The Future-Ready Podcast: Industry & Beyond

Shaping the future of semiconductors with the digital twin

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 11:05:05 +0000

Bringing a new chip design to market is not simply a matter of designing the chip then sending it to be fabricated. Building fabs is, itself, a costly and highly complex process and, even once that is completed, it will still take further time to dial in the chip fabrication process to achieve good yields. All these factors contribute to the costs, risks and challenges associated with bringing new, cutting-edge chip designs to market. So, across the chip design process, adopting the latest in digital technology isn’t just a benefit – it’s a imperative.

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by Katherina Westrich, Global VP of Electronics and Semiconductors at Siemens, to explore how the needs of the semiconductor industry can be served by the increasing adoption of digital twin and artificial intelligence technologies and how that will shape the industry going forward.

In the episode you’ll learn about: (0:44) How the semiconductor industry must adapt in the future

(2:42) The importance of the digital twin in chip design

(5:16) AI accelerates the semiconductor industry

(6:23) Reducing ramp up time

(11:05) Building new fabs vs. new chips

(12:25) How to reach yield quicker

About the voices:

Katharina Westrich is Global VP of Electronics and Semiconductors at Siemens. In this role Katharina heads a team focused on unlocking the potential of resilient, smart, and sustainable semiconductor and electronics manufacturing across the entire value chain.

Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional creating forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Conor collaborates with industry experts and executives to produce impactful content exploring the challenges companies face and the technologies that can provide solutions.

Flexibility in process industries might mean looking at discrete manufacturers

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:32:04 +0000

Simply embracing flexibility and resilience is not an option, it needs to happen without compromising on efficiency. And to do that business are going to have to implement digitalization in their workflows to keep a balance on their priorities. And making that happen, businesses in the process industries might want to look at the solutions others are finding to implement flexibility into their own processes.

To wrap up our deep dive on the future of the process industries, we brought back Rebecca Vangenechten to talk with Mark Hindsbo a third episode of Siemens’ Future Ready Podcast.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:20) Similar solutions across industries

(07:29) AI needs determinism

About the voices:

Mark Hindsbo joined Siemens in 2025 as Head of Operations Software. He is leading a team to build an integrated and modular industrial operations software suite that allows customers to design, engineer, and operate their factories, data centers, or plants – powered by agentic AI and digital twins. His extensive career includes leadership roles at Ansys, Parallels, and Microsoft, alongside experiences at The Boston Consulting Group, Novo Nordisk, and CERN. Mark is also an Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Born and educated in Denmark, he holds an M.S. in Applied Physics & Mathematics from the Technical University of Denmark.

Rebecca Vangenechten has been the Head of Automation and Engineering for Process Automation at Siemens since 2023 – helping customers and partners through the entire plant lifecycle with engineering, consulting and modernization. But her background in Biomedical Sciences and Endocrinology is perfect for understanding the challenges of process industries.

Nick Finberg is a technical marketing writer for Software-Defined Everything, with a background in Nuclear Engineering. He has worked with experts to cover many industries and topics including Automotive, Battery, sustainability, and systems engineering.

How green tech actually solves energy security

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Industries often take energy for granted. Operators flip a switch, or fill a tank, and everything runs as expected. Recent global events prove the harsh reality: energy prices and availability can change quickly putting whole sectors at risk. Experts argue, however, that automation, digitalization and green technologies can secure energy supply chains.

In this podcast, Christian Gueckel, Head of Verticals for Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industry and Bernd Kalusche, Director of Vertical Management for Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industries discuss how modernizing the energy sector, and going green, affects access to affordable power, electricity and fuels.

In this podcast you will learn:

(01:09) – How energy security and supply chains are affected by diversification

(04:07) – What tools, chemistry and infrastructure secure energy supply chains

(09:08) – How automation and digitalization secure energy supply chains

Christian Gueckel – Head of Verticals Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industries

Connect with Christian on LinkedIn

Bernd Kalusche – Director Vertical Management Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industries

Connect with Bernd on LinkedIn

The Digital Twin Advantage: Scaling Future-Ready Operations at PepsiCo

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 22:29:53 +0000

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies are managing greatly increased complexity, changing demands and broadening product portfolios. At the same time, CPG companies cannot easily increase global footprints, driving them to do more with the same assets.

The Digital Twin and digital transformation offer a path forward, as demonstrated by the early success of PepsiCo’s digital transformation. In this episode we continue with our discussion with Ali Peyrovi and Steve Hoinka of PepsiCo and Stuart McCutcheon of Siemens to dive into new capabilities that a Digital Twin has unlocked and how its fueling a new mindset for future growth.

In This Episode:

(00:12) Welcome and building new manufacturing concepts with the Digital Twin

(04:08) How the Digital Twin and industrial AI improve decision making

(07:36) How to keep momentum when scaling a digital transformation program

(11:30) Key takeaway: Think big, start small, go fast and deliver value quickly

About the voices:

Steven Hoinka is Vice President of Global Manufacturing Strategy and Transformation at PepsiCo

Ali Peyrovi is Vice President of Global Warehouse Strategy and Transformation at PepsiCo

Stuart McCutcheon is Global Vice President for the Industrial Metaverse, Digital Twin and NPDI at Siemens Digital Industries Software

Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional creating forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software

From Tribal Knowledge to Operational Intelligence at PepsiCo

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 22:28:13 +0000

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies face a future of increasing customer demands, expanding global product and production portfolios and other challenges. Many companies are managing increasing complexity as they add new products or new variants to address rising consumer demands for health-focused products and to cater to regional preferences in developing markets. At the same time, global volatility and disruptions threaten increasingly distributed supply chains.

Faced with the same challenges, PepsiCo has embarked on an ambitious digital transformation, converting select manufacturing and warehouse sites into high-fidelity 3D Digital Twin models that simulate plant operations and the end-to-end supply chain. In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast, you will hear from three of the experts leading this transformation to talk more about the technology, the pain points and future possibilities.

