Advisory Board

Ales Bertuzzi

Owner Transformer Process

After completing his technical education he started working from the workshop in the family owned company, L.A.E. (ITALY). He was then promoted to sales manager, and soon General Manager thanks to his language skills and his interest in strategic marketing, and negotiations. He expanded the company business to international markets with his commitment and forward-looking attitude and allowed the company to be sold in 2007, a good time for the Industry.

He then created his own company Transformer Process, collaborating with leading German machine manufacturers Mrs. Heinrich Georg and BR Tech.

Meanwhile Ales developed an Alliance of companies to work at a process level and developed a Patent on a revolutionary Core manufacturing process called TWINCORE, aimed to increase Core filling factor and Productivity on Distribution Transformer.

Chris Gerber

CEO & Board Member – Founder and Managing Partner Genesiss Consultancy and Advisory Services

Chris Gerber is a former Transformer OEM CEO with noticeable experience in the transformer industry having worked for some of the most significant independent transformer companies in Europe. He served on numerous corporate boards in the EU.

He has worked for and with some of the most noticeable transformer utilities in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

His experience in Mergers & Acquisitions in the transformer industry and his recent research on M&A in the transformer industry conducted in collaboration with Transformers Magazine ensures unique insights into this specialized field.

He is amongst others a former university lecturer in business and marketing management and holds degrees from the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and the VUB in Brussels, Belgium. He is also the author of several published articles on the transformer industry covering both managerial and technical topics.

He is the Managing Partner and founder of Genesiss Consulting and a member of the Virtual Advisory Board. He is furthermore an advisor to Power Technology Research, specializing in commercial energy market related research topics and STS Capital, specializing in extra ordinary Mergers and Acquisition transactions.
 

Watch Chris' interview

Christian Kehrer

Business Development Director Altair

Christian is a leading Business Development Director for systems simulation and related applications at Altair. In this role, he is responsible for consulting with customers and establishing solutions based on their needs for system simulation with specific focus on electrification and Digital Twins. Before joining Altair in 2017, he worked at both ITI GmbH and the BMW Group. He holds a Mechanical engineering degree in the field of automotive engineering from TU Dresden in Germany. 

Christoph Donker

Director EMEA Marketing Altair

Being the Director EMEA Marketing at Altair, Christoph Donker is responsible for Altair’s EMEA marketing activities. Previous to his current position he worked at FEV, a global operating company that develops worldwide standard-setting innovations in the fields of sustainable mobility, energy and software. Prior to that, he held several positions in marketing and divisional management at an IT publishing company. Christoph is an experienced manager and marketing professional with a demonstrated history of working in the IT and engineering industry. He holds a diploma degree in design from Fachhochschule Aachen. 

Claudio Vittori

Senior Technical Research Analyst S&P Global Mobility

Claudio Vittori is a Senior Analyst at IHS Markit, working within the Automotive division and focusing on supply chain analysis and components technology assessments. His research interests lie in Electric Vehicle components and charging infrastructure. Prior to joining IHS Markit, Claudio has worked, in the last nine years, on some of the largest European electric vehicle projects in Switzerland, Germany and Italy with tasks ranging from researching, project management, consultancy and business planning. His expertise also includes a work experience in an international electric vehicle start-up.
 

Watch Claudio's interview:

Dr. Jari Hyvönen

Senior Project Manager Audi AG

Jari has been in his current role since 2020 and is responsible for PPE Powertrain projects based in Ingolstadt, Germany. He has been at Audi for over 20 years and has worked across diverse functions in production planning powertrains in Germany and in Györ, Hungary including Head of Methods and Quality Planning, Head of Quality Assurance ICE purchased components, Head of Prototype/Pre-series Motor Center (ICE and e-tron prototypes), Head of Production Planning electric powertrains (Audi e-tron BEV powertrain).

Jari has a Diploma in mechanical engineering/combustion engines and Dr.-Ing degree in field of combustion under microgravity at RWTH Aachen, Germany. Between 1996-1998 he was the Project Manager ESA - NEDO (Japan) co-operation project on combustion under microgravity.

Jari was born and raised in Helsinki, Finland.

Dr. Ranran Lin

Global Category Manager for Insulation Materials, Permanent Magnets and Cables, Supply Chain Management, Large Motors and Generators & IEC LV Motors ABB

Dr. Ranran Lin received his Ph.D. degree from Aalto University, Finland in 2010. And then he joined ABB and have worked in ABB at various positions in the technical area of industrial motors and generators. Currently, he is working in the supply chain management area at ABB. He is familiar with form-wound winding and random-wound winding insulation systems, not only in the technical side but also in the commercial side.

