In this previous Linkedin Live episode, Nikki catches up with Andy Stump (Director of Business Development at Rockwell Automation), and Vitória Régia Oliveira (Lead in Maintenance, Facilities, and Project Engineering at Magna International). They discuss the current state of smart manufacturing, the challenges of integrating technology, and the imp…

Nikki and Ali had the chance to speak to Dale Parker, Design Engineering Manager at Keystone Gas Services. Dale talks about his interest in getting UL 508A certification, sharing knowledge and mentoring the next generation of automation, as well as, some new exciting updates about Keystone's future. Support the Show. Co-Hosts are Alicia Gilpin Dire…

In this previous , Nikki and Ali talk to Jason Bean, founder of M-Path Consulting and IIoT Market Specialist at Pepperl+Fuchs Group. Jason discusses working in various industries, his own experience with being neurodivergent, and the stigma behind individuals who fall under that. Learn more about Harnessing Neurodiversity for Organizational Excelle…

In this pre-recorded episode, all the Automation Ladies chat with Vitória Régia Oliveira, Lead in Maintenance, Facilities, and Project Engineering at Magna International. The ladies get the chance to discuss creating women in automation groups, overcoming challenges as a black woman in the industry, and the process of moving abroad for career oppor…

This week Nikki and Ali speak with Sarah Sonnier, Data Scientist and Jessica Williams, Controls Engineer at BBP. They discuss the challenges of integrating IT and OT, AI's usefulness in tasks like programming (with some human intervention), and the story of the dynamic duo's origins. Support the Show. Co-Hosts are Alicia Gilpin Director of Engineer…

In this episode, Nikki interviews Yamini Vattipalli, Director of Operations at Easy Automation Systems. Yamini shares her journey from being an image processing engineer to her current role. They discuss the challenges and importance of vision applications, the transition to system integration, and the role of AI in machine vision. Support the Show…

Nikki and Ali G sat live with Linda Freeman, an Industry Manager and longtime employee at Rockwell Automation. They look at the importance of functional safety and cybersecurity skills in the industry, the need for continuous learning, and using traditional gender roles to one's advantage. Check out the original live episode here. Support the Show.…

This week, Nikki gets a one on one interview with Startup Mentor, Dyci Sfregola. Nikki and Dyci discuss mentorship, starting her own venture, supply chain management, and her brand new book. Support the Show. Co-Hosts are Alicia Gilpin Director of Engineering at Process and Controls Engineering LLC, and Nikki Gonzales Head of Partnerships at Quoteb…

In this LinkedIn Live, Nikki and Ali G (and a little bit of Courtney) speak with student PCE employee Kortni Pendon. Kortni began her journey into automation thanks to her dad and time in the Navy. She discusses her military experience and the soft skills she developed, the importance of playing into your strengths and working on your weaknesses, a…

This week Nikki speaks with Chioma Aso, Founder of STEAMDivas Inc. and longtime engineer. The importance of art and creativity in engineering isn't the only conversation they have. Nikki and Chioma both open up about imposter syndrome, emotions, and finding yourself within the workspace. Interested in Chioma's book? Check it out here. Support the S…

This week, Ali G and Courtney get the chance to talk to Festo Product Manager, Daniella Gonzalez. They cover topics like gender imbalances in the field, problem-solving with customers, Daniella' work with training and workforce development at Festo, and which Harry Potter house they all are. Support the Show. Co-Hosts are Alicia Gilpin Director of …

Nikki, Ali G, and guest host Courtney catch up live with Morgan Wilson, Partner Success Manager at SVT Robotics. Last time Ali G and Courtney spoke to Morgan live about her experiences at SVT Robotics and her outreach with customers. They talk SVT's work with diverse technologies and custom systems, potential application of certain automation, and …

While Nikki is away, Ali G takes on her own solo interview with guest Krystle Ponce, Senior Data Analyst at TREW. Krystle started her journey into automation as an aviation electrician in the Navy. She talks about her journey from the sea to the land, the importance of learning through mistakes, and the importance of confidence in the work place. I…

Starting the Linkedin Lives up for the 2024 season, Nikki, Ali G, and guest host Courtney talk with robotics and AI expert, Juan Aparicio Ojea. Juan is the co-founder of a start up and spent many years working with robotics. They discuss how AI can be brought more into robotics, the lack in current AI technology when it comes to automating certain …

This week's episode is a little different since Nikki was at an industry event: the A3 Business Forum hosted by the Association for Advancing Automation in Orlando Florida. She thought she found a quiet corner to have a conversation with Cathy Rinne (the infamous Conveyor Cougar on TikTok) and Lauren Van De Mark - President and Sales and Marketing …

Continuing Season 3: Nikki and Ali G (along with a guest appearance from Courtney) take time to speak with Jasmine Quick, an Industrial Automation Engineer at GPS Electrical Services in Melbourne. Sometimes working long shifts, Jasmine is no stranger to the engineer lifestyle. She talks about going through school in Australia, VM's, converting whol…