In this episode:

(00:12) Welcome and introduction

(03:57) Breaking down data barriers

(06:26) The value of real-time data and how AI supports orchestration

(09:58) How the Digital Twin supports new product introductions

About the voices:

Steven Hoinka is Vice President of Global Manufacturing Strategy and Transformation at PepsiCo

Ali Peyrovi is Vice President of Global Warehouse Strategy and Transformation at PepsiCo

Stuart McCutcheon is Global Vice President for the Industrial Metaverse, Digital Twin and NPDI at Siemens Digital Industries Software

Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional creating forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software

Open energy platforms make sustainable power tech possible

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 16:02:26 +0000

The energy transition from petroleum-based power to greener, electrified options is becoming a reality. But as many green energy systems are dependent on a vast number of variables (from the weather to a given location’s energy demands) it is difficult to manually optimize such an ecosystem.

In this podcast, Christian Gueckel, Head of Verticals Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industry will discuss how an energy platform can optimally run an energy ecosystem. He will then argue that to maximize the potential of the ecosystem, the platform must be open and AI enabled.

In this podcast you will learn:

(00:39) – What energy platforms are in relation to energy ecosystems

(06:42) – The importance of making an energy platform open

(12:01) – What role AI will play in the open energy platform

Conor Peick – Moderator

Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional helping to create forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Conor collaborates with seasoned industry experts and executives to produce podcasts, articles, blogs, and other forms of content focused on the trends and challenges companies face in the future, and the technologies that may provide solutions.

Connect with Conor on LinkedIn

Christian Gueckel – Head of Verticals Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industries

Christian Gueckel is the Head of Vertical Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industries. In this role, he is responsible for sales operations within the vertical.

Prior to joining Siemens, Gueckel spent more than ten years at the specialty chemicals company Clariant in various management positions, including Head of Strategy and Marketing. He also earned his PhD in inorganic chemistry from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Connect with Christian on LinkedIn

What a green energy ecosystem actually looks like

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

The world’s energy ecosystem is heading towards a transition. Environmental realities, supply chain pressures, public opinion and growing regulations are shifting the industry away from petroleum to greener power sources. But understanding what this ecosystem will look like, and how to prepare, can be a challenge.

In this podcast, Christian Gueckel, Head of Verticals Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industry will discuss industry’s vision of a green energy ecosystem. Along the way he will discuss everything from green electrons to energy carriers like green hydrogen.

In this podcast you will learn about:

(00:30) – The big shifts in the energy industry

(05:56) – How new and existing technologies will support the transitions

(12:08) – What needs to happen for there to be a secure supply chain for energy

Conor Peick – Moderator

Connect with Conor on LinkedIn

Christian Gueckel – Head of Verticals Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industries

Christian Gueckel is the Head of Vertical Chemicals and Energy at Siemens Digital Industries. In this role, he is responsible for sales operations within the vertical.

Connect with Christian on LinkedIn

Deploying Industrial AI on the Shop Floor

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:39:32 +0000

How can manufacturers create value with Industrial AI? What does it take to move towards an AI-powered autonomous production? In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast, Spencer Acain and Dr. Matthias Loskyll explore how Siemens is bringing AI capabilities from predictive, generative, and physical AI into real industrial environments to solve the challenges of modern manufacturing.

They also explore the role of AI in quality inspection, process optimization, predictive maintenance, and engineering automation while sharing practical insights on where companies can start today to gain a competitive advantage for tomorrow.

In this episode you'll learn about:

(00:09) Matthias' background in industrial AI and manufacturing

(02:20) Understanding industrial AI and why it's different from consumer AI

(04:14) How to create industrial value with AI products

(09:27) How Siemens differentiates from hyperscalers

(12:50) Generative AI, process optimization, and predictive maintenance solutions

About the voices:

Matthias Loskyll is the Senior Director of AI and Robotics at Simens Digital Industries with a PhD in Production Automation.

Spencer Acain is a technical marketing writer for AI and verticals thought leadership at Siemens Digital Industries with a background in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

Building out the future of process industries one block at a time

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 14:00:45 +0000

The process industries may be in flux, but the changes needed to make their future a reality are not built on changing everything at once. Architectures will change, but as smaller evolutions, not a monolithic revolution. That starts with finding ways to modularize and standardize processes before moving into software-defined automation that can leverage the portability and reusability of a cohesive architecture.

To talk about this and more, we brought back Rebecca Vangenechten to talk with Mark Hindsbo for another episode of Siemens’ Future Ready Podcast.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:23) Evolving existing facilities

(07:54) Pitfalls of inaction

(11:22) Software as connective tissue

About the voices:

Nick Finberg is a technical marketing writer for Software-Defined Everything, with a background in Nuclear Engineering. He has worked with experts on many industries and topics including Automotive, Battery, sustainability, and systems engineering.

How AI and Global Trends Impact Semiconductor Manufacturing

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:14:04 +0000

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by Katharina Westrich, Global VP of Electronics and Semiconductors at Siemens, to talk about the world of electronics and semiconductors and how it is changing amid the artificial intelligence transformation in industry.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(00:20) Katharina’s journey to working in the electronics and semiconductor industry

(03:14) What’s changing most dramatically in the industry now and in the near future

(06:01) Other trends flying under the radar

(09:11) The challenge of talent scarcity

(10:13) More details on how AI is impacting the semiconductor industry

About the voices:

Faster, Smarter, Trusted: A Framework for Industrial AI

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:21:54 +0000

The focus of Industrial AI is shifting to systematic implementations across tools and workflows in engineering, manufacturing, operations and more. For Siemens, that means building AI capabilities around three clear pillars and delivering measurable results at each layer.

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast, host Spencer Acain is joined again by Samir Desai, Senior Director for AI and Data Strategy at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Samir and Spencer explore how Siemens is putting its industrial AI strategy into practice, from dramatically accelerating simulation and verification workflows to embedding copilots and agents directly into engineering tools, and finally to connecting data across disparate enterprise systems for faster, more confident decision-making.

