Peter Koltai is responsible for logistics planning pperations and production control for Volkswagen México, overseeing the supply chain for its plant in Puebla, which has a capacity to produce 600,000 vehicles per year and currently builds the Jetta, Tiguan and Taos. Before starting his role in January 2022, he held a variety of roles in logistics at Audi, including most recently as senior Director of International Logistics, and before that at Audi Mexico, where he led Logistics and Production Control and helped launch the carmaker’s new plant in San José Chiapas. An engineer by trade, Peter Koltai started his career with Audi in the mid-1990s in international logistics planning. He moved to Cosworth Technology, based in Worcester, UK, for three years before returning to Germany to a role in inbound logistics. Peter Koltai studied Nautical Science at the Nautical University of Odessa and at the University of Györ (Hungary), Business Administration and Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Of Würzburg (Germany).

Raúl Gamboa is responsible for material and transport control for launch and series production for BMW production at its plant in San Luís Potosí, overseeing key visibility and coordination across the supply chain. He has been with BMW since 2009, initially in global sourcing roles for commodities before taking on logistics planning roles for the plant. Since production started at plant, he has held manager roles in logistics facilities, transport, material and delivery assurance before assuming his current role in 2022. Raúl Gamboa worked previously in engineering and supplier readiness roles for Volkswagen de Mexico and automotive suppliers. He is also a lecturer in engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology at its campus in San Luís Potosí.

Christoph Hartmann is responsible for digitalisation processes across material logistics for Volkswagen Konzernlogistik, the group’s logistics management function, where he oversees innovations, information exchange, digital standards and system management across Volkswagen Group inbound transport and container management. He has been in group logistics since 2018, where he also managed financial controlling for logistics providers before assuming his current role in February 2022. Has more than 20 years’ experience in automotive logistics and supply chain management across OEMs, IT providers and consultancies. He has held roles in supplier and flexibility management at Mercedes-Benz, McKinsey and various logistics and projects roles at Volkswagen, including at its plants in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wolfsburg, Germany. He is specialised in digitalisation, agile processes and sustainability. He has a degree in industrial engineering from the Technical University of Berlin.

Leonardo is an experienced automotive logistics and operations executive. He joined Bocar Group in February 2023 taking responsibility for the company’s worldwide logistics. Prior to this, he spent over 22 years with Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, most recently as Head of Operations in Mexico, and 9 years as a Production Manager in VW Modular Consortium in Brazil.
Originally from Brazil, Leonardo graduated from the State University of Rio de Janeiro with an Engineer’s degree in Industrial Production.

Since spring 2023, Efrain Hernandez is responsible for leading innovation in supply chain digitalisation across North America for Nissan, including digitising processes, supporting a cross-functional digital platform and cybersecurity risk and planning assessments at suppliers in the region. He has 33 years of experience across the automotive industry across manufacturing and operations, production control and powertrain. Prior to his current role, he was vehicle plant director from 2013 until 2023 for Nissan Mexicana at the carmaker’s A1 plant in Aguascalientes, where he defined and implemented strategies to improve production performance and cost and helped to launch new body and sub-assembly production for three new models. During this time, the A1 plant achieved its highest quality results in its history. Efrain Hernandez has degrees and certificates in leadership, business and supply chain management from Mexico’s technical institute, ITAM and Pan-American University business school, IPADE, along Tennessee University and Vanderbilt University.

Juan Cerdeira has more than 25 years of experience in automotive OEM and retail business, with specific expertise in supply chain and sales planning. He is currently General Manager of SEV Mexico, an e-mobility arm of the SOLAREVER group. He has held positions internationally at both OEM’s and vehicle retail in more than 10 brands in the Mexican Market, including Mitsubishi Motors de México as, including 13 years with Toyota in various logistics, distribution an planning roles in Mexico and Japan. Before joining SEV Mexico, he was Aftersales & Logistics Director at Mitsubishi Motors de México. He graduated from Tecnológico de Monterrey with a degree in International Business and Marketing and has an MBA degree from ITAM.

Alondra Alejo is Director of Southern Border at C.H. Robinson. She has held diverse leadership and commercial roles across multiple locations in Mexico and the U.S. , including Monterrey, Queretaro, San Diego, and Tucson. Along her 15-year career, she has had a primary focus on southern border logistics and freight operations supporting automotive companies, from OEMs to tiered suppliers. She has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering with a specialization in logistics and supply chain.

Mauro joined Ascent in August 2021 as a tenured logistics executive over 26 years in international logistics & supply chain management. Previously, he led the transformation of one of the top countries within the Kuehne + Nagel Network, where Mauro guided +5,500 employees and an annual T/O of $1BN USD. In addition to his expansive corporate career, Mauro served as a Mentor for the NLA in Hamburg and Member of Board of Advisors of Hashmove in Dubai. He is a thought leadership expert in Management, Strategic Design & Thinking, Innovation, Sales & Marketing, Digitalization and Change Management. His education includes degrees in Supply Chain & Logistics, Business Management & Strategy and Human Resources.

Ricardo Alvarez, Supply Chain Solutions Vice President and Managing Director for Ryder Mexico, a subsidiary of Ryder System Inc., a FORTUNE 500® company based in Miami, Florida. Alvarez joined Ryder in 1999. With over 25 years of experience in supply chain, international negotiations, and trade compliance, he has expanded his role at Ryder, focusing on enhancing the company's presence in Mexico through strategic initiatives across various industries. Alvarez has led diverse functional areas, fostered new client relationships and implemented services for existing clients. Recently, he assumed the role of Supply Chain Solutions Vice President and Managing Director for Ryder Mexico. He holds a Diploma (D1) from IPADE, an MBA from UDEM, and a degree in International Business from ITESM.

Julie is a highly accomplished logistics executive with over 35 years of US-Mexico transportation logistics experience. She is currently CCO for Jack Cooper Mexico, Rail and Intermodal, leading the asset light and 3PL arm of the car carrier. Prior to this she worked for more than 20 years in rail and intermodal for Union Pacific, including leading automotive. She later held chief commercial roles at logistics provider XPO and Pacer International. She holds a bachelors degree in Business Administration and Management, and a BSBA in Marketing.

Dr. Mostafa Hajiaghaei-Keshteli is an Associate Professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering, Tecnológico de Monterrey, which is one of the most prestigious universities for industry and supply chain in Mexico. He is also a Co-founder and Senior Researcher at the Center of Sustainable Smart Logistics (CLIS), established in 2022, to offer sustainable logistics solutions to the public and private sector in Mexico and North America. Prof. Hajiaghaei-Keshteli is one of the top 2% of scientists worldwide, according to Elsevier-Stanford report, since 2021. According to SciVal, he is one of the top five scientists in supply chain worldwide and according to Research.com, is top 10 in in all engineering fields in Mexico. He has developed famous metaheuristic algorithms, including algorithms such as Keshtel Alg., Red Deer Alg., Tree Growth Alg., and the Social Engineering Optimizer. He is also an editorial member in some top Q1 journals at Elsevier, such as Applied Soft Computing (ASOC), Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), and Expert Systems with Applications (ESWA). He has a solid industrial background, both in managerial and consulting sectors, in different industries such as agriculture, food, automotive, and engine industries.

Lars Krosch is COO and Managing Director Operations and Finance for time:matters GmbH in Neu-Isenburg. time:matters is the expert for time-critical express transports and supply chain solutions for more than 20 years. The company provides tailor-made and fast solutions worldwide for particularly urgent and complex logistical tasks. Besides speed and reliability, providing an individual, flexible and sustainable service is paramount. After five years of self-employment as managing partner of MFN Software Entwicklungs GmbH, Lars Krosch began his career in the aviation industry as a Research Analyst Revenue Management and Pricing with Lufthansa AG in 1999. From there, he switched in 2000 to the Lufthansa Cargo AG subsidiary in Frankfurt. Lars Krosch held a variety of managerial positions during his seven years with the cargo airline, most recently as Director Process & Information Management. From 2007 to 2009, he advised on the establishment of Eturnity GmbH, as managing partner, founder and source of ideas, for the development of a multi-partner customer loyalty system. In May 2009, Lars Krosch became Head of Operations, Products and IT with responsibility for quality and results for global operations and company-wide IT at time:matters. He was also responsible for establishing a new business development and tender process and developing a market-oriented product portfolio. From 2012, he assumed global sales and revenue responsibility as Vice President Sales & Product Development. Lars Krosch has played a major role in the development and expansion of the time:matters service offering for selected focus industries, such as the automotive, aviation/aerospace, high-tech/semicon, industrial machinery/equipment and life and health sectors. He has played a key role in driving forward the development, design and expansion of the offer and booking platform as an essential part of the digital sales strategy. The numerous respected industry awards which time:matters has received in recent years emphasize the focus on quality and customer needs which Lars Krosch has helped to establish. The extremely successful global sales strategy has been confirmed through continuous outperformance of sales goals since 2013. Since January 2019, Lars Krosch has been Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Managing Director Operations and Finance for time:matters Holding GmbH. time:matters is now considered one of the leading providers of sustainable high-performance logistics. The internationally renowned logistics specialist has been continuing its positive overall development in all areas since 2002. Lars Krosch studied Business Informatics at the Otto-Friedrich University in Bamberg and gained his diploma in Business Administration and Computer Science.