The Speakers

KL Bock joined Western Digital or known as SanDisk in June 2010 after 21 years in Motorola and STATSChipPAC. He brings with him more than 30 years of vast experience in various functions inclusive of QRA, Operations, Supply Chain, factory GM, greenfield construction, and start-up in China & Malaysia. He is currently the SVP of Western Digital Global Flash Backend Operations, managing the end-to-end Supply Chain, Operations, Fulfillment, and Packaging Technology Development of both the captive factories and contract manufacturing with a footprint across six countries.

KL has a proven track record in transforming conventional factories to “Lean 6 Sigma Automation – achieved industry pioneer in fully integrated Lights-Out manufacturing and industry pioneer in vertically integrated Wafer-In-Drive-Out manufacturing.” With this transformation, all the captive factories, SanDisk Semiconductor Shanghai (SDSS) and SanDisk Storage Malaysia (SDSM) have been designated the Lighthouse status, with SDSS being recognized as the first factory to achieve in one cohort, both the Advanced 4IR Manufacturing Lighthouse and China 1st Sustainability Lighthouse and SDSM being recognized as the Asia 1st Sustainability Lighthouse and Malaysia 1st Advanced 4IR Manufacturing Lighthouse by the World Economic Forum.

KL has received numerous awards such as Executive of The Year for Malaysia Management Excellence Award, featured in CEO Magazine and also was appointed as a 4IR Technical Advisor for MIDA, a beacon to share the 4IR journey to various industry captains. He is also a Certified Chief Master Coach by ITD World, SEMI SEA Regional Advisory Board Member and ISES SEA Advisory Board Member.

KL holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering from Tunku Abdul Rahman University and a Master's degree in Business Administration from University of Keele, United Kingdom.

Dr. Sunghwan (Sunny) Jung is a professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. He received his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Texas at Austin, and then became a postdoctoral researcher at the Courant Institute at NYU & a math instructor at MIT.

Dr. Jung’s research interest is to investigate various physics and biology problems emerging from the interaction of biological systems with surrounding environments. His group has integrated mathematical modeling, fluid dynamics, and physical & biological experiments to understand animal behaviors and plant physiology for better functions and performance. Some examples include how animals drink, how birds dive into water, how animals jump out of water, how plant spores are dispersed, how raindrops impact biological surfaces, and more.

Dr. Jung has trained students with diverse backgrounds to acquire knowledge and skills integrate and perform multidisciplinary research rather than learning skills in narrow fields of interest.

Kranthi leads the Industry 4.0 consulting practice in TÜV SÜD Digital Service. He brings in years of Engineering and consulting experience from various process and discrete manufacturing industries with proven proficiency in Industry 4.0 and OT projects ranging from strategy, business development, solution architecture, design & development, testing, installation, and commissioning to start-up. 

 As an Industry 4.0 Consulting practitioner, he is currently working at the intersection of business and technology and is passionate about developing assessment frameworks, and readiness assessments, developing business cases and roadmaps providing solutions for clients to help them through their digital transformation journeys.

Keum-Shik Hong (Fellow, IEEE) received the B.S. degree in mechanical design and production engineering from Seoul National University, in 1979, the M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University, NY, in 1987, and the M.S. degree in applied mathematics and the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), in 1991. 

He joined the School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University (PNU), in 1993. His Integrated Dynamics and Control Engineering Laboratory was designated as the National Research Laboratory by the Ministry of Science and Technology, South Korea, in 2003. In 2009, under the auspices of the World Class University Program of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), South Korea, he established the Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering at PNU. 

His current research interests include brain–computer interface, nonlinear systems theory, adaptive control, distributed parameter systems, autonomous vehicles, and innovative control applications in brain engineering. He was the President of the Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems (ICROS), South Korea, and is the President of the Asian Control Association. He is a fellow of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology and ICROS. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea and many other societies. He has received many awards, including the Best Paper Award from the KFSTS of Korea in 1999, the F. Harashima Mechatronics Award in 2003, the IJCAS Scientific Activity Award in 2004, the Automatica Certificate of Outstanding Service in 2006, the Presidential Award of Korea in 2007, the ICROS Achievement Award in 2009, the IJCAS Contribution Award in 2010, the Premier Professor Award in 2011, the JMST Contribution Award in 2011, the IJCAS Contribution Award in 2011, and the IEEE Academic Award of ICROS in 2016. 

