SMLC Management
Dan Nagy - AMI
Dan Nagy has over twenty years experiences in collaborative advanced manufacturing research and innovation and has served markets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa and serves as the Managing Director of SMLC.
Prior to joining the team, Mr. Nagy served ss the Vice President of Business Development for AMI and was responsible for development and advancement of sales, marketing, and programs. Prior to AMI, he served as the Managing Director of the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS), an international organization promoting innovation and integration of Industry 4.0 technologies through research projects, workshops, and World Manufacturing Forum events. In this capacity, he developed an extensive network of advanced manufacturing contacts both here in the U.S., as well as internationally. He was also a principal in developing the World Manufacturing Forum and World Manufacturing Foundation and served as the Board Vice President and Board member. He has served on various advanced manufacturing committees including the MSSC Select Committee on Emerging Manufacturing Process Technologies, BSA National Foundation – STEM Advisory Committee, the advisory for PICASSO, and has advised manufacturing policy to U.S. Senator of Delaware Chris Coons office. Mr. Nagy holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Lycoming College, a Master of Business Administration degree from Baker University, and certification in medical technology.
SMLC Strategic Advisory Council
Our organization is guided by our Strategic Advisory Council (SAC) that proposes ideas and strategies to the community for consideration and adoption. The Board of Directors and Managing Director oversee the operations and resource allocation for its activities.
Michelle Pastel
Chair
Sr. Manager Manufacturing 4.0
Corning, Inc.
Michelle Pastel - Corning
Michelle Pastel joined Corning 28 years ago as a Systems Engineer. Today she leads teams responsible for pioneering collaborative, multi-organizational projects to develop and deliver digital solutions. These teams integrate materials, process, and equipment with measurements, process controls, modeling, analytics, and computing platforms to achieve faster fundamental understanding and real-time data driven manufacturing within a plant, plant-to-plant, and across the supply chain. As a program leader, she works in partnership with multi-disciplinary colleagues across Corning to extend the portfolio of projects solving Corning’s business problems through digital solutions. She also engages and develops strategic collaborative external relationships in the areas of Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing, Industrial Internet of Things, and 5G, with standards bodies, national labs, universities, professional societies, other manufacturers, and solution providers.
Throughout Michelle’s career she has held technology, engineering and manufacturing positions. She has delivered new systems to manufacturing, supported 24/7 manufacturing operations, delivered process improvements, and innovated new products and processes. She has led an organization responsible for developing revolutionary and step change solutions in the areas of measurements, advanced process controls, systems integration, software, and data systems to support Corning’s Research and Development programs. Through this extensive process and systems experience, Michelle recognizes the value of a Smart Manufacturing approach.
Outside of Corning, Michelle has been active in the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC) since 2011, pioneering with her colleagues what is globally known today as Smart Manufacturing. She was appointed SMLC Secretary 2014-2017 and Chairwoman of the Board 2017-2020. She is now the Chair of the Strategic Advisor Committee of the newly affiliated SMLC with Advance Manufacturing International (AMI). Since 2017, she also serves on the Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII) Governance Board and the Enabling Technologies Standing Committee. In 2017, Michelle was named to Smart Industry’s “Smart Industry 50” list of key innovators on the leading edge of digital transformation.
Michelle holds a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of New Mexico.
Lance Fountaine
Vice Chair
Global Operations Automation, Digitalization, and Analytics Leader
Cargill
Lance Fountaine - Cargill
In March 2018, Lance Fountaine joined Cargill as the company’s Smart Manufacturing Leader. In this role, Lance has global accountability for development of a common digital transformation strategy across plant operations. This strategy not only includes the definition of the target technology stack, but also the alignment of the company’s enterprises and business groups around a common set of digital objectives within their production facilities.
Before joining Cargill, Lance Fountaine was the Principal Advisor for Business Transformation Services at OSIsoft. In this role, he worked closely with OSIsoft’s leading customers to develop a comprehensive vision and related strategy for digital transformation across their enterprise operations. Lance joined OSIsoft in October 2013 as an Industry Principal for the Metals and Mining industry following a 20-year career in the aluminum business with Alcoa Global Primary Metals.
