Mar 21, 2011When we launched our first RFID Journal LIVE! event in 2003, we chose the name LIVE! because we literally wanted to bring the case studies we write about every day to life. My idea for the conference and exhibition was that businesspeople could come learn from others who had already deployed radio frequency identification systems at their companies and organizations. (While some folks consider our event a technology show—because a type of technology appears in its name—the focus has always been on business benefits.)
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At our first event, held in Chicago, a few businesspeople presented real-world case studies, but much of the program featured end users speaking about how they envisioned using RFID. A lot has changed since then. This year, the conference will open, fittingly, with a panel of some of the most experienced RFID hands: Airbus' Carlo K. Nizam, the U.S. Department of Defense's Kathy Smith and BP's Mike Haley. I will ask each of these experts probing questions regarding what they've learned over the past five to eight years as they've deployed RFID.
Many other end users will also share their insights about how to employ RFID to streamline business processes, reduce costs and improve efficiencies. Here are some of the speakers, from myriad industries and organizations, from whom attendees will hear:
RETAIL AND APPAREL
• Jennifer Armstrong, VP of enterprise initiatives, Hanesbrands
• Myron Burke, director of store innovation and Electronic Product Code, Wal-Mart Stores
• Jay Craft, VP of product development, VF Jeanswear, LP
• Steve Karrmann, director of supply chain, EDI and RFID supplier support, JCPenney Co.
• Kirk Koehler, senior manager, privacy office, Wal-Mart Stores
• Chuck Lasley, director of merchandising and supply chain applications, Dillard's
• Gary Peltz, VP and CEO, Peltz Shoes
• Oswaldo Romero Martinez, head of operations, logistics and dynamic response, Liverpool
• Pam Sweeney, SVP of logistics systems, Macy's
• Christian von Grone, CIO, Gerry Weber International AG
AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE
• David Blackford, chief, logistics technology integration division, U.S. Transportation Command
• Jonathon Bonnell, process development engineer, Vector Aerospace Engine Services
• William P. Coop, program manager, information services product development, Boeing Commercial Aviation Services
• Paul Hunter, deputy director of land border integration, Office of Information Technology, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Lyle Layher, MPS plans management branch, Blount Island Command, U.S. Marine Corps
• Mark Lieberman, AIT program manager, U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
• Philip Lintereur, fluids, avonics and propulsion systems manager, Boeing
• Steven Mercier, senior systems engineer, Langley Research Center, NASA
• Paul Peters, deputy assistant secretary of defense for supply chain integration, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
• Kenneth Porad, associate technical fellow and program manager, Boeing
• Angela Richwine, business process analyst, clothing and textiles supply chain, U.S. Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support
• Carsten Sowa, RFID program manager, Lufthansa Technik
MANUFACTURING
• Adnen Chaabane, operations engineer, Alco Water
• Daniel Lancho, operations manager, KH Lloreda, S.A.
• Jeremy Mercer, chief engineer and director of information technology, Killdeer Mountain Manufacturing
• Mark Moran, manager of tracking systems, advanced technology and engineering, John Deere
• Pavlo Protopapa, CFO, Diacor International Ltd.—Steinmetz Diamond Group
• Jerry Scherer, design engineer, Fanuc FA America
• Andreas Schroers, gobal product manager, spectrophotometer-lab systems business unit, Hach Lange
• Jeff Stacy, segment manager, NA industrial carriers/NA converted products, Sonoco
• Tony Sutton, general manager, material solutions, North America, Bombardier Transportation
• Archana Yarlagadda, senior applications engineer, Cypress Semiconductor
HEALTH CARE AND PHARMACEUTICALS
• Al Arzola, facility manager, TLC Care Center
• Peter Allison, CEO, Ambient ID
• Ed Bortone, CHPA, director of materials services and security, Lahey Clinic Medical Center
• Carl Closmore, lab supervisor, Medtronic
• Sandra Elliot, director of consumer technology and service development, Meridian Health
• Michael Kohler, director of material management, Mission Hospital—Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach
• Ray Lowe, director of ministry support/IS operations, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
• Kevan MacKenzie, senior solutions analyst, business technology solutions group, McKesson
• Kwang NamGung, CIO, Hanmi Pharmaceutical
• Chad Neal, director of technology, Ohio State University Medical Center
• Joseph Pinto, director of pharmacy, Nyack Hospital
• Gregg Stepp, director of supply chain operations, Texoma Medical Center
• Federico van Gelderen, executive director, Axxa Pharma
• Jordan Kivelstadt, founder, director of production, Free Flow Wines
• John M. Ryan, administrator, quality assurance division, Hawaii State Department of Agriculture
• Eduardo J. Valdes, VP of Mission Foods, Gruma S.A.
ENTERTAINMENT AND HOSPITALITY
• Jerry Kaproth, safety coordinator, NASCAR
• Jeff Sommers, owner, Izzy's Ice Cream Café
• Tom Sullivan, principal, Vitro
• Robert Urwiler, CIO, Vail Resorts
ENERGY AND CONSTRUCTION
• Barry Breede, president, Sustainable Management Systems
• Cosby Dudley, production planning manager, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave
• Firas Hijazi, manager of business system unit, Consolidated Contractors Co.
• Ian Patterson, president, Viridis Technologies
• Jim Pilant, SAP business process designer, Sempra Utilities
• Todd Sutton, business unit manager, Zachry Construction
There also will be other experts with hands-on experience from the ranks of academia and the vendor community. These include, but are not limited to:
• Larry Arnstein, senior director business development, Impinj
• Gene Delaneyg, executive VP, Motorola Solutions
• Jean-Pierre Emond, dean and research professor, College of Technology & Innovation, University of South Florida Polytechnic
• Bill Hardgrave, dean and Wells Fargo professor, College of Business, Auburn University
• Sue Hutchinson, director of portfolio strategy, GS1 US
• Andrew Nathanson, director research operations, VDC Research Group
• Antonio Rizzi, full professor, industrial logistics and supply chain management, University of Parma
• Pankaj Sood, founder, RFID Applications Lab, McMaster University
• Patrick Sweeney, author, RFID for Dummies; president and CEO, ODIN RFID
• Ken Traub, consulting instructor for academia RFID, Ken Traub Consulting
• Victor Vega, marketing director for RFID—North America, NXP Semiconductors
• Tom Wimmer, practice director, VDC Research Group
This just might be the greatest collection of RFID intellectual knowledge ever assembled under a single roof—and it doesn't include all of our speakers, nor those presenting at the two events being co-located with LIVE! 2011: The Internet of Things and IEEE RFID 2011. If you want to learn how to deploy RFID successfully, join us for what promises to be a productive three days of knowledge-sharing.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below. To read more of Mark's opinions, visit the RFID Journal Blog, the Editor's Note archive or RFID Connect.