Elizabeth Donnelly

CEO WES

Following a career in IT, Elizabeth graduated from the Open University in systems thinking. She was awarded Membership of the Royal Aeronautical Society in recognition of her work with Rolls-Royce and was Deputy Chair and a founder member of its Women in Aviation and Aerospace Committee. She went on to lead skills policy in the aerospace industry and led the diversity strategy for the East Midlands Regional Development Agency when on its Board. Later, Elizabeth established a change management consultancy company, working with charities and universities. In 2017 she graduated with an MSc in Systems Thinking and in 2018 Elizabeth was appointed CEO of the Women’s Engineering Society. In 2019 she was celebrated as one of the Financial Times’ Top 100 Most Influential Women in Engineering and became a member of the International Council of Systems Engineering UK. In 2020 Elizabeth was invited to become a Fellow of the RSA.

Fernando Nuño

Clean Energy Transition Portfolio Manager International Copper Association

Fernando Nuño graduated as an energy engineer in Bilbao (Spain) and ENSPM School (France) in 1998. He worked in the development of combined heat and power plants at Air Liquide company, then he joined the French Energy Regulatory Commission, where he was in charge of electricity markets regulation.

Later on, he worked in the automotive sector at Renault powertrain division, before joining the International Copper Association in 2007, where he has been in charge of regulatory and technology aspects of copper-based technologies, notably transformers, cables and motors. He also manages promotional campaigns and leads multiple publicly funded Horizon projects.

Giampiero Pari

Member of the Board Marsilli Automation Technology

Born in Alexandria (Egypt) to Italian/Maltese parents, attended the French language College St. Marc. Moved to South Africa in 1962. Completed schooling and attended university in Cape Town. Initial part of professional life in Industrial Chemicals and working for a Phosphor Bronze Foundry which supplied Boeing and Airbus with high-precision bearings.

Settled in Switzerland in 1985 to join Audemars in Lugano, renowned microcomponents producer for the Swiss watch industry and one of the pioneers of RFID. From 1987, responsible for MARSILLI as Area Sales Manager for Switzerland, with various other parallel mandates which included China and the Far East, the former Eastern European countries, Brazil and Portugal as the main markets. Promoted MARSILLI globally and besides sales & marketing responsibilities, often took-on a public relations role, also contributing to its growing leadership in the industry.

Multilingual background, combined with extensive world travel in major industrialised zones, primarily experienced in covering the international automotive industry and innovative factory automation.

Hassan Zaheer

Chief Commercial Officer Power Technology Research

Hassan is the Exec. Director of Client Relations & Advisory at Power Technology Research (PTR). After starting in the power sector around a decade ago, he has been working for various Fortune-500, FTSE-100, DAX-30 and NIKKEI-225 clients, assisting them with global market studies in the power grid sector. In his current role at PTR, he works with clients to support their research requirements, both through custom consulting work and tailored research reports within the Power Grid and New Energy segments. 

Hassan has a tech background with a Masters in Power Engineering from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Additionally, he is also an Alumni of Center for Digital Technology & Management (CDTM) where he completed his Honors Degree in Technology Management.

Javiera McGuiggan

Assistant Vice President Cargill BioIndustrial

Javi is from Chile and has lived in Minnesota, USA since 2011. She joined Cargill in May of 2019 as the Global Business Leader for the Power Systems Business which includes Dielectric and Cooling Solutions. She started her career in P&G, followed by 14 years at 3M Company. Through her career, she has served in several roles including Sales, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Business Management at local, regional, and global levels.

Javi is originally a civil hydraulics engineer, and later earned an MPA and MBA from University of Minnesota. She also is Six Sigma Green Belt certified and a SCRUM Master. Her languages include English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Through a more personal lens, she is a mother to Jack (5 years old), Board Member of Feed My Starving Children since 2019 and Chair of Cargill’s Hispanic Latino Council, in addition to Advisory Board Member at CWIEME Berlin 2022. Javi’s interests include Global Economic Development, Public Policy, DE&I, and Sustainability. She also enjoys volleyball, singing, and dancing.
 