While at Alcoa, Lance held a variety of operations and technology roles, including assignments in IT-OT leadership, compliance / audit, and as part of the Global Primary Products Center of Excellence. Two of his most significant achievements as part of Alcoa were his efforts to lead their global IT-OT convergence, and the deployment of their SMART Manufacturing program. The Alcoa SMART Manufacturing program was based on the OSIsoft PI System, and provided an information infrastructure to support efforts for continuous improvement, operational excellence and ongoing business sustainability.
Lance was a Presidential Scholar at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1991 and returned to get his Master of Science in Electrical Powerin 1993 as a research associate for Niagara Mohawk.
Outside of work, Lance spends a majority of his time with his wife, Nichol, and two adult sons, Dylan and Jake. He is very active in sports and has also served as a coach for minor hockey, baseball and football in the Knoxville area. In addition to sports, Lance and his family also enjoy academics and traveling.
Robert Graybill
CEO
Nimbis Services
Robert Graybill - Nimbus Services
Robert B. Graybill, CEO of Nimbis Services, Robert is responsible for leading company, strategic development and executing its mission to serve our DoD, Smart Manufacturing and commercial cloud user communities. To this role, Robert brings four decades of experience as a business leader, defense contractor weapon system developer, DARPA program manager, Inventor, member of various Defense Science Boards, innovation policy leader, Smart Manufacturing thought leader and technology researcher. Before cofounding Nimbis Services 12 years ago and growing Nimbis Services to become an industry leader in secure collaborative cloud hosted microelectronics ecosystems, Robert held key positions as DARPA High Performance Computing (HPC) program manager, Council on Competitiveness, University of Southern California Information Science Institute, Lockheed Martin, Martin Marietta, Westinghouse, and Motorola.
Robert holds an M.S. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Doug Stevens
Principal
Finkelstein Consulting Inc.
Doug Stevens - Finkelstein Consulting Inc.
Doug is a Principal with Finkelstein Consulting Inc. and served as SMLC’s CFO during 2019 and 2020. He is an expert in the areas of financial management, government contracting, large-scale organizational change and enterprise-wide systems selection and implementation. His career includes Partnerships at both Deloitte and Grant Thornton as well as well Chief Financial Officer roles at two large global NGOs. Doug holds an undergraduate degree from Williams College and an S.M. from M.I.T.
Denise Swink
Principal
Swink Consulting
Denise Swink - SMLC (retired)
Ms. Swink retired from Federal Service (2004) after 35 years’ experience spanning a variety of programs at the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. At the Department of Energy, Ms. Swink held positions as Director, Office of Planning and Environment, Office of Fossil Energy; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Industrial Technologies, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and Deputy Director and Acting Director, Office of Energy Assurance. The last two decades of Federal Service, Ms. Swink held management/supervisory positions, and the last decade she was a member of the Senior Executive Service.
Ms. Swink has worked at the highest levels of government and the private sector, both nationally and internationally, on topics including: fossil energy technology advancement for extraction, transport and utilization of resources; manufacturing productivity and efficiency with emphasis on technology advancement and adoption; electricity infrastructure development; and safety and reliability of the entire energy infrastructure.
To enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of industry, Ms. Swink created and led extensive public/private partnerships with private, state and academic entities to: develop strategies promoting innovation; create, fund and implement plans; and monitor results and effectiveness. Private sector participants ranged from CEO’s to plant operation personnel.
She holds an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from American University and Masters Degree in Environmental Sciences from Johns Hopkins University.
Ms. Swink has been recognized in her career by several industry sponsored awards, the Department of Energy Gold Medal, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency Bronze Medal, Vice President’s Reinventing Government Award, and the Senior Executive Presidential Rank Award.
Ms. Swink served on the National Materials and Manufacturing Board, National Academy of Sciences (including as its Vice Chair for two years) and participated on the Defense Materials, Manufacturing and Infrastructure Standing Committee there.
Ms. Swink served as founding Chief Executive Officer, Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition from 2012 through 2020. She is currently an Independent Consultant to the private and public sectors focused on manufacturing innovation and performance.
Jim Wetzel
Co-Founder
NxGen Group
Jim Wetzel - NexGen
Mr. Wetzel is among the foremost experts in smart manufacturing in the United States. With more than 30 years of engineering technology experience in food manufacturing, leading brands from around the world have looked to him for powerful insights on how to make Smart Manufacturing work for them. A technically adept executive, Jim knows firsthand how these innovations can create competitive advantage. He led CESMI, a national consortia of manufacturers dedicated solely to the advancement of Smart Manufacturing in the U.S. He also headed efforts at a Fortune 500 company—General Mills—that realized impressive productivity gains through smart manufacturing.
