We use cookies to help provide you with the best possible online experience.
By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on your device.
You can find out more and set your own preferences here.
Trending at CIMdata
Speaker Bios (62)
Megan Pukala, Assistant Brand Manager, Fortune 500 company
Megan Pukala received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and more recently completed her MBA from The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Megan resides in Cincinnati, OH, and was recognized as one of the city’s 40 Great Leaders Under 40 by Venue Magazine. Professionally, Megan works in brand management for a Fortune 500 company.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Thomas A. Gill, Practice Manager, PLM Enterprise Value & Integration
Tom Gill has over 25 years of experience applying computer-based solutions to engineering and manufacturing. Before joining CIMdata he worked as an independent PLM consultant, after spending over 20 years at high-volume manufacturing companies.
Mr. Gill has worked on projects in numerous industries, including fabrication & assembly, food & beverage, defense, chemical, and medical devices. He has executed PLM strategy projects, solution evaluation-and-selection projects, deployment planning, and training development for industrial clients. He delivers solution providers competitive and technical product analyses, white papers, and case studies.
Mr. Gill led a team that developed and deployed a PLM system to manage engineering and quality processes, and has participated in enterprise system projects including RFQ management, material development, and environmental systems. He has presented papers both nationally and internationally.
Mr. Gill holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine, and is Configuration Management certified.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Ken Versprille, Ph.D., Executive Consultant and Practice Manager, Social Product Development & Collaboration
Dr. Ken Versprille has over 35 years of experience in the application of computer-based solutions for engineering and manufacturing. He joined CIMdata after 16 years heading the Design Creation and Validation service at CPDA. His research spans geometric design, design collaboration and automation, PLM standards and openness, and the integration of CAD across PLM applications.
During 15 years at Computervision, Dr. Versprille became the equivalent of CTO, and was R&D Vice President of core applications. He was a lead architect of the CADDS 4 product, with responsibility for the initial design of Computervision’s 3D graphics system. As General Manager of CV-Doors, he led the group that introduced and managed the CAD industry’s first geometric kernel business.
Dr. Versprille received a BS in Mathematics from the University of New Hampshire. His MS and Ph.D. in Computer Science are from Syracuse University. Dr. Versprille is recognized for publishing the first description of NURBS, the mathematical curve-and-surface formulation, now an international standard in CAD and Computer Graphics. In 2005 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award by The CAD Society.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Suna Polat, Ph.D., Director, Collaborative Innovation & Social Product Development Consulting Practice
Dr. Suna Polat has over 23 years of experience in technology development, product development, innovation management, implementation of strategic innovation capabilities—including modeling and simulation (M&S), open innovation, knowledge management, and social technologies—and driving change and adoption, through her career at Procter & Gamble (P&G) and with her own consulting practice thereafter.
Prior to joining CIMdata, Dr. Polat developed expertise in transport phenomena (and CAE modeling) in academia, and spent over 21 years at P&G, where initially she developed process and material technologies for diverse product categories. Subsequently, Dr. Polat held various leadership roles; she was responsible for the implementation of strategic innovation capabilities, such as open innovation, M&S, and social innovation platforms, for which a common thread was driving organizational culture change and adoption. During her tenure at P&G, Dr. Polat worked with and benchmarked best-in-class companies in diverse industries including consumer goods, material suppliers, IT technology, auto, airline, and pharmaceuticals, to source technology and identify both best practices and new approaches for cultivating innovation and innovation productivity. Dr. Polat’s current interests include methods to assess the state of connectivity and collaboration in large organizations and networks; the effect of organizational culture on innovation output; and the influence of communities and social technologies on employee experiences, creativity, and innovation output.
Dr. Polat holds a BS (Middle East Technical University, Turkey), an MS (University of Pittsburgh), and a Ph.D. (McGill University, Canada) in Chemical Engineering.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Rolf Hüsemann, Manager Engineering Systems & PLM, GETRAG FORD Transmissions
Rolf Hüsemann and his team help define and maintain the IT processes and tools for GETRAG’s global product development (PD) solution. He advocates a PLM implementation strategy that respects the local requirements as well as the quickly changing global environment. He has 26 years of experience in supporting PD with IT solutions at Ford of Europe, Visteon, and GETRAG.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Daniel E. Nicholson, P.E., Executive Director, Global Powertrain Embedded Controls, GM
Dan Nicholson is the Executive Director for Global Powertrain Embedded Controls at GM. He has held this role since April, 2011. Dan is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the global engineering team responsible for all powertrain controllers and software as well as calibrating all powertrains, providing customer-pleasing drive quality, and ensuring compliance with tailpipe emissions standards and on-board diagnostics.
Prior to this appointment, Dan was the vice president of Global Quality from 2010-2011. He held this role after repatriating from Germany where he served as the head of Powertrain Product Engineering Europe from 2005-2010. The scope of this role included the development and engineering of all engines, transmissions, and alternative propulsion systems in the region.