Dr. Ettikan Kandasamy Karuppiah, Chief Technologist/Director at Nvidia Asia Pacific South Region works with innovators, researchers, and techno-entrepreneurs to accelerate AI & GPU adaptation for their translational R&D and software solutions needs. He has direct experience and is passionate about accelerated computing/software research/deep learning, design, and development activities covering end-to-end needs. He also has published numerous publications, patents, and software libraries from his past work. As a computational scientist, he loves and works on complex industrial problems from diverse domains which requires him to learn, unlearn and relearn in many instances.

Nik Ahmad Faisal is a General Manager at DF Automation & Robotics, with a strong background in engineering and technology. He has over 5 years of industry experience, having held multiple positions including as a software developer, E&E Manager, Product Innovation Manager, and R&D Manager before moving into his current role.

Nik's global deployment experience is extensive, having successfully deployed AGV solutions across different continents including Mexico, Southeast Asia, and India. This demonstrates his ability to manage global customers and navigate diverse cultural and business environments.

In addition to his work, Nik's passion for robotics and technology is also demonstrated through his involvement in various competitions. He won the Microsoft Imagine Cup Malaysia 2017 and represented Malaysia at the Southeast Asia competition in Manila, Philippines. He also won the EimaRace 2013 and participated in the Formula Student of Automotive Engineering Japan 2013.

As General Manager, Nik oversees the technical, operational, and business aspects of the company while focusing on product development. His unique combination of technical expertise, global deployment experience, and passion for robotics and technology make him stay abreast of the latest trends and development. 

Based in Silicon Valley, California, Amir co-founded Seeloz Inc. in the early days of industrial AI after spending almost two decades with Siemens AG and later Infineon AG, holding various engineering and management roles in Malaysia, Germany, and the US. Amir is also leading Seeloz's expansion into APAC as the President of Seeloz APAC. Since its formation, Seeloz has evolved into a leading global player in supply chain planning with the introduction of the world's first category-defining Autonomous Replenishment Planning (ARP) engine, serving the energy, O&G, and hi-tech manufacturing sectors.

Amir proudly served as the industrial collaborator to develop the Malaysia National AI Roadmap commissioned by MOSTI in 2019 and currently serves as a task force member of the Malaysia National Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence Committee 2021-2025 (NBAIC).

Amir holds a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from Bradley University, Illinois, and an MSc degree in Engineering Management from San Jose State University, California.

Andy Leo was born in Kuching, Sarawak in 1972 to a mix nationality percentage. He grew up having moved several location in Sarawak along with his civil service facther. Coming from humble backgrounds, he started working young, very young and finally landed his first "official" work role in Shell Malaysia as an apprentice and had a lucky break of being among the selected few to join a degree program in UK and obtaining his B.Sc in Industrial Engineering

Having served various operational and project roles in Shell, Andy chose to expand his portfolio and joined US giant, Emerson where he served various function both domestic and regionally ranging from service, engineering, sales, alliance, marketing and management. Hoping onto a more global scene, he further went and joined IT manufacturing giant serving as an Operation Director before finally coming back to home helping German giant, Weidmuller to develop APAC market

Forming his highly successful engineering firm in 2022, he was "mislead" by digital folks and decided to form a digital/data innovator organization in 2008. Since then, him and his team has collaborated with various sectors i.e energy, O&G, FSI, manufacturing, FMCG and Public sector to name a few in digital adoption and innovation both local and regional

Racheal Choo co-founded a Roll Robotics  in 2019 based in Malaysia. Amid the pandemic, she started their 2nd office in 2021 in Thailand to be closer to her customer base. Before starting her own company, she was working in technology-driven companies focusing on B2B markets in Asia, Europe and the Middle East in oil and gas and later in the robotics industry. Her company is an advocate for 3D simulation and virtual reality platforms for the industrial manufacturing environment and covers Southeast Asia. 

Ts. Dr. Siti Norbaizura is a sustainability consultant with GRI, LEED, WELL, and multiple environmental advisory credentials with a proven track record of delivering advisory in a wide number of projects pursuing sustainable development. She founded DBR Consultancy which specialises in providing consultancy services to corporations pursuing sustainability and tracking their ESG Performance. 

She was previously a researcher at Waste Management Research Center, Okayama University, an ESD Coordinator at UNESCO ESD World Conference Promotion Bureau in Okayama City Government, and RCE in Chubu, Japan. Dr. Baizura was also a team member of the SATREPS project on the Development of Low Carbon Society Scenarios for Asian Regions.

Vincent Oh is currently the Business Development manager in Digital Solutions at SICK Southeast Asia. Vincent has more than 25 years of experience in the Industrial automation with experience in digital transformation and consulting serve for Industry 4.0 project implementation. He also serves as the Technical committee for ISO / IEC - Smart manufacturing standard and International Society of Automation (ISA) till today.

