Keynote Speakers
Tuesday – November 26, 2019
9:00 – 9:30 (Tuesday) Welcome Address:
Dr. Ahmed S. Yamani
Rector
Prince Sultan University
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Dr. Ahmed S. Yamani is the rector of Prince Sultan University, the first private, non-profit university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He took up his post as Rector in June 2005. He has held a series of leadership roles (including Chairman, Vice Dean, Vice-Rector, and Rector) over a 25-year period.
Dr. Yamani has a PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Michigan, USA. He obtained his MSc and a BSc with summa cum laude (highest honor) from the University of North Carolina, USA. In addition, he earned a diploma in pre-Engineering from Gaston College, USA.
Prior to Prince Sultan University, Dr. Yamani started his academic career in the Department of Architecture and Building Sciences, College of Architecture and Planning, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Four years later, he became the chairman of the Department of Architecture and Building Sciences at the King Saud University. He also held academic positions as the first Vice Dean to the newly founded Prince Sultan Private College, which evolved into the successful Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia; and as the acting Vice Rector of Prince Sultan University.
Dr. Yamani has played a major role in the development and implementation of academic strategy at Prince Sultan University, in both research and education. Under his leadership the University has consistently been rated the best private university in Saudi Arabia. He has an ongoing interest in Sustainable Higher Education more widely.
Dr. Yamani has led the development of the university’s internationalization, with the goal of creating a leading university locally and throughout the Middle East through stakeholder engagement, community service and a strong research impact in line with the ‘Saudi Vision 2030’.
Dr. Yamani is the founding editor of PSU Research Review: An International Journal (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, UK). He was the pioneer who brought forward the concept of this international journal and made it happen.
Dr. Yamani has chaired or has been a member of numerous academic, administrative and professional committees. He is a board member of Education Evaluation Commission – Higher Education Sector (EEC-HES) (formerly the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment – NCAAA), Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia. He is a board member of National Center for Assessment in Higher Education (Qiyas), Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia. He has been awarded various prestigious awards.
9:30 – 10:15 (Tuesday) Opening Keynote I:
H.E. Eng. Osama bin Abdul Aziz Al-Zamil
Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resource
Saudi Arabia
H.E. Eng. Osama bin Abdul Aziz Al-Zamil, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of industry and mineral resources.
He has also been the president of Zamil Group Holding Co. since December 2018, a global investment company with diverse interests and capabilities including shipbuilding and repair, port operations and maintenance, petrochemicals and chemicals, industrial investment and general construction.
Al-Zamil was the vice president of the corporate business development department at Zamil Group from 2013 to 2016, and the group’s vice president for almost five years between 2014 and 2018.
He is also the chairman of the Saudi Industries Development Co. (Tatweer) based in Buraidah, Al-Qassim region. It is a diversified organization with its main investments in the industrial sector, real estate sector and financial investment.
Al-Zamil received his undergraduate education in systems engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He also has a master’s degree in business administration and management from the University of Houston-Clear Lake in Houston, Texas, US.
10.15 – 11:00 (Tuesday) Opening Keynote II
Dr. Andreas Schwer
CEO
Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI)
Dr. Andreas Schwer is the Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), spearheading efforts to drive forward the Kingdom’s military industry and deliver world-class military products and services. He is responsible for the management of SAMI’s operational business and achievement of the company’s business strategy and targets, Dr. Schwer is working closely with the Board of Directors to attain the company’s objective of becoming a top-25 global military company by 2030, drawing upon his wealth of experience and expertise in setting up and managing international defense and aerospace companies.
Prior to joining SAMI, Dr. Schwer was a member of the Executive Management Board of Rheinmetall Defense. Amongst his duties, he was President and CEO of Combat Systems Division, which is the core of the Rheinmetall enterprise with more than 7,000 staff in 16 countries. Dr. Schwer then served as the Chairman and President of Rheinmetall International AG where he was responsible for defining the company’s internationalization strategy leading to the implementation of multiple operating companies and joint ventures in key strategic export markets such as the Middle East.
In 2008, Dr. Schwer served as Executive Vice President of Global Engineering and Innovation at The Manitowoc Company, Inc. with engineering centers in US, Europe and Asia. He was also appointed as the General Manager of the company’s branch in Germany, where he led 2,000 employees.
Dr. Schwer began his career with Airbus Group Inc., where he held a number of leadership positions within their defense & space branch. Amongst those, he was one of the key industrial enabler of the Galileo Satellite Navigation Program founded by the European Union and the European Space Agency. In 1992, Dr. Schwer received his Master’s degree in Aeronautics Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and subsequently his Ph.D. in 1997. In 1998, Dr. Schwer accomplished a second Master’s degree in Systems Engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
11:00 – 11:15 Networking/Coffee Break
11:30 – 12:15 (Tuesday) Keynote III
Dr. Sami Alnuaim
The President of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) International
Title: “Orchestrating the Future Energy Transition through Energy Sustainability & Environment Strategy”
Sami Alnuaim has been with Saudi Aramco for 30 years, where he has worked in reservoir engineering, production engineering, research and development, and at the upstream computer center. He currently serves as manager of the petroleum engineering application services department where he leads information technology support for all upstream operations, including exploration, drilling, production, reservoir engineering, and facility design. A current area of focus is reservoir simulation of giga cells and giga models using Saudi Aramco’s GigaPOWERS simulator.
Alnuaim has a long history of service to SPE and is currently a member of the SPE Middle East Board of Directors. He has won several local, regional, and international awards, including the SPE Regional Service Award for the Middle East in 2010 and the SPE Distinguished Service and SPE Distinguished Member awards in 2011. He recently served on the society’s DeGolyer, Rand, and McConnell Awards Committee and the 2017 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition Executive Advisory Committee.
Alnuaim obtained BS and MS degrees from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and a PhD degree from the University of Texas at Austin, all in petroleum engineering. He completed the Wharton Advanced Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania and the Advanced Asian Business and Culture Program at Pennsylvania State University.
12:15 – 1:30 – Networking Buffet Lunch/ Dhuhr Prayer
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
10:15 – 11:00 (Wednesday) – KEYNOTE
Dr. Mohammed Al-Majed
Senior Advisor to the Minister at Ministry of Industry and Mining
Saudi Arabia
Dr. Mohammed Al-Majed is
a Senior Advisor to the Minister at Ministry of Industry and Mining in Saudi
Arabia, Leading Industry 4.0 Efforts, and an advisor- External Board, for the
Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California, Berkeley. Dr.
Mohammed has been shaping the digital transformation in Saudi Arabia through
his various roles. Some of these roles include: Senior Advisor to HE Minister
of Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, Senior Advisor to HH Taqnia
Chairman of the Board, CEO of TDM that was officially incorporated for Industry
4.0 Technology Localization, COO at the College of Excellence and many other
roles. He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1990.
Subsequently, he joined the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh as a
mechanical engineer. In 1992, Al-Majed left for the US, where he studied for a
master’s degree at the University of California in Berkeley, majoring in
mechanical engineering and went on to receive his Ph.D. in the same major from
the same university in 1997. From 2017 to 2018, Al-Majed was CEO of Taqnia
Digital Manufacturing in Riyadh. He returned to KACST in 2018 as the ICI4
director, before taking on his current role in 2019. He recently took part in
the Saudi Arabia Energy Forum 2019 and spoke on the Saudi industrial revolution
4.0, as well as a keynote speaker at the Arab Conference at Harvard (Business
Edition).
11:00 – 11:45 (Wednesday) Keynote:
Eng. Suliman Almazroua
CEO
VRP Office of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program
Eng. Suliman Almazroua,
CEO of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) VRP
office. In recent roles he acted as Executive Director in the National
Transformation Program, where he managed the ministries’ portfolios with the 37
strategic objectives of Vision 2030 and a budget of over SAR 300 Billion.
Almazroua also acted as the Director General of the Delivery and Rapid
Intervention Center where he managed a team of over 90 professionals and a
budget of over SAR 100 Million to support the delivery of Vision 2030 goals.
Eng. Almazroua received
his Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering from King Fahd University
of Petroleum and Minerals in 2001 and his Master degree in Business
Administration from Hull University (UK) in 2006. Since then, he has gained a
wealth of experience in technical, managerial, and leadership roles in
industry, most notably at Saudi Aramco. He started his career with highly
technical positions such as a Communications Engineer at Saudi Aramco then a
Control Engineer at Aruba Networks (USA).
In 2008, he attained a managerial position in the Information Technology
Department at Saudi Aramco where he improved business processes and developed
manpower optimization studies. In 2011,
Almazroua acted as Manager of International Operations for Saudi Aramco
in Houston, USA where he established North America Satellite Research and
Development Centers, improved Cybersecurity defense in all Saudi Aramco
international offices, among other accomplishments. Almazroua also played
pivotal roles in the healthcare sector of Saudi Aramco, acting as Chief
Technology Officer of Johns Hopkins Aramco HealthCare (JHAH), Dhahran. Where he led the transformation of JHAH by
introducing new a Health Information System. In 2016, he was appointed as Director
of IT Demand Planning at Saudi Aramco, where he notably implemented a new value
creation model for technology planning, which resulted in benefits of up to $93
Million in 2017 and around $300 Million in 2018.
During his education and
years of experience, Almazroua acquired
the technical skills and industry knowledge that enabled him to build a unique problem-solving ability. Equipped
with his skills and work ethics, Almazroua aspires to have a hand in the
betterment of his country by playing a pivotal role in KSA’s most prominent
Vision Realization Program, NIDLP, which is focused on transforming Saudi
Arabia into a pioneering industrial powerhouse and a global logistics hub by
integrating growth in four key sectors: Mining, Industry, Logistics, and Energy
(with focus on Industry 4.0) in line with Vision 2030.
11:45 – 1:00 Networking Buffet Lunch/ Dhuhr Prayer
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm (Thursday) Conference Awards Dinner and Awards Keynote
Thursday, November 28, 2019
10:15 – 11:00 (Thursday) Keynote
Dr. Surendra M. Gupta
Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Director of Laboratory for Responsible Manufacturing (LRM)
Northeastern University
Boston, MA, USA
Dr. Surendra M. Gupta is a Professor of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Director of the Laboratory for Responsible Manufacturing at Northeastern University in Boston. He received his BE in Electronics Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, MBA from Bryant University and MSIE and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.
Dr Gupta is a recipient of the Outstanding Research Award and the Outstanding Industrial Engineering Professor Award (in recognition of Teaching Excellence).
Dr. Gupta’s research interests are in the areas of Production/ Manufacturing Systems and Operations Research. He is mostly interested in Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing, Electronics Manufacturing, MRP, JIT, and Queueing Theory. He has authored/co-authored well over 400 technical papers published in prestigious journals, books and international conference proceedings. He has traveled to all seven continents viz., Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America and presented his work at international conferences there (except Antarctica). The journals where his publications have appeared include Annals of Operations Research, Computers and Electrical Engineering, Computers and Industrial Engineering, Computers and Mathematics with Applications, Computers and Operations Research, European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, International Journal of Environmentally Conscious Design and Manufacturing, International Journal of Flexible Automation and Integrated Manufacturing, International Journal of Industrial Engineering, International Journal of Integrated Supply Management, International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, International Journal of Operations and Quantitative Management, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, International Transactions in Operational Research, Journal of Electronics Manufacturing, Journal of Engineering Sciences, Journal of Fire Technology, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Journal of Operational Research Society, Journal of the American Society of Information Science, Microelectronics and Reliability, Omega, Opsearch, Perception and Psychophysics, Performance Evaluation, Performance Evaluation Review, Production and Inventory Management Journal, Production Planning and Control, and Transactions of Operational Research. His publications have been cited by thousands of researchers all over the world in journals, proceedings, books, and dissertations.
