The AI in Transportation Industry Workshop will explore the growing role of AI in managing transportation assets, operations and systems. To address this rapidly evolving landscape the Northwestern University Transportation Center is bringing together subject matter experts to discuss how AI is (or is not) delivering real results. The Workshop will feature leaders from C.H. Robinson, Loop, project44, XPO and Wi-Tronix.
EVENT CHAIR
Bret Johnson - Interim Director, NUTC
AGENDA
2:00 PM Welcome / Opening Remarks
* Bret Johnson, Interim Director, NUTC
2:10 PM Presentations
* Ryan Hammett, Director, Market Intelligence & Insights, C.H. Robinson
* Larry Jordan, Chief Executive Officer & President, Wi-Tronix
* Nick Ruggiero, Director, Product Management, project44
* Jay Silberkleit, Chief Information Officer, XPO
3:15 PM Networking Break
3:45 PM Panel Discussion
* [Moderator] Jonathan Shaver, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Loop
4:30 PM End of Program
BIOGRAPHIES
RYAN HAMMETT [speaker]
Director, Market Intelligence & Insights, C. H. Robinson
Ryan Hammett is the Director of Market Intelligence and Insights at C.H. Robinson, where he oversees C.H. Robinson’s North America thought leadership team. With $22 billion in freight under management and 19 million shipments annually, C.H. Robinson solves logistics problems for over 90,000 customers and 450,000 contract carriers on their platform globally. This unique industry perspective allows Ryan and his team to help the shipper and carrier communities simplify transportation-related complexities into actionable insights. His responsibilities also include C.H. Robinson’s collaboration with research universities to publish academic studies relevant to supply
chain and transportation.
In his time at C.H. Robinson Ryan has held multiple roles mostly focused on the shipper
community, including technology implementation, business development, M&A integration(Freightquote), project management, commercial strategy, and as chief of staff to the Chief Commercial Officer. Ryan graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Louisiana Tech University (2000). Prior to joining C.H. Robinson, Ryan worked in the civil engineering and consulting industries. Originally from Louisiana, Ryan has lived in the Twin Cities of Minnesota since 2013 with his wife and two sons.
BRET JOHNSON [host]
Interim Director, Northwestern University Transportation Center
Bret Johnson is the senior associate director of the Northwestern University Transportation Center (NUTC), and the director of the Center for the Commercialization of Innovative Transportation Technology at Northwestern. Prior to joining Northwestern, Bret held senior engineering and project management positions at 3COM, Grayhill, Northrop-Grumman, and GE Astrospace. He received an M.A. in Science, Technology and Public Policy from The George Washington University, an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
LARRY JORDAN [speaker]
Chief Executive Officer & President, Wi-Tronix
Larry Jordan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Wi-Tronix, is committed to a global vision of saving lives by improving the safety, service reliability, and operational efficiency of transportation systems for the rail industry. Prior to founding Wi-Tronix, Larry spent 15 years at the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors working on innovative digital solutions for the railway industry. In 2004, Larry created the beginnings of Wi-Tronix in his own basement, deploying the first system in May of 2005. Despite humble beginnings and challenges, Larry adopted the “Make Things Happen” attitude early on. An inventor and innovator, Larry holds multiple patents in locomotive control systems. He believes passionately that innovation can provide the future of rail safety. Through collaborative innovation, Larry was able to gain new customers, deploy Wi-Tronix event recorders, and expand the product line to include interface capabilities, ultimately leading to the Wi-Tronix IoT & Violet Edge systems.
NICK RUGGIERO [speaker]
Director, Product Management, project44
Nick Ruggiero is Director of Product Management at project44, the global leader in supply chain decision intelligence. He leads product strategy for AI-powered automation — including the company's Autopilot platform and AI agents that autonomously resolve supply chain exceptions. Nick played a key role in the creation of Movement, project44's Decision Intelligence Platform, as well as core supply chain visibility products. Prior to project44, he held product roles at Uptake, an industrial AI company. Nick attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and is based in the Chicago area.
JONATHAN SHAVER [moderator]
Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Loop
Jonathan Shaver is the co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Loop. Jonathan previously co-founded and was CEO of StrategIQ Commerce, which worked with many of the largest e-commerce and retail brands assisting in design, oversight, and measurement of their shipping networks. He built the company to 100 + employees who processed and analyzed billions of shipping and commerce transactions before an acquisition by Loop. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management with an emphasis in Transportation and is a supporter and advocate of Entrepreneurship and Diversity initiatives at Kellogg. Jonathan resides in Chicago IL with his wife and two sons. His family foundation, Limitless, supports scholarships for both academic and extra circular activities for Chicago’s underserved youth.
JAY SILBERKLEIT [speaker]
Chief Information Officer, XPO
Jay Silberkleit leads XPO’s technology organization, the capstone of an 18-year career as an enterprise systems leader with Fortune 500 companies that have complex technology-centric operations. Mr. Silberkleit joined XPO as vice president, enterprise architecture in 2012, shortly after the company was founded, and was instrumental in creating XPO’s technology ecosystem, including its digital brokerage platform. In 2021, he was named senior vice president, technology, with responsibility for the company’s optimization initiatives in less-than-truckload. Mr. Silberkleit came to XPO from Waste Management, Inc., where he served as principal software engineer.
ABOUT NUTC
The Northwestern University Transportation Center (NUTC) is one of the world’s leading interdisciplinary education and research institutions, serving industry, government and the public sectors. Founded in 1954 to generate substantive and enduring contributions for the better movement of materials, people, energy, and information, NUTC stands at the forefront of transportation research and education. NUTC brings together academic researchers, students and business affiliates in a joint open exploration of transportation and supply chain operations. NUTC aims to influence national and international transportation policy, management and technological developments with the goal of making transportation and supply chain operations more productive, efficient, safe, secure, environmentally friendly and socially beneficial.
Andrea Cehaic
(847) 491-7287
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