2022 Speaker

Ansell Sims, Grundfos Corporation USA Country President, serves as Grundfos America’s external ambassador and organizational leader and glue for the Grundfos Culture. He spent 15 years working in the Semiconductor Industry, and 8 years in Oil & Gas as Director of Commercial Operations, prior to joining Grundfos. Grundfos pioneers solutions to the world's water and climate challenges, and improves the quality of life for people. Based in Bjerringbro, Denmark, Grundfos employees over 21,000 employees globally and produces over 16 Million pump units annually.

Married with two young adult children, Ansell makes his home near the Grundfos Factory in Brookshire, Texas.

Alex Chausovsky is a highly experienced market researcher and analyst with more than twenty years of expertise across subjects including economics, industrial manufacturing, automation, talent and workforce issues, and advanced technology trends. For the last two decades, he has consulted and advised companies throughout the US and Canada, Europe, South America, and Asia.

Alex has delivered hundreds of keynote presentations and webinars to small businesses, trade associations, and Fortune 500 companies across a spectrum of industries. He is currently overseeing a suite of analytics products focused on talent for the Miller Resource Group. Alex is also consulting with companies to help them become better at attracting, hiring, and retaining the impact players in their industry.

Anan Wang is currently a lead scientist - Data Analytics and statics at Baker Hughes. Anan Wang joined BH in 2020 after she earned PhD in Chemical Engineering from Lamar university. Anan’s background is specifically in mechanical and chemical engineering. Her research focused on combustion mechanism, CFD simulation of flaring, and machine learning algorithm. Anan has been working on some projects which combine edge computing technology with ML algorithm to solve industry problem.

Walt Prentice works as a Business Applications Engineer II at Applied Flow Technology, which develops pipe flow modeling applications to help engineers around the world design better fluid transfer systems. Walt holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines with a Minor in Economics. He works on multiple facets of the business including sales, engineering support, and marketing. His proudest work comes from helping others understand the software and engineering concepts, which materializes in consulting projects, training classes, and webinars.

Mohamed has over 15 years of highly diversified experience in the heavy industries. He has held a variety of roles across operations, projects, and predictive Maintenance at “EzzSteel”, the largest independent steel producer in the Middle East and North Africa. He was managing a PdM Program in six large plants that include almost four hundred pieces of rotating equipment.

Now Mohamed represents “SmartEAM”, the leading provider of Innovative Asset management solutions for large enterprises. He is managing IIoT / Smart factories / Smart EAM Projects in the MENA market.

Gakuo Ndonga is currently an Application Engineering Expert with SKF USA Inc. He has been working in the fluid machinery industry for over eight years. His primary focus is on rolling element bearings in industrial pump applications. Gakuo is an alumni of Rowan University where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. In addition to his passion for the fluid industry, Gakuo is also helping the drive forward the importance of fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce in his organization.

Torbjörn (Tor) Idhammar is President of IDCON INC. Tor’s responsibilities include training IDCON consultants, developing international partnerships, product development, sales, and marketing. Tor works with many of IDCON’s multi-site and international clients as the managing partner ensuring that outcomes and deliverables are met.

Prior to becoming IDCON’s president in 2009, Tor worked at over 65 client plants in 15 different countries. During this time he provided clients with advice, reliability and maintenance assessments, seminars, preventive maintenance implementations, planning and scheduling implementation, spare parts management, root cause improvement. He has worked with industries such as steel, refining, chemical, food, mining, other oil and gas, assembly, part manufacturing, large part and machine suppliers and other primary metals refining

Randal Ferman has more than 46 years’ experience in the pump industry. He served in a variety of engineering roles with Flowserve, a major global player in the pump manufacturing arena, and is currently a full-time principal of Ekwestrel Engineering LLC, Austin, Texas, providing independent, objective engineering consulting services on new and existing pumping equipment and systems, including design, performance, NPSH and cavitation, repairs, and re-rates. His clients span a range of industries including oil & gas, electric power generation, water, wastewater, solids handling, chemical processing, pump manufacturing, pipeline transportation, engineering firms, and legal counsel.

Stephanie Corso, after 15 years, continues to dedicate her life to revolutionizing the way the story of water is told in the US. Her passion is to serve others and to build bridges of trust between water providers and the communities they serve. She has, as a result, become the chief provocateur to rally the water community into action. Stephanie co-founded and leads two mission-driven organizations (Rogue Water, LLC and Rogue Water Lab) and is the disruptive producer and host of water-related content and events.

