Opening Remarks & Keynote Speakers
Robby Robson, IEEE Industry Engagement Committee Workforce Working Group Chair
Opening Remarks
10:00 am to 10:05 am
Biography:
Robby is an entrepreneur, researcher, and standards professional who has made contributions in mathematics, learning technology, competency-based training, technical standards, and applications of AI to training and talent pipeline management. He is a co-founder and former CEO of Eduworks Corporation and serves on multiple IEEE boards and committees, including as chair of the IEEE Industry Engagement Committee Workforce Working Group.
Ramachandra Handaragal, Event Co-Chair
Opening Remarks
10:00 am to 10:05 am
Biography:
Ramachandra is a Digital Transformation leader specialized in global supply chain with Innovative /State of the art technologies. My Global experience spans across North America, Europe and MEA for Aerospace & Defense, Manufacturing, Hi-Tech, Energy and Utilities, retail and other industries. Over last 19 years , he has led/Architected the complex digital transformation programs to Implement the Top tier ERP applications for businesses across the globe. Now he is leading the AI initiative to Design the AI agents for Supply chains.
Peter Smulovics, Morgan Stanley
Keynote: Setting the Stage for the Future Ready Workforce
10:10 am to 10:30 am
Biography:
Peter Smulovics is a Distinguished Engineer at Morgan Stanley, with over 15 years at the company, and over 30 in the industry, driving technology transformation and innovation. He is a 2× Microsoft MVP and one of the creators of the programming language C# and holds leadership roles such as Vice Chair of the Technical Oversight Committee and Chair of Open Source Readiness in The Linux Foundation. Peter is passionate about open source, scalable cloud architecture, and staying ahead of emerging tech trends. He regularly shares his insights through blog posts and public speaking, rooted in real-world engineering at scale and talent upskilling practices.
Dr. Thomas Coughlin, 2024 IEEE President
Greetings
10:05 am to 10:10 am
Biography:
Tom Coughlin, President, Coughlin Associates is a digital storage analyst and business and technology consultant. He has over 40 years in the data storage industry with engineering and senior management positions at several companies.
Dr. Coughlin has many publications and six patents. He is also the author of “Digital Storage in Consumer Electronics: The Essential Guide,” which is now in its second edition with Springer. Tom is a regular storage and memory contributor for forbes.com and media and entertainment organizations.
Coughlin Associates consults, publishes books and market and technology reports, including The Media and Entertainment Storage Report and an Emerging Memory Report, and puts on digital storage–oriented events.
He is an IEEE Life Fellow, Past-President of IEEE-USA, Past Director of IEEE Region 6, Past Chair of the Santa Clara Valley IEEE Section, and Past Chair of the Consultants Network of Silicon Valley. He is also active with the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) and the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE).