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Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation at World Economic Forum Davos 2024

Connect with Rockwell Automation at WEF Davos 2024

From supply chain challenges to the desire to increase sustainable practices to the adoption of rapidly merging technologies, industrial production industries are at the heart of what will drive the world forward.  That is why we believe it is important to be present at the annual World Economic Forum meeting to represent the world of industrial production and the challenges and opportunities most important to our customers and partners around the world.

Each year, thousands of the world’s most important influencers from governments, businesses and charitable organisations … plus economists, journalists and celebrities … come together in this small mountain town to focus on making the world a better place.  This year, the spotlight will be on rebuilding trust while taking advantage of rapidly-evolving technologies. As a member of the World Economic Forum and a leader in its Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains Centre, Rockwell Automation will be there throughout the week to ensure that manufacturing voices are heard, and to gather information and insight we can share with our customers, employees and partners.

What We’re Talking About at WEF Davos 2024

Discussions in Davos will concentrate on four key areas

OTTO AMRs in warehouse with artificial intelligence data overlaid on top
Artificial Intelligence as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society

We believe that AI will truly give people in manufacturing superpowers, but that won’t happen without careful management. We expect to talk about AI’s role from supply chain through production line, how it can be applied to the industrial automation industry and the ethical and security considerations we need to build in from the beginning.

Technology battery high power electric energy with a connected charging cable
A Long-Term Strategy for Climate, Nature and Energy

Global production sectors are responsible for one-fifth of carbon emissions and consume 54% of the world’s energy sources. Bottom line: we’re essential to any conversation about sustainability. We’ll be in discussions about how to be more efficient stewards of the resources we need, how to build a more circular economy, and diverse paths to energy transition. This isn’t just about sacrifice: we’ll explore how doing the right thing for the planet also brings benefits to manufacturers’ bottom lines.

Futuristic road transportation technology with digital data transfer graphic showing concept of traffic big data analytic and internet of things .
Achieving Security and Cooperation in a Fractured World

The Covid pandemic demonstrated how much we depend on manufacturing to preserve our quality of life. Conversations in Davos are likely to focus on subsequent global security crises like Ukraine and the Middle East. We know that just below the political surface, supply chain disruption is an inevitable side-effect of these situations. We’ll be there to ensure that manufacturing’s role and interests aren’t forgotten.

A female engineer is holding a tablet outside with a chemical plant in the distance
Creating Growth and Jobs for a New Era

Digital manufacturing delivers opportunities and challenges. It elevates the jobs our industry offers, making them safer, more interesting and brings greater job satisfaction. Yet our industry faces a significant skills gap between the capabilities of most of today’s workers and what’s needed to take up those new roles. Conversations here will be about how we bridge that gap to get to a brighter future at speed.

Join the WEF Davos Conversation

Our pick of Rockwell’s best content related to the conversations taking place at WEF Davos 2024

Meet Us There

Are you planning to be in Davos for the WEF meeting? If you’d like to meet up with our representatives live, tell us about your availability and what you’d like to discuss, and we’ll try to connect you.

Contact Us

Rockwell and the World Economic Forum: Working Together to Expand Human Possibility

Blake Moret speaking at World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum plays an important role in shaping conversations around the manufacturing industry, and has always recognized our industry’s significant contribution to growth and innovation.

As a WEF member, Rockwell participates in WEF Centres, contributes to significant reports, provides case studies and hosts cross-industry conversations. Our Chairman and CEO, Blake Moret, serves as co-chair of WEF’s Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains Industry Group, while CTO Cyril Perducat co-chairs a focused team of chief strategy officers who are part of that group. Rockwell also supports a WEF Fellow from within its employee population. The World Economic Forum fellowship programme is empowering industry and subject-matter experts to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges our industry faces through global collaboration with the Forum’s project teams and stakeholder communities.

WEF runs ten Centres that bring together business, government and society to find common solutions and take decisive action on the world’s challenges. Rockwell Automation is actively involved in four, including associated initiatives:

Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains
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Centre for Nature and Climate
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Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
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Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains with Centre for Cybersecurity
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Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation, photographed at Rockwell headquarters in Milwaukee, WI in December of 2021.

Blake Moret
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Blake Moret is Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation. As CEO, Blake is dedicated to delivering the company’s strategy to bring the Connected Enterprise to life. Under his leadership, Rockwell Automation integrates control and information to help make industrial companies and their people more productive and the world more sustainable. Blake is accelerating the Rockwell Automation strategy by focusing on understanding customer needs and their best opportunities for productivity, combining our technology and domain expertise to deliver positive business outcomes, and simplifying our customers’ experience. Key to this strategy is Rockwell’s culture, the foundation for the company’s accelerated profitable growth.
Headshot of Cyril Perducat, Chief Technology Officer, Rockwell Automation

Cyril Perducat
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Cyril Perducat is senior vice president and Chief Technology Officer. Cyril and his team focus on growing Rockwell’s already broad technology offering and expanding what is possible in the industrial automation space. He charts the company’s technology roadmap, our reusable intellectual property library, and research related to core technology. Cyril has developed innovative solutions to enhance manufacturing technologies. He has an extensive background as a technology strategist, particularly in systems, software, networks, and solutions businesses. Cyril joined Rockwell Automation after 25 years with Schneider Electric. He has a passion for innovating and building teams, and implementing successful outcomes based in effective change management.
Susana Gonzalez, President, Europe, Middle East and Africa region, Rockwell Automation.

Susana Gonzalez
President, Europe, Middle East & Africa

Susana Gonzalez is President, Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Rockwell Automation. Her mission is to drive results for our customers, helping them to connect, transform and grow in a pivotal era where the worlds of industry and digital technology converge.

Susana joined Rockwell in 2017 as sub-regional vice president of sales and assumed her current role in 2019. For the past 20 years, she has helped industrial organizations transform their manufacturing operations and realize their ambitions for a connected and productive future. Working in large, global businesses across a range of regions, sectors, and roles, she has gained the broadest perspective possible on where today’s manufacturers want to be and what’s holding them back.

Susana holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Asturias Business School and San Francisco University and a M. Sc. in business administration from San Francisco State University.
Victoria Nerad, Rockwell Automation WEF Fellow

Victoria Nerad
World Economic Forum Fellow

Victoria Nerad is Rockwell Automation's third World Economic Forum fellow. She is focused on accelerating sustainability - specifically how circularity enables progress towards scope 3 reduction, building a program tailored to help excite the next generation of industry leaders, and supporting the Global Lighthouse Network.

Victoria holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Allie Schwertner on the Flats East Bank promenade June 3rd, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio.Photo by Tim Harrison for Crain's

Alexandra Schwertner
AI Co-Innovation Leader

Alexandra Schwertner is part of Rockwell Automation's Technology and Innovation organization - responsible for leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) Co-Innovation. In this role, she helps industry apply AI, edge, and control technology by establishing new co-innovation partnerships. Alexandra is passionate about sustainability and helping drive accelerated outcomes.

In addition, Alexandra is responsible for leading Rockwell Automation’s WEF strategy, engagement, and fellows. She was Rockwell’s first full-time WEF ESG fellow focused on ESG in Advanced Manufacturing and developed a framework to quantify the impact that technologies and solutions have impacting ESG in advanced manufacturing.

Alexandra holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University.

Achieving Security and Cooperation in a Fractured World

Rockwell’s Susana Gonzalez and Accenture’s Götz Erhardt discuss how digital manufacturing can help to ensure success, even during the most volatile and unstable times.

How Automation Frees Up Workers for Higher Value Roles

A ROKStudios interview with Plex Systems’ Fred Hehl about how automation can help preserve the expertise of retiring workers while making manufacturing attractive to a new generation.