Bob Voss
Distinguished Engineer
Panduit

Bob’s focus spans the shepherding of groundbreaking technologies like Single Pair Ethernet and Fault Managed Power. Bob plays a key role in setting global engineering standards and nurturing strategic technology partnerships.

Beyond the tech realm, Bob is also an accomplished equestrian, bringing a unique blend of innovation and passion to both professional and personal pursuits.

George Zimmerman
Chairman IEEE 802.3 cg
Vice-Chair IEEE 802
Chairman, Technical Committee Ethernet Alliance
President, CME Consulting
Ethernet Alliance

Dr. George Zimmerman is President of CME Consulting, specializing in physical layer communications and powering, active in standardization and development of Ethernet in emerging applications. 

George recently chaired the IEEE 802.3cg 10 Mb/s single pair Ethernet Task force, standardizing single-pair Ethernet transmission and powering for industrial & building automation, as well as intrasystem and automotive applications. George currently chairs the follow-on project, IEEE P802.3dg, at 100 Mb/s, and is editor for the multidrop standard, IEEE P802.3da.  

He has been at the forefront in the development and standardization of wired technologies, starting with line-powered DSL in the 1990s, to BASE-T and single-pair Ethernet, including PoE.

He holds more than 20 patents, a Ph.D. from Caltech, and a BSEE from Stanford, and is a member of BICSI, TIA TR42, the Ethernet Alliance and a principal member of NEC codemaking Panel 3, representing the Ethernet Alliance, where he chairs the Technical Committee.

Mike Berg
Sr. Business Development Manager
Enterprise Business
Panduit

Michael Berg is a Sr. Business Development Manager for Smart Buildings, Warehouse Automation and Industrial Networks for Panduit Corp, a global leader in network and electrical infrastructure solutions based in Tinley Park, Illinois.

In this position Michael is responsible for business development programs and contributes to research and development across initiatives, including applications such as Single Pair Ethernet, long-reach cabling, and low voltage power.

Michael has been with Panduit for 34 years and has experience ranging from research and development, product management, marketing and solutions marketing and business development. Michael is a graduate of University of Illinois at Chicago, with a BS in Marketing.

Steffen Graf
Systems Engineer
Industrial Systems
Texas Instruments

Steffen Graf works as a systems engineer at Texas Instruments in the EMEA headquarter in Freising, Germany. Here he is part of the systems engineering team with strong focus on industrial systems supporting customers world wide.

For more than seven years, Steffen has gained experience in different Ethernet technologies including SPE, PoDL and APL, but also other industrial communication protocols with a focus on hardware level design, firmware validation and EMI/EMC testing.

Steffen holds a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering with a focus on microelectronics from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, where he graduated in 2017.

Rohit Khatri
Software Architect
Industrial Automation
Belden

Rohit Khatri is an experienced Software Architect at Belden’s IO and Field Switches cluster since 4.5 Years. He has been working with different product ranges like active IO modules based on industrial fieldbuses, Field switches with different Embedded Software platforms.

Rohit is working in Industrial automation sector since more than 10 years and has worked for different product range like Industrial routers with remote maintenance system, firewalls, edge gateways and building security systems.

Rohit Khatri holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering from the Technological University of Gujarat, India.

Arnold Offner
Strategic Marketing Manager
Process Automation
Phoenix Contact USA

Contact on three continents, having started in Technical Marketing and Sales in South Africa, Technical Sales Support and Market Development in Germany, and over two decades in the USA in various Product Marketing, Standardization and Technology roles.

He has been involved the APL Project since 2018 and collaborated on numerous technical articles on the subject.

Offner studied Electronic Engineering Technology in South Africa, and Business Administration from Elizabethtown College (graduating during the COVID-19 lockdown). He is the author of various articles in factory and process automation, including instrumentation, interface technology and industrial automation.

Sean Vincent
Director – Technology Programs
FieldComm Group

Sean Vincent is Director – Technology Programs for FieldComm Group with responsibility for tool and technology program development.

His experience includes HART, FOUNDATION Fieldbus, PA-DIM, Ethernet-APL, and FDI technology-related projects as a product developer, test engineer, field application engineer, and technical trainer.

Sean is chair of the joint working group for Ethernet-APL conformance.