In this episode you will learn:

(00:53) How AI is accelerating simulation and verification workflows

(06:39) The distinction between copilots, domain agents, digital thread agents, and in-app AI and how they are helping engineers work faster and more effectively

(15:39) The importance of human-in-the-loop design for AI agents in mission-critical industrial environments

(17:14) Why connected data is critical for industrial AI and how modern solutions orchestrate across PLM, MES, ERP, and CRM systems

(22:45) Intelligence Center X and the vision for a fully contextualized, AI-powered data environment

About the voices:

Samir Desai is the Senior Director and Global Program Head for Data and AI at Siemens Digital Industries Software with more than 30 years of experience developing and managing industrial software suites.

Spencer Acain is a technical marketing writer for AI and verticals thought leadership at Siemens Digital Industries with a background in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

From Rule Based to Goal Based Automation

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 17:45:15 +0000

How can manufacturers create value with Industrial AI? What does it take to move towards an AI-powered autonomous production? In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast, Rainer Brehm and David Humphrey return for a third episode how software-defined automation is enabling these exact kinds of solutions.

They also explore the role of AI agents, data fabrics and physical AI in the future of industry while sharing practical insights on where companies can start today. And gain a competitive advantage for tomorrow.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Shifting industrial expenditures

(04:24) Creating value from investment

(07:03) Solving the data challenge

(10:23) From rule-based to goal-based automation

(15:13) Humans, autonomy and what’s next

About the voices:

Rainer Brehm is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) for the automation business and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Siemens Digital Industries. In these roles, he drives the strategic advancement of Siemens’ automation portfolio and leads the development of technologies such as Industrial AI and Software-Defined Automation to unlock the full potential of automation. His focus is on making production more adaptive, resilient, and sustainable. His vision is an automated automation that solves unknown tasks independently.

David Humphrey is an analyst at ARC Europe. And is a member of ARC’s hybrid manufacturing, packaging and industrial networking teams. He has over 25 years experience in industrial automation across specification, design and programming in a variety of industries.

AI Fabric, Agents and Siemens’ Unique Approach

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 22:37:37 +0000

As artificial intelligence (AI) adoption spreads, more companies are confronting realities around data storage, access and integration. As the future of increasingly autonomous AI agents looms, companies are eager to resolve issues in their data foundations in preparation for the future.

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast, we are joined again by Samir Desai, Senior Director for AI and Data Strategy at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Samir and Spencer explore how Siemens is putting its industrial AI foundation to work, from securing customer data in AI-powered workflows to the emergence of AI agents across the portfolio.

In this episode you will learn:

(00:10) Data security and access control in AI workflows

(03:40) Future AI agents at Siemens

(06:59) What makes Siemens stand out in the Industrial AI space

About the voices:

Spencer Acain is a technical marketing writer for AI and verticals thought leadership at Siemens Digital Industries with a background in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

What the future of manufacturing holds

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:09:34 +0000

Bringing manufacturing closer to the consumer can, for many products, make a lot of sense yet, to achieve that, no single company could hope to have enough facilities to serve all their customers worldwide. To achieve this dream will require the ability to delegate production to local factories capable of rapidly reconfiguring to produce a given product no matter what it might be, something that is currently out of reach, yet still tantalizingly close.

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by Alastair Orchard to look at the future of production where AI, digitalization and smart contracts enable the paradigm of the factory owner-operator who can, by contract, locally produce goods from major brands the world over.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(0:20) Smart contracts enable distributed manufacturing

(3:09) Resilient production through factory owner-operators

(7:23) What the future of AI-enabled modular factories looks like

About the voices:

Alastair Orchard is the head of Digital Enterprise Thought Leadership for Siemens Digital Industries, working with multinationals to become more flexible, cost effective, transparent, collaborative organizations, and to bring their world-class products to market faster than their competitors. He is also the co-founder and CTO of dimax.cloud - a distributed manufacturing platform that cuts the cost, carbon and complexity from supply chains. Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional creating forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Conor collaborates with industry experts and executives to produce impactful content exploring the challenges companies face and the technologies that can provide solutions.

Move from collecting data to executing on it

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:44:25 +0000

Businesses across industries and regions have already invested in how to collect data, some even hired entire teams to make it more readable without a degree in data science. But it is not helpful to just look at it. The goal was, and is, to make it actionable. Edge computing has started many businesses down this transition, but software-defined automation and even AI tools are bringing these insights into the factory execution layer to do even more.

In this episode of the podcast, Rainer Brehm sits down with David Humphrey of ARC and our guest moderator Conor Peick for part two of their three-part conversation.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Investing in execution

(03:13) An open ecosystem

(07:45) Trailblazing industries & regions

(15:20) CapEx to OpEx

About the voices:

Industrial vs Consumer AI: Exploring the Difference

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 22:26:56 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) has exploded into mainstream discourse as technologists, professionals and general consumers gain familiarity with generative AI assistants and chatbots. Yet as AI adoption accelerates, industrial users must understand the critical distinction between consumer and industrial-focused AI.

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast, we are joined by Samir Desai, Senior Director for AI and Data Strategy at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Samir helped us dive into the difference between consumer and industrial-grade AI, how industrial AI solutions are developed and the different roles occupied by key players in the industrial AI landscape.

In this episode you will learn:

(00:00) Introduction and Samir’s background

(02:01) How hyperscalers and software developers partner

(10:32) How Siemens approaches industrial AI integration

About the voices:

Spencer Acain is a technical marketing writer for AI and verticals thought leadership at Siemens Digital Industries with a background in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

What it Takes to Build a Modular Factory

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:18:52 +0000

The idea of a modular factory brings to mind something space age and futuristic, with the ability to rapidly adapt and scale production systems through a network of connected shops providing different services yet, to achieve that, there are many real challenges to overcome. From quality to the human factor, creating a modular factory that can meet the demands of modern product design is no easy task.

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by Alastair Orchard to discuss what it takes to ensure a modular factory concept is up to the task of creating a high quality product as well as the importance of combining both advanced digitalization concepts with human in the loop elements to achieve an ideal result.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(0:18) How to maintain quality in a modular factory

(3:28) The importance of AI and the Digital Twin

(7:06) The human factor in flexible production

About the voices:

Roche's proven best practices for an ironclad digital transformation

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:50:17 +0000

A lot of people are involved in the development of new pharmaceutical products, from engineers to operators, c-level leadership and more. As a result, digital transformations can seem daunting, as everyone must buy into the process for it to be successful.

