Speakers

Mark Benak
Asset Performance Technologies, Inc.

Mark Benak, CFO of Asset Performance Technologies, is a technologist, entrepreneur, and angel investor with over 22 years experience in engineering, business development, and company building.  In addition to his current duties at APT, he also serves as Board Chairman for Incitor, Inc., a novel developer of synthetic enzymes for algal and biofuels. Previously, Mark completed consulting projects through his own company Southwest Solutions House LLC in the areas of economic development in New Mexico, business management, recruiting and retention, and market validation for new medical technologies. Prior to Southwest, Mark was part of a team that founded and operated InLight Solutions, Inc., an Albuquerque based medical technology startup whose mission is to provide optical solutions for life sciences applications. Before InLight, Mark was a staff scientist with the institute for fluid mechanics (LSTM) at the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg.  Prior to LSTM, Mark was a research engineer with Daimler-Benz AG in Germany. Mark received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University in Mechanical Engineering.

Asa Bour
Marathon Petroleum Company

Asa recently completed 10 years at Marathon and has experience both in the upstream and downstream side of the oil business.  He is currently the IT project team leader for all reliability and PSM applications.  The Meridium suite of modules is at the heart of Marathon’s reliability and PSM toolset and has been utilized more than a decade.  Asa spent time as the IT lead for  the Meridium v2 to v3 major upgrade and is currently leading an upgrade from legacy Meridium v3.1.0 Hot Fix 4  to Meridium v3.3.2 Service Pack 2 at each of Marathon’s seven refineries.  Asa has also been focused on Marathon’s PSM compliance the last two years and assisted in the deployment of the Calibration and Electrical Manager modules.  He received his computer systems analysis degree with minors in mathematics and statistics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Shannon  Brown
Meridium

James Bumpas
Meridium

Paul Casto
Meridium

Paul is a leading practitioner in reliability and maintenance improvement methodologies with a focus on helping Meridium clients with value creation and realization. He gained hands-on manufacturing plant experience in reliability, maintenance, operations, engineering and construction in a variety of industries including chemical, steel, aluminum, automotive, mining, aerospace, and consumer goods. Before joining Meridium Paul served as the Manager of Reliability Technology for Eastman Chemical. Paul holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from West Virginia University, a Masters in Engineering Management from Marshall University Graduate College, an MBA from Clemson University, and a Masters in Maintenance Management and Reliability Engineering from the Monash University in Gippsland, Australia. He is currently pursuing an MS in Applied Statistics and a PhD in Industrial Engineering at the University of Tennessee. Paul is an ASQ certified Six Sigma Black Belt, holds ASQ certifications in Reliability Engineering and Quality Engineering and is a SMRP Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional. He has served on the University of Tennessee's Maintenance and Reliability Center's advisory board and is an active member of ASQ and IEEE.

Joseph Citrano
Emerson Process Management

Joseph Citrano is the Marketing Program Manager for AMS Asset Portal and Wireless Solutions in Emerson's Asset Optimization business. Joseph graduated from Rutgers College of Engineering in with a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. He has 10 years experience in the process industry, including positions in engineering, sales, and marketing.

Jason Cline
Meridium

Jason began at Meridium in 1998, first as an Intern and then full time as a Software Engineer.  Since coming to Meridium he has worked on a vast array of products and customer projects.  Jason is highly skilled in the areas of enterprise software development, design and architecture.  He has held positions including Software Engineer, Sr. Software Engineer, Team Leader, Architect, and currently, Director of Architecture.  His most recent work focuses on defining Meridium's technical strategies and architecture including integration with enterprise systems such as SAP.  Jason also is active in the technology community, writing and reviewing several articles for development publications as well as publishing a book focused on database software development.  He attended the University of Virginia's School of Engineering where he earned his B.S. in Computer Science in 1999.

