Biographies
*These were our speakers for the 2021 Leading Reliability Conference. We will update this for our 2022 Leading Reliability Conference accordingly as we get more information.
Vlad Bacalu is Senior Vice President leading the technology strategy and activities for Amentum’s IS4 business unit. He also chairs the Facility Asset Management and Operational Services (FAMOS), an Amentum steering committee to leverage collaboration and share best practices across all business groups.
Vlad has over 30 years extensive hands-on experience in facility management, creating and implementing strategic and technical solutions to drive bottom line performance across diverse clients. He led numerous maintenance and reliability programs in a variety of technically diverse environments. Vlad is certified as ISO 55000 Asset Management assessor (CAMA) and knowledgeable in the implementation of Asset Management programs. He also holds multiple certifications in the field of maintenance and reliability leadership such as CMRP, CRL, and CMRT.
Vlad is the Past Chair of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP), a global maintenance and reliability society with 7,500+ members. He is the Past Chair and Director of the Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM) a worldwide non-profit organization providing leadership for maintenance and asset management communities. Vlad has a MS in Electrical Engineering.
Rick started his 27-year career in maintenance on board the submarine USS Baltimore SSN-704 in 1991. He discovered an ability to repair equipment and had a knack for figuring out why things were broken. After his time in the Navy was over, he began a career in Industrial Maintenance where he grew his skill set even more. After being promoted to Maintenance Technologist and attending RMC Bootcamp at the University of Tennessee, Rick obtained his CMRP certification. He has since held positions as Planner, Scheduler, and Maintenance Supervisor. Rick has also been a CMMS Administrator and was the lead consultant on the development of that project.
He earned his RMIC certification from UT based upon quantifiable improvements made at his facility due to the successful implementation of that system. He has served or is currently serving on several committees within SMRP, including the SMRP Conference committee, the Best Practices Committee where he now serves as Chair, and the Maintenance and Reliability Knowledge Committee. He currently serves as the chapter Treasurer for the SMRP Middle Tennessee Chapter. Rick has been married for 23 years to his wife, Chandra. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, mountain biking, and golfing with his daughter.
Dan is the former Vice-President of the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida.
He attended Boston University, graduating in 1991, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.
Upon graduation from Boston University in 1991, Dan moved to Florida and worked as a parking attendant at Disney’s Epcot Center. Subsequently, he joined the Disneyland Paris Management Trainee Program as part of the opening team and moved to France in 1992.
While working in Paris, Dan held various management positions in Parking, Ticketing, Guest Relations, Food & Beverages and Human Resources.
After spending 5 years in France, Dan relocated to Florida and held a variety of executive roles at the Walt Disney World Resort, both in the theme parks and resort hotels. His last 9 years with the company, he was successively Vice President of Epcot, Vice president of Disney’s Hollywood Studios and eventually Vice President of the Magic Kingdom where he led 12,000 cast members and entertained over 20 million guests annually.
He earned his MBA in 2001 at the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College.
In addition to his operational responsibilities, Dan was a keynote speaker for the world-renowned Disney Institute for 18 years. He has addressed open-enrollment participants from all over the world as well as attendees in custom programs including the USAA Bank, General Motors, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Army, the Southern Methodist University Business School, Porsche A.G., and United Airlines.
He served on the board of Junior Achievement of Central Florida from 2004 to 2018, and was Chairman in 2010.
After a fulfilling an exciting 26-year career with the Walt Disney Company, Dan and his wife Valerie made the decision to set out on a new venture and start their own consulting and speaking business.
Dan provides customized, authentic presentations, insightful workshops and one on one coaching, focusing on leadership and management practices drawing upon his extensive Disney career with relevant examples and inspiring storytelling.
Andy has been a vibration practitioner since 2007, working mostly within the energy industry. His specialty is analysis and mitigation of high-cycle fatigue concerns, with an emphasis on passive components such as piping and structures. He leads a consulting produce area focused on cause evaluation and troubleshooting, employing advanced instrumentation in conjunction with specialized analytical methods including FEA.
