Biographies

*We are still working to update this page with all 2025 biographies.

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Ali Slayton

Reliability Leader, 3V Sigma USA

Linkedin

I began my career working in mechanical integrity, where I inspected tanks, vessels, and piping. However, I soon realized that my true passion was in reliability. I am deeply interested in failure analysis, reliability culture, and maintenance work processes. Throughout my career, I have held various positions such as reliability engineer, production manager, maintenance and reliability manager, and process engineer. Currently, I am working through the exciting challenge of building a reliable culture at 3V Sigma USA.

When I’m not working, I enjoy powerlifting, watching Battle Bots, eating new foods, and reading books.

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Ariberto Fernandes

Senior Maintenance Manager, Bridgestone Americas

Linkedin

A leader with more than 23 years of experience in Operations and Maintenance, working as a front and middle level leader. Over 5 years of Textile Mill practice and more than 18 years of Steel Mill experience working for the same company in several locations US, Brazil and Colombia. I’m fluent in 3 languages English, Portuguese and Spanish) and hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with two MBAs, Business Management and Reliability.

Expert in Maintenance & Reliability programs to drive results. Successfully implemented several Maintenance best practices (Planning & Scheduling, REC, Outages, Rounds, Root Cause analysis, PMs, PdM, Criticality Matrix). I love creating a strong s

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Blair Fraser

Vice President of Global Development, UE Systems

Linkedin

Blair Fraser is a technology evangelist with a natural curiosity to think differently and challenge current thinking. He is VP of Global Business Development for UE Systems and the co-founder and advisor to many companies in the technology space. Blair is a passionate reliability and operational excellence professional with over 20 years of experience in designing, commissioning, maintaining and improving manufacturing equipment and processes for the manufacturing industry. A Certified Reliability Leader (CRL) and Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP), Blair has dedicated his career to combining sound reliability principles and processes with the latest technology to improve asset performance and uptime for customers across the globe.

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Bob Arnold

VP Reliability and Maintenance Services, Acoem

Linkedin

Bob Arnold is the Vice President of Reliability and Maintenance at Acoem USA, where he oversees key offerings, including Predictive Maintenance Services, Precision Correction Services, Advanced Machine Diagnostics, and Maintenance & Reliability Consulting. With a wealth of industry experience and a strong background as the former President of Reliability Point, Bob brings deep expertise in machinery services, helping clients enhance equipment performance and reliability across various sectors.

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Brian Hronchek

Reliability Engineer, Eruditio

Linkedin

Brian Hronchek is an Aerospace Engineering graduate of Purdue University with additional professional qualifications including Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP), Reliability Engineering Certification (REC) from Clemson University, ISO CAT II Vibration Analyst, and is a retired Captain of Marines with extensive experience in training, operations and advising.

Brian specializes in Reliability Engineering, Maintenance Planning, Leadership and Business Process Development through a holistic approach of mentoring and empowering individuals as the foundation for high-performing organizations. After retiring from the Marines, Brian had the opportunity to work in oil and gas, spent time in the steel industry, and eventually found himself in a role as a predictive technology provider before stepping into his current role of principal trainer and consultant.

Brian likes to share many of his lessons learned through LinkedIn articles, professional lectures, and workshops, as well as mentoring Purdue students getting ready to step out into industry as young professionals. “Wealth is created through the transfer

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Christopher Eyman

Technical Services Engineer, Acoem

Linkedin

Christopher Eyman, P.E., is an Engineer at Acoem USA specializing in Predictive Maintenance, Asset Reliability, and Vibration Analysis. With extensive experience in reliability engineering and condition monitoring, Chris has designed and implemented successful programs across various industries, including petrochemical, petroleum, and municipal sectors. His expertise spans a range of technologies, including wireless and handheld vibration analysis, laser alignment, motion amplification, oil analysis, infrared thermography, and ultrasound diagnostics. Chris holds a Level IV Vibration Analysis Certification from Mobius

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George Miconi

Planning Manager, USS Steel

Linkedin

George’s bio is coming soon.