Mike Lassas is the President/CEO of Proco Products, Inc. in Stockton, CA. Mike has over 28 years in the design, manufacture, and engineering of elastomeric piping products. Mike began his career at Proco Products, Inc. in 1994 and has held the position of President/CEO since 2019. Mike is an active member of the Fluid Sealing Association, Water Environment Association, and the American Water Works Association. Mike graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Sales & Marketing and is also a very proud veteran of the United States Navy.

Bill is a highly accomplished, transformative business executive with the proven ability to take operational and revenue capabilities to new levels of performance for companies, especially within the Energy and Flow Control sectors. He has proven experience at building, training, and optimizing the performance of teams of all sizes, that continually exceed business and customer expectations. Focused on creating cultures that promote accountability, professional development, innovation, and teamwork as keys to achieving operational excellence. Over his 30+ year career, many in global roles, he has worked with companies such as Stancor as CEO, The Weir Group, Flowserve and Sulzer.

As Senior Hydraulic Engineer, Amy provides training and guidance in the fields of water-hammer, computer surge analysis and surge vessel design. She is a Texas A&M engineering graduate with almost 20 years of engineering and management experience. Designs have encompassed numerous piping systems, pressure vessels and packaged equipment for a broad range of fluid medias including water, chemical, hydrocarbons, and natural gas. Amy has held leadership roles in several fast paced, critical projects installed worldwide.

Preston Johnson is the Solutions Manager for Industrial IoT at CBT, with a technical focus on Predictive Maintenance solutions and systems. Preston builds on 28 years in industrial instrumentation and machine condition monitoring systems at National Instruments, and 4 years at Allied Reliability building predictive maintenance programs with digital technologies. Preston draws from his broad functional background in people and project management, technical and domain expertise in asset monitoring applications, and business development to create and implement comprehensive business strategies for new product development, market introduction, and growth. At CBT, he works with the business development and operations teams to deploy condition monitoring systems and services, reliability solutions, training, and hardware/software systems that improve machinery uptime, reliability, and ultimately, production capacity. Prior to joining the CBT team, Preston held roles in Applications Engineering, Field Sales, Sales Management, Product Management, and Business Development.

Sam Patrick is ABB's product manager for large motors and generators in North America. He has worked in the motor industry for the past decade in a number of capacities. A Kansas native now residing in Houston, TX he is still coming to terms with the presence of mosquitos in December.

Ron Frisard has spent 32 years as a technical expert in Mechanical Packing and Industrial Gasketing. He has traveled over 1 million miles to work with customers around the globe. Ron is currently Global Training Manager for AW Chesterton. He manages the design, development, analysis, and execution of training through the organization. Ron graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. He has worked for the A.W. Chesterton Company for the last 30 years in all facets of Mechanical Packing and Gasketing.

The founder and creator of Beer Logic Conferences and Events, Chad Pilbeam has built a reputation on being interesting, relevant, and exclusive.  He’s a marketer, public speaker, professional beer drinker, radio show host, and two-time failed soccer professional who worked his way up the corporate ladder by being a “yes-man”.  He eventually started his own business, working with associations, corporations, and non-profits, and wrote a book about his experiences titled “Most of Us Are Pretty Dim Bulbs – a guide to corporate nonsense.”  Chad has succeeded and failed in business and life, and in his original presentation series, “Beer Logic – everything I ever needed to know, I learned from beer”, he presents case studies, facts, anecdotes, and humor that challenge audiences to be different and to be bold, taking calculated risks so they too can be interesting, relevant, and exclusive.

Chad has over 20 years experience in sales and marketing and has been an entrepreneur and public speaker for more than a decade.  He is a Certified Cicerone®, graduate of Grand Valley State University with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations, and has a “life degree” in parenting two children with his wife Kristine of 24 years, who still can’t believe she married a professional beer drinker.

The modern architect of culture change in energy, Katie Mehnert is the Founder and CEO of ALLY Energy™ the community accelerating connections, jobs, and skills to drive an equitable energy transition.  ALLY Energy is an inaugural member of Greentown Labs Houston, the top climate tech incubator in North America.

Ms. Mehnert has held global leadership roles with BP and Shell in safety and environment during periods of financial crisis, spills, divestment, and globalization. Her early career included assignments with Duke Energy, Entergy, and Enron. Her corporate path drove her to entrepreneurship to help energy companies prepare for the looming talent shortage and workforce diversity needs to address energy poverty and climate change.
 

