„How Robotics and Automation Are Tranforming North American Economy“ – IFR Executive Roundtable at Automate 2022

Speakers for the roundtable, scheduled June 7 from 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon ET, include: 

• Mike Cicco, president and CEO, FANUC America
• Greg Smith, president – Industrial Automation Group, Teradyne
  (parent company of Mobile Industrial Robots, Universal Robots and AutoGuide)
• Greg Brown, vice president – Global Advanced Technology Group, UPS
• Melonee Wise, vice president Robotics Automation, Zebra Technologies
• Deepu Talla, vice president and general manager – Embedded & Edge Computing, NVIDIA

Robert Huschka, the vice president of education strategies at A3, will moderate the roundtable. “Companies across North America are deploying robotics and automation at record rates as they continue to face labor shortages, decreased productivity and a disrupted supply chain,” Huschka said.  “The industry leaders we’ve compiled for this panel have seen the benefits to both their individual business and to the economy for years, but especially as we’ve all struggled through an unprecedented pandemic that’s changed the world as we know it. Their insights and best practices will be highly valuable for all in attendance.” 

IFR, which has sponsored executive roundtables at Automate since 2011, expects an invested audience as Automate returns to an in-person show for the first time since 2019. “Manufacturers and business leaders alike consistently flock to Automate to learn about the latest innovations to help them improve their businesses,” said Milton Guerry, IFR president. “With the list of industry leaders we’ve compiled  for this roundtable, we expect those attending will not only learn a great deal about how robotics and automation is transforming the North American economy, but how they can transform their individual business as well.”

Roundtable Speakers Bring Decades of Experience in Business and Automation to Discussion: 

Cicco: The president and CEO of FANUC America is responsible for all of the company’s operations in North and South America. He joined FANUC in 1999 and has held a variety of management positions over the years, including software/controls manager and district sales manager at the company’s Southern California facility. Before joining FANUC, Cicco served as lead automation engineer for Northrop Grumman in the Automation and Information Systems group. 

Smith: As president of Teradyne’s Industrial Automation Group, Smith oversees Universal Robots, MiR and AutoGuide.  He was previously the president of the Semiconductor Test Business, Teradyne’s largest operating segment. Smith began his career at Raytheon as a test engineer and held numerous engineering and management roles in the semiconductor test industry before joining Teradyne in 2006. 

Brown: The global director of research and development for UPS has more than 23 years of experience in multiple areas of package sortation and logistics. At UPS, he helps develop new material handling solutions and is on a team hand selected by the CIO to develop the future state for UPS. 

Wise: The vice president of robotics automation at Zebra Technologies joined Zebra in 2021 through the acquisition of Fetch Robotics, where she was the CEO. Wise was the second employee at Willow Garage where she led a team of engineers developing next-generation robot hardware and software, including ROS, the PR2, and TurtleBot. She serves as the chair of the IFR Service Robot Group, as a robotics board member for A3, and on the MHI Roundtable Advisory Committee. 

Talla: As vice president and general manager of autonomous machines at NVIDIA, Talla is responsible for deploying AI technology in devices such as factory robots, commercial drones and video analytics. Previously, he was responsible for NVIDIA’s mobile business unit. Prior to joining NVIDIA in 2013, he worked at Texas Instruments for more than 10 years in various executive management and technical leadership roles. 
 
Reminders about Automate: 
Produced by A3, Automate returns to Detroit after two decades in Chicago. The event will bring more than 500 companies showcasing the latest in robotics, machine vision, artificial intelligence (AI), motion control, and smart automation—and an expected 20,000 attendees—to the city’s Huntington Place center. 

•    Registration for Automate 2022 and Automate LIVE is open at https://www.automateshow.com.  
•    To apply for a press pass, visit https://www.automateshow.com/form.cfm?form_id=151

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) is the leading global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. Members of A3 represent nearly 1,100 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, academic institutions, research groups and consulting firms from throughout the world that drive automation forward.
 
A3 hosts a number of industry-leading events, including Automate Preview Series (Ongoing), the Automate Show & Conference (June 6-9, 2022, in Detroit, MI), The Autonomous Mobile Robot & Logistics Week (October 10-13, 2022, in Boston, MA) and The Vision Show (October 11-13, 2022, in Boston, MA).