Invited speakers

A strong panel of Distinguished Speakers was invited to describe advances made in recent years in areas as diverse as Advanced Materials Processing, Operational Excellence, Digitization of Manufacturing, Robotics in Industry, Complex Product Logistics, and Logistics Challenges. Speakers were selected with academic and industrial careers of undeniable value, and whose contribution in terms of knowledge transmission is strongly recognized by the scientific and industrial community, either by the number of publications and citations achieved so far, or by the prominent positions assumed in their functions. The list of Guest Speakers and their profile can be analyzed below:


KS RodrigoMartins

KS JijuAntony

KS DarylPowell
Rodrigo Martins Jiju Antony Daryl Powell
KS MarcelloPellicciari KS PedroCarreira KS AlcibiadesPauloGuedes
Marcello Pellicciari Pedro Carreira Alcibíades Paulo Guedes

  • Rodrigo Martins, Ph.D., is a full professor in the Materials Science Department at the University of Lisbon, Nova School of Science and Technology. He is the president of the European Academy of Sciences and President of the International Union of Materials Research Societies. He is also a member of the Scientific Council of European Research. He has about 800 papers published and more than 30000 citations. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1997-7669.
  • Jiju Antony, Ph.D., is recognized worldwide as a leader in Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology for achieving and sustaining operational excellence. He is a Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and certified LSS Master Black Belt in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi. He has a proven track record for conducting internationally leading research in the field of Quality Management, Continuous Improvement, and Operational Excellence. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Associate Editor of TQM and Business Excellence, and Associate Editor of the TQM Journal. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of 12 International Journals. He has more than 500 papers published and more than 29000 citations. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8197-5736.
  • Daryl Powell, Ph.D., is Chief Scientist and Research Manager for Digital Production at SINTEF Manufacturing, Norway's leading center of expertise in manufacturing. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) in Kongsberg. He was the General Chair of ELEC 2021 - European Lean Educator Conference. He has more than 15-year experience in Lean Projects. He was Lean Program Manager at Kongsberg Maritime (2014-2019). He was the winner twice of the Shingo Research and Publication Award (2017 and 2020). He has more than 100 papers published and more than 1600 citations. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7224-2306. 
  • Marcello Pellicciari, Ph.D., Department of Science and Engineering Methods, is the current Director of the Ph.D. School E4E - Engineering for Economics, Economics for Engineering, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy. He was a designer of robotic production systems, machine tools, and industrial products. He is an internationally renowned scholar of engineering methods for the integrated design of sustainable and energy-efficient robotic systems, the virtual prototyping of highly dynamic automatic machines through coupled simulations and "X-in-the-Loop", engineering techniques of product and mechatronic systems as well as engineering methods for Industry 4.0. He conducts research activities aimed at technical and methodological innovations regarding the development of new products. He is head of the XiLAB (X-in-the-Loop advanced Simulation Lab) laboratory on virtual prototyping, realistic simulation, and Digital Twin for the Intelligent Factory. He is Associate Editor of the international scientific journals Mathematical Problems in Engineering (Hindawi) and International Journal of Intelligent Robotics and Applications (Springer) and Thematic Editor of the International Journal on Interactive Design and Manufacturing (Springer), he was author or co-author of 100 scientific papers and chair of the prestigious FAIM2017 conference - Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2578-4123.
  • Pedro Olavo Santos Carreira, Chemical Engineer, is the current CEO of CONTINENTAL MABOR – INDÚSTRIA DE PNEUS (tires industry in Portugal). He joined Mabor – Manufactura Nacional de Borracha in Lousado as an intern in the Chemical Department. In 1990 he was invited to join the new company Continental Mabor to head several technological sectors and management areas in the production of light tires, until becoming Director of Production in 2003. In 2005 he goes to Camaçari (Brazil) to lead the implementation project of a new Tire plant PLT and TT from scratch for the Continental Group, becoming the Plant Manager/CEO. In 2010 becomes the Plant Manager/CEO of Continental plant in Timisoara (Romania) and starts an expansion project (expansion of production at that unit from 14 to 17 million tires per year). In 2013, he returns to Lousado to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Continental Mabor and a member of the management of other group companies in Portugal.
  • Alcibíades Paulo Guedes. Ph.D., is a Specialist in Logistics Strategy and Supply Chain Management. Doctor (Ph.D., 1994) in Logistics Management and Master (MSc, 1989) in Distribution Technologies & Management, both from Cranfield School of Management, UK. Pos-graduation (1987) in Industrial Engineering and Management, INEGI, Portugal. Bachelor (Ing. 5-year degree) in Mechanical Engineering, University of Oporto, 1986, Portugal. He has been responsible for a large number of consulting and research projects, with special emphasis on developing and implementing Supply Chain Management and Logistics Strategies, in both the Portuguese and the European context, for several sectors of activity (Covering Materials Industry, Retail, and Modern Distribution, Glass & Paper Industries, Pharmaceutical Sector, Food and Beverage Industry, Healthcare, Public Administration). At INEGI he is currently President of the Board & CEO. He was Executive Vice-President of the Board from 2010 up to March 2015. At PBS - Porto Business School he has held an Associate Dean and Member of the Executive Committee position from 2000 up to June 2009. At APLOG - Portuguese Logistics Association he has held the President of the Board position from March 2012 up to March 2018. He is an Associate Professor at FEUP, University of Porto’s Engineering School, teaching Logistics, Supply Chain Management, and Corporate Strategy. He is invited Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at PBS - Porto Business School, in the MBA, Executive MBA, and other Executive Programmes.