Dan began his career with General Motors as a co-op student at Buick Motor Division in 1982. He has an extensive background in Product Engineering and subsequently progressed through a series of leadership positions including engineering group manager, director of controller integration, and director of engine calibration. In 2004, he was named chief engineer and program manager for V8 engines and was responsible for the Corvette Z06’s LS7 engine and the implementation of Active Fuel Management technology for small block engines. After a year in that position, he was appointed managing director of GM Powertrain-Germany GmbH where he led all powertrain operations for the country unit.
Dan earned a BS degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University), an MS degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University, and an MBA from Stanford University.
He is the President-elect of FISITA, a trustee of the SAE Foundation and a director of the Engineering Society of Detroit.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Lou Young, Jr., Director of New Business Development – Tooling & Manufacturing, Linear Mold & Engineering
As Linear Mold & Engineering’s Director of New Business Development – Tooling & Manufacturing, Lou Young is on the front-line educating both new and existing customers of the benefits of conformal cooling. Overall, he provides strategic direction for the Linear tooling and manufacturing sales force.
Lou spent the last 18 years in the automotive and plastics industries. He began his career working in various skilled trade positions including CNC operator, plastic injection mold maker, tool designer, and automotive part designer. After studying at the University of Southern California for Industrial & Systems Engineering, he joined Linear in 2003.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Greg Schroeder, Assistant Director, Manufacturing, Engineering & Technology, Center for Automotive Research (CAR)
Greg Schroeder is an assistant director at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), where he works in the Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology (MET) Group. He joined CAR in 2008.
Greg’s primary focus within MET is opportunities for mass reduction of new automobiles through advanced materials. As part of his focus, he has conducted technology reviews of advanced light weighting technology, investigated the impact of advanced lightweight materials on the automotive workforce, and conducted case studies documenting new applications with advanced materials. In addition to his primary responsibilities within MET, Greg has performed several studies on the viability of automotive testing services and has analyzed data for automotive body assembly variation modeling. He frequently works with the Transportation Systems Analysis (TSA) Group on telematics technology.
Prior to joining CAR, Greg worked at General Motors first through their College Graduate Training Program, then as a Test Engineer at General Motors’ Climate Wind Tunnel. As a Test Engineer, he led the group that defined standard procedures for temperature measurement of vehicle batteries, developed programs to efficiently process data for test reports, and was lead engineer in the field of thermography for product development.
Greg has co-authored several research studies including: "Automotive Technology: Greener Products, Changing Skills Lightweight Materials & Forming Report"; Green and Connected; and The U.S. Automotive Market and Industry in 2025.
Greg is a member of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society and the Society of Automotive Engineers. He received his M.S.E. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 2005 and his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Wayne State University in 2000.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Dan Mekker, Manager, Gas Turbine Design Integrity, Siemens Energy
Dan Mekker has been working in the field of product design and development at SIEMENS Energy for over 30 years. Currently he is a manager in the Gas Turbine Design Integrity organization where he is responsible for design process and method integrity. His career has spanned development of product definition methods, standards and tools associated with the introduction of CAD, development of advanced analytical design methods and tools including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), development of Integrated Design Environments, and recently Collaborative Product Development environment (Teamcenter). Dan has worked constantly to introduce enabling product development capability associated with technical computing and advanced engineering design methodologies and tools.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Anders Carlsson, Senior Advisor, Volvo Car Corporation
Anders Carlsson is a senior advisor to Volvo Car Corporation (Volvo Cars) in the area of Virtual Manufacturing and PLM. In this role he is responsible for the Volvo Cars lead time reduction project within Manufacturing. He has been using and implementing Virtual Manufacturing solutions at Volvo Cars and within the BMW Group for over 25 years.
Published in
Speaker Bios
Featured Cimdata Reports
PLM-Enabled Digital Transformation Benefits Appraisal Guide
The Guide is designed to help potential PLM users evaluate the applicability and payoffs of PLM in their enterprise, and to help existing users of PLM monitor the impact it is having on their product programs.
Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group
A CIMdata administered PLM advocacy group for the A&D industry
PLM Market Analysis Reports
The PLM MAR Series provides detailed information and in-depth analysis on the worldwide PLM market. It contains analyses of major trends and issues, leading PLM providers, revenue analyses for geographical regions and industry sectors, and historical and projected data on market growth.
PLM Market Analysis Country Reports
These reports offer country-specific analyses of the PLM market. Their focus is on PLM investment and use in industrial markets. Reports cover Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Simulation & Analysis Market Analysis Report
This report presents CIMdata’s overview of the global simulation and analysis market, one of the fastest growing segments of the overall product lifecycle management market, including profiles of the leading S&A firms.
CAM Market Analysis Report
CIMdata's definitive guide to the worldwide CAM software and services market. This comprehensive report provides critical intelligence on market size, user expenditures, trends, and segmentation, alongside authoritative rankings of the top CAM solution providers and reseller revenues.