But how do you convince them all? Especially when considering the complexity and time involved getting new treatments to market. Well, what if they could cut that timeline in half? What if treatments could get in the hands of patients faster, safer and reliably?

In this podcast you will learn:

(00:36) Where pharmaceutical companies get stuck during digital transformations

(10:55) What the scalable success of digital transformations looks like

(15:45) Firsthand expert best practices for digital transformations

About the voices:

Jan Wokittel, Director of Smart Manufacturing at Roche

Jan is responsible for the digitization technologies used in greenfield pharmaceutical and medical device production facilities. For over seven years, he has helped Roche plan and implement large scale capital expenditure projects.

Andy Whytock, Head of Market Strategy and Thought Leadership of Life Sciences at Siemens

Andy is responsible for driving digital transformation initiatives and thought leadership activities in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector and specializes in helping life sciences manufacturers embrace digital transformation, adopt cutting-edge technologies and evolve into fully connected, data-driven and sustainable enterprises.

Conor Peick, Marketing Professional for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software

Conor is responsible for creating forward-looking content for Siemens Digital Industries Software. He collaborates with industry experts and executives to produce impactful content exploring the challenges companies face and the technologies that can provide solutions.

Free data jails: How to build an industrial metaverse

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:17:13 +0000

Disparate industry systems have trapped data into silos for too long. Industries know the dangers of keeping teams in the dark and the benefits of breaking down data walls. But systems incompatibilities between mission critical tools hinder the ability to produce system-wide, comprehensive digital twins.

The industrial metaverse addresses this problem by linking simulations, data stores and digital twins into ecosystems of unified models. Producing such a digital world, however, requires technology and business partners with the right DNA and a vision of an interoperable future.

In this podcast you will learn:

(00:30) The real benefit of the industrial metaverse

(06:07) How digital twins are the core technology of the metaverse

(12:21) How to choose the best technology partners to build the industrial metaverse

About the voices:

Jan Wokittel, Director of Smart Manufacturing at Roche

Andy Whytock, Head of Market Strategy and Thought Leadership of Life Sciences at Siemens

Conor Peick, Marketing Professional for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software

Moving beyond automation in process industries

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:41:46 +0000

Automation is everywhere in the process industries; it is maybe one of the most advanced markets in this regard. But businesses in this space are still feeling the crunch when it comes to flexibility and adaptability of their processes. A major challenge of integrating flexibility into processes is ensuring the high safety and quality margins for industries like pharmaceuticals and food production.

To explore this and more, we sat down with Mark Hindsbo and Rebecca Vangenechten for this episode Siemens’ Future-Ready Podcast.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) The state of automation

(02:43) Unique challenges of process industries

(06:09) Role of operations software

(10:08) Real world use-cases

About the voices:

Nick Finberg is a technical marketing writer and coordinator for Software-Defined Everything, with a background in Nuclear Engineering. He has worked with experts to cover many industries and topics including Automotive, Battery, sustainability, and systems engineering.

The Future of Decentralized Manufacturing

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:16:33 +0000

Following the industrial revolution and the rise of globalization, mass produced and consumer packaged goods (CPG) have been manufactured on the concept of centralization; a factory in a central location produces a product before shipping it to warehouses the world over. While this approach has many benefits, in recent years it has become increasingly clear it might not always be the best way.

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by Alastair Orchard to explore the future of CPG manufacturing from shifting left to networks of local production facilities before taking this concept right to the edge with a pop-up factory that can be shipped in a container.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(0:38) The evolution of manufacturing

(3:50) How companies will change demand forecasting

(6:00) The value of a decentralized network of production

(9:46) Building a pop-up factory

About the voices:

Roche: How to overcome the uncertainty of pharma plant design

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:21:56 +0000

Delays bringing medical treatment to market can cost pharmaceutical companies millions of dollars a day in lost revenue. And as treatments take 10 to 12 years to be greenlit, companies need to start production immediately after approval. Thus, engineers must design plants before product, recipe and workflow finalization. This introduces significant uncertainty within a project that demands success on first use.

In this episode, experts in the pharmaceutical and life science industry discuss how Roche uses a comprehensive digital twin to overcome the uncertainties related to the design of greenfield, pharmaceutical production facilities.

In this podcast you will learn:

(01:40) How to adapt to the big changes in the pharmaceutical space

(03:50) How to overcome the challenges of building greenfield plants for life sciences

(06:05) How Roche’s new project addresses plant development uncertainty

(13:58) When comprehensive digital twins transition from models to decision tools

About the voices:

Jan Wokittel, Director of Smart Manufacturing at Roche

Andy Whytock, Head of Market Strategy and Thought Leadership of Life Sciences at Siemens

Andy is responsible for driving digital transformation initiatives and thought leadership activities in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector. He specializes in helping life sciences manufacturers embrace digital transformation, adopt cutting-edge technologies and evolve into fully connected, data-driven and sustainable enterprises.

Conor Peick, Marketing Professional for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software

Conor is responsible for creating forward-looking content for Siemens Digital Industries Software.

How Industrial AI will Transform Industrial Operations

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 23:07:53 +0000

Artificial Intelligence has come to dominate conversation in consumer and industrial spaces. The recent explosion in AI capabilities and applications is a confluence of factors, producing an exciting landscape of innovation, new challenges and immense opportunity.

In this special episode, listen to the complete discussion between host Conor Peick and guests Matthias Loskyll and Samir Desai as they discuss why Industrial AI has taken off today, how it is being deployed in engineering software and production hardware, how AI agents are already factoring into the future of industry and more!

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Why Industrial AI has exploded now

(10:02) Many types of Industrial AI, from predictive to agentic

(24:25) Breaking down data silos through the data fabric

(47:34) The future of agents as autonomous systems under human supervision

About the voices:

Matthias Loskyll is the Senior Director of AI and Robotics at Siemens Digital Industries with a PhD in Production Automation.

Samir Desai is the Senior Director and Global Program Head for Data and AI at Siemens Digital Industries with more than 30 years’ experience developing and managing industrial software suites.

Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional creating forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software.