He is adept at using multiple diagnostic techniques to evaluate vibration problems, including Motion Amplification (MA), Operational Modal Analysis (OMA), and Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA). He also works to integrate these methods with additional sources of information (metallurgical analysis and PI system data) to inform design and operation practices that improve asset management.
Eric is a passionate Sales & Field Service Manager/ Application Engineer with considerable experience in developing team structure within an international B2B platform. He has led multiple initiatives to acquire and implement advanced and profitable technology into current business processes. I look to promote team growth through the development of innovative management tactics as well as establishing rapid sales maturation.
Over 17 years at TEGG Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA as Manager, Director, and Vice President of the Operations department’s Technical Training and Support Division with a network of international electrical contractors in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Australia, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway now numbering over 160
3-year electronic technology course from 1981-1984
4 Years in the US Air Force – Aerospace Ground Support Equipment Technician 1984-1988
1 Year Shipyard Electrician Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME construction and testing of electrical, communication, and combat systems on the US Naval Aegis Cruiser program 1988
Nearly 10 years in the central Florida phosphate mining, chemical fertilizer, and co-generation mines and plants working as and maintenance electrician, instrumentation technician, process controls, DCS and DDS systems, PLC process design, installation, programming, and commissioning from 1988-1997. Also involved in the preventative maintenance program for plant equipment that included Infrared Thermography as a tool.
4 years at a steel pipe production plant as an electrician/instrumentation technician, PLC programming, troubleshooting, repair, and data highway maintenance, electronic and radio control repairs from 1997-2001
1.5 years in a titanium mill as a plant electrician that manufactured raw material for the commercial aerospace industry (Boeing and Airbus), the US Military for combat aircraft components, and the medical industry from 2001-2002
Brian’s experience spans more than 10 years in EAM leveraging best of breed solutions and best practices. He has hundreds of deployments of EAM, Mobile and IIoT solutions across industries including: Aviation, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Public Sector & Utilities. His primary focus is on high value deliverables leveraging Reliability Centered Maintenance in support of ISO550001, CBM and ICM.
Jeff is the CEO of RDI Technologies. He thrives on creating innovative products that disrupt industries and help customers see things in a whole new way. He believes that cameras are the sensor of the future.
Jeff’s background is in Applied Optical Physics. Before founding RDI, Jeff held a Research Scientist position at the University of Louisville where he developed and patented a method to measure motion remotely with the use of a video camera. His roles focused on data acquisition, signal processing, software development, and data analysis. In addition to these technical roles, Jeff was responsible for overseeing the commercialization aspect of the grants he was involved in.
Since starting RDI, he has created and patented multiple methods for using camera technology to measure and visualize motion that is integral to RDI’s products. In addition to research, Jeff also manages the development team at RDI and oversees all product development. He is also actively involved in customer demos, training, and site implementation because he believes that customer feedback and success drive better products.
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Louisville.
Skylar Horne graduated from Florida State University (Go Noles!) with a Bachelor of Science degree. It was during her senior internship that she developed a love and appreciation for various styles of teaching such as Montessori and Classical. Many of these methods directly translate into adult education.
She strongly values education and is thankful to have ended up with a career that helps others see the value of training and education too. Horne enjoys learning from others through their past experiences and stories. In her career, she appreciates the complexity of the maintenance and reliability industry.
Horne is originally from Orlando, FL where she visits family often. Secretly she visits for the much-missed restaurants and wake surfing on the many lakes! She now lives with her husband and their Aussie doodle pup, Tucker, in Charleston, SC. She’s also lived in upstate New York, but mostly used it as proof that she belongs in a state that serves sweet tea.
Away from the workplace, Horne can be found working on house projects, exploring the outdoors, enjoying local restaurants, and binging Netflix.
Brian’s Purdue Aerospace Engineering & U.S Marine Core background provides a distinctive experience and a unique perspective to Training, Process Reliability, and Change Leadership. Brian has diverse experience serving as Maintenance Manager, Reliability Engineer, and Planning Manager. During that time, Brian co-led the development of a reliability program which resulted in drastic improvements in Overall Equipment Effectiveness. After his time in Industry 4.0 Space, Brian now serves as Principal Trainer and Consultant at Eruditio. Brian loves helping others see the Reliability Lightbulb turn on and is excited to help others have as much success in the Industry as possible.
