for snowmobiling, boating and deer hunting. He enjoys hiking, biking and traveling with his wife Jessie, son Will and daughters Ana and Lauren. Their favorite vacation destination is Door County, Wisconsin.

Jeffrey Tazelaar

Jeffrey Tazelaar is the Digital Fulfillment Center Director on the Supply Chain Innovation team at The Dow Chemical

Company. In this role he leads a group of innovation experts located in a world class digital center on the next generation of technologies, processes and organization alignment that will drive best in class customer and employee experience across Demand Planning to Fulfill.

Prior to this role Jeff was in Enterprise Architecture and Global Leader in SC Visibility where he set the strategy and global technology standards for visibility, track, trace and authentication technologies associated with Dow’s global Supply Chain.

Jeff has vast experience in software solutions and AutoID/RFID systems through work experience ranging from the largest retailer to systems integrators deploying solutions for the Department of Defense, CPG, Automotive and Food value chain participants. In these roles he managed the design and development of complete visibility solutions for Fortune 500 companies and various government agencies to fully realize the benefits of technology.

Mr. Tazelaar holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science Degrees in Packaging from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He also studied overseas at the University of London, where he analyzed and contrasted the British/European and United States packaging systems. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Packaging from MSU with a focus on the measurement and justification of corporate digital programs.

Kyle Sprecher

Kyle is Director of Cloud Demand Forecasting for Microsoft. Kyle graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2002 with highest honors. He spent the first decade of his career in Management Consulting (Accenture, Slalom) and in Product Management. Over the last four years, Kyle helped create the Cloud Demand Forecasting team which is responsible for forecast signals that drive more than $5B in capital expenditure every year. These signals encompass all of Microsoft’s cloud businesses, from its commercial cloud offering Azure and Office 365 to its consumer facing services like Xbox Live. Kyle is passionate about connecting technology to business value and leadership. Kyle lives with his wife (also a graduate of the University of Michigan) and his three kids ages 2, 6, and 8. In his free time, you can find Kyle enjoying the many thrills of the Pacific Northwest with his family.

Ed Petkus

Ed Petkus is responsible for engineering of all Boeing Commercial airplane development programs and served as Director - deputy chief project engineer for the 787 derivatives program for five years. Prior to that, Petkus served as the VP of Airplane Development and Engineering at Hawker Beechcraft Co. for 3 years and has served in a variety of leadership roles at BCA for 15 years, including Director of Product Development for the 787 program.

Steve Jones

Steve started his career as a Research Engineer at Ford Motor Company where for 10 years he worked on sensing methods, modeling, control and optimization of manufacturing systems.

He then joined Suspa, a German-based manufacturer of lift and dampening mechanisms as Director for Research and Development and later became Global Business Unit Manager for electro-mechanical lift systems.

Later, he became President of the Austrian-based mechatronics company, LOGICDATA North America, where he set up its North American Operations.

Steve is a Technical Material and Process Consultant at Steelcase helping develop and deploy new technology at its global manufacturing sites. He is currently leading Steelcase’s Industrial Internet of Things activities by deploying and continuing to develop the company’s global IIoT platform.

Steve has a PhD from the University of Michigan in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Controls Systems. He is a Professional Engineer in the State of Michigan, has 3 US patents and numerous publications.

Danny Davis

Danny Davis joined American Industrial Partners (AIP) in 2008. As an operating partner, Danny works collaboratively with portfolio company management teams to build and improve middle-market companies through a defined and executable Operating Agenda composed of cost reduction and revenue growth. At AIP, Danny has worked with various portfolio company management teams implementing Operating Agendas focused on developing world-class operational disciplines, including: global sourcing and procurement, supply chain management, logistics, lean manufacturing, SIOP disciplines, industrial automation, plant network optimization and consolidations, geographic expansion, new product development, industry 4.0 technologies, industrial marketing, quality systems, engineering effectiveness, information technology, aftermarket growth, sales force effectiveness, commercial optimization, and post-merger acquisition integration.

Danny plays an instrumental role throughout the acquisition, transformation, and management of AIP portfolio companies. AIP’s goal is to build winning management teams, make lasting structural improvements to company capabilities and business models, and transform the business so that the company and its next owner are well positioned for success – a “business building” investment approach, all of which resonate with Danny.