How AI Agents and Humans will Shape the Industrial Future

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:04:21 +0000

Agentic AI is emerging as a transformational paradigm across industries, with the potential to reshape how companies design, manufacture and manage operations. Yet, transformations take time and, especially in the case of AI agents imbued with a level of autonomy, require careful planning and robust infrastructure to ensure human experts maintain final review and approval authority.

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by guests Matthias Loskyll and Samir Desai to discuss how AI agents are already factoring into the future of industry, and how companies can best approach their adoption.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction and the future of AI agents in industry

(03:51) A brief explanation of Model Context Protocol

(07:23) How humans and machines may work together in the future

(09:18) Potential developments and how to approach AI adoption

About the voices:

Matthias Loskyll is the Senior Director of AI and Robotics at Simens Digital Industries with a PhD in Production Automation.

Samir Desai is the Senior Director and Global Program Head for Data and AI at Simens Digital Industries with more than 30 years’ experience developing and managing industrial software sweats.

Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional creating forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Conor collaborates with industry experts and executives to produce impactful content exploring the challenges companies face and the technologies that can provide solutions.

Faster Decisions, Safer Operations with Industrial AI

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:15:30 +0000

New technology is, without a doubt, cool. However, for that technology to have value it must be practical as well, offering real benefits to end users lest it be relegated to niche novelty status. Currently, copilots are working to move out of the realm of cool technology and into the realm of real value, offering strong user benefits and real, practical improvements to the way people do their work.

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by guest Theo Papadopoulos, senior consultant and head of the Metaverse Lab at Siemens to explore what it takes to bring AI copilots to the shop floor, how that benefits users and what the copilot itself needs to succeed.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(0:20) What an Industrial Copilot needs to know.

(1:14) The importance of user experience.

(2:04) What it means to use an Industrial Copilot.

(5:27) The important role of the Digital Twin.

About the voices:

Theo Papadopoulos is a senior consultant and head of foundational technologies for Siemens Metaverse Lab responsible for bringing cutting edge technologies to reality. Theo has a background in both business and mechanical engineer as well as a long history at Siemens. Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional creating forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Conor collaborates with industry experts and executives to produce impactful content exploring the challenges companies face and the technologies that can provide solutions.

Why Trust is Critical to Industrial AI Adoption

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:29:23 +0000

As artificial intelligence transforms industrial operations, companies face a critical challenge: how to build trust in AI systems while scaling them effectively across global operations. The path forward requires transparency, careful data stewardship, thoughtful implementation strategies, and a commitment to augmenting rather than replacing human expertise.

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by guests Matthias Loskyll and Samir Desai to examine how companies can build trust with users and customers and to explore the key challenges that hamper scaling AI from pilots to full adoption.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction and how to build trust in Industrial AI

(07:03) Challenges that impede scaling

(10:44) Managing cultural transition and educating users

About the voices:

Matthias Loskyll is the Senior Director of AI and Robotics at Siemens Digital Industries with a PhD in Production Automation.

Samir Desai is the Senior Director and Global Program Head for Data and AI at Siemens Digital Industries with more than 30 years’ experience developing and managing industrial software suites.

Conor Peick is a Marketing Professional creating forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software.

Empowering Shop Floor Workers with Industrial AI

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 13:51:26 +0000

The promise of future technologies is always exciting yet the reality can sometimes fail to live up to the dream. While technologies like mixed reality and Industrial Metaverse may have had a rocky start, today, they are now capable of offering tangible benefits to frontline workers with the promise of very real advancements in the future. In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by guest Theo Papadopoulos, senior consultant and head of the Metaverse Lab at Siemens to explore the ways mixed reality and artificial intelligence can help leverage the Industrial Metaverse into a real tool for workers today and tomorrow.

In the episode you’ll learn about: (0:30) Why now for the Industrial Metaverse?

(3:33) Solving real problems with cutting edge technology

(4:47) Working smarter with smart technology

(6:32) Developing machine understanding

(8:55) How AI can provide trusted guidance

About the voices:

Industrial AI is already on the shop floor

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:38:14 +0000

Tradeshows often coalesce around high-level topics for a few years at a time from the initial development of underlying technologies and through to the challenge of scaling those solutions in across a business. To add a little more weight to what was on display at Hannover Messe 2026, our moderator Conor Peick sat down with Rainer Brehm – the COO of the Siemens Automation Business and CTO of Digital Industries – and David Humphrey – Director of Research at ARC Advisory Group. The goal was to define what is really happening in industry and what is happening to bring the goals outlined across the show floor to fruition for even more businesses.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Hello from Hannover 2026

(02:15) Real changes on the floor

(06:17) Taking insights to execution

About the voices:

How Data and the Digital Twin are Building the Future of Industry

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:34:57 +0000

Though well established in industry discourse, Digital Twin technology still has room to grow and add value as a powerful tool for industrial companies. As it matures and synergizes with other key technologies, such as Industrial AI, the Digital Twin will expand into a connected, intelligent, and real-time representation of entire industrial enterprises.

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast from Siemens, we are joined once again by one of our resident experts on the Digital Twin, Dominik Zettler, Vice President of Simulation for Industrial Systems at Siemens. The discussion examines how the Digital Twin supports the construction of a connected and organized data ecosystem, and looks at how the Digital Twin and Artificial Intelligence can combine to deliver greater value in the future.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:28) Data orchestration

(08:38) Bringing the Digital Twin to the edge

(11:37) Looking ahead to the Industrial Metaverse

(18:17) Key points to remember

About the voices:

Dominik Zettler is Vice President of Simulation for Industrial Systems at Siemens. Over more than 20 years in the industry, Dominik has experienced the growth of digitalization technology from early 3D modeling to the advanced digital twins in use today. Now, Zettler focuses on go-to-market strategies and the development of new business models. Zettler also has experience in project management and general contracting from prior positions, where responsibilities included managing large-scale automotive projects and P&L accountability.

Managing the adoption of Industrial AI

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:34:53 +0000

AI has the potential to address many challenges in the industrial world, however, making that dream a reality involves more than just developing a new AI tool or addon. With an Industrial AI model in hand, finding the best way to bring that model to both tools and physical assets represents a challenge of its own.

