"Protect Tomorrow's Future - Plan Your Transformation Journey Today" to be the Focus at IDC's 3rd Pan-European Manufacturing Executive Summit 2015

IDC is pleased to announce the launch of the 3rd edition of the IDC Pan-European Manufacturing Executive Summit, to be held in Brussels on November 16 and 17, 2015.

The summit will focus on the theme Protect Tomorrow's Future - Plan Your Transformation Journey Today and will put manufacturing IT and business-related "big issues" on the table for open debate and discussion, guided by insights from industry innovators, leaders, and experts.

The summit is designed to be an information-sharing forum and an intimate networking platform for key executives from the European manufacturing industry. A select group of 40-50 senior-level business innovators and IT leaders from European manufacturers will engage in challenging debates and cutting-edge knowledge sharing, discussing issues such as:

• The road to the factory of the future: creating a consistent information flow along product life-cycle, supply chain, and manufacturing operations
• No more "data rich, information poor": opportunities from modern technologies (3rd Platform, the Internet of Things)
• The changing organization driven by IT and operations and consumer technology convergence: the role of the chief digital officer (CDO)

The summit agenda has been developed by a panel of experts from the manufacturing sector and from the IDC Manufacturing Insights analyst team. The summit industry Advisory Board includes:

• Christian Schulze, Global Business Market Manager for Food and Beverage, Drives and Controls, ABB Switzerland Ltd.
• Theo Zuijdwijk, CFO, The European Candy Group
• Peter Rosseel, Director of Management Consulting and Research, University of Leuven
• Mark Hacker, Engineering Director, B/E Aerospace 
• Stefan Hansson, VP Operations, Alfa Laval 
• Pascal Huau, Chief Architect of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Information Systems, Renault 
• Sergio Paganelli, CEO, Balluff Automation 
• Salvatore Paparelli, Regional Logistic Officer Europe and Head of European Sales Support, Sony
• Stefan Arnold, CEO, ISPEX AG

"Business leaders today are challenged to move their enterprises to the next level, that of digital business transformation and revolution - coupling digital technologies with organizational, operational, and business model innovation to create new ways of operating and growing businesses," said Marc van Herreweghe, associate VP and head of IDC Manufacturing Insights, EMEA. "This year's summit is designed to explore and share strategies that will enable the implementation of transformational change for manufacturers to accelerate revenue and profit growth going forward."

View the full summit program here.

Event dates and location: November 16-17, 2015, Brussels

Event website: click here