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James Otremba

Technical Trainer, Acoem

Linkedin

James Otremba is a Technical Trainer at Acoem USA with over 17 years of experience in vibration analysis, machine diagnostics, and reliability engineering. His career includes a tenure at SKF USA, where he served as a Senior Reliability Engineer, focusing on vibration data collection, system configuration, and maintenance planning across industries like wind energy, mining, and manufacturing. At Acoem, he specializes in training end users on advanced diagnostic techniques and vibration monitoring systems, utilizing tools such as Acoem’s Nest software and various portable and wireless surveillance systems. James holds multiple certifications, including ISO CAT III Vibration Analysis from Mobius.

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Jeremy Bey

North American Strategic Accounts Manager, UE Systems

Linkedin

Jeremy brings over 14 years of hands-on experience at UE Systems, where he’s worn many hats in regional management, training, customer success, and business development. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he’s passionate about making a difference in the reliability field, partnering with engineers and maintenance teams to elevate equipment performance and plant efficiency through ultrasound technology. With his CMRP certification since 2014, Jeremy combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of what customers need to succeed. Away from work, he enjoys the outdoors and quality time with family.

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Jerid Jackson

Reliability and Asset Management Sr. Manager, Frito-Lay

Linkedin

Jerid Jackson is a Reliability and Maintenance Manager with a 25-year history of positive results in manufacturing.  Skilled in Six Sigma, Project Management and Process Development, Jerid is also trained in PM Creation, Lubrication, Spare Parts and Materials Management, Planning, Scheduling and Precision Maintenance.

Jerid holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University with a focus on Agricultural Engineering.  After graduation, he worked in the Building Products industry for Temple-Inland and TAMKO Building Products in roles such as Process Engineer, Maintenance Planner, Scheduler, Reliability Engineer, Maintenance Manager, and Engineering Manager.

“I believe, the most rewarding role I’ve held has been Maintenance Planner as the benefit of the work I was doing was obvious. The efficiency and accuracy gains were substantial.”

Jerid enjoys restoring and driving classic cars and spending time with family in Texas.

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Jonathan Ayers

Senior Project Engineer, Hollingsworth & Vose

Linkedin

Jonathan earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon State University and continues to live and work in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

With 15 years of experience in heavy manufacturing environments — including welding, machine shops, titanium casting, specialty metals, aerospace, and most recently glass fiber filter media at Hollingsworth & Vose — he thrives in settings where he can roll up his sleeves and dive into hands-on problem-solving.

Serving as both a technical expert and a maintenance leader, Jonathan is passionate about collaborating closely with maintenance and operations personnel to shift the culture toward a reliability mindset.

In his free time, he enjoys DIY home remodeling and motorcycle camping

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Milan Heninger

Industry Leader

Linkedin

Milan is a seasoned Renewable Energy executive and the Head of Commissioning for Enel North America. He brings extensive experience in construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance across 6,200 MW of Solar, Geothermal,  BESS, Wind, and Hydro power plants. At Enel, he has personally managed reliability initiatives at over 50 facilities across the United States and trained more than 500 people in reliability from nine countries. Known for his expertise in Maintenance and Reliability, Condition Monitoring Technologies, Change Management, and Organizational Behavior and Intelligence, Milan brings a unique blend of hands-on and executive experience, offering a holistic approach to addressing complex technical and organizational challenges.

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Scott Hunnicutt

Electrical Engineer, Bridgestone Americas

Linkedin

Scott is an Engineer with manufacturing experience in maintenance & reliability, continuous improvement, design, and project management. His strengths are in technical capabilities in power systems, process control, mechanical equipment, and instrumentation.

Scott has a proven ability to lead cross functional teams to establish priorities and implement effective change.

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Shon Isenhour

Owner, Eruditio

Linkedin

Shon Isenhour is an engineering graduate of North Carolina State University and has become an expert in the implementation of holistic reliability solutions using tools such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) as well as Six Sigma and Lean to drive significant bottom line results.