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by guests Matthias Loskyll and Samir Desai to examine what it takes to bring AI to both software tools and factory systems. Industrial AI is not a one-size-fits-all tool but, rather, a collection of methods and approaches that Samir and Matthias examine from both a design and manufacturing perspective.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(0:22) Using the right AI tool for the right job

(5:45) How Industrial AI is integrating with existing systems

(11:47) Understanding the need for industrial data fabrics

About the voices:

Matthias Loskyll is the Senior Director of AI and Robotics at Simens Digital Industries with a PhD in Production Automation.

Samir Desai is the Senior Director and Global Program Head for Data and AI at Simens Digital Industries with more than 30 years’ experience developing and managing industrial software sweats.

Scaling the Digital Twin to Boost Industrial Value

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 28 May 2026 18:21:59 +0000

Mounting complexity, disruption and shifting customer demands are driving companies in many industries to seek faster and more efficient development methods across product and production lifecycles. Digitalization, and the Digital Twin specifically, have arisen as a means of helping companies accelerate processes, lower costs and reduce risk in an increasingly dynamic industrial environment.

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast from Siemens, we are joined by one of our resident experts on the Digital Twin, Dominik Zettler, Vice President of Simulation for Industrial Systems at Siemens. The conversation explores how companies can alleviate obstacles to starting or scaling digital transformation. The discussion will also examine how artificial intelligence and the Digital Twin will synergize and evolve in the future.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:25) Attributes of digitalization leaders

(04:41) How companies are scaling the Digital Twin

(08:12) How we can lower the digitalization barrier-to-entry

(11:27) Technologies that will drive the future

About the voices:

What if factories could test the future before it happens?

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Wed, 20 May 2026 04:09:17 +0000

How are AI, Digital Twins, and software-defined systems reshaping the factory of the future? In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast, Mark Hindsbo and Nick Finberg continue their conversation to explore why the shift toward Software-Defined Systems actually requires more intelligent hardware. Together, they discuss how Digital Twins and AI enable manufacturers to simulate operations, detect risks earlier, and accelerate innovation across the factory floor. It’s an insightful look at the future of industrial operations. From looking inside pumps without interrupting flow to an examination of World War Two bombers, this is not an episode to miss.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) More hardware, not less

(04:57) Integrating multiple solutions

(09:44) Early and expanded design spaces

(15:50) Why Siemens?

About the voices:

Nick Finberg is a technical marketing writer and coordinator for Software-Defined Systems, with a background in Nuclear Engineering. He has worked with experts to cover many industries and topics including Automotive, Battery, sustainability, and systems engineering.

Understanding the rise of Industrial AI

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 15 May 2026 13:58:46 +0000

AI isn’t a new technology yet, today, AI is taking off like never before, finding countless new opportunities not just for consumers but in the much more demanding worlds of business and industry as well. Reaching that point is not simply coincidence but a confluence of factors culminating in the Industrial AI landscape of today and tomorrow

In this episode, host Conor Peick is joined by guests Matthias Loskyll and Samir Desai to answer the question of why now? As well as understanding what it took for AI to reach where it has today, the broad spectrum of technologies that fall under the AI banner, and what that all means for industry.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(0:32) Why Industrial AI now?

(3:13) Consumer vs. Industrial AI

(7:34) Managing non-deterministic AI results

(9:10) Understanding the different types of AI

About the voices:

Matthias Loskyll is the Senior Director of AI and Robotics at Simens Digital Industries with a PhD in Production Automation.

Samir Desai is the Senior Director and Global Program Head for Data and AI at Simens Digital Industries with more than 30 years’ experience developing and managing industrial software sweats.

Why Software Makes Hardware Matter More

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 08 May 2026 15:30:33 +0000

Manufacturing is – and will remain – fundamentally physical. Every gain from software-defined automation ultimately depends on hardware that can sense, communicate and act reliably on the shopfloor. The real opportunity is not replacing hardware but enhancing it through software-defined automation. Concepts like virtual sensors or AI-driven optimization can unlock new value. But at some point, real-world performance still depends on real data from physical systems and on hardware capable of deterministic execution. A shift to workflows like those in software development can be invaluable, but they need to still be understood in the context of the physical environment – the safety systems, machine limitations or how people will interact with machines on the shop floor. Rainer Brehm is back to talk about all this and more.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) The future of hardware

(03:13) Partnerships for modern production

(07:35) A glimpse into the future

(15:38) Incumbent or disruptor?

(17:15) Human in the loop

About the voices:

Nick Finbergis a technical marketing writer and coordinator for Software-Defined Everything, with a background in Nuclear Engineering. He has worked with experts to cover many industries and topics including Automotive, Battery, sustainability, and systems engineering.

The benefits of digitalization for AI automation

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 01 May 2026 11:21:49 +0000

Building adaptable, flexible automation system is both a goal and a challenge in the manufacturing world which must train powerful AI solutions to meet these needs. As the industry continues to embrace digitalization, not only will it training and testing of advanced AI systems be easier, it will be a key step in realizing the benefits of software defined automation and the Digital Twin.

In this episode, host Spencer Acain is joined by Christopher Schuette, Senior Product Portfolio Manager for Robotics AI at Siemens Digital Industries to explore the benefits of AI in a highly digitalized environment and what that means for the future of AI-powered automation.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(0:32) The shift to software defined automation

(4:08) The next step for AI-powered automation

(8:48) The future prospects of Industrial AI

About the voices:

Christopher Schuette is the Senior Product Portfolio Manager for Robotics AI at Siemens Digital Industries

Spencer Acain is a technical marketing writer for AI thought leadership at Siemens Digital Industries with a background in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

Scaling AI and Data Foundations in Pharma and Life Sciences

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:00:22 +0000

Pharmaceutical and life sciences companies are exploring advanced digital technologies to help speed up development and manufacturing. The Digital Twin, Industrial AI and the Industrial Metaverse can offer solutions, but operate best when built on a strong data foundation.