Jim played a pivotal role in the founding of CESMII, serving as its CEO from 2017 to 2018. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and one of the agency’s 16 Manufacturing USA Institutes. CESMII’s members include businesses of all sizes and represent a wide range of industries with more than $140 million in investment from universities and manufacturers across the U.S.
In 2020 Jim Co-founded, NxGen Group, a company focused on assisting manufacturing organizations to evolve and win in this competitive, disruptive environment. This group will educate, assess, align and prepare organizations for their Smart Manufacturing journey.
Prior to CESMII, Jim served for 32 years as director engineering – global reliability for General Mills. In this role, he was responsible for improving the company’s existing global asset base, focusing on technology, standardization, reliability and maintenance, and energy reduction. In addition he served at the Chairman of the Board of the SMLC, Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, until his retirement from General Mills. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MBA, both from the University of Minnesota.
Board of Directors
Dean Bartles, PhD, FSME, FASME
SMLC Chair
President and CEO
Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (MTDG)
Dean Bartles - MTDG
President & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Dean Bartles is the President & Chief Executive of the Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group, the parent company of Advanced Manufacturing International (AMI) and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). Dr. Dean L. Bartles has served as President and CEO of NCDMM and as the President of the National Tooling and Machining Association. Prior, he served as the Director of the John Olson Advanced Manufacturing Center at the University of New Hampshire and was previously the founding Executive Director of the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute in Chicago. Dr. Bartles worked for General Dynamics Corporation for 30 years setting up and running manufacturing operations in Egypt, Turkey, and the U.S. and prior to that he worked for Fairchild Republic Company.
He recently served as the 2016-2017 President of the North American Manufacturing Research Institute, the 2016 President of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the founding Chairman of the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, and the Chairman of the Board of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining. Dean graduated from Indiana State University earning a Ph. D. in Technology Management with a concentration in Manufacturing Systems.
George Barnych
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (MTDG)
George Barnych - MTDG
George Barnych is NCDMM’s VP and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As VP and CTO, Mr. Barnych is responsible for providing technical leadership internally and promoting NCDMM’s technical expertise to its client base.
Mr. Barnych has more than 22 years of management experience in technology development, project and product management, strategic planning, regulatory agency certification, and system engineering strategies.
Prior to joining the NCDMM, Mr. Barnych had worked as an independent contractor for B3 Technical Services. During his tenure at B3 Technical Services, he served as a technical program manager on a significant R&D program. Prior to this most recent assignment, Mr. Barnych served as an Advanced Manufacturing Consultant at the John Olson Advanced Manufacturing Center; Senior Strategic Consultant for International TechneGroup Incorporated; Chief Programs Officer at the Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute; and the Director of R&D at the Digital Manufacturing & Design Innovation Institute.
Previously, he was the Vice President of Operations at LEDA Corporation, an organization specializing in procurement, material handling and manufacture of high reliability flight grade defense and space electronics. Mr. Barnych was also the Executive Director and Co-founder of Synepsys Technologies, Inc., which provided guided munitions development engineering services to the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC).
For more than a decade, Mr. Barnych worked for General Dynamics – Ordinance and Tactical Systems, a global aerospace and defense company, as its Director of Advanced Munition Systems.
Gene Berkebile
V.P. Secretary and Treasurer
Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (MTDG)
Gene Berkebile - MTDG
Gene Berkebile joined NCDMM in 2007 as a Finance Administrator, advancing to become the Manager and then Director of Finance, cumulating to his current position as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Leveraging his 20+ years of experience in government contract accounting and administration, Gene has developed and instituted comprehensive internal budgeting and metric reports, contributed and worked on several successful NCDMM proposals, led the implementation to new and improved financial systems, and currently manages the NCDMM government contract portfolio totaling more than $150 million.
Gene holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in business from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and Saint Francis University, respectively. He also holds a master’s Certificate from George Washington University in government contract management. Gene is also an active member in the Johnstown, Pa., chapter of the National Contract Management Association.
Before joining NCDMM, Gene previously worked at Concurrent Technologies Corporation, where he was promoted to a Financial Systems Administrator after serving as both a Time Collection Administrator and a Payroll Specialist.