As the global head of ERP architecture and platform, Sam (SR) Viswanathan has spearheaded major IT initiatives that have transformed Ford's customer service, finance, and purchasing operations. Known for his ability to build high-performing global teams, Sam has delivered SAP ERP transformations, pioneered e-commerce solutions, and overseen the largest IT project in Ford's history.

With a passion for promoting Ford as an industry leader, Sam leverages his expertise in global customer understanding and "culture ambassador" skills to foster strategic partnerships, negotiate contracts, and attract top talent. He frequently shares his vision for the future of mobility, including Ford's advancements in autonomous and connected vehicles, through thought leadership at industry events and university recruiting.

Bhasker Appala is a seasoned development manager at SAP with a proven track record of driving successful application development and project delivery. As the director of IT, SAP, and enterprise infrastructure at Toyota Materials Handling, he leverages his extensive expertise to lead cross-functional teams across diverse global locations, consistently achieving key milestones and delivering high-quality programming.

With a comprehensive understanding of the SAP system development lifecycle, Bhasker excels at fine-tuning applications to optimize performance and developing robust business solutions. His deep industry experience in manufacturing, combined with proficiency in SAP Ariba Financial Supply Chain, self-billing, retro-billing, electronic invoicing, and legacy integration, enables him to communicate with clients and manage complex change requests effectively.

Bhasker is spearheading a major global transformation project, drawing on his strong leadership skills to guide a talented team of technical and functional consultants.

Adam Page acts as Technology and Alliances Leader within Robert Bosch North America, with a strong focus on driving digital transformation, particularly in the areas of SAP, Data Solutions, Product Engineering, and Manufacturing. With extensive experience consulting and optimizing digital systems, Adam has been a key stakeholder within organizations focused on streamlining operations, enhancing productivity, and driving innovation. He also supports partnership activities with major technology companies to define opportunities for success, internally and externally.

Adam operates from Bosch’s North America HQ in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and resides in Iowa. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his two children, getting out of the Midwest, traveling and pushing himself with long-distance endurance running in locations across the globe.

Daniel (“Dan”) Cirignani (siri-nya-ni – like Lasagna/Lasan-ya) serves as Principal Enterprise Solution Architect at Nikola Motor Company, based out of Phoenix, Arizona.

Dan has over 25 years of analytical, architectural, and technical practice in solution lifecycle development and implementation as well as technical leadership, consulting, practice management, and university lectureship experience.

Dan is the author of SAP SCM: Applications and Models for Supply Chain Management (Wiley, 2007) which he authored with the assistance of SAP Labs in Palo Alto, CA. A former technical leader at Intel, Corporation where he acted as Technical Design Lead for the Boxed CPU ECC Re-platform, Intel SoFIA LTE Hybrid Supply Chain, and as Integrations Lead for the Intel-Altera M&A—historically Intel’s largest acquisition, he is also a former MuleSoft Practice Lead-North America for Coforge.

Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Arizona State University with a minor in Psychology and an MS in Decision and Information Systems from the W.P. Carey School of Business where he served as a University Lecturer from 2007-2010. He taught eCommerce, Accounting Information Systems, System Design and Implementation, Project Management, and Enterprise Application Integration.

Dan enjoys hiking and resistance training and he is a student of Byzantine Roman history. He is the author of Serinda—a novel about actual historical events that are preserved for us today because they were recorded in the Emperor’s court in Constantinople—whereby a cadre of monks risked execution to carry out 6th-century industrial espionage to smuggle the secret of silk manufacture (silkworm eggs) from China and bring it to the Mediterranean—in a bamboo branch.

William (“Bill”) Newman serves as the industry executive advisor (chief), automotive for the customer business office at SAP North America. Bill has over 35 years of executive leadership, strategy, consulting, and practice management experience balanced with an active media influence presence. A former leadership team member for Volkswagen’s IT division, he is the author of two books on enterprise performance and has worked with many automotive OEMs, suppliers, and startups across the industry.

Bill holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from UCLA, an MBA with a graduate certificate in international business from Loyola Marymount University (with a thesis on “Comparative Business Environments between the United States and Europe in the Automotive Industry”), and a graduate certificate in sustainability leadership from the University of Oregon where he also instructed. His additional academic and faculty appointments include Northwood University, the University of Michigan (Dearborn) School of Management, the University of California at Riverside, and Portland State University.

Bill enjoys travel, and wine studies and has become a level 3 wine sommelier and rectifier, creating the original “sunset orangecello” among several beverage creations. He now shares his time between Michigan and Southern California with his wife, Teresa, and four adult children across the United States.

With over three decades of experience in the automotive and manufacturing industries, Rich is a veteran in the field. He has spent the past 26 years at SAP, serving on the North American Automotive Industry Advisor Council. In this role, Rich partners with automotive executives to align business strategy with SAP capabilities and identify new value opportunities. As a founding member of SAP North American Automotive Practice, he established SAP as a leader in the automotive technology space. Rich’s extensive experience makes him an invaluable advisor to automotive companies looking to leverage SAP to drive innovation.