Alison is an experienced senior leader, consultant, and practitioner in Lean, Operational Excellence, and Digital Transformation. Her expertise lies in transforming businesses by aligning strategies and organizational goals to achieve significant results in bulk processing, manufacturing/filling operations, packaging, and supply chains. She has a particular focus on deploying enablers to engage cultures and improve systems, and processes. She has a proven track record in project program design, deployment, and delivery, enabling leaders to balance transformation and transactional workflows for effective problem-solving and structured improvement with a pragmatic, hands-on approach. Her specialized areas of expertise and experience are in FMCG beverage, nuclear industry, specialist automotive, public housing, life sciences, non profit and more recently, sterile vaccine project delivery and operational readiness to manufacture. Alison is widely recognized as a practitioner, an academic, and thought leader in UK manufacturing.

I have worked for over 35 years in automotive in a variety of roles including production operations, process planning, finance, manufacturing quality and business planning. These were mainly in UK plants, from greenfield to some of the oldest in our network and I also worked in Germany for 3 years. Using data and analytical tools to understand and improve our production systems have been key focus areas in recent years, still using the foundations of lean methodologies and process control.

Angela is a seasoned professional with a strong track record in manufacturing, process improvement and risk analysis. During her career, she introduced a game-changing initiative to re-use redundant assets from discontinued production lines, which saved the business £8M within just 12 months. During COVID-19 Angela seized the opportunity to explore a new direction after discovering a significant skills shortage and a gap in young people entering the manufacturing industry. Driven by her passion to bridge this gap, Angela launched Marvelous Manufacturing, an initiative designed to support manufacturers who want to engage with the next generation of talent but don’t have the time or resources to do so. With a commitment to closing the skills gap and shaping the future of manufacturing, Angela continues to advocate for greater collaboration between education and industry.

I’m a Mechanical Engineer and started out developing products and systems for tier 1 automotiive suppliers. I later moved into operations management while developing my Lean learning and qualifications. I have lived and worked in the UK, France and the USA, and had the good fortune to work across different businesses and industries around the world while working for Honeywell. I am an experienced leader of global, multi-site manufacturing, supply chain, supply base and R&D operations. I specialise in Lean transformation and enterprise-level business processes. I am proud to now be a part of the Yunex Traffic team.

Currently serving as the Process Development Manager at LISI Aerospace Rugby, Taahir brings a decade of experience in the manufacturing sector. Over the past 4 years, Taahir has been heavily involved in the implementation a groundbreaking smart factory line and is now driving the expansion of this initiative throughout the site. As the 2023 winner of the 'Young Manufacturer of the Year' award, he is a keen supporter of people development, actively mentoring individuals to reach their full potential in the manufacturing industry.

Michael Sobodu holds a Master's degree in Advanced Mechanical Engineering, earned in 2021, and has since built a robust career in industrial engineering. With two years of experience in the glass manufacturing industry, Michael developed a keen understanding of precision and quality control in production processes. Currently, Michael serves as a Mechanical Planner in the automotive industry, where he applies his expertise to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and ensure the seamless integration of mechanical systems. His diverse background and commitment to excellence make him a discerning and knowledgeable judge, capable of evaluating complex technical projects with a critical eye for detail and innovation.