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Cloud-first AI sounds great until you remember what a factory actually is: proprietary recipes, fragile uptime, legacy controls that still run fine, and a small team expected to keep everything profitable. We sit down with Brian Thykin, Head of Revenue at Sorba AI, to talk about what industrial AI and machine learning should look like when it’s built for OT instead of for slide decks. The through-line is simple: the people closest to the process should be the ones shaping the models, and the tec
Co-Host & Director of Business Development @Weintek USA
Nikki Gonzales brings 20 years of experience across industrial automation, AI, and technology commercialization. Her career spans sales engineering, startups, commercial leadership, advisory work, and industry media, with roles at Keyence, Festo, CST/Dassault, and early AI supply chain startup Algo, giving her a practical, real-world perspective on emerging technologies.
She is currently Director of Business Development at Weintek USA, working with OEM machine builders in packaging, robotics, and process equipment, and is completing an AI strategy certificate at MIT Sloan and CSAIL.
Nikki co-founded Automation Ladies in 2022 with Alicia Gilpin, growing it from a podcast into a 100+ episode platform with a newsletter, live events, and a global automation community. In 2024, she co-founded OT SCADA CON, a practitioner-focused conference in Houston centered on OT, SCADA, and controls.
A frequent speaker since 2017, she covers AI, IIoT, OT/IT convergence, and career growth, and also serves on the Board of Directors at Process & Controls Energy.
People who know her well call her "Nikkipedia." Friends call her the Director of Silver Linings. Both are accurate.
Co-Host & CEO at Process & Controls Engineering LLC
Alicia Gilpin began her career as a process engineer before moving into controls, building over a decade of experience across systems integration, commissioning, hazardous location panel design, SCADA, and OT network architecture in industries including food & beverage, oil & gas, and aerospace.
Her background includes roles at Maverick Technologies, Probat, MBC Aerosol Filling Machinery, and Harris Group, where she developed expertise across DCS, PLC, HMI, SCADA, network design, and project execution. She later led electrical engineering efforts, managed UL508A compliance, and designed control systems from concept through commissioning.
In 2018, she founded Process & Controls Engineering LLC, a woman-owned CSIA-certified firm based in Seattle, where she serves as CEO, delivering custom automation and controls solutions across industrial markets.
Alicia co-founded Automation Ladies in 2022 with Nikki Gonzales, growing it into a leading industry platform and launching OT SCADA CON in 2024, a hands-on, practitioner-focused conference in Houston for the OT and controls community.
She also founded Kids PLC Kits in 2023 to introduce younger generations to automation. Alicia is bilingual in English and Spanish and holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Co-Host & Robot Master @ FAST One Solutions
Courtney Fernandez is a controls and robotics engineer with hands-on experience across nearly every corner of industrial automation—PLCs, robotics, machine vision, motion control, electrical systems, 3D scanning, and IO-Link sensors. Her philosophy: give her a week with any new IDE, and she’ll figure it out. Control logic is control logic.
She holds a Master’s in Control Systems and Robotics and a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Long Beach, and is a member of Eta Kappa Nu. Her early career included electrical engineering at Zero Motorcycles and systems integration at HNJ Solutions, where she led machine vision projects from concept through commissioning.
Courtney has worked with OEMs, integrators, and robotics leaders like Universal Robots and United Robotics Group, and is currently a Senior Robotics Hardware Engineer at Relativity Space.
In 2017, she co-founded FAST One Solutions, providing practical automation consulting and system design for manufacturers who need expert support without a full-time hire.
She joined Automation Ladies in 2022 as co-host, and has been a key voice in bringing honest, technically grounded conversations to the show ever since. She calls herself the Capybara of Industrial Automation. If you've spent any time around her, you'll get it.