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast from Siemens, hear experts on the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry explore the potential of Industrial AI and the Industrial Metaverse, as well as the importance of strong data foundations.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:47) Less obvious AI applications

(04:29) Using frameworks to manage AI risk

(07:41) The Industrial Metaverse in pharma

(18:05) Guiding principles for navigating complexity and change

About the voices:

Maria Grahm is the Global VP of Life Sciences for Siemens. Maria is responsible for managing how Siemens applies its full portfolio, including smart infrastructure, digital industries, and software, to lead digital transformation from molecule to market.

Andy Whytock is the Head of Market Strategy and Thought Leadership of Life Sciences at Siemens. Andy is responsible for driving digital transformation initiatives and thought leadership activities in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector and specializes in helping life sciences manufacturers embrace digital transformation, adopt cutting-edge technologies and evolve into fully connected, data-driven and sustainable enterprises.

Navigating the Future of Operations

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:15:00 +0000

Opportunity and growth are two of the most sought after components for building a successful business. That’s why the changes happening on the shop floor and in operations are so interesting. They’re not just for the passionate engineers who want to use a new tool or solve a new problem. No, the market on the whole is expected to double in the next five years.

At the center of this shift is Software-defined Automation. The idea is simple: move more functionality into software so production systems can become more adaptable. On top of that, AI - and increasingly physical AI - is starting to change how decisions are made on the shop floor. Today, many systems are still reactive: they detect an issue and help operators respond. But the next step is already taking shape.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:00) Value from the value chain

(04:49) Creating market opportunities

(09:06) Proactive shop floors

(15:20) The future of operations

About the voices:

Hidden Complexity of Consumer Products

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:02:02 +0000

Consumer products companies have some of the largest portfolios of any businesses around the world. But even with the large overlap between products, many still operate within a more permanent framework for manufacturing. Make a large lot all at once, then adjust to the next product run. This is anathema to the consumer trends many of these companies are trying to follow.

Software is helping change that. And Alastair Orchard joins us on the podcast to talk about how. From production change-overs to demand planning, let’s dive into the evolving shop floor and how it is impacting industries like consumer products.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Curious consumer products

(05:43) Flexibility at scale

(14:30) On demand production

(16:41) An eye on the future

About the voices:

Alastair Orchard runs Digital Enterprise Thought Leadership for Siemens Digital Industries, working with customers to become more flexible, cost effective, transparent and collaborative organizations. All while bringing their world-class products to market faster than their competitors. He is also the co-founder and CTO of dimax.cloud – a distributed manufacturing platform cutting costs, carbon and complexity from supply chains.

Building Industrial AI for the shop floor

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:01:32 +0000

Robotics have been a staple in manufacturing for decades, allowing certain repetitive tasks to be automated yet, for as powerful as automation is, replicating full human-like abilities is difficult to achieve. By incorporating AI with advanced robotics, a new level of flexible, adaptable, robotic systems can not only take on tasks previously limited to humans, but also support rapid product iteration and development in a way never before possible.

In this episode, host Spencer Acain is joined by Christopher Schuette, Senior Product Portfolio Manager for Robotics AI at Siemens Digital Industries to examine what it takes to build production ready Industrial AI solutions capable of operating complex machines under a variety of conditions.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(2:12) Upgrading to AI-powered robotics

(4:23) Building more dynamic robotics with AI

(9:41) Training AI for the shop floor

(12:58) Data needs for production ready AI

About the voices:

Christopher Schuette is the Senior Product Portfolio Manager for Robotics AI at Siemens Digital Industries

Spencer Acain is a technical marketing writer for AI thought leadership at Siemens Digital Industries with a background in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

How Digitalization Helps Pharma Manufacturers Move Faster

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:32:36 +0000

As pharmaceutical and life sciences companies work to accelerate development processes, digital technologies offer a path to greater efficiency, adaptability and speed. The Digital Twin and Industrial AI are expected to become particularly impactful.

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast from Siemens, listen to experts on the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry dive into how digital transformation speeds development, the modeling of molecules with the Digital Twin and how AI is already influencing drug discovery.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:02) Digitalization in drug development

(06:38) Using the Digital Twin in tech transfers

(09:46) The Digital Twin from molecule to market

(17:02) Scaling Industrial AI across the lifecycle

About the voices:

Future Proof with the Digital Twin: From Pilots to New Paradigms

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:03:52 +0000

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast from Siemens, we are joined by one of our resident experts on the Digital Twin, Dominik Zettler, Vice President of Simulation for Industrial Systems at Siemens. The conversation explores the digital twin concept before examining common challenges and practical advice on how to get started on a digital transformation journey.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:30) Making the Digital Twin tangible

(04:30) Digital Twin in production and across the lifecycle

(06:55) Evolution of product-to-production handover

(10:04) Roadblocks to Digital Twin adoption and how to move forward

About the voices:

Winning the Race Against Time in Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:30:00 +0000

Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences companies are in a race against time in the development of new therapies. Pharmaceutical manufacturers must accelerate timelines while ensuring patient safety, maintaining data integrity and managing complexity across global supply networks.

In this episode of the Future Ready Podcast from Siemens, hear experts discuss the realities and shortcomings of current development methods, explore how digitalization can deliver value and examine emerging production and distribution models.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:40) Pressures driving timeline acceleration

(04:14) Friction in current development methods

(07:51) Collaboration and the challenge of knowledge transfer

(11:22) Precision medicine

(15:44) Supply chain readiness for faster timelines

(19:25) Distributed production models

About the voices:

Learning faster with an adaptive shop floor

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:15:00 +0000

Automation is adapting and learning to use new tools, much like we and a handful of other creatures have, to get better faster than evolution would normally allow. Machines don’t have to chug along doing the same thing until decommissioning. Soon they’ll be changing with the demands of the industry they serve.

For the shop floor, this advantage is built on digitalization – making variability the new status quo and ensuring it remains reliable through comprehensive validation in the digital world. To talk about this evolution and the niches businesses will be able to occupy, we brought Alastair Orchard on the show.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:13) Automation is adapting, not evolving

(05:53) Digital twins are not mirrors

(08:03) Perfecting the last twenty percent

(13:05) Applying an in-depth understanding

About the voices:

Alastair Orchard runs Digital Enterprise Thought Leadership for Siemens Digital Industries, working with customers to become more flexible, cost effective, transparent and collaborative organizations. All while bringing their world-class products to market faster than their competitors. He is also the co-founder and CTO of dimax cloud – a distributed manufacturing platform cutting costs, carbon and complexity from supply chains.

