Motivational Speaker, Chief Change Navigator, Advisor, and Futurist
Flux
April Rinne – change navigator, speaker, investor, author, and adventurer – has been obsessed with themes and questions of embracing uncertainty for more than 25 years. Her work and travels in more than 100 countries have given her a front-row seat to a world in flux and a world of wisdom to navigate the unknown. Not only is she your guide to developing a “flux mindset,” she’s also ranked one of the 50 Leading Female Futurists in the world by Forbes. She is a Harvard Law School graduate, a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, a member of the Silicon Guild and Thinkers50 Radar, a Fulbright Scholar, and the author of the international bestseller Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change.
April is a trusted advisor to well-known startups, companies, financial institutions, nonprofits, think tanks, and governments worldwide, including Airbnb, Nike, Intuit, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, AnyRoad, and Unsettled as well as governments ranging from Singapore to South Africa, Canada to Colombia, and Italy to India. For over two decades, she’s been known for seeing emerging trends early, understanding their potential, and helping others do the same. April is a bridge-builder between stakeholders, cultures, priorities, and those excited about change and those resistant to it. Recently, she was the sole global faculty member of Finland’s inaugural “masterclass of happiness,” combining her Finnish heritage and “fluxiness” to reach audiences worldwide.
Chief AI Officer
SAP North America, SAP
Jared Coyle is an AI technologist, creative leader, garlic enthusiast, and a family man. He is the Chief AI Officer for SAP North America, responsible for helping leaders understand and adopt the latest in traditional and generative AI in their business processes. Jared has held leadership roles in global escalations, support, consulting, and sales at SAP since 2013.
Prior to SAP, he was a university professor and lead researcher in the field of Quantum Organic Optoelectronics. Jared has been recognized as one of 15 rising star employees at SAP by Business Insider and was given SAP’s highest award, the Hasso Plattner Award. He holds multiple patents in intelligent software debugging and organic interferometric thin films.
Vice President Architecture Business Data Cloud
SAP
Scott works in and leads a team that focuses on data and innovation. He provides expertise in in-memory, data lake, and cloud-native solutions to SAP and global clients. Scott's responsibilities include offering the latest information on SAP's cloud products and finding solutions to customer business problems. Additionally, he specializes in Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise Data Warehouse, Web Scale, Data Science, AI and Big Data use cases, and the applicability of SQL and NO SQL databases, often engaging with customer executives, technology leadership, and SAP Technology leadership.
RI Technology Solution Advisor
SAP
Phil Hombledal has worked with SAP for five years, specializing in Regulated Industries, focusing on Aerospace and Defense and the Department of Defense (DOD). With 25 years of experience in enterprise software across various roles, he brings deep expertise in data, analytics, application development, and AI within the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). Phil is a U.S. Navy veteran who served a Persian Gulf tour before earning his degree from Pepperdine University.
Head of Architecture and Chief Architect, ERP and Supply Chain Business Transformation
Boeing
Deepak Bhupalam is the Head of Architecture at Boeing, leading strategy, architecture, design, and governance efforts. With 7.5 years at Boeing and around 28 years of industry experience, he is responsible for establishing the architecture foundation for the overall Boeing supply chain and ERP systems, enabling incremental enterprise capability and solution baseline maturation.
In partnership with key business leaders, IT stakeholders, and success leaders, he is responsible for setting the supply chain and ERP strategic vision and establishing the business transformation architecture road maps for Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), Boeing Defense, Space & Security, services related supply chain and supporting ERP functions. He is also responsible for the differentiating technology foundation, enabling the transformation journey with SAP as the target state ERP bedrock platform.
Experience Management Engineering, Aerospace and Defense, Industry Executive Advisory
SAP
Dave Blatner is a seasoned industry advisor for travel and transportation at SAP, based in Southwest Florida. With nearly 12 years of extensive experience in business operations and supply chain management, he leverages his insights to empower organizations to achieve their transformational goals while balancing desired outcomes.
Before joining SAP, Dave contributed his expertise to renowned organizations such as McDonnell Douglas, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and Spirent Systems, PLC, focusing on engineering, operations, and aircraft maintenance management. He profoundly understands SAP solutions, particularly in RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP. He excels in aligning vision, strategy, and outcomes across the cargo, transportation, logistics, and passenger travel and leisure sectors.
Dave is actively involved in industry associations, including the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and MESA International, where he fosters the intersection of manufacturing and IT. He holds a master’s degree in Engineering Management from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and a degree from Missouri State University.
Director, Manufacturing Engineering
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
Jim Calas is the director of manufacturing and logistics systems, leading the development and deployment of enterprise-wide manufacturing solutions.
In this role, he is responsible for leading the digital transformation of manufacturing by implementing the manufacturing ecosystem, digital technologies, integrated tools, and sustainment solutions. The Manufacturing & Logistics (M&L) team focuses on enterprise digital solutions and processes impacting the complete product lifecycle, from design maturation to production and sustainment. The team’s vision for the NG future factory focuses on technician touch time, real-time access to data, inventory optimization, manufacturing analytics, advanced automation, and the realization of the integrated digital thread.
Previously, Jim led the Aeronautics Systems Manufacturing Engineering and Tooling Systems Homeroom. In this role, he led the organization and Model-Based Manufacturing (MBM) initiatives across Aeronautics. Jim worked to harmonize the manufacturing systems and processes across multiple sites and programs. He focused on collaborating with design engineering, global supply chain, and logistics.
Over the past 23 years, Jim has gained extensive production engineering and manufacturing experience across multiple programs and projects. Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in Operations Management from California State University, San Marcos, and a master’s degree in Operations Strategy from the University of California, Irvine. He also has an Engineering Management Graduate Certificate from the University of Southern California.
Vice President Sales, Aerospace and Defense
SAP
Corey Chubon has held the position of Vice President of Sales for Aerospace and Defense since September 2023. Corey has been with SAP for nearly 17 years and has spent the last five years as an IAE supporting our A&D customers. Most recently, he has supported Boeing for the last three years and has orchestrated a resurgence in revenue growth in the account. Previously, Corey has held various roles in SAP Services and Support and SAP National Security Services (SAP NS2), providing a well-versed background in the SAP ecosystem.
During his career, Corey has demonstrated a strong passion for SAP and the customers that SAP supports. He has a track record of success in sales execution from net-new to strategic customers and SAP is excited about the unique vision he has for the A&D business. Under Corey’s leadership, SAP is confident that they will continue the early success of RISE with SAP in their key customer base while focusing on customer adoption and building a long-term plan for future growth.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Corey graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Supply Chain Management. He now resides in New Smyrna Beach, Florida with his wife Kristen, two-year-old daughter Eloise, and their white Labrador Retriever, Sunny. In his spare time, Corey enjoys boat days, golf, fishing, and his daily workout routine.
Director of ERP Strategy and Operations
RTX
Dave is a seasoned IT professional with a robust enterprise resource planning and SAP solutions background. He began his career at Price Waterhouse in 1997, where he developed his expertise in ABAP and led numerous large-scale projects along the East Coast. His technical acumen quickly became evident as he was instrumental in crafting a proposal for APEX for Raytheon Technologies and spearheaded the Req to Check Development Team for its implementation.
Transitioning to Raytheon Technologies in 2002, Dave advanced through a series of progressively challenging roles, including technical lead, change control lead, and SAP solution architect. His commitment to excellence is underscored by his certification from the architect program and his pivotal role in every SAP implementation since 2000.
At RTX, formerly Raytheon Technologies, Dave has served as the solution architecture and technical integration leader for EAS and was appointed lead architect for the oneRTX PST program in May 2022. As the director of ERP strategy and operations, he continues to drive key RTX initiatives and operations.
Vice President, R&D
Plataine
Gil Cooper has over 20 years of experience in developing innovative software for global tech companies, including multiple cutting-edge Silicon Valley startups. His career includes managing development teams across continents, building products and teams from scratch, and advising Fortune 500 companies. Gil has expertise in developing SaaS platforms using cloud technologies. Gil holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Statistics from Bar Ilan University and a PMP certification from Virginia Tech.