Shon specializes in Adult Learning, Leadership, Asset Management, and Reliability Engineering and has lead improvement initiatives for industries such as pharmaceuticals, metals, petrochemical, automotive, paper, power generation, among others. Shon has spoken at numerous professional conferences on these topics in the US as well as Europe, South America, and the Middle East.
Shon 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 is a Past Chairman of the National Board and past Director of Education for the Society of Maintenance and Reliability Professionals and is a past committee vice chairman in the area of benchmarking. Shon also serves on the boards of other global asset management and education organizations including the Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM), Association for Talent Development (ATD), and World Partners in Asset Management (WPiAM). 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 (CMP).
Shon is a Plant Engineering Future 30 honoree and a USA Science and Engineering Festival Nifty 50 Speaker as well as being the recipient of the Solutions Magazine Best Article Award.
Shon currently writes and manages one of the most visited industry-specific blogs: www.ReliabilityNow.com. The blog is viewed monthly by over 6,000 visitors and contains over 200 posts on topics ranging from manufacturing to leadership, reliability, and education.
When away from the asset management world, Shon lives reliability as a helicopter and airplane pilot and an avid fisherman. Nobody likes to be stranded in the air or on the water.
Greg Perry is a Senior Capacity Assurance Consultant with Fluke Reliability. He is a Certified Reliability Leader and CMRP with nearly two decades of experience in maintenance and operational best practices. Perry is dedicated to positive client relationships while bringing to the table a broad base of experiences in the areas of MRO and storerooms, world-class maintenance principles, CMMS consultation, and leadership. In addition to delivering implementation and consultative services to clients, Perry also presents maintenance best practice sessions at leading industry conferences and has authored several best practice webinars located at www.accelix.com.
Allen Plymon is President of Plymon Vibration Consultants, LLC. He provides consulting and training to many industrial clients including acceptance testing, root cause failure analysis, advanced testing methodologies and analysis, and troubleshooting, balancing, remote monitoring, and reliability concepts. Allen is a Category IV Vibration Specialist, through the Vibration Institute. He has over 30 years of experience identifying and solving complex machine, process, and structural issues both in a variety of OEM and Repair Centers and a wide variety of industrial plant applications. He serves as Executive Vice President for the Vibration Institute Board of Directors, is a member of the Vibration Institute Training Committee, and is a current Vibration Institute Instructor.
Since 2011, Matt has served as 4X Diagnostics’ Field Operation Manager, providing vibration testing and analysis for many industries throughout the US including manufacturing, technology, research and service, food and beverage, power generation, government agencies, and local municipalities.
Matt is a certified Category III Vibration Analyst and is skilled in advanced diagnostic test measurements including resonance testing, Operational Deflection Shape (ODS) studies, Modal surveys, and more. He is an experienced Motion Amplification® analyst and is proficient in using RDI’s Iris M™, MX™, and CM™ systems.
Matt is a 4X Diagnostics training instructor and presenter on such topics as Fundamentals of Vibration, Data Collection, and Motion Amplification®.
Keith Staton is a Reliability Director for Weyerhaeuser Wood Products. He has over 25 years of experience in automotive die casting, wood products, and related manufacturing. Keith possesses a solid background in automation, process controls, and working in multi-plant operations at all levels. Keith is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, a CMRP, CRL, Level III Vibration Analyst, MLT I, and MLA II. He is currently the Maintenance & Reliability Director of the Panels Division at Weyerhaeuser.
Michael Watson joined Fluke Reliability in early 2017. Michael is a Level II Certified Thermographer, Certified Reliability Leader and CMRP with 30+ years of experience in Maintenance, Operations, Reliability and Technician effectiveness. He brings to the table a broad base of experiences in areas of IIoT, Reliability Consultation, Predictive Maintenance with Thermography and Vibration and Technician effectiveness. In addition to delivering reliability implementation and consultative services to clients, Michael also presents Predictive Maintenance best practices at various Leading Industry Conferences and Best Practice webinars and articles.