Speed, Scale and AI for Modern Industry

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:30:00 +0000

AI is moving from theory to practice on the shop floor. And it is only possible because of an accelerated workflow built on software. Whether it is generative AI powered assistants, smarter data integration or efficient deployment across both greenfield and brownfield deployments, the future of industry starts with digitalization and software. And we have Rainer Brehm to explore the topic.

The flexibility of this transition, highlighted in parts one and two, extend to the how as well. Your facility can be large and stationary or remote microfactories, deployed at a moment’s notice, flexibility in a software-defined system is about understanding what works and applying it to every relevant use case as a business grows. Automation is transitioning from rule-based to goal-based, enabling systems that can adapt, optimize and execute in dynamic conditions.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) When is this transformation happening?

(04:30) Scaling across industries

(08:05) Rule-based to goal-based

About the voices:

The intersection of data fabrics and agentic AI

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:05:47 +0000

Connecting enterprise data is a necessary, yet challenging, step in the process of developing Industrial AI solutions to their fullest potential. Data fabrics are a key way to address this challenge, offering connection and context to enterprise data and credibility to AI-generated results. These three elements will, together, be necessary building blocks for developing highly autonomous AI agents in the future, paving the way for users to orchestrate complex workflows across multiple domains.

In this episode, host Spencer Acain is joined by Tobias Malbretcht, Head of Product Management, Data & AI at Siemens Digital Industries to explore the future role of tools like RapidMiner in supporting complex agentic AI solutions for industry and what that will mean for product design and production going forward.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) How data fabrics are applied to agentic AI

(03:03) Building secure and trusted AI systems with data fabrics

(07:00) What the future holds for RapidMiner

About the voices:

Tobias Malbretcht is the Head of Product Management for Data and AI at Siemens Digital Industries leading development for the RapidMiner AI Platform.

Spencer Acain Is a technical marketing writer for AI thought leadership at Siemens Digital Industries with a background in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

When AI gets physical: a peek inside the factories of the future

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:29:42 +0000

The ChatGPT moment for robotics is here,” Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said. And nowhere is that more obvious than on the factory floor, where machines aren’t just becoming more agile, but smarter, too. Last November, Money Talks took a trip to Siemens in Germany, to tour the factories of the future.

This is a special episode, first recorded by The Economist, to uncover the future of factories. Their crew interviewed a handful of guests including Cedrik Neike, Rainer Brehm and Stephan Schlauss.

Operations Software and the Future of Software-Defined Industry

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:01:26 +0000

Computers and software are becoming paramount to the future of industry, whether to automate automation engineering or expand the available design space for operational needs. Co-host Mark Hindsbo sat down to talk to the later and explain the transition happening in the world of production and manufacturing.

There are so many interesting topics in the realm of operations software, but to start off it’d be best to understand exactly what that encompasses as well as some of the advantages to deploying a software-first plan. Going virtual first, means more trials with fewer costs and less capital investment – just like the gains automotive companies have made with virtual crash-testing.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Who is Mark Hindsbo

(04:41) Integrating automation and operations

(08:58) Defining operations software

About the voices:

How Data Fabrics Contextualize AI Data

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 18:31:14 +0000

Data is the core of a good AI solution and, while data is plentiful in enterprise and industrial settings, accessing and utilizing that data for AI training isn’t so easy. In industry, data sources are often fragmented and, even if they can be easily accessed, lack the critical context needed to support robust AI usage. This is where data fabrics shine, offering a single, unified way of accessing and contextualizing all types of enterprise data.

In this episode, host Spencer Acain is joined by Tobias Malbretcht, Head of Product Management, Data & AI at Siemens Digital Industries to examine the importance of data fabrics in the expanding role of AI in industry.

In the episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:47) What is RapidMiner?

(05:14) The benefits of a data fabric for AI

(08:06) Bringing context to AI training data

(11:36) How data is connected to RapidMiner

About the voices:

Tobias Malbretcht is the Head of Product Management for Data and AI at Siemens Digital Industries leading development for the RapidMiner AI Platform.

Spencer Acain Is a technical marketing writer for AI thought leadership at Siemens Digital Industries with a background in Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

The Journey to Software-Defined Automation

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 22:43:49 +0000

Digitalization is important for the future of automation, but how businesses get there is the critical discussion. It’s not about solving all problems by day one of production. Instead it is pinpointing pain points today and incrementally adopting it across the organization. Our co-host Rainer Brehm chatted with us about his perspective and the ways businesses are already adopting the technological side of digitalization.

But the real gains to be made are in the changing mindset and understanding where digitalization can be deployed to bring the best returns on investment. While digitalization is partly a technological transformation, it is just as much a social one – as we’ll see with his example from Audi where engineers and operators were gaining inspiration from their peers.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) How to start with SDA

(09:27) Fundamental changes in production systems

(13:33) Empowering operators with intelligent systems

Learn more about Docker and Kubernetes

About the voices:

What Does Software-Defined Everything Really Mean?

siemensfm.communications@siemens.com (Siemens.FM team) — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 15:49:40 +0000

In this first episode of the Future Ready Podcast from Siemens, we are bringing you a conversation with Rainer Brehm – the CTO and the COO of our automation business at Siemens Digital Industries. His experience and understanding of automation technologies makes him a perfect co-host for our discussions on Software-Defined Everything.

This first episode aims to define that exact term so that we can continue to dive into how software-defined everything creates a foundation for the rapidly changing industrial world. We’ve got a lot to talk about in the realms of data, software, and AI, so make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future conversations with experts from Siemens, our co-host Mark Hindsbo – Head of Operations Software at Siemens Digital Industries – and beyond.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:37) Automating automation

(03:56) Software-defined approaches

(06:10) A limit to software-defined everything

(08:59) Software-defined for automation

About the voices: