| Time | Session | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00–9:05 | Opening | Carl Nathe |
| 9:05–9:25 | Welcome Remarks | Michael Renfro |
| 9:25–9:30 | Introduction | Carl Nathe |
| 9:30–10:10 |
Featured Speaker 1 + Q&A Topic: Scaling Manufacturing Excellence through Innovation, AI, and Operational Discipline |
Randy Carr |
| 10:10–10:25 | Coffee Break | |
| 10:25–10:30 | Intro Panel 1 | Carl Nathe |
| 10:30–11:10 |
Panel 1 Topic: Cross-Industry Leadership Lessons: Applying insights from healthcare and service industries to advance operational excellence, servant leadership, and people development in manufacturing. |
Neil Thornbury, Jeff Stryker (Moderator: Glenn Uminger) |
| 11:10–11:15 | Introduction | Carl Nathe |
| 11:15–11:55 |
Featured Speaker 2 + Q&A Topic: Building Kentucky's AI-driven manufacturing innovation ecosystem through university-industry partnerships. |
Ian McClure |
| 11:55–12:55 | Networking Lunch & Poster Presentations | |
| 12:55–1:00 | Intro Panel 2 | Carl Nathe |
| 1:00–1:40 |
Panel 2 Topic: Digital transformation, resilient supply chains, workforce development, organizational change, and AI. |
Tonya Jackson & Jeannetta Burbridge McNeill (Moderator: Rob Marshall) |
| 1:40–1:45 | Introduction to Student & Early Career Engineers Presentation and Exhibit | Carl Nathe |
| 1:45–2:40 | Student and Early Career Engineers Presentation and Exhibit | Student presenters, capstone teams, graduate researchers, and early-career engineers |
| 2:40–2:55 | Coffee Break | |
| 2:55–3:00 | Intro Panel 3 | Carl Nathe |
| 3:00–3:40 |
Panel 3 Topic: Industry–education partnerships, workforce pathways, experiential learning, and preparing the next generation of manufacturing leaders. |
David Parsley & Laura Hunt (Moderator: Mike Johnson) |
| 3:40–3:45 | Intro Executive Fireside Conversation | Carl Nathe |
| 3:45–4:55 |
Executive Fireside Conversation + Q&A Topic: Leading the Future of Manufacturing: Integrating Lean Leadership, Engineering Excellence, and Smart Industry |
Kevin P. Voelkel & Susann Kazunas (Moderator: David DeVore) |
| 4:55–5:00 | Closing Remarks | Carl Nathe & Nelson Akafuah |
| 5:00–6:00 | Networking Reception |