Watch Javiera's session:

Jurre Stienen

Strategic Account Manager JL Mag Europe

Konstantinos Laskaris

Director of Engineering Tesla

Mladen Banovic

Editor-in-Chief Transformer Magazine

Mladen Banovic is a scientist and innovator in the field of energy transmission. He currently holds the positions of Director and Editor-in-Chief of Transformers Magazine and Chairman at Transformers Academy and Transformers Forum. In addition to managing development of products and systems for global use in electric power grids up to 1200 kV (the highest level in the world), he has led the development of systems for smart grid and automated design, testing, diagnostic and monitoring systems, as well as launching of products and services into the market, and has also provided various trainings. 

Mladen is a Senior Member of IEEE and Cigre and a member of The European Association of Science Editors (EASE), and holds a PhD degree from the University of Zagreb, Croatia.
 

Watch Mladen's interview:

Nabeel A Mancheri

Secretary General REIA-The Global Rare Earth Industry Association

He was a senior researcher and project manager at the Department of Material Engineering, KU Leuven, Belgium. Before joining KU Leuven in 2018, he was a Marie Curie Fellow at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Netherlands, where he worked on a Marie Curie project on REE Value Chain and Industrial EcoSystem in EU. Previously, he was a Research Fellow at The University of Tokyo. Prior to joining Tokyo University, he was an Assistant Professor at India's National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.

He has also worked as a consultant to OECD Paris, ICRIER New Delhi, and CUTS International and involved in research related to trade issues. He was a visiting Ph.D. scholar at Australian National University in Canberra in 2007 with a fellowship from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He was a visiting researcher at the Graduate School of International Development and Cooperation (IDEC), Hiroshima University in 2008-09 where he partly completed his PhD and was a visiting fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing in 2012. He was listed as a Young Strategist by International Institute for Strategic Studies, London and Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC in 2013. He also completed a certificate course on science and technology policy from the University of California, San Diego in 2014 with a fellowship

Raf Schuermans

Technical Senior Manager Toyota Motor Europe

Raf Schuermans is Technical Senior Manager Advanced Powertrain at TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE. 

In his current role, since 2018, he is in charge of advanced technology for automotive traction motors, with a focus on electromagnetic performance, cooling, power density, cost competitiveness, innovation and sustainability. 

Raf Schuermans has 35 years of experience in automotive powertrain engineering. He spent the first 10 years of his career at Volvo Car Corporation as a transmission engineer and then moved to TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE in 1997. He has held various positions such as Department Manager of Transmission Design where his team has been in charge of all transmissions, clutches, driveshafts and other mechanical components for Toyota’s locally produced European models. 

Since 2014, he is Technical Senior Manager Advanced Powertrain, in charge of future drivetrain technologies in the area of Efficiency, Lightweight, Thermal Management and Electric Motors for automotive traction. This is to support the further electrification of Toyota’s hybrid powertrain lineup and beyond. 

Raf Schuermans is Belgian and graduated Mechanical Engineering in 1987. He speaks 5 different languages and is coaching young engineers in the company. He also is a guest lecturer at several technical universities in Europe. 

Saqib Saeed

Chief Researcher Officer Power Technology Research

Saqib is the Exec. Director of Research & Consulting at Power Technology Research. Coming from an industry background, Saqib currently leads research teams in developing coherent methodologies for PTR’s syndicated services and custom consulting projects for various clients across North America, Europe and Japan. He has been involved in the power sector for close to a decade now working with T&D Equipment OEMs and utilities conducting online and offline market research to identify business opportunities for market segments including HVDC, FACTS, Power/Distribution transformers, Gas Insulated Substations and EV Charging Infrastructure. Saqib has a master’s degree in Power Engineering from Technical University of Munich.

Silke A. Krauss

Sales Manager Feintool System Parts

Silke has been in her current role since August 2013, responsible for all Sales activities world wide for Feintool System Parts (former Kienle + Spiess Group).

She has been with Kienle + Spiess for more than 25 years, following different functions and responsibilities within the Group – all mostly in Sales: e.g., Key Account Manager for Global Key Accounts, Area Sales Manager Italy, Business Development Manager, Marketing Manager and finally Sales Manager.

She is highly experienced in the field of electric motors and generators – from design, construction, production, with focus on efficiency increase within all potential opportunities.

Huge network and connection within the market of electric drives worldwide allows a good entry to promote Feintool Systems Parts globally.

Silke is born in Sibiu (Romania) and settled near to Stuttgart, Germany.