We welcome you to meet fellow delegates and speakers in an informal meeting of drinks and light refreshments at the conference hotel, Hotel Football.

Your first chance to network with delegates over a fresh coffee and hot breakfast rolls

President, Operational Excellence Society

TV Adventurer, Author and former Royal Marine Sniper

By drawing parallels between surviving hostile combat zones and navigating today’s volatile supply chain crises, global trade tariffs, and rapid industry disruptions, Aldo Kane delivers a masterclass in maintaining elite human performance when environments spin out of control.

Head of Launch Quality Centre, Bentley Motors Ltd

Instead of delivering a standard lecture on technology cost savings, Bentley Motors lifts the impact of human mechanics in managing digital change. Decades ago, manufacturing struggled with the cultural shift toward automation; today, we face comparable hurdles with AI. This session explores how to use AI as a system enabler that strengthens—rather than disrupts—your core operational mindset and excellence models. Drawing on generational research and shop-floor data, Bentley shares its real-world journey towards achieving operator acceptance on the production line.

• AI in Launch Quality Centre: A real-world case study of AI-enabled problem solving at Bentley, including deployment on the shop floor, workforce adoption, and measurable performance outcomes
• AI in your Operating Model: How to embed AI as a natural extension of your existing operational excellence framework, rather than treating it as a standalone IT initiative.
• The Automation vs. AI Curve: What past industrial shifts teach us about managing human responses to digital change—and how to retain and engage your workforce.
• The Generational Divide: How Digital Natives, Digital Adopters, and Automation Veterans engage differently with technology—shaped by their experience of past industrial shifts—and how to design training that brings them together.

Our expert led roundtable discussions come with a twist, you will be participating as your table at JTE will have one expert, the rest will consist of you the delegate. The expert will moderate your table, as you discuss your own insights, challenges, and questions relating to your own OpEx journey. This is a great opportunity for each delegate to cultivate relationships with thought leaders, peer experts, and your audience.

Former GM, Manufacturing Quality & Engineering, Shell

Keynote details to be announced.