His active participation in the technical committee helped to develop policy on smart manufacturing for the country and also acted as a consulting roles to various digital transformation projects in the public sectors. He received an Honorary Professorship from IUKL for 2022 to year 2025. 

Mr Goon Koon Yin is the co-founder of TT Vision Technologies Sdn Bhd. He is a proven visionary and strategic leader that translates business strategies into maximum profits commensurate with the best interest of shareholders, customers, employees, and the public. An expert in enhancing profitability; developing strategic lending initiatives; and growing each segment of a high-performance equipments. Very knowledgeable of Solar Industry and proven track record in semiconductor equipment field. Dedicated to maintaining a reputation built on quality, service, and uncompromising ethics. 

Tuan Hj Hazani is the CEO of Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), a subsidiary of Khazanah, the sovereign wealth fund of the Malaysian Government. He has over 30 years of experience in fund management, venture capital, and technology transfer. Previously, he was the Director of Technology Ventures Division at MTDC and worked as a Principal at Kumpulan Modal Perdana Sdn. Bhd. (KMP). He has a background in engineering and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University and a Diploma in Technology Management from Singapore Institute of Engineering Technologist. He is currently the Chairman of the Malaysian Venture Capital Association (MVCA) and serves on the boards of various MTDC investee companies.

C.K. Kok is currently the Director of Engineering for Flex (PTP) Johor. He was the Senior Manager (Electronic Design & Innovation) at Robert Bosch Power Tools Sdn Bhd. He has strong experiences in process improvement, product design automation, robotics as well as people management. 

Ix Lee is the Regional Sales and Development Manager for South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand,. He is dedicated to provide innovative business solutions that transform businesses across the regions. He has more than 14 years’ experience in the technology, automation and robotics industries in engineering, sales and marketing capacity thus he understand how cobots work and how they can be effectively and efficiently integrated into a business with minimum disruption and for maximum business results. 

Chu Chee Seng is the co-founder and director for Vepro Group Sdn Bhd. He is one of the top robotic solution provider for industry in Malaysia with more than 20 years of experiences in robotics. 

Mr Khoo Yak Hua is currently Senior R&D Manager at ViTrox Corporation Berhad. He has strong passion on software technologies to create some a world class software product. He has more than 14 years of experience in various research and development from machine inspection, algorithm and to recent 5 years in Industrial 4.0 and Big Data A.I. Analyticss product, 

An Application Engineer and Trainer of Roll Robotics in Robotics and 3D simulations for IR4.0. Specialised in problem solving and idea generation in application of manufacturing process and warehouse resources.

Mr Goh Kai Woon graduated wth M.Eng (Electrical) and B.Eng (Electrical-mechatronic) at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He also co-founded a technology company namely Insaix Sdn Bhd where the company provides solutions related to AI, Machine Vision, IoT, predictie mantenances, etc. 

Otis Siah is currently Head of Overseas Technical Center at SyntecGroup. He is leading a team of engineers to provide technical support to Syntec Global channel, including both direct overseas offices and distrubutors. He was graduated with Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from National Cheng Kung University and has vast experiences in Industrial RObotics Systems, Automation Integration, CNC Control and Servo system. 

Che Fai, YEONG graduated with PhD from Imperial College London. He is an Associate Professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. His interest are in embedded system, AI, Robotics, Smart Manufacturing, Innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship. 

He has co-founded several companies including DF Automation & Robotics Sdn Bhd and Techcare Innovation Sdn Bhd. He has led the companies to achieve some recognitions including IEEE Industry Excellence Award, Star Outstanding Business Award (SOBA), APICTA, MTDC Award, MaGIC e@Stanford, SMEBank Award and Frost & Sullivan Award. 

His name is well-associated also with robotics and inventions in Malaysia as he has won more than 100 awards nationally and internationally including MOE Best Entrepreneur Mentorship Award, World Invention Award at British Invention Show, Korea Inventor Award Festival, Innovate Malaysia, Philips Young Inventor Challenge and Robocon.

He is also a frequent invited keynote and plenary speaker for series of subjects including Robotics​, AI​, Leadership​ and Entrepreneurship​. He has spoken for TEDx three times.

Dr Hazlina Selamat is an experienced Professor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Data Analysis, Control Engineering, Research, Teaching, and Higher Education. Strong education professional with a Doctor of Philosophy - PhD focused in Electrical Engineering (Control Engineering) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.