Digital role models recognized in 2021 Transformational Leadership Awards

Smart Industry is pleased to announce the winners of its second annual Transformational Leadership Awards, created to identify and honor those individuals and organizations leading the way to Industry 4.0. This year’s winners, chosen from across the global industrial landscape, have successfully envisioned, planned and executed the digital transformation (DX) of one or more aspects of their business through the application of digital and disruptive technologies.

The Transformational Leadership award categories and selection criteria are aligned to reflect today's most critical business transformation challenges. They recognize the importance of executive vision and organizational communication; the ability to build talent, manage change and collaborate across functional siloes; and the successful reinvention of operational processes, customer relationships and business models. The five award categories include two individual award categories as well as three organizational awards as described below. Smart Industry congratulates all those who were nominated, as well as the winners named today.

We’re also pleased to announce that our awards program sponsor, Rockwell Automation, has invited all Transformational Leadership Award winners to share their lessons learned at the upcoming ROKLive 2021 virtual experience, to be held June 29^th to 30^th. All about best practices in digital transformation, this event will also feature exciting keynotes, discussions with industry leaders, interactive value workshops and more than 100 product and technology sessions. Registration is scheduled to open in late May.

Five categories of digital innovation

In our first Transformational Leadership Award category, three senior executives were recognized for the vision, innovation,

perseverance and growth mindset to inspire and lead their organizations to embark on a journey of DX. The honorees in the category of DX Visionary are:

Joris Bisschop, CEO, Technologies Added, a digitally focused contract manufacturer based in Emmen, The Netherlands
J. Scott Cole, Vice President, Advanced Manufacturing, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, a global manufacturer of car and light truck tires based in Findlay, Ohio, USA
Rohit Saboo, President & CEO, NBC Bearings, National Engineering Industries, a leading manufacturer of bearings for automotive, industrial and railway sectors, based in Jaipur, India

Three executives with direct responsibility for implementing DX initiatives were recognized for their demonstrated ability to create

teams and lead them to desired goals. The honorees in the category of DX Champion are:

Jeff Dewberry, Director, Connected Enterprise, Southwire Company, a global leader in wire and wire-making machinery headquartered in Carrollton, Georgia, USA
Oliver Paul, Senior Director Therapy System Lifecycle Management and Larry Dubé, Vice President, PLM Strategy, Fresenius Medical Care, a global provider of products, services and systems for renal disease, based in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany
Jagdish Ramaswamy, Chief Digital Officer, Hindalco Industries Limited, a global leader and vertically integrated producer of aluminum and copper, based in Mumbai, India

Three end-user organizations were recognized for the successful execution of DX in one or multiple areas of their business and at scale, ranging from operations to product/service offering

to customer service. The end-user organizations honored in the category of DX Trailblazer are:

Fonterra Cooperative Group, a multinational dairy cooperative that collects and processes more than 20 billion liters of milk each season into a range of ingredients and finished consumer goods, based in Auckland, New Zealand
Hindalco Industries Limited, a global leader and vertically integrated producer of aluminum and copper, based in Mumbai, India
Polpharma Group, manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished dosage forms at its drug production plant in Starogard Gdański, Poland

Three machine builders, or industrial original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), were recognized for the successful leverage of digital technologies to increase value for their customers and generate new revenue streams. The industrial OEMs honored in the

category of IIoT Pioneer are:

IMA Group, global designer and manufacturer of automated machines for the processing and packaging of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, tea and coffee based in Bologna, Italy
Sani-Matic, Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of automated sanitary process cleaning equipment used across the biopharmaceutical and food & beverage processing industries, based in Sun Prairie, Wis., USA
Shandong Mining Machinery Group, a producer of conveyors, hydraulic supports, belt conveyors and hydraulic props and other equipment used in mining operations, based in Weifang, Shandong, China

Last but not least, three organizations were recognized for their ability to foster productive collaboration across traditional functional siloes resulting in the successful DX projects. The

organizations honored in the category of IT/OT Teamwork are:

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, a global manufacturer of car and light truck tires based in Findlay, Ohio, USA
Fresenius Medical Care, a global provider of products, services and systems for renal disease, based in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany
NBC Bearings, National Engineering Industries, a leading manufacturer of bearings for automotive, industrial and railway sectors, based in Jaipur, India

Once again, congratulations to the winners of this year’s Transformational Leadership awards, thank you to our sponsor Rockwell Automation, and a quick reminder that many of the winners will be sharing their stories of digital transformation at the upcoming ROKLive virtual event.