Steve  Cooper
Meridium

Martin Daniel
Meridium

Martin manages Meridium’s team of Solution Engineers.  Prior to joining Meridium, he spent 15 years with Indus and Ventyx selling and implementing Enterprise Asset Management solutions.  Martin has also managed materials functions in a defense manufacturing enterprise and implemented supporting MRP software there. Martin holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University.

Amy Davidson
Emerson Process Management

Amy Davidson is a Product Marketing Manager for Emerson Process Management’s Asset Optimization business. A graduate from South Dakota State University, she has been with Emerson for 5 years and has spent over 20 years in the industrial automation industry. She has worked for suppliers and integrators holding positions in product marketing and project management.

Chris DeFalco
Meridium

Chris DeFalco has more than 18 years of experience in reliability engineering and the implementation of APM software solutions. He has provided a range of services for Meridium customers such as project management, consulting, and training. Chris has wide-ranging knowledge of APM work processes and technical solutions. In his current role as a Product Manager, this experience and knowledge help him to successfully direct and integrate product solutions to meet customer needs. Chris' previous experience includes various engineering positions with major corporations in both the process and manufacturing industries. During this time he was responsible for the implementation of reliability improvements, failure analysis systems, expert diagnostic systems, and the leadership of condition-based maintenance and RCM programs. Chris holds a B.S. Mechanical Engineering from Grove City College (PA, USA).

Bob Delzell
Meridium

Augie DiGiovanni
Emerson Process Management

Augie is Vice President of PlantWeb Services in Emerson’s Asset Optimization business.  He is responsible for leading the design, implementation and ongoing execution of PlantWeb Services projects, Machinery Health Management programs and reliability solutions. Leveraging his years of experience in reliability in a mission-critical environment, Augie understands that balancing the right technology, work processes and expertise are essential to world-class performance in various industrial environments.

Prior to his employment at Emerson, Augie served as Branch Manager at the Carderock Division Naval Surface Warfare Center from 1984 to 1996. In this role he had overall responsibility for the reliability of the US Navy’s surface vessels. DiGiovanni’s responsibilities included complete operations and financial management of a $40M Reliability Program. He directed the development of predictive monitoring systems and implemented maintenance strategies.

Augie holds a B.S. in Marine Engineering Systems from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and an M.S. in Engineering Management from Drexel University. He is a Licensed Marine Engineer and a certified instructor/facilitator in Total Quality Management (TQM), and holds the rank of Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Jeff Dudley
The Dow Chemical Company

Jeff is the Corporate Director for Maintenance and has the business manufacturing leadership for Dowpharma. This leadership includes technology development, practices and processes, quality, capital investments, and developing partnerships with all of the manufacturing sites within Dow. In all of these areas the minimization of unplanned events is the focus of his work. Jeff has over 30 years of manufacturing experience in the chemical industry. After working for Owens Corning for 10 years prior to joining Dow in 1989, Jeff has held a number of manufacturing and leadership positions in all areas of manufacturing and operations. Throughout his career he has had positions that enabled him to put great focus on meeting customer’s needs and developing leaders. 

Jeff has developed a leadership course that encapsulates leadership, culture creation and the development of Highly Reliable Organizations.

Jeff is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

Outside of work, Jeff devotes much of his time to learning about and teaching leadership, and he and his family are very active in the world of horses. They live on a 40 acre ranch in Midland Michigan.

Juan Garcia
Meridium

Juan is a Solutions Engineer with more than ten years of experience in business development and consulting for IT software companies, such as Oracle and Informix. He is currently a Solution Engineer for Meridium in Houston, TX, and specializes in translating reliability benefits into economic value by creating business cases. Juan is also focused on business development in the Latin America region.  He has worked with customers in the oil and gas and utilities sectors to understand their business objectives, and then developing a feasible solution architecture.  Juan received his B.S. degree in Computer Systems Engineering from ITESM and his M.B.A. from Hult International Business School in Boston, MA.