Dr. Gupta is the editor for the special issues of Journal of Electronics Manufacturing on “Environmental, Recycling and End of Life Issues in the Electronics Industry” and “Production, Planning and Scheduling in Electronics Manufacturing”, editor for the special issue of International Journal of Operations and Quantitative Management on “Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing”, senior editor of the Industrial Engineering Applications and Practice: Users’ Encyclopedia , co-editor for the special issue of Computers and Industrial Engineering on “Operational Issues in Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing” and serves as an Area Editor for Environmental Issues of Computers and Industrial Engineering, Associate Editor for International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, as well as on the editorial boards of IIE Transactions on Design and Manufacturing and International Journal of Industrial Engineering. He has been involved as the Chairman of the International Conferences on Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing I (Nov. 2000), II (Oct. 2001), III (Oct. 2003), IV (Oct. 2004), V (Oct. 2005) and VI (Oct. 2006), track chair of Management Science and Operations Research for the NEDSI’2001, NEDSI’2002 and NEDSI’2003 Conferences, track chair of Production and Operations Management (Manufacturing) for the NEDSI’2005 Conference, Trach chair of Environmental Issues and Reverse Logistics in Production/Manufacturing for POM2005 and POM2007 and the member of the Technical Committees of International Conferences of IEEE on ISEE’1998, ISEE’1999, ISEE’2000, ISEE’2001, ISEE’2002, ISEE’2003, ISATP2003 and ISATP2005, and DYCONS99, GT/CM’2000, GT/CM’2003, RETBE’2000, ICMFMDI’2000, ISLCE’2001, ITEE2005, ITEE2007, ICCIE2006, MHCL2006 and IAD2007. In addition, he is a regular reviewer for more than a dozen major journals in the field of Production/ Manufacturing Systems and Operations Research and has frequently reviewed proposals for National Research Council and National Science Foundation. He has been elected to the memberships of several honor societies and is listed in various Who’s Who publications. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Massachusetts and a member of ASEE, DSI, IIE, INFORMS and POMS.
He has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of Production/ Manufacturing Systems and Operations Research. He has more than 30 years of teaching experience and has consistently received high student ratings.
He has been elected to memberships and chairmanships of dozens of University, College and Department Committees as well as an elected member of the Faculty Senate representing the College of Engineering.
11:00 – 11:45 (Thursday) Keynote
Eng. Saleh I Al-Shabnan
Chairman
Supply Chain & Procurement Society
Saleh Al-Shabnan is a
graduate in Industrial Management from King Fahad University of Petroleum &
Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in 1982. He was trained at the National
Gas & Industrialization Co. (GASCO) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then Aramco
Services Company (ASC) in Houston, Texas before joining (SABIC) upon his
graduation. Throughout his career with SABIC, he has supervised and managed
various projects, logistics, business development and sales & marketing
functions.
Between 2007 & 2011,
Saleh was the EMDAD Project Executive with the responsibility to head up a
global transformation initiative to develop an industry leading supply chain
capability for the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) reporting
directly to SABIC’s Vice Chairman and CEO. His mandate was to develop a globally
integrated Supply Chain supported by a world class IT platform and global
logistics network and infrastructure for SABIC’s Chemicals, Polymers, Metals,
Fertilizers, Specialties and Performance Chemicals. Upon the successful
implementation of the project, he was appointed as a Vice President, Global
Supply Chain Center of Excellence in 2011 till his retirement from SABIC in
April 2014.
Saleh Al-Shabnan served
as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Sabic Terminal Services Co.
(Sabtank), and the Jubail Chemical Storage & Services Co. (JCSSC) as well
as a member of the Board of Directors of Petrokemya, Sadaf and National
Chemical Carrier Company (NCC). He also served as the Vice Chairman of the Gulf
Petrochemical & Chemicals Association (GPCA)’s Supply Chain Committee till
June 2016 and was a member of Europe’s LogiChem advisory board in Brussels.
Saleh is a member of GPCA and the head of its Supply Chain Excellence Award. On
the volunteering work side, Saleh was elected in October 2017 as the Chairman
of the Board of Directors for the “Supply Chain & Procurement Society” – a
none profit organization of 230 + SC & Procurement professional volunteers.
The Society is sponsored by the General Authority for Small & Medium
Enterprises (Monshaat) – Ministry of Commerce & Investment. He was also the
Vice President of the National Committee for Cement Companies and a member of
the Saudi Committee for Labor Market at the Council of Saudi Chambers as well
as Vice Chairman of the newly formed Industrial Exporters’ Society and the
Chairman of the Cooperative Society for Agricultural and Environmental Studies
& Services (under formation). Saleh is one of the founders of City Cement
Company and was the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a member of the
its Board of Directors till May, 2019. Through his office “Haffaz for
Consultation & Business Development”, Saleh Provides consultation and
business development services in a number of fields including: Supply Chain
& Logistics, Energy & Alternative Fuels, Healthcare & Medical
Devices, Environment & Sites Rehabilitation and Cement & Mining.
11:45 – 1:00 – Networking Buffet Lunch/ Dhuhr Prayer