Canada Tech Summit 2025

Keynote

How Industry 4.0 is shaping the future of workforce skills and training.

Creating a passion for innovative problem-solving: A problem-solver’s journey

Presentations

• Identifying and training the workforce for Industry 4.0.

• Recruitment, retention, and workforce strategies for digital transformation.

• Co-workers of the future: Unlocking productivity with collaborative robots (Cobots)

Panel discussion

• How AI accelerates product design and prototyping for manufacturing professionals.

• Using virtual reality for immersive employee training and skill-building.

• How augmented reality enhances real-time troubleshooting and learning.

• Addressing ergonomics and safety concerns in Industry 4.0 environments.

Fireside chat

• Lean, Meet Digital: Evolving Continuous Improvement in the Smart Factory

Tours

Virtual Tours Showcasing some of Today's Digital Innovations

How Industry 4.0 is shaping the future of workforce skills and training.

Stewart Cramer, MSc, P.Eng. (Ontario) is Chief Manufacturing Officer of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada where he manages NGen’s workforce, leadership and SME development programs and supply chain initiatives. Stewart’s professional experience encompasses technology development and transition and organizational leadership.  He was previously Chief Executive Officer of precision contract manufacturers Vertex Precision and LAI International, and a senior research engineer at Northrop Grumman Aerospace where he was an Integrated Product Team Leader on the F-35 project.  Stewart’s Bachelor’s Degree is in Aerospace Engineering, and his Master’s Degree is in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Structural Mechanics.  Stewart is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario and the holder of two U.S. patents for devices designed to protect commercial aircraft from terrorist threats.

Creating a passion for innovative problem-solving: A Problem-solver’s journey

Tim Hobbs is the founder and president of Hobbs Technical Consulting. He is an author and an in-demand international keynote speaker, trainer, and business consultant. He is also working in the semiconductor industry as a director of digital transformation. Hobbs has an innate passion for helping others succeed. His servant leadership, innovative, and humorous approach to problem-solving are infectious to all who work with him. His personal mission is to help prepare and inspire the current and next generation of professional problem-solvers to meet the current and future workforce challenges.

Hobbs served nine years in the U.S. Navy, managing and maintaining advanced electronic navigational, alarm, combat, telecommunication, and power systems. Tim has been leading innovative problem-solving teams in the semiconductor industry for over 29 years. He received a B.S. in Business Information Systems and an M.B.A. in Technology Management, and earned his Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt Certification.

Hobbs authored "The Anatomy of Problem-Solving", earning him multiple speaking engagements and articles in the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Colorado Springs Business Journal. He also created a comprehensive interactive online course, "Hobbs Problem Solving." Over 26,000 individuals have completed similar courses he co-developed. Hobbs has also facilitated global problem-solving workshops and Train-the-Trainer sessions in Israel, India, Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. He has led many enterprise-wide process improvement projects while earning multiple corporate President's Quality Awards due to his excellent problem-solving leadership skills.

Presentations

Elissa Ross, PhD, is a mathematician and the CEO of Toronto-based software startup Metafold. Elissa holds a PhD in discrete geometry (2011), and worked as an industrial geometry consultant prior to cofounding Metafold. Metafold’s “Geometric Intelligence™” platform is an API for high volume 3D data management. Throughout her 20+ years of experience as a research and consulting mathematician, Elissa has been passionate about empowering engineers, scientists, and designers to overcome geometric obstacles and achieve innovative and creative outcomes.

Dr. Yi Li is the Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Maple Advanced Robotics Inc. (MARI) and a member of the Industry Committee at the Canadian Robotics Council.
At MARI, he leads efforts to pioneer advanced robotic platforms that seamlessly integrate robotics technology into manufacturing. His work focuses on solving challenges related to freeform surfaces and modern flexible production, driving innovation in automation.

Prior to founding MARI, Dr. Li served as Senior Manager of Robotics and Process Automation at Magna Corporate R&D. With over 20 years of experience in vehicle design, automation systems, and team management, he has played a key role in developing cutting-edge automation solutions for unstructured and uncertain environments.
Dr. Li holds several invention and design patents in robotics, including technologies for complex environments and unmanned delivery vehicles. He has led and contributed to major advanced manufacturing initiatives, including the Autonomous Adaptable Robot System (AARS) and the 3D Vision-Guided Robot Assembly System (VGRA)—both funded by Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen).