Danny previously worked at Intel Corporation and Cisco Systems, where he held various process engineering and program management positions. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Danny received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Master of Business Administration from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Simon Jones

Simon Jones has spent his life working for and running industrial businesses, starting his career with Lucas Industries deploying Japanese manufacturing techniques globally. Currently providing Operating Partner services to industrial focused middle-market PE firms, Simon is also advising a global industrial firm about their IoT strategy development and deployment.

Simon is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, holding degrees in Engineering and Business from Nottingham Trent University.

David Bromwich

David Bromwich is the Director of Operations Product at Motivate, the leading bike share operator in North America. David is the product lead responsible for developing software and hardware tools used by system managers, mechanics, rebalancers and other staff to operate and maintain bikes and docking stations across New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and Washington, DC. David was previously the product manager for internal tools for the news website Reuters.com and the product manager for real time market analysis tools included as part of Thomson Reuters’ financial data platform. He previously served as a Director at the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

David has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Princeton University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Yale School of Management.

Oliver Campbell

Oliver is a Director of Procurement & Packaging Engineering at Dell Technologies. He has become one of the most influential thought leaders in the packaging industry by combining innovation, supply chain, and sustainability best practices. Under his leadership, Dell introduced industry changing materials such as bamboo, mushroom, molded paper pulp, and ocean bound plastic at lower cost, better performance,and environmentally healthier.

Most recently, Dell launched Ocean Bound Plastic packaging with the aim of creating an industry response to tackle the ocean plastic crisis. By founding NextWave, a cross-industry consortium of like-minded companies, Dell is creating a commercially viable, and scalable, supply chain that is focused on keeping plastics out of the ocean and in the circular economy.

Oliver’s accomplishments have been highlighted for their business and social influence by Fortune in their 2017 Change the World Companies, and by LinkedIn in their 2017 Top Companies to Work For. Additionally, the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show recognized his pioneering work in Ocean Plastic with a Best of Innovation Award. Mr. Campbell holds Bachelor and Master Engineering degrees from Cornell University and an MBA from The University of Texas. In his free time, you can find him training for his next triathlon.

Josh Mellinger

Josh Mellinger is a Senior Manager with the Strategy & Operations practice. He has 10 years of experience in the energy industry, including roles in strategy, supply chain, energy technology, portfolio analysis, project finance, regulatory relations, and cleantech venture capital.

His previous client work has included energy management, green IT, solar, wind, electric vehicles, batteries/super capacitors, smart grid applications, and demand response/energy efficiency technologies.

Josh’s current focus area is the deployment of transformative sustainability strategies and the implementation of advanced energy analytics solutions.

Dr. Raed Al Kontar

Raed Al Kontar is an Assistant Professor in the Industrial & Operations Engineering department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2018 and M.S in Statistics in 2017 from the University of Wisconsin Madison. He also received his B.S in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a minor in Mathematics from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 2014. His research focuses on developing data analytics and decision-making methodologies specifically tailored for Internet of things (IoT) enabled smart and connected systems.

Andy Miller

Andy Miller leads the finance function for the One Commercial Partner division. One Commercial Partner is responsible for driving Microsoft’s strategic direction across various commercial partners who sell with Microsoft. For the past year, Andy has led the One Commercial Partner Finance team transforming and managing Financial Planning & Analysis, Reporting & Systems, Strategic Planning of the Partner group as well as managing the Partner Incentives portfolio.

Shashank Chiranewala

Shashank has a diverse professional background with experience in investment banking (M&A, PE), entrepreneurship, consulting, supply chain management and big-data analytics. Academically, Shashank most recently graduated from the MSCM program at Michigan Ross in 2016. Since his graduation he has been leading a Michigan based big-data analytics firm, Nits Solutions, as the Vice-President of Strategy. Nits solutions has a largely automotive clientele and offers several successful products ranging from digital supply chain automation, performance analytics and marketing CRM's. Shashank has been instrumental in the rapid growth of the company and has utilized predictive analytics driven by machine learning algorithms as a core strategy for the company. He is also a member of the corporate advisory council for the MSCM program at Ross.

Kaushik Acharya

Kaushik Acharya is a senior operations manager at Amazon.com. Prior to Amazon, Kaushik worked as a consultant with Ingersoll Rand, Govt. of India specializing in supply chain design and execution. He is a Tauber Global Operations Leadership Fellow with a dual master’s degree from Ross School of Business and Industrial Engineering, University of Michigan. At Amazon, he enjoys leading large teams, practicing cross functional leadership, developing leaders while solving some of the most challenging problems in strategy and operations. In his personal time, he loves traveling, pro bono consulting and reading books.