2021 Speakers

Coming soon.

Ryan has 25 years of experience in various segments of the Automotive Industry, spanning all areas of supply chain from tier 1 supply to dealer delivery. He is currently responsible for the North American finished vehicle logistics for Nissan North America, which encompasses all aspects of vehicle processing, shipping, vehicle logistics business transformation projects, forecasting, export ordering and shipping to over 70 countries worldwide. His experience includes: material handling, production supervision, stamping supervision, future material launch teams, supplier capacity constraints teams, production control, vehicle scheduling, design change engineering, international parts ordering, integrated supply chain management, packaging, last mile logistics, inbound logistics, service parts logistics, finished vehicle strategy, export vehicle ordering, and finished vehicle logistics operations.

Daniel Gosson focuses on finished vehicle logistics and optimisation at INFORM, a specialist software and systems providers in the supply chain and logistics sector. With a passion for lean strategy and digitalization, Daniel specialises in compound management, network planning, and transport management, working with OEMs and 3PLs alike to leverage INFORM’s hybrid-AI and mathematical optimisation solutions. Previous experience working in automotive production and demand capacity planning has afforded Daniel the unique experience of understanding the entire supply chain from raw material supplier to dealer. As a graduate of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, he holds a degree in marketing and business administration.

Jorge has a degree in Industrial Engineering at Tecnologico Nacional de México. He has 24 years of experience in the logistics sector, holding a variety of positions and since 2005 in the quality and compliance field. For the last 10 years he has been involved in automotive logistics as responsible for quality and damage prevention, he currently holds the role as Head of Quality and Compliance at Horizon Auto Logistics, Mexico.

Adrian joined Cognosos as Chief Product Officer in March this year, a newly created position in which he has responsibility for leading on the company’s product vision, roadmap, new feature development and commercialization. He has more than 20 years’ experience in real-time asset location technology, including most recently as Chief Product Advocate for Ubisense, where he led on the company’s digitalisation and digital factory initatives for customers. Prior to that as Chief Technical Officer of Time Domain Corporation, where his role involved aligning a roadmap focused on the company’s core markets and navigating the required research funding – mostly from military research contractors – to advance that roadmap.

Michael began his automotive career as a Procurement Intern at Toyota’s Technical Center in Ann Arbor, MI. He joined Volkswagen Group of America’s Vehicle Logistics Department in 2008 as an Operations Analyst in Herndon, VA. He has held roles of increasing responsibility including oversight of VW’s North American rail distribution. In his current capacity, Michael is responsible for the daily operation of Volkswagen’s Northeastern port in Davisville, RI. Since 2014, he has served on the board of directors for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).

Frank Agrusa has over 25 years’ experience in the automotive industry, with the last 15 years with ICL Systems, helping OEMs and LSPs make sense of their data. Prior to joining ICL, Frank worked in engineering at Chrysler for 10 years. Currently the Director of Product Development and Innovation, Frank is leading ICL’s data science team, assisting OEMs solving data problems with new technologies for a lower cost and a faster turnaround time, ranging from business analytics to data integration. Frank was previously the Director of Operations at ICL, supporting OEMs and LSPs onboarding to ICL’s tracking and invoice audit software, VLMS. Frank holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Lawrence Tech in Michigan and a Master’s in Engineering Management from University of Michigan.

Finn Roden has spent his career in operations and sales management within the maritime shipping and terminal industry. His primary focus being on finished vehicle, ro/ro, and project cargo logistics. Prior to coming ashore, he sailed in several capacities aboard various vessel types, including Car Carriers, OSV, and Navy research vessels. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the California Maritime Academy – California State University, and his M.B.A. from the University of Wolverhampton U.K. AutoMOBILE International Terminal LLC is the new U.S. Gateway for the import and export of finished vehicles through the Port of Mobile Alabama. Offering unsurpassed maritime and railroad connectivity along with customizable value-added vehicle processing services and distribution.

Samson joined AFTC/ATA in October of 2011 to oversee the AFTC board as their Executive Director. In 2020, Samson was selected to oversee all 5 of ATA’s Conferences, tasked with growing the department within ATA. Prior to joining ATA, Samson served as Director, Public Policy for the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA). Samson was responsible for lobbying on policy issues impacting agricultural retailers and distributors. His main focus was on transportation, Farm bill and finance related issues. Previously, Samson served as a legislative aide for Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), focusing on agriculture, transportation and finance. He also served as assistant to the staff director on Senator Baucus’s Finance Committee staff. Before moving to D.C., Samson grew up on a family hog farm in southwest Montana. The family farm kept him busy on his off days during high school and through college at Montana State University.

Sam Veitz is the Director of Automotive for ABI Tape responsible for brand strategy, OEM commercial account development, technical support and next generation product development for their global Automotive segment. Sam has worked for ABI Tape for the past 28 years in a variety of positions in technical business development working closely with design engineers, OEM plant personnel, and port operations as a damage prevention specialist. He has expertise in materials and product application to ensure AutoWrap® brand products offer the best customer value in component and transportation paint protection. Sam has recently been focused on the development and launch of ABI Tape’s first-to-market environmentally responsible AutoWrap GreenLeaf®. This new product offers the many benefits of manufacturing and transit protection with an environmentally friendly product.

Rich Logan is responsible for content and production of physical and digital activities across Ultima Media’s platforms including Automotive Logistics, Finished Vehicle Logistics and Automotive Manufacturing Solutions. Prior to joining Ultima Media in 2018, Rich spent 4 years with SMMT, the UK’s leading automotive trade association as Supply Chain Engagement Manager where he was responsible for the development and strengthening of UK supply chains and supplier base. Rich managed the UK Logistics Forum and was the SMMT board representative for European associations ODETTE and ENX. He holds a BA in Business and Management Studies from the University of Liverpool.