His contributions to robotics and automation have earned industry-wide recognition, including the 2024 Automotive News PACEpilot Award (Magna) and the 2025 Hannover Messe Robotics Award (MARI).

Dr. Federico Scimarella

Cory Skinner, CEO DataPeak,  An Advanced No-Code Auto ML & Agentic AI platform for data transformation, workflow automation & real-time analytics.  Cory is specialized in multi-industry software design and delivery of AI, ML, and Agentic AI enabled SaaS web apps. Cory is a hands-on leader and technical development professional that brings ideas to life by partnering with business leaders to address real business problems & support elevated digital transformation.

Peter Wawrow, Director of Workforce Development Program Next Generation Manufacturing Canada In this role, he provides opportunities for manufacturers to enhance their capabilities to implement technology solutions through a skilled workforce, by leveraging the strengths of post-secondary institution programs and research. Peter also engages with youth organizations to provide manufacturing career pathways.

He has spent over 20 years working in the manufacturing sector, experiencing many facets from product development to production processes. He has also spent more than ten years in roles in post-secondary education as a professor and research director, engaging manufacturers in applied projects.
Peter’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo, a Master of Human Kinetics from the University of Windsor, and a Master and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Wayne State University in Detroit.

Fireside Chat

Valerie Judd-Rohal is a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Supply Chain & Network Operations practice with over 13 years of experience . She has strong expertise supporting clients by bridging the gap between manufacturing operations and digital transformation. As one of the founding members of Deloitte’s Smart Factory @ Montreal, Valerie has accompanied many clients in leading manufacturing industries in building innovative and strategic roadmaps for their Smart Factory transformations. Valerie also has considerable experience in the fields of business strategy, project management, distribution logistics, as well as AI software implementation.

FAT American Manufacturing, Join Brian as he shares how he rolled out over 1,600 Kanbans and SOPs in under 8 months using the digital tool GembaDocs. He’ll also spotlight some of the AI tools transforming day-to-day work.

Brian Meyers is the owner of *Fat American MFG* and the creator of *Lean by Doing*. After over 20 years of running a traditional manufacturing business (read: old-school chaos), Brian slammed the brakes, flipped the script, and went full-lean—fast. Like, really fast. His hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves approach has caught the attention of lean thinkers around the globe, proving you don’t need a Six Sigma black belt or a decade in a Japanese dojo. *You just need to do.*

HPC, Join David who will be talking about the use of AI in his companies and also about the use of "Hight Tech Anthropology" for developing software or technology solutions for his team. This term and concept comes from an amazing company called Menlo Innovations and it´s CEO Richard Sheridan.

David Barrios is the CEO, the exclusive distributor of Truper and its brands in Guatemala serving more than 8 thousand customers, and AKÍ Superferreterías, a fast-growing chain of 36 hardware stores. He leads both companies with a focus on building high-impact teams, strengthening customer trust, and driving sustainable growth.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

8 a.m.        Welcome and opening keynote

8:30 a.m.   Presentations

9:50 a.m.   Coffee Break

10 a.m.      Panel discussion

11:05 a.m. Fireside chat

12:05 p.m. Lunch keynote

12:45 p.m. Virtual tours

1:50 p.m.   Wrap up

2:20 p.m.   Adjourn

• Key outcomes for leaders & professionals
• Learn how to lead change while supporting teams through digital transitions
• Explore emerging tech use cases—AI, cobots, VR/AR—in training and production
• Get new perspectives on workforce strategy, from hiring to hands-on skill-building
• Hear from peers and practitioners facing similar implementation challenges
• Leave with actionable takeaways for building your workforce of the future

• Operations & manufacturing leaders
• HR, talent & training professionals
• Continuous improvement & lean practitioners
• Engineers & frontline managers
• Technology & innovation leads
• Emerging leaders in manufacturing