Naomi Pittman began her career in IT but found herself looking for more. Now Naomi is a master electrician and the owner of ElekProTek, an electrical & controls contractor with presence in 6 states! Nikki & Naomi talk about her journey, entrepreneur stuff like building a website and growing a client base, and the apprenticeship model that allows sk…

Nikki and Ali G had the opportunity to interview Özlem Biber with EPLAN at Rockwell Automation Fair in Boston last month. She is an Account Manager in the Chicago area and she called on Ali years ago when she was working at Probat so it was a fun reunion. We promise we did not mean to talk about EPLAN so much but we can't be too surprised the conve…

Nikki speaks with Chelsea Lantto, president of Trenton Forging Company, a forging company that delivers high-quality forged steel components. Although not new to forging, as a second-generation leader of the company, Chelsea shares the history of Trenton Forging and how it's become a family operated business. The company strives to complete their l…

Nikki talks to Priyansha Bagaria, Founder & CEO of Loopr AI a computer vision company solving the complex challenges traditional vision inspection still can't solve. She started working in her family's manufacturing plant at a young age and saw what good employment opportunities in manufacturing can do for a community, but also the challenges that …

This week, Nikki and Ali G speak with Elisa Ochoa, Client Advisor at Skellig Automation. They met Elisa at the Inductive Automation Ignition Community Conference in Folsom recently and had to have her on the show to learn more. Elisa moved to LA from Mexico for college and became a DeltaV engineer who recently made the move into a client advisory (…

With October being Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Automation Ladies decided to speak with some experts in the field Leah & Hayley. Leah is the Principal Cybersecurity Specialist at Nextlink labs, while Hayley is a Product Marketing Specialist for Network and Security at Phoenix Contact. Follow them on LinkedIn! These cybersecurity ladies discus…

In this live episode, Nikki and Ali G spoke with David Garcia and Nathan Schaffer, creators of MarketMate AI, a software built for industrial companies to help them scale their marketing efforts. We wanted to know does this work for a company like Process and Controls Engineering LLC a systems integration firm run by an engineer, and if so, how? Wa…

In this episode Nikki sits down, in person, with Sarah Larson - Digital Business Manager at ePLAN. Spending most of her career at Rockwell Automation, initially in technical support but then growing into both sales and marketing roles, she is one of our favorite people in *gasp* marketing. Hear the story of how her mom had to lobby to get her into …

In this episode Nikki and Ali have a chat with Ann Wyatt the owner of Ann Wyatt Recruiting and the host of Workforce 4.0 a Linkedin Live show and podcast about the manufacturing workforce. This episode is a little more "girl talk" style than our usual interviews since they are all pretty good friends now since meeting in person at Automate earlier …

Nikki and Ali talk with Lynn McMahon founder & Engineer at Monona Instrumentation & Controls. After spending nearly a decade writing software for machines in the Aerospace and Pharmaceutical industries, Lynn branched out and started her own consulting firm. The ladies talk industry, entrepreneurship, professional certifications and how to balance i…

To wrap up Season 2 of Automation Ladies, Nikki speaks with Adam Crandall, Chief Revenue Officer at Addtronics about getting a "piece of the pie". Nikki and Adam talk about multi-level relationships, getting people excited about Mondays, being a platform company, and most importantly investing in your employees. Interested in joining or learning mo…

In this episode, Nikki explores the world of AI with Senior Product Manager of IoT Strategy, Shanila Karim. Nikki & Shanila talk about the evolution of IoT, smart cities, the future, and projects they are passionate about. At a very young age, Nikki and Shanila both were inspired by their engineer fathers, so you will also hear a bit of back story …

This time, Nikki talks to CEO and founder of Direktin and Algae Scope, Dr. Elvira Rakova. They talk all things pneumatics, energy efficiency, and reducing our carbon footprint with industrial uses of micro algae. You can check out Elvira's interview Youtube channel which has a conversation with Nikki from last year, as well as her No Boring Pneumat…

Courtney and Ali G takeover the podcast and speak with Sarah Coleman, a Product Manager with Liberty Reach. They talk about Liberty Reach, a company that produces robot guidance systems and software, how Sarah found her way into robotics, the importance of a buddy system at work, and all things robots. You can check out Liberty Reach here. Support …

This time, while Nikki is out on a much deserved vacation, Ali G and guest host Courtney speak with Amber Wilborne, business co-owner of TW Controls. Amber discusses her jump from marketing to automation, starting a business alongside her husband Tim Wilborne, and parenthood. TW Controls helps in automation, PLC programming, control panels, and mor…

In this episode Nikki and Ali G are joined by fellow Automation Lady Courtney in talking to John Piller: Owner, Engineer, and CEO at JPiller Design and Consulting. John discusses his journey in automation and his job hunt after being laid off earlier this year. From minimal responses to the mismatch between job supply and demand they discuss all th…

In this episode Nikki and Ali G talk with Terry Kuzoff, Technical Assistant to the VP of LM Space Ignite. Terry and Ali G went to the same high school in Hawaii. They discuss growing up there and the lack of STEM-related fields in Hawaii. Terry also speaks on her past jobs with GOES and NOAA. The conversation touches on the importance of early expo…