Principal A&D Business Architect
HCLTech
Matthew has 40 years of broad functional and digital transformation experience in aerospace and defense. His career is grounded in 25 years of experience in aircraft design, R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, flight operations, and program management. Matthew has managed numerous successful aircraft and technology-related programs as well as many business process and IT-related improvement initiatives. He is known as an innovative, visionary, and articulate leader who enjoys the role of change agent.
Global Account Director
SAP
Aaron is the current global account director at SAP for the Department of the Navy. Aaron has been in the managing partner role and strategic customer program for 10 years and at SAP for 18 years. Prior to coming to SAP, Aaron was in operations and IT at the Boeing Company working on C-17, KC-135, F/A-18, and other programs. He is also a former U.S. Marine Corps officer serving six years in various logistics and maintenance capacities. Aaron holds a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor's degree from Kent State University.
Systems Engineer Principle for SAP/ERP Projects
Lockheed Martin Information Technology
Bio coming soon!
Vice President, Enterprise Business Services
Northrop Grumman
Moira Fallon is vice president of enterprise business services for Northrop Grumman. In this role, Moira leads the strategy creation and operational performance of the SAP ERP platform and the financial shared services team, encompassing payroll, accounts payable, cash, and accounting services. She also serves as a member of the Corporate CFO Council. Moira was the executive lead for the company’s successful migration to SAP S/4HANA, which went live in 2024, leveraging selective data transfer and reducing complexity through standardization in key process areas.
Strategic SAP SOLEX Sales Executive
Tricentis
Brent advises customers on successfully transforming their SAP environments by leveraging the number one industry-ranked test automation suite from Tricentis at the right time in their journey. This approach helps improve speed to market with less risk, ensuring that applications are thoroughly tested and optimized for performance.
VP of A&D Delivery
Cognitus
Gary is a seasoned leader with over 28 years of experience driving SAP success for the aerospace and defense industry, specializing in complex regulatory and project-based business needs. With a strong foundation as a SAP solution architect and project management, he ensures seamless alignment between strategic digital transformation initiatives and tactical business continuity for regulated businesses at Cognitus.
His career spans key leadership roles at organizations including Boeing, Sikorsky, US Army (LMP), Goodrich Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace, and Nordam, where he delivered innovative ERP solutions tailored to the unique challenges of A&D enterprises. His extensive experience enables A&D enterprises to navigate complex SAP landscapes and scale for the future confidently.
Senior Account Executive
SAP
With over six years of specialized experience supporting aerospace and defense at SAP, Megan is a seasoned industry expert known for her deep commitment to advancing collective knowledge. As a leader in supply chain and spend management solutions, she has worked closely with SAP National Security Services (SAP NS2) to ensure SAP remains a trusted partner for the industry's most complex customers. Dedicated to fostering collaboration, Megan is committed to bringing industry leaders together and sharing valuable lessons and best practices.
Senior Director, Industry Advisory, Public Sector
Icertis
Patrick Hughes is a retired active-duty Air Force officer who has spent 15 years in the government contracting industry. During his Air Force career, he held several operational and contracting leadership assignments, including NATO, DCMA, US European Command, and the National Reconnaissance Office. As a defense contractor, Patrick supported numerous agencies across the federal enterprise. He holds a DAWIA Level III Certification in Contracting. Patrick was the Director of Contracting at The MITRE Corporation, responsible for all buy/sell activity. He is currently the senior director of the industry advisory public sector for Icertis, a GenAI-enabled contract intelligence platform.
Manager of ERP and Applications Development
Thales Defense & Security, Inc.
Project Manager for RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
Mansoor Khan is responsible for all business applications at Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI) including the ERP, CRM, and MES systems, along with many other ancillary applications. He has extensive business, functional, and technical knowledge of the entire TDSI landscape and oversees IT across various business organizations.
He also managed and led the 15-month ERP Greenfield implementation of RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition.
Client Partner
Cognitus
With over 19 years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry, Esther Khuu is a proven leader in driving digital transformation through successful SAP implementations. She has worked with leading A&D organizations to design and configure enterprise systems, lead customer workshops, develop functional specifications, manage data conversions, conduct user training, and oversee post-go-live support – ensuring seamless adoption and maximum business value.
As Customer Success at Cognitus, Esther leads strategic SAP S/4HANA initiatives, fosters strong client partnerships, and drives business road map planning to help organizations unlock the full potential of their digital investments.
Vice President, Regulated Industries (SAP Intelligent Spend Management)
SAP
Jason Leet is the vice president of regulated industries at SAP, where he leads the SAP finance and spend management team. With over 21 years of experience at SAP, Jason has been instrumental in driving strategic initiatives and fostering innovation across the organization. Based in Collegeville, PA, he has a proven track record of delivering valuable, tailored solutions for complex, regulated customer environments. As a seasoned leader in SAP, Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in spend management and regulatory compliance.
Senior Project Manager
SNP Group
As a visionary technology executive with over two decades of SAP project experience, John has consistently demonstrated expertise in building strong stakeholder relationships and leading global project teams supporting the A&D sector. He primarily focuses on leading data management and migration projects, including SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, executing the merging or separating regulated data from M&A and divestiture activities.
John also specializes in integrating and migrating data from SAP and non-SAP source data into target systems by SAP. Having successfully engineered and managed multiple global SAP S/4HANA implementations, he is dedicated to delivering risk-mitigated outcomes and consistent project success on time and within budget constraints.
Senior Industry Strategist, Public Sector
OpenText
Keith Nelson is the senior industry strategist for the global public sector at OpenText. Nelson has spent over 20 years working in the fields of public sector consulting and high-tech marketing and as a government appointee. His roles in government include serving as assistant secretary for administration (a position requiring senate confirmation), acting assistant secretary for research and technology, Acting Chief Financial Officer, and Deputy Chief Information Officer at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Labor and Housing and Urban Development.
SAP Implementation Director
Gentex Corp
Greg Opalka is the SAP implementation director at Gentex Corporation, with over two decades of experience in the aerospace and defense sector. His expertise encompasses comprehensive project and program management, culminating in the successful leadership of a recent SAP S/4HANA greenfield implementation. This complex initiative spanned seven cross-functional locations across three countries, demonstrating his proficiency in managing large-scale, global projects.
Before his current role at Gentex, Greg was a program manager at Lockheed Martin. Upon joining Gentex, he led the program management office before assuming responsibility for the SAP implementation project. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Marywood University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University.
Senior Director, Information Technology & Data Analytics, Supply Chain
Boeing
Lokesh Penikalapati is a 30-year seasoned business technology leader with proven expertise in managing capital investment and annual operating budgets that weigh the priorities and risks of enterprise IT initiatives. He has delivered multiple business transformation programs in the supply chain, marketplace enablement, and M&A transactions. Lokesh is known for developing global teams and solving cross-functional problems. He is an avid learner and has secured multiple specializations, such as the Stanford Certified Program Manager, Certified in Design Thinking and Supply Chain Strategy from MIT, and Certified Block Chain Specialist.
Source-to-Pay Transformation Leader
IBM
Susan is an innovative and trusted source-to-pay (S2P) leader with extensive experience managing strategic global enterprise-level transformation and solution development projects.
Principal and Partner
PwC
Gregg has over 19 years of experience advising business and IT leaders in the A&D sector through the financial, operational, and regulatory complexity associated with government contracting. He leads teams in designing and implementing end-to-end process and technology solutions commonly used by government contractors, focusing on efficient and compliant business systems. Gregg brings deep expertise in government contracts and grants, designing cost structures, and implementing risk and compliance programs. He is one of the leaders in PwC's Government Contracts consulting practice.
Chief Information Officer
Thales Defense & Security, Inc.
Business Sponsor for RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
Phil Rice is the CIO for Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI). He is responsible for all information technology activities including strategic and technical leadership of network and development operations, cybersecurity, application development, and client services disciplines. He oversees facilities operations and long-range planning for real estate assessment, construction and lease, building automation, energy management, health, safety and environment (HSE), and green sustainability initiatives.
Phil is the technical and compliance advisor to the company’s government security committee and a subject matter expert for industry best practices in the protection of national security information, including National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publications, Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), and Foreign Ownership Control or Influence (FOCI) governance.
Phil continues to lead enterprise improvement projects to ensure Thales is an industry leader in modern and secure information systems. He was the business sponsor and oversaw the 15-month ERP Greenfield implementation of RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition.
Partner and Principal
PwC
Jose has 24 years of consulting experience, including global implementations of enterprise applications with a focus on ERP. Jose has dedicated 10 years to industrial manufacturing and aerospace and defense clients, and possesses functional specialization in engineering, services, and financial accounting. Jose leads the firm’s A&D technology consulting and has championed solution innovations in analytics, aircraft sustainment, digital thread, and data protection.
Strategic Account Executive
smartShift
Matt Roon has worked at smartShift for 10+ years, emphasizing regulated industries for the last five years. Over that period, smartShift has delivered transformation programs leveraging intelligent automation to modernize many large SAP for Aerospace & Defense instances supporting the projects covering SAP S/4HANA preparatory efforts, SAP S/4HANA (RISE with SAP and on-prem) programs, and moving beyond SAP S/4HANA towards clean core analysis and realization.
Aerospace and Defense Partner
IBM
Devika is an aerospace and defense SAP executive with over 20 years of experience in the industry. She has a passion for solving complex challenges that face her A&D clients and is a well-respected member of the A&D SAP community. She has successfully delivered SAP client work at over 10 of the largest A&D companies.
Senior Director for ISBN
SAP NS2
Pranay Shah is the Senior Director of SAP NS2 and is accountable for SAP NS2 ISBN (SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass, and SAP Business Network Asset Collaboration) delivery. He has over 25 years of supply chain management expertise, which is enabled by various SAP and non-SAP technologies. He drives the successful digital business transformation engagements of large, complex, and global solutions with deep expertise in end-to-end SCM (Plan, Source, Buy, Build, Stock, Deliver and Pay) and integration with finance and HR.
VP SAP Aerospace, Oil & Gas, Energy
Tech Mahindra
A seasoned executive and a recognized leader in the SAP community, currently serving as the Head of Aerospace, Automotive & Oil & Gas SAP Sales at Tech Mahindra. Asim worked at SAP for 15 years before coming to Tech Mahindra. With a diverse background in Chemical Engineering and Computer Science, Asim brings a unique blend of technical expertise and industry knowledge to his role.
Chief Innovation Architect
SAP
Jason Shearer is Chief Innovation Architect and AI Practice Lead for Business Transformation Services, leading strategic co-innovation between customers and SAP product teams and shaping solution designs for regulated architectures, analytics, and transformation roadmaps. With a technical background rooted in Navy electronics, systems engineering, and enterprise analytics, Jason is known for translating complex topics into clear strategies—and playful cartoons that bring challenging tech concepts to life.
SVP, Customer Success
SAP NS2
As the Senior Vice President of Sales for SAP NS2, Jennifer Stafford is a trusted partner and thought leader to clients across highly regulated industries. With over 15 years at SAP, Jennifer has a deep wealth of expertise around the SAP ecosystem and industry-specific cloud regulations.
Leveraging her background in sales, consulting, and account management, Jennifer identifies business needs, visualizes opportunities through secure cloud solutions, and effectively communicates these ideas to sales teams and potential customers. She leads the SAP NS2 Secure Data Cloud sales and renewals team and the presales team to drive customer retention, generate revenue, and uphold the company's reputation as a secure cloud service provider.
Jennifer's leadership and involvement with some of the largest, most security-conscious customers in the world have allowed her to co-establish transformational programs that support secure cloud adoption. Passionate about bringing teams together and building partner networks, Jennifer is a key driver of revenue opportunities, accelerating business growth across regulated sectors including Aerospace and Defense, Public Sector, Healthcare, Utilities, Oil & Gas, Logistics, and Transportation.
Director of DOD, IC, and Aerospace
OpenText
Adam Terrill is the director of the Department of Defense, intelligence community, and aerospace and defense for the public sector at OpenText. Terrill has spent over 24 years partnering across the defense industrial base and has held sales and management positions in Red Hat, Oracle, and CyberArk.
Regional Vice President, Digital Supply Chain and Industry 4.0
SAP
Venkat Vasan has a successful profile of leadership of large high-impact teams with a broad set of experiences in sales, sales leadership, business development, and presales in the software industry. He had demonstrated success in executing go-to-market and demand-generation strategies at scale, with a focus on driving customer adoption, pipeline, and revenue.
Venkat has over 25 years of experience in leadership and individual contributor roles in supply chain and manufacturing for both startups and large enterprises and has been a practitioner and customer advisor in the past. Currently, he leads a team of professionals focused on customer-facing engagements to drive transformational elements of their business processes.
His specific industry vertical domain expertise includes consumer goods, food and beverage, life sciences, industrial machinery and components, automotive, and specialty chemicals.
Managing Director
Accenture
Sanjay Verma is the Managing Director at Accenture, leading the SAP Aerospace and Defense Industry. For over 25 years, he has worked with various SAP ecosystem applications and consistently strives to achieve high customer satisfaction.
Sanjay is widely recognized as a trusted advisor who has helped clients define their SAP transformation strategies and road maps. He has successfully led numerous SAP transformational programs, from their inception to sustainment, and optimized SAP operations to achieve the highest possible return on investment.
Director Strategic SAP Sales
Tricentis
Ryan is an experienced professional who began his career in quality assurance at Mercury Interactive in 2002. In 2006, he transitioned to SAP as part of the SAP HANA application lifecycle management team, where he supported customer initiatives throughout the entire project lifecycle—from design and build to test, deployment, and continuous improvement. With a deep understanding of SAP Solution Manager and testing tools, he effectively collaborated with various SAP enterprises over his 15 years at SAP.
In 2021, Ryan joined the Tricentis SAP team, where he focuses on helping customers transform their quality assurance initiatives. His expertise enables organizations to de-risk their programs and projects, ultimately leading to improved business outcomes.
Managing Director
Deloitte Consulting
Amy is a leader in Deloitte’s Industrial Products & Construction (IP&C) practice. She has more than 29 years of experience implementing large-scale ERP systems. For the past 29 years, she has focused on driving performance improvements in IP&C companies through process and technology-enabled transformation in environments with discrete manufacturing. In addition, she has 25 years of A&D expertise focused on transforming companies while enabling a compliant solution with CAS, ITAR, and other government requirements. She has also worked extensively, helping clients with full-scale SAP implementations and Central Finance solutions.
Corporate Director, Business Integration
Northrop Grumman
Deborah Woodward is a cross-functional leader and subject matter expert in aerospace and defense contracting. She has led or contributed to many transformations across Northrop Grumman, including international expansion and enablement, global supply chain optimization, mergers /acquisitions, and divestitures, and most recently, as Director of Business Integrations for the Digital Transformation initiative. In her functional capacities over the last 30 years, Deb has contracts, pricing, subcontracts, program management, business systems, and regulatory compliance as an organizational lead. Deb holds a masters in Organizational Development with a focus on change leadership.
Chief Customer Officer
SAP NS2
Rich is the Chief Customer Officer for SAP NS2 and is responsible for customer success across the SAP NS2 Secure Data Cloud portfolio. He has been with SAP for 19 years – 10 years supporting supply chain transformation globally with SAP Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM) and SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization , and the last nine years in SAP NS2 supporting our United States regulated customers in various leadership positions, including as the Vice President of Customer Success and Head of Premium Engagements.