Alison Beard-Gunter

Independant Consultant

With 25 years in manufacturing, from shop floor roles to transformation director, Alison has extensive experience across the industry, particularly in FMCG, biosciences, and big pharma. Her recent projects include supporting an operational readiness strategy for UK’s vaccine manufacturing capacity and security. She holds MSc degrees in Lean and Operational Excellence and has published research on user experience (UX) in industrial systems. Alison is adept at integrating digital technologies like VR, AI, and digital performance management to drive productivity. Currently, she is developing a boutique startup consultancy focused on business improvement with the synergy of human and machine collaboration to tackle complex challenges. 

Carl Milbourne  

Head of Operations, Sertec

With over 30 years of experience in automotive manufacturing and 15 years in senior leadership roles, Carl has built a successful career from the ground up. Starting as an operator, he has progressed to Head of Operations, currently leading two production sites at Sertec and managing teams of over 500 people. Carl is extremely proud to be homegrown and qualified by experience —learning by doing, driving performance, and delivering results through a hands-on experience and a real passion for continuous improvement. 

Sertec is the Winner of Smart Factory at The Manufacturer MX Awards 2024

Alice Quinn

Global Manufacturing Execution SME, Mars

Alice is part of the global digital transformation at Mars, where she's leading the transition from SAP’s ECC ERP solution to S/4 HANA. In the past, she has worked across operations, process improvement and IT/OT integration. Outside of work, Alice loves cycling and hiking in the Lake District. She's very passionate about inspiring young people to explore science, technology, engineering and maths and showcasing the possibilities it offers. 

William Sturdy

Smart Factory Line Leader, Lisi Aerospace

Sturdy started his journey as an operator, learning the ins and outs of production from the ground up. Through hard work, dedication, and a passion for continuous improvement, he worked his way up to become a Line Leader. Sturdy is proud to be part of the Smart Factory initiative - driving digital transformation and shaping the factory to the future of manufacturing. Every day, he is involved in building more efficient, data-driven processes that push the boundaries of what’s possible on the factory floor. 

Lisi Aerospace is the Winner of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at The Manufacturer MX Awards 2024.

Tom StJohn

Multimedia Editor, The Manufacturer

Tom is the Multimedia Editor at The Manufacturer (part of Nineteen Group). His professional background is in broadcast journalism; in TV and radio. As well as writing for The Manufacturer Magazine, he leads on all our video content and is a presenter on The Manufacturer Podcast. Tom has thoroughly enjoyed immersing himself in the stories that our manufacturing and vendor communities have to tell, and views sessions like these as a valuable extension of that.