Elizabeth Goldsmith
Vice President & Group Publisher
Processing & Automation
Endeavor Business Media

Liz Goldsmith is the liaison for the TIA’s Single Pair Ethernet Consortium (SPEC). Members of SPEC work within TIA to help promote standards-based solutions and to educate end users, network designers and engineers about the benefits of SPE. The Consortium holds webinars, publishes articles and White Papers and is in the process of developing a standards database that will enable users to  learn about the evolving standards that impact SPE deployment. All companies are able to join the Single Pair Ethernet Consortium, regardless of whether they are a TIA Member. Liz has worked with the TIA since 1994.

Dr. Al Beydoun
President & Executive Director
ODVA

Dr. Al Beydoun serves as the President and Executive Director of ODVA. With a wealth of experience in engineering management and electronic systems, Dr. Beydoun began his career at Ford Motor Company and Visteon Corporation, working in the design and development of powertrain controls products, before moving to Lear Corporation. At Lear, he served as Director of Software and Systems Engineering, supporting global markets with various electronic modules.

Dr. Beydoun holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, a Ph.D. in Electrical and Systems Engineering from Wayne State University, and an MBA from the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.

John Froustet
Director
Device & Field Connectivity Division Americas
Weidmüller Inc.

John Froustet is the Director of the Device and Field Connectivity Division for the Americas Region at Weidmüller Inc., where he leads strategic initiatives and drives innovation in the field of connectivity solutions. With a Master of Science Degree in Business, John brings over 18 years of extensive experience in Product Management for Connectivity Products.

Throughout his career, John has demonstrated a strong track record of success, including spearheading product development projects that have resulted in market-leading solutions. His expertise lies in understanding customer needs, developing product roadmaps, and implementing effective go-to-market strategies to ensure customer satisfaction and business growth.

Meghan Kaiserman
Strategic Marketing Director
Industrial Automation
Analog Devices

Meghan Kaiserman is the strategic marketing director for Industrial Automation at ADI, with responsibility for the Factory, Process and Building end market segments. She leads a team of marketing managers and systems applications engineers focused on digitalization technologies including Intelligent IO, Single Pair Ethernet and security. Over her 20+ years of experience in the semiconductor industry, she has worked as an applications and systems engineer and has led teams that have developed products across industrial and automotive markets ranging from precision analog to ASIL safety elements out of context (SEooC), energy measurement and Industrial Ethernet.

David Bessonen
Director of Business Development and Sales
Telebyte SPE

David Bessonen is a member the Ethernet-APL technical maintenance committee and is knowledgeable with hands-on, practical aspects of 10BASE-T1L physical-layer testing.

David graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1991 from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, USA. He brought his many years of experience and valuable technical expertise in xDSL and Ethernet testing applications and equipment to Telebyte in 2012.

During the past two years Mr. Bessonen has guided vendors and operators as they conducted lab testing SPE in North America and Europe.

Yuri Luskind
CEO
Zemfyre, Canada

Yuri Luskind is the President & CEO at Zemfyre. Prior to Zemfyre, Yuri was the CTO at iS5 Communications and Director of Engineering at Ruggedcom/Siemens where he was architecting and leading the development of advanced communications platforms for mission-critical infrastructure. Yuri has held multiple senior and executive roles with companies in the US and Canada, like Fore Systems and Marconi Communications.

Yuri holds an MBA from Queen’s University, Canada, and an MSc. in Electrical Engineering from Moscow’s MIIT. He holds five US patents and has contributed to several publications as a member of IEEE and CIGRE.

Keith Larson
Vice President & Group Publisher
Processing & Automation
Endeavor Business Media

Keith Larson has more than three decades experience covering industrial automation and other aspects of OT and its convergence with the IT space.

He currently serves as group publisher for Endeavor Business Media’s industrial automation and processing industry brands, including Control, Control Design and Automation World as well as Chemical Processing, Food Processing, Pharma Manufacturing, Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing and Processing.

He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and worked as a research engineer for Amoco Chemicals (now BP) before joining the ranks of the business media.

He holds several U.S. and international patents, and among other journalistic achievements has been honored with a Jesse H. Neal award for editorial excellence from the American Business Press.