Mark Geisenhoff
Flint Hills Resources

Mark is the Global Fixed Equipment Leader for Flint Hills Resources. He is responsible for corporate oversight of mechanical integrity, code compliance, inspection business processes, inspector development, and risk-based inspection across eight facilities.  

Ralph Hanneman
Meridium

Ralph is a Senior Consultant who began his career in the Navy, advancing to Chief Electrician in 9 years of service. While in the Navy he obtained considerable experience in the maintenance and operation of all facets of shipboard electrical systems, as well as the Navy’s preventive maintenance methodology. He has nearly 20 years maintenance management and project engineering experience in pulp & paper, automotive parts manufacturing and heavy construction (tunnel boring).

Bonz Hart
Meridium

Bonz Hart founded Meridium in 1993 with a vision of helping the world's asset intensive industries improve availability and reduce incidents through effective asset performance management. Working for industrial software companies, consulting for Fortune 500 companies, being part of new company startup management teams and developing innovative software at DuPont drove Bonz’s passion for and commitment to meeting customer needs world-wide. At DuPont, he created a team of key technology partners to develop plans for a revolutionary plant information system to significantly reduce operating costs. He later joined a software venture and built a consortium of leading companies to create an enterprise plant software system for manufacturing. Today, he leads a unique team that is committed to solving customer problems, delivering solutions on-time and on-budget, measuring ROI and continually expanding the ways that Meridium software can help companies improve asset performance management.

Ihab Hawari
Sahara Petrochemical Company

Ihab is the IT Manager for Sahara Petrochemical Company in Al-Jubail, Eastern Province - Saudi Arabia where he has worked for 7 years. Prior to his employment with Sahara Petrochemical Company, he worked at SABIC Company as a Senior System/Network Engineer and HP Saudi Arabia (Al-Faisalia Group) as a Senior Network System Engineer.

Ihab has a Masters degree in Computer Engineering from King Fahad University for Petroleum Mineral and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from King Saud University.

Lance Holmer
Marathon Petroleum Company

Lance has served in a number of diverse positions from Electrical Supervisor in Detroit, MI to Area Maintenance Supervisor in Robinson, IL, during more than 30 years at Marathon Petroleum Company (MPC). In 1997, he was promoted to the position of Technical Specialist, and assumed responsibility for the development and implementation of asset management systems at MPC’s seven refineries. Over the last ten years, his team has focused on “leveling the playing field” at each plant through the introduction of new software that manages daily work flows, material inventories, equipment inspections, and reliability analysis. He received his Electrical Engineering degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.

Eddie Johnson
Eastman Chemical Company

Eddie began his career at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tennessee, in 1981 after graduating from Mississippi State with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering.   He held several staff and supervisory positions before becoming a maintenance department superintendent in 1999. In his most recent assignment in that role, Eddie served more than seven years as superintendent of the Chemicals Maintenance Department in Kingsport. In April 2009, he became the department superintendent of the Reliability and Administrative Services Department at Tennessee Operations of Eastman Chemical Company. As part of that assignment, Eddie leads the World Wide Reliability Team for Eastman Chemical Company and is a member of the World Wide Maintenance and Reliability Team for Eastman.     

Brent  Johnston
ExxonMobil

Brent recently retired from ExxonMobil with 38 years experience in refining operations. Most recently, as global reliability & maintenance footprint venture manager, he was responsible for managing development and deployment of the portfolio of EAM applications in refining world-wide. In addition to leadership roles in technical, mechanical, and process operations, Brent has an extensive background in continuous improvement, organizational design, change management, and systems thinking. He has led task force efforts in the EH&S areas and has served as the quality and continuous improvement manager for refining. Brent has also been a business lead in multiple SAP deployments and upgrades.