Shon specializes in Adult Education, Business Process Management, Strategic Planning, Organizational Change Management, Leadership, Asset Management, and Reliability Engineering and has led improvement initiatives for industries such as pharmaceuticals, metals, petrochemical, paper, and power generation, among others. Shon has spoken on these topics at numerous professional conferences in the United States as well as Europe, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Shon is a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP), Certified Asset Management Assessor (CAMA) and has been certified by Prosci and Colorado State University as a Change Management Professional.

When away from the asset management world, Shon lives reliability as a helicopter and airplane pilot and an avid fisherman because… No one likes to be stranded in the air or on the water.

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Stephen Ford

Maintenance Engineer and UE Product Owner, FedEx

Linkedin

Stephen Ford has been with FedEx since 2010, serving in various roles across operations and engineering. Now, as the UE Systems product owner, he is responsible for overseeing the implementation and training of ultrasound technology across 170+ FedEx sites in North America. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science in Technology Management from Kansas State University. Outside of work, he enjoys outdoor adventures, traveling, firefighting, and exploring with his family.

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Trent McJunkin

Facilities & Maintenance Manager, Oshkosh Defense

Linkedin

A South Carolina native, Trent McJunkin has been in the trades since high school, where he began taking a welding class at his local high school career center. After enrolling in Tri-County Technical College, Trent found his interest for industrial maintenance while studying Industrial Electronics Technology. Working in the OEM automotive manufacturing sector for over a decade has helped him find more opportunities for growth and helped him develop his passion for excellence within an organization. Trent’s goal is to drive maintenance excellence by making people development the top priority. The greatest reward for him is when he sees his team members experience growth and success.

Leading Reliability Conference Testimonials

“A must-attend event for anyone looking to start or improve their maintenance and reliability!”

“I really enjoyed the 2021 Leading Reliability Live and In-person Conference. The speakers each led great discussions and also took time during the day to answer any questions and give out their contact information as a continued resource. There is great value in the contacts made during this conference and the opportunity to talk with our peers about the opportunities and successes we are seeing in our facilities. The venue was excellent and the conference organizers took great care of us. Thank you.”

“This was my first reliability conference, and it was a great experience. I not only enjoyed presenting, but also attending the other workshops. I learned a lot from really established professionals and hope to make improvements at my site with the useful information. I also was able to network with others and answer questions, as well as, get a few of mine answered. Overall this was an excellent conference that was extremely helpful and well put together.”

“What a great week of interacting with a huge variety of professionals that were all focused on reliability! The location, food, and sessions were all outstanding but the atmosphere while enjoying these is what will bring me back next year! Great job guys!”

“This was a wonderful experience. Some of the roadblocks I have while building the PdM program have been removed thanks to this conference. The networking and broad spectrum of speakers was a grand help.”

“The most important part of these types of conferences is the gathering with others who have a interest in implementing a Reliability culture within each of our facilities. This conference provided a lot of available tools and relationships to help improve and implement the reliability culture without our facilities.”

“The Leading Reliability Class was an amazing time! All industry members are experts in their field, and no matter your experience you will definitely take something away from it. No matter if you’re looking for the latest in greatest technology, or just looking to gain knowledge on Reliability Leadership this seminar has it all. Big thank you to everyone who made this visit a pleasure and I look forward to attending again in the future!”

“I got the most from the preconference session with eruditio. I was able to come back and implement some of the strategies immediately.”

“This was my first time attending the reliability conference, so I really wasn’t too sure what to expect. It was a very informative and educational conference. It was a great opportunity to network with folks from within my company as well as build relationships with folks outside of my company.”

“I don’t get the opportunity to meet many other vibration analysts outside of our company, so it was awesome to discuss similarities and differences with them. I loved the atmosphere and networking opportunities.”

Register TODAY to save $400 for the 2025 Leading Reliability Conference!
Register TODAY to save $400 off your 2024 Leading Reliability registration!