Kristen is the Senior Product Manager for bioprocess MES and sensors at Cytiva. In this role, she is responsible for the global MES/sensor strategy and product portfolio. Prior to Cytiva, she worked for 14 years supporting CMC activities for late-stage and commercial biologics at a biopharma company. Kristen is an alumna of the Rochester Institute of Technology with an undergraduate degree in Biotechnology and has a post-graduate degree from Syracuse University in Chemical Engineering.

Chris Binion is the Director of Innovative and Immersive Technologies at Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he provides leadership in innovative and immersive technologies including XR (augmented, mixed, and virtual) reality and its many uses within Pharmaceuticals. Chris has more than twenty years in the pharmaceutical, forensic, chemical, and biotech industries. He has led many new transformational initiatives throughout his career such as the International Train and Assist Mission (ITAM) in Iraq, RAMAN technology in forensic applications, and various analytical method and new technology development. More recently at Patheon, Chris has developed, championed, and led several transformational global programs to showcase innovation, excellence, and standardization. These include the Lean Labs Initiative, the Model Training Center, and global alignment and standardization of Data Integrity Governance.

Tom Oberbeck has 25 plus years in the Automation and Controls field. The first part of his career was spent working for Engineering firms designing and implementing systems. The second part has been spent as an end user mostly in the Life Sciences Industry. Tom has seen the Automation world develop and grow over this time and believe that Data and Analytics could provide the answers to improve upon the way we run our business.

Hooman Hooshiar currently holds the position of Director of Manufacturing Technology at Fresenius Kabi USA.  Hooman has been with Fresenius Kabi for over 7 years, where he has held a variety of Engineering management positions of increasing responsibility. In his current role he oversees the Technology Center North America with multiple Technology Hubs, each focusing on an Engineering aspect of Manufacturing Injectable pharmaceutical products. The Technology Hub Manufacturing Information Technology and Automation is responsible for OT Infrastructure, Cyber Security and Governance as well as Digital Transformation initiatives under the umbrella program “Digital Factory”. Hooman has a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

Dave Sharpe currently holds the position of Global Industry Director for Rockwell Automation based in Toronto, Canada.