Rich Karlgaard
Forbes

Rich Karlgaard is the publisher of Forbes, and is the authorof the book, Life 2.0 How People Across America Are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness. Rich writes about technology, entrepreneurship, regional and economical development and the future of business and work. He frequently lectures on these subjects and is a regular guest on the Fox News Channel’s Forbes on Fox. In 2005, Rich began writing a daily blog, which appears on the homepage of Forbes.com. Rich joined Forbes in 1992 to start Forbes ASAP, a technology magazine.  Rich is an accomplished entrepreneur. He has co-founded two companies (Garage Technology Ventures, in 1997; and Upside magazine in 1988) and one civic organization (the 5,500-member Churchill Club in 1985). For the latter, he was a co-winner of the Ernst & Young Northern California "Entrepreneur of the Year" award. Rich was raised in Bismarck, North Dakota and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Political Science. Currently, he lives with his wife and two children in Northern California.  When he is not working or spending time with his family, Rich likes to fly his single-engine airplane around the country and meet the people who make America unique and great.

Keith Lapeyrouse
Dow Chemical

Ken Latino
MeadWestvaco

Ken is the Reliability Champion at the Covington, VA paper mill that is part of MeadWestvaco’s Packaging Resource Group (PRG). His responsibilities include the implementation of site wide Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Essential Care/Condition Monitoring (ECCM) efforts. In this role, he also participates on a PRG division team to make sure reliability systems are implemented consistently across the other mills. With the initiation of the Meridium project, Ken will also be serving as the Program Champion for the Meridium implementation for the PRG division.

Gavin Linderman
Meridium

Gavin is an Implementation Consultant at Meridium with over 10 years of experience in consulting, implementing, and optimizing Maintenance Management and Reliability programs worldwide.  His previous experience includes various subject matter expert (SME) and management positions within Johnson Controls Inc., with customers such as: AK Steel, Xerox, Cummins, Sempra Energy, General Motors, and DHL.   His broad range of experience includes, but is not limited to: work management, CMMS implementation, facility and plant management, contract and vendor management, metrics analysis, procurement, reliability methodology facilitating and training, and maintenance/reliability program development/optimization.  Through the use of his skills in these areas, he has delivered: increased labor productivity, cost savings through process improvements, and increased asset reliability.
 
Gavin began his career with Meridium in 2007 as a Project Manager and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Facilitator and has become a Meridium subject matter expert (SME) for RCM and Asset Strategy Manager (ASM).  With Meridium, he has managed Asset Performance Management projects, preformed reliability consulting, facilitated RCM and ASM analyses, and provided both reliability and software training  for clients such as Sasol, Nova Chemicals, PEMEX, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Lyondell Bassell, Samarco, Alberta Envirofuels, Marathon Petroleum, Suncor, Exxon Mobil, and Hovensa.

Craig Llewellyn
Emerson Process Management

Craig Llewellyn, president of the Asset Optimization business of Emerson Process Management, has 35 years of experience in the industrial automation business. The Asset Optimization business provides innovative technologies and world-class services that increase the availability and performance of production assets for Emerson’s customers. Asset Optimization technologies, key components of Emerson’s PlantWeb digital plant architecture, and its services, cover instruments and valves, mechanical equipment, process equipment, and electrical systems.

Marty Moran
Meridium

Joe Nichols
Meridium

Joe is responsible for Meridium’s overall product strategy and manages Meridium’s innovative product portfolio. In this role, Joe directs a team of product managers with a focus on delivery of unique, high-value product capabilities which optimize the performance of manufacturing assets. Joe also manages the Meridium Education and Publication Product, Solution Management and Partner Solutions Organizations. Joe joined Meridium in 1995 and has extensive knowledge in the development and implementation of asset performance management methodologies and software in large enterprises through his various roles in consulting, training, marketing and sales. Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration/information systems with a minor in Computer Science from Radford University (Virginia, USA).

