Panels
2:30 – 4:00 pm – Day 1 (October 13, 2026)
Panel on Lean Six Sigma
Panel Chair
Dr. Leonard (Lenny) Perry
Associate Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Director of Industry Partner Program
University of San Diego
San Diego, California, USA
Panel Speaker I
Panel Speaker II
Panel Speaker III
Panel Speaker IV
4:30 – 6:00 pm – Day 1 (October 13, 2026)
Panel on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Panel Chair
Dr. Sina Zare
Assistant Professor, Information Systems and Business Analytics
College of Business Administration
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles County, California
Dr. Sina Zare is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics at Loyola Marymount University’s College of Business Administration. He holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from the University of Texas at Arlington and an M.S. in Production Engineering and Management from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. His research focuses on behavioral operations management, behavioral decision-making, family business, AI-driven operations, data analytics, and supply chain and operations management, with particular interest in how human behavior, organizational context, and emerging technologies shape managerial decisions and performance. Dr. Zare’s interdisciplinary work bridges academia and practice through collaborations with industry leaders, startups, family enterprises, and organizations across multiple sectors. He is also actively involved in international academic and professional communities through research, industry engagement, panel leadership, and initiatives connecting entrepreneurial thinking with data-driven innovation and operational excellence.
Panel Speaker I
Dr. David Choi
Conrad N. Hilton Chair of Entrepreneurship
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California, USA
Dr. David Choi is the Conrad N. Hilton Chair of Entrepreneurship at Loyola Marymount University, where he also serves as Director of the Fred Kiesner Center for Entrepreneurship. He has been instrumental in building LMU’s nationally recognized entrepreneurship program, which includes a top-ranked undergraduate major and MBA specialization, a master’s program focused on entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation, and a center for family businesses.
He also serves as Faculty Director for Ascend LA, a training program for women and minority entrepreneurs. Professor Choi writes broadly in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation and is co-author of Values-Centered Entrepreneurs and Their Companies. He is a recipient of LMU’s President’s Fritz B. Burns Distinguished Teaching Award and serves as an advisor to several firms.
Professor Choi received his B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering from UC Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Technology Management from UCLA.
Panel Speaker II
Akhil Oltikar
Co-founder & CEO of Omnics
San Diego, California, USA
Akhil Oltikar is a supply chain technology executive and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience helping global companies improve operational and financial performance. He has advised companies on supply chain and operations strategy and led initiatives across network design, inventory, planning, and S&OP—delivering significant cost reductions, greater flexibility, and stronger business performance.
Akhil is the Co-founder and CEO of Omnics, an enterprise software platform that transforms fragmented supply chain data into faster planning, smarter decisions, and timely action.
He began his career at Remix Technologies, an early pioneer in supply chain modeling and simulation software that was acquired by Flex. During his 13 years at Flex, Akhil ultimately led the SimFlex Group, an independent business division providing supply chain design software and advisory services to Fortune Global 500 companies.
Akhil holds a bachelor’s degree in Production Engineering from the University of Mumbai and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Panel Speaker III
Will Wollack
Operations & Technology Executive
Industrial Innovation | AI-Enabled Transformation
Orange County, California, USA
Will Wollack has built operations from the ground up across some of the most demanding industries in the world including semiconductor, defense, climate technology, and various reshore manufacturing. His career has been defined by joining organizations at inflection points: early enough to shape the foundation, and staying long enough to scale what works.
He has a particular instinct for the moment when a startup’s informal systems break down under growth and for rebuilding them faster, smarter, and with the emerging technologies others are still debating. Today that means AI and automation; earlier it meant whatever gave scrappy teams an edge over incumbents with ten times the resources.
Will believes the best operational thinking comes from people who’ve had to make it work with limited resources, high stakes, and no manual.
Panel Speaker IV
2:30 – 4:00 pm – Day 2 (October 14, 2026)
Supply Chain and Logistics Panel
Panel Chair
Dr. Himadri Sen Gupta
Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering
Colorado State University Pueblo, USA
Panel Speaker I
Steve Harrington
Senior Advisor and Workforce Development Strategist
Manufacturing Skill Standards Council
Simi Valley, California, USA
Panel Speaker II
Panel Speaker III
Panel Speaker IV
4:30 – 6:00 pm – Day 2 (October 14, 2026)
Women in Industry and Academia Panel sponsored by Ford Motor Company
Panel Chair
Dr. Yasaman Ghasemi
Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics
Loyola Marymount University
Dr. Yasaman Ghasemi is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business Administration at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, California. She earned her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to pursuing her doctoral studies, she earned an M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering. Her research focuses on behavioral operations management, healthcare analytics, simulation-based decision modeling, and the application of machine learning and emerging technologies to complex operational and supply chain systems.
Isela Scaglione
Isela Scaglione is Vice President of Portfolio Management at Mattel, where she leads efforts to drive strategic portfolio planning and cross-functional execution across the business. With more than 25 years of experience spanning manufacturing, product development, product planning, and portfolio management, she brings deep expertise in bringing innovative products from concept to market.
Akanksha Jouret
Akanksha Jouret is Sr. Manager of Portfolio Planning at Mattel, where she works with brands such as Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, Action Figures, Building Sets and Games on portfolio planning and cross-functional execution across the business. She has been at Mattel for over 11 years in various roles across global supply chain right from logistics to supply planning to now portfolio planning.
Priyanka Malla, PMP
Information Technology Project Manager, FBM
IEEE Senior Member | IEEE Orange County Section Secretary Officer
Priyanka Malla is an Information Technology Project Manager, based in Orange County, California, where she leads an enterprise technology portfolio spanning AI/ML, ERP modernization, cloud infrastructure, and identity governance across multiple sites nationwide. She is also an AI project manager at her organization, owning the company’s entire AI initiative portfolio, having built the delivery capability from the ground up. Prior to FBM, Priyanka worked as a TPM at Glidewell Dental and as a Project Engineer at Wipro Technologies, supporting global enterprise clients including Intel, Daimler, and Electrolux. She earned her Master of Science in Management Information Systems from California State University, Long Beach. Her professional credentials include PMP certification from PMI, AWS Machine Learning Foundations, IBM Enterprise Design Thinking, and Google Analytics.
Priyanka is a published researcher with peer-reviewed papers in international journals covering Agile methodologies, AI-driven automation, and enterprise vendor optimization. She bridges industry and academia through active leadership across multiple professional organizations, serving as Mentorship Coordinator at the PMI Orange County Chapter, Secretary Officer of the IEEE Orange County Section, and Content Committee Member at PDMA. Her expertise has been recognized through judging roles at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Grand Award Judge, Software Design), FIRST LEGO League, and CSUF Center for Entrepreneurship. She was elevated to IEEE Senior Member in October 2025.
2:30 – 4:00 pm – Day 2 (October 14, 2026)
AI Powered Engineering Panel
Panel Chair
Dr. Hayder Zghair
Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering
Director of STEM center Center
Southern Arkansas University (SAU)
Dr. Hayder Zghair is Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering and Director of STEM center at Southern Arkansas University (SAU). Prior to joining SAU, he held academic appointments as Assistant Teaching Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and Lecturer of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Kettering University. Dr. Zghair’s research and teaching interests span industrial engineering, manufacturing systems, automation, simulation, optimization, sustainability, and engineering education. His recent work focuses on emerging Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), smart sensors, digital transformation, and intelligent decision-support systems. He has authored and presented numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers in these areas. In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dr. Zghair actively collaborates with industry and professional organizations to advance workforce development, applied research, and sustainable engineering practices. He serves as senator of the College of Science and Engineering at the SAU faculty senate, and Chair of the Southern Arkansas University Sustainability Committee and holds leadership roles in several national and international professional organizations. Dr. Zghair professional affiliations include ABET program evaluator, ATMAE program evaluator, President of the Manufacturing Division of ATMAE, Chair of the Academic-Industry Coalition Committee for Engineering for One Planet (EOP), and Faculty Advisor of the IEOM Student Research Chapter at SAU. Dr. Zghair had an Affiliate Researcher position with the Penn State Institute of Energy and the Environment and maintains active memberships in several professional societies, including IEOM Society International, ASEE, SAE International, ASME, and IISE. His current interests include AI-powered engineering systems, sustainable manufacturing, intelligent automation, and the future of engineering education in the age of artificial intelligence.
Panel Speakers
Mayra Bornacelly
AI researcher, instructor, and applied analytics professional
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL, USA
Mayra Bornacelly is an AI researcher, instructor, and applied analytics professional specializing in fair, causal, explainable, and human-centered machine learning. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering at the University of Central Florida, where her work examines how AI can improve trust, reliability, and decision-making in human–machine collaboration. She holds an M.Sc. in Data Science from the University of Melbourne and brings extensive industry experience in data analytics, predictive modeling, and engineering information systems. Her recent scholarly contributions include BayesIntuit, reliability-aware neural decision systems, fairness under domain shift, causal reasoning, and structural reliability in learning-enabled systems. She has served as an instructor, invited speaker, conference reviewer, journal reviewer, and award-winning presenter. Her work contributes to the development of responsible, human-centered, and intelligent engineering systems.
Dr. Thomas Jones
Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering
Florida Polytechnic University
Thomas Jones is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering at Florida Polytechnic University with several years of industry experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and PhD all in Industrial Engineering with specializations in Quality Systems and digital transformation. Dr. Jones carries certifications in Lean, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence, and Auditing which he has paired with work as a quality engineer and industrial engineer in the Aerospace and Defense and Automotive industries leading change and improvement. He has extensive experience in new product development and introduction, operational excellence including Lean Six Sigma, and in stabilizing processes. His research has centered on digital transformation and the implementation of Industry 4.0, with an emphasis on developing systems which are user friendly and easy to work with, and through this research he co-authored the book “Total Digital Transformation”.
Dr. Galia Nedeltcheva
University lecturer and researcher with sound scientific research experience, working at the interface of science, knowledge, and policy in the field of Computer Science & Engineering. Industrial Management professional with Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy. Galia has performed extended postdoc research in Italy, Germany, and the USA.
About eight years of experience as an Asst. Prof. in Software Engineering with Sofia University (Bulgaria), about 40 scientific publications in journals and conferences.
Skilled in Cloud & Edge Computing, DevSecOps, IoT, Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality, and Blockchain. Holds a professional education certificate in Cloud and DevOps Continuous Transformation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Giving talks at various international scientific conferences, numerous times serving as a conference session chair, and a reviewer for a number of scientific journals and conferences. President of the IEOM society chapter in Bulgaria. EC expert evaluator and reviewer of Horizon 2020 scientific projects.
Currently, working on EU projects in the field of ICT.