She was appointed Ambassador to the United States Department of Energy in 2020 during the Trump Administration and has testified before Congress on the clean energy workforce of the future.  

Ms. Mehnert has been published in Scientific American, Forbes, The Hill, CNBC, CNN, and in 2020, she published her first book, Grow with the Flow, Embracing Difference, Overcoming Failure and Progress with Purpose.  She’s co-author to Everyday Superheroes: Women in Energy, a children’s book focused on energy careers to be released in 2022.  Mrs. Mehnert appeared in Hot Money, a 2021 documentary produced by Academy Award winning actor, Jeff Bridges and Retired NATO General Wesley Clark on the financial complexities of climate change and finance.  

Ms. Mehnert is an Energy Institute Fellow and an advisor to Clean Energy for America.   

Katie is a four-time World Major marathoner having completed London, Chicago, New York and Berlin. Her husband is Vice President of Legal with Baker Hughes. They live with their 11-year-old daughter, Ally, in Houston.

Matthew Derner is the Manager, Business Development, Pump System Products. He holds a leading role in promoting pump system related programs that deliver energy efficiency in commercial and industrial settings. Additionally, he is responsible for managing Pump Systems Matter (PSM), HI’s training subsidiary, and for the overall promotion and growth of the Hydraulic Institute’s portfolio of training and certification programs that focus on pump system optimization, and efficiency.

Matthew has a strong background in global sales of pumps, drives and various rotating equipment in both the manufacturing and distribution segments, with an emphasis on energy efficiency and total cost of ownership.

James Griffin earned his BS and MS from the University of Wisconsin. He is currently the Senior Vice President of Petrochemicals, Energy and Technology at San Jacinto College.

Griffin began his career as an associate engineer with The BF Goodrich Chemical Company. He has held positions in plant operations, corporate leadership and R&D. Prior to joining the college, James was a VP of Manufacturing for Mitsubishi Chemical.

James is a past board chair of The East Harris County Manufacturing Association, an alliance of 132 refineries and petrochemical plants. He is also past board chairman of The Economic Alliance Port Region, an organization representing 12 cities, the Port of Houston Authority, Harris County, and 250 private industry members.

Michael B. Michaud is the Executive Director of the Hydraulic Institute, the largest association of pump industry manufacturers in North America.  Since joining HI in 2015, Michaud has expanded the Institute’s portfolio of efficiency programs by launching the HI Energy Rating Label and the Pump System Assessment Professional (PSAP) Certification. 

Prior to joining the Hydraulic Institute, Michaud spent 19 years in leadership positions at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), where he was responsible for developing and implementing global strategy, managing the International Gas Turbine and Petroleum Institutes, and growing professional development and training activities around the world.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Jaclyn is responsible for the long-term global brand and corporate marketing strategy. She is also responsible for tailoring the buying journey for a unique experience in the trenchless space for Vortex’s customers. Jaclyn brings a blend of marketing, brand buildings, sales, and even operational experience to harness and execute the Vortex message consistently globally. As the head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, she is responsible for leading Vortex’s vision of restoring communities and transforming the industry through the diversity of our people, dynamic partnerships, and the innovative solutions we provide. 

Prior to joining Vortex, Herrera was hired by The Weir Group’s Oil & Gas Division to head up its global marketing and branding efforts including marketing the most purchased frac pumps in the world - SPM. Over the course of 10 years. Herrera had multiple roles, including overseeing the company’s marketing communications, branding, wellhead business development, and sales programs. She also led the Artificial Lift product line and led operations for the North American Wellhead manufacturing plant. Before her time in oil & gas she held positions at top Houston Marketing Agencies leading brand strategy and communication programs. Jaclyn holds a degree in marketing from the University of North Texas. She resides in Houston with her two children.

Bill Deibert has been employed with Vaughan Company since 1997. He began in the factory as an assembler of pumps in production. During his time in the factory as an assembler, he also performed duties such as pump rebuilds, maintenance, field service, pump testing, and technical training. He would utilize his personal expertise in Vaughan equipment to collaborate with the Vaughan Engineering Department to perform diagnostic testing in the field.

In October 2015 Bill transferred from the factory as a professional assembler to the Vaughan Sales Department to become a Technical Advisor. His current role requires him to provide technical support for our sales department, engineering department, representatives, and end users. He has the knowledge to review installation, noting proper and improper aspects of suction piping, discharge piping, and supports. For 25 years, Bill has been a key member of the Vaughan Team!