Vinay Nihilani
Meridium

Vinay Nihalani has a BS and MS Degree in Chemical Engineering and is currently Director of RBI with Meridium. Having worked primarily in the oil industry, he has more than 14 years of engineering and IT experience. Vinay formerly worked at Phillips 66 as a consulting engineer and has accumulated experience in the areas of fixed equipment design and code compliance. Vinay also worked for Southwest Public Service (SPS) as a Senior Control Engineer. He also has extensive knowledge of inspection and design codes like API 510, API 570, TEMA and ASME Section VIII Div 1. His work with Meridium has involved providing consulting services to Marathon Petroleum, Dupont, Ameriven, Petrozuata and ChevronTexaco and had the lead responsibility for various RBI project implementations. He has successfully managed the QatarGas and RasGas projects in Qatar and is currently managing the Meridium implementations at RLOC and QChem II while also providing direction for development of mechanical integrity products and services.

Ryan Pickerel
Marathon Petroleum Company

Ryan is a member of the IT reliability and PSM projects team located in Findlay, OH. During the past 5 years, he has supported efforts in work order planning and scheduling, RBI, KPI reporting, Inspection Manager’s fixed equipment, and deployment of a Meridium Inspection module for capturing electrical inspections via handhelds. Ryan has a degree in Computer Science from The University of Toledo and an MBA from the University of Findlay.

Jim Poturalski
Xcel Energy

Jim is the Sr. Business Manager for Energy Supply and Commercial Operations, working for Xcel Energy since 2006. He works with IT Executive Management and Business Management providing solution strategies and technology roadmaps to improve Xcel Energy corporate drivers.  Prior to Xcel, Jim's work experience includes working with domestic and international customers, managing IT initiatives and business design for electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities.

Stephen Powers
Eastman Chemical Company

Stephen is a Reliability Based Operations & Maintenance (RBOM) Team Leader, with the area of focus being the development and implementation of Reliability Based Operations and Maintenance techniques. has been in Eastman Chemical Company's Reliability Organization for a little over three and a half years but has almost 30 years with Eastman serving in several different positions. During his tenure Steve has worked as a mechanical craftsman, a Team Manager in Operations and Maintenance, and as a Piping and Mechanical Integrity Specialist.

Gord Rayner
Alberta Envirofuels

Gord is a Reliability Specialist at Alberta Envirofuels. His experience includes a Process Operator, Chevron, Kaybob 3 Sour Gas Plant, Grass Roots Operations Startup Coordinator, Alberta Envirofuels and Operations Specialist during Envirofuels conversion from MTBE to Isooctane.

John Renick
Meridium

John Renick is the Partner Solutions Manager for Meridium, Inc. He has over 12 years of experience working with asset intensive industries. In his current role, John oversees Meridium’s partnerships and ensures those partnerships deliver valuable solutions. Prior to serving as Partner Solutions Manager, John was the Product Manager overseeing Meridium’s APM framework, Production Loss Accounting Module, Mobile Framework and Meridium mobile solutions. Having worked in both consulting and implementation roles on projects, John has a unique perspective that allows him to understand the customer’s needs and deliver a solution that maximizes ROI. John joined Meridium in 1998. He is a graduate of Radford University with a degree in Marketing and a minor in Economics.

Donald Schubert
Marsh Inc.

Donald support and expertise to Power Industry accounts world wide for 39 years – spans Hartford Steam Boiler / Johnson & Higgins and Marsh currently. His extensive Boiler & Machinery (B&M) as well as Fire Protection experience includes management of; Target marketing initiatives, Insurance carrier market management,  Placement strategies, New products development, Alternatives to traditional insurance markets, Risk retention strategies, Advanced loss prevention strategies and Claims negotiation. Initiatives focus on specific experience in the power industries such as: Fossil Electric, Hydroelectric, Co-Generation, Independent Power (Merchant) Production and Alternate Energy resources (Such as Solar, Wind, Fuel Cell, Photovoltaic, Geo Thermal and Compressed Air Energy Systems). A key responsibility is focused on changing Technology Risk for advanced generation technology such as Combustion Turbine issues worldwide.

Manish Shah
RasGas

Manish is a Reliability Engineering specialist with RasGas Company of Qatar. Manish has 18+ years of experience in various areas of machinery and reliability management for oil and gas industries. Manish is accredited with Certified Reliability Engineer from American Society for Quality and CMRP (Certified Reliability and Maintenance Professional) from Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professional. In his current assignment, he is responsible for implementation of various reliability tools and programs at RasGas.

Bryon Sohns
P&H Mining Equipment

Bryon has been working as a Reliability Engineer at P&H Mining Equipment since late 2007, where his primary responsibilities involve analyzing the performance of P&H products and improving P&H engineering processes. Prior to that he was a graduate student at the University of Michigan, where he earned a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering. While at the University of Michigan he was part of the Automated Modeling Laboratory within the Automotive Research Center, where his work centered on system dynamics, controls, optimization, and system identification.

Steve Soos
Meridium

Steve has more than 24 years of experience in the engineering and maintenance solutions.  He has worked at Meridium since 2001 in several positions and is currently a Product Manager for Meridium in Roanoke, Virginia.  He specializes in Meridium’s instrumentation asset performance management and risk assessment applications.  He is the Product Manager heading the development of Hazards Analysis, System Criticality, SIS Management and Calibration Management. He recently returned from a 2-year assignment in the Middle East where he led the instrument asset performance implementation and SIS facilitations for 15 SABIC affiliates. Prior to joining Meridium, he was president of Proconsul, Inc., an engineering and maintenance software tools company. Steve served as Instrumentation Technologist for over 10 years at Texaco Chemical and Huntsman. He worked out of Fischer and Porter’s home office as National DCS Services manager and field engineer.   Steve holds a B.S. in Electronics Management from Southern Illinois University and is a TUV Certified Functional Safety Engineer.

Kevin Sutherland
Meridium

Kevin Sutherland, Account Manager, has nearly 15 years of experience in business development and implementation for enterprise asset management and reliability software companies. He has been with Meridium for 5 years.  In his current role, he is responsible for building and maintaining customer relationships and maximizing client’s value from Meridium solutions.  Kevin holds the Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) designation, is an Aladon-trained RCM facilitator and is certified “Jonah” in Goldratt’s “Theory of Constraints.” Prior to joining Meridium, he worked for DataStream, Ivara and HSB Reliability Technologies. Kevin received his B.S. in Industrial Management from Clemson University and his M.B.A. from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Roy Whitt
Meridium

An advocate for improved industrial safety through better asset management, Roy and his team have worked with experts around the world to develop a value assurance program consisting of key management systems that facilitate risk-based work processes enabled by world class software. He is continuing to build Meridium’s reputation as a thought leader in asset performance management through risk-based optimization of asset strategies with his published works and presentations at global venues. His 30-year career in the refining industry, most recently with Marathon Petroleum Company, included management of a 220,000 bpd refinery and vice president of business operations. Roy has served on the API’s General Committee on Refining and Operating Practices Advisory Committee as well as NPRA’s Manufacturing Committee. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Kentucky and a member of AIChE. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York, USA) and an MBA from Morehead State University (Kentucky, USA). He is a graduate of the Ashland Management Development program at Indiana University and the Executive Program of the University of Michigan’s Business School.

Andrew Yarnell
Marathon Petroleum Company

Andrew has been with Marathon for over 3 years and has experience both in the company’s Canton, OH refinery and Findlay office complex.  Prior to working at Marathon, Andrew was employed in the electronics manufacturing business.  While in that field, Andrew developed a familiarity with electronic components and Fluke test equipment, along with polishing his Computer Networking abilities.  Andrew was a member of the Canton Refinery’s Emergency Response Team and was involved with several projects touching Marathon’s PSM & Reliability initiatives.  Today, Andrew is the project lead for implementing Meridium’s Calibration Manager Module across Marathon’s refining environment.  He received his B.S. degree in Computer Science from The University of Toledo.