In this LinkedIn live panel discussion Nikki and Ali G speak with 3 Automotive Industry professionals. This includes Louis Khalayli (Sr. Mechatronics Consultant), Anja Wriedt (Senior Consultant at EPLAN), and Hannah Halcomb (Controls Engineer at GM). The panel covers various topics such as robotics, programming, education, safety, and gender divers…

In another LinkedIn Live episode, Nikki talks to Automation Controls Engineer Katelyn Desrochers. Katelyn, who recently got her Associates in Automation Engineering Technology on top of her Mechanical Engineering bachelor's talks about her experience breaking into automation, being a woman in the manufacturing industry, and her passion for promotin…

This week, Nikki and Ali talk with Christelle Keefer, who is a member of the A3 Robotics Technology Strategy Board, as well as the Global Product Manager for Robotics Education at ABB. They discuss Ali's new non-profit Kids PLC Kits, the importance of partnerships with OEM's and educators around the world, uplifting the next generation of engineers…

In this episode, Nikki and Ali G catch up with the President and Co-Founder of Infinity Robotics, Dave Neville. Dave is a space connoisseur and is looking towards the stars to integrate robots and automation. Dave and the Automation Ladies discuss their recent travels, the admiration of youth and newcomers into the automation and engineering sector…

This week Ali G and Nikki talk to Sami Birch, the Marketing and Communications Manager at Mission Design & Automation. Sami speaks on her beginnings into automation as a tech writer (spoiler alert: like most of you she "fell" into it), the importance of building relationships, adaptation in a constantly changing market, and discuss how the pandemic…

While Nikki was at the 2023 Manufacturing in America conference in Detroit, she got to catch up with the U.S. Program Manager of Siemens Cooperates with Education, Amanda Beaton. Amanda and Nikki chat about how she got into the world of industrial automation, how the Siemens Cooperates with Education program reaches rural and low-income youth, help…

In this LinkedIn Live, Nikki and Ali G spoke with Dave Griffith and Vladimir Romanov with Manufacturing Hub Network. You better be in this episode for the long haul. They cover a variety of topics like the pros and cons of in-person versus remote technical learning and networking, fixing pain points in operational technology, and cross-functional t…

This week our Automation Ladies, Nikki and Ali G, speak to Senior Software Engineer at Miso Robotics: Vinita Palaniveloo. The Automation Ladies and Vinita look at highlighting the need for ground-level skills and the importance of kids being exposed to real-world problems and industry hardware, filling the skill gap between school and industry, and…

Join us for a thoughtful and engaging conversation between Nikki and Alex Marcy, the CEO of Corso Systems, an Ignition Premier Integrator specializing in the seamless connection of SCADA, MES, PLCs, HMIs, and more (without getting caught up in the Industry4.0 buzz). In this episode, Alex shares his experiences of starting his own business and the p…

This week, while Ali was in the field, Nikki spoke with Jessica Morell. Jessica has held various positions in the automation industry, from distribution to consulting. Jessica shares her journey, starting with her electrical and computer engineering technology degree. After graduation, she joined an apprenticeship program at a regional distributor …

While attending Live Stream event at Rapid Robotics recently, Nikki did an impromptu interview with their CFO Lisa Hu. Lisa talks about how she came into the robotics world, the importance of culture in startups, and the financial implications of a manufacturing business having access to automation and robotics as a service. Here is a link to the w…

This week, Nikki and guest host Courtney Fernandez speak with Ale Walker, Director of Business Development at Gray Solutions. Ale has lived an eventful life going from pro-golfer to doing business development in the industrial automation and robotics world. Ale speaks about her past, the importance of bringing tech to rural communities, and just ha…

This week, Nikki and Ali speak with Kara Branch, chemical engineer, and CEO and founder of Black Girls Do Engineer. Kara has had an amazing career spanning work in Oil & Gas, Space Exploration and is now in Tech working with Intel. Kara speaks about how she got interested in engineering, motherhood, and her non-profit Black Girls Do Engineer. Kara …

This week, Nikki was joined by guest host and fellow Automation Lady Courtney Fernandez, while interviewing Don Kiolbassa. Don is the author of "The Tao of the Side Hustle" which brings buddhism, martial arts, and business all into one. We get into Don's experiences in his own side hustles, a great urban legend and its ties into business, and self-…

In this episode, we catch up with Blue Collar Automation founder Brennen Dugger. We discuss his beginnings, his experience working at a pharma end user, OEM, a plant, and eventually how he came to create his own company. This was recorded as a LinkedIn live with Brennen on the road so we recommend you catch the replay on LI for the full experience.…

This week, while Ali was busy in the field, Nikki interviewed Suzy Steele, Chief Strategy Officer at the ARM (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing) Institute. Nikki & Suzy chat about the role robotics play in reviving our manufacturing industry, the challenges manufacturers face in implementing robotics, especially when it comes to skilled labor, th…

In this episode, we speak with recent graduate and member of the Technical Marketing Leadership Development Program at Siemens, Kristin Quasey. We talk about the Siemens rotation program, finding and building a network, as well as some talk about how this podcast came to be. The sponsor of this episode is Siemens, to learn more check out: https://s…