Speakers
Rees Machtemes P.Eng.
Dr Prabu Parthasarathy
Dr Bulent Mercan
Cosmin Bozenovici
Panel Discussion
Rees is the lead threat researcher for the annual Waterfall / ICSStrive OT Threat Report and writes frequently on the topic of OT / ICS cybersecurity. Being solutions-focused, he champions INL’s Cyber-Informed Engineering program and regularly provides advice and commentary to government agencies and standards bodies issuing OT security guidance.
Rees is a professional engineer with 15 years of industry experience in power generation and transmission substation automation, food and beverage plant automation, public and government telecom, data centres and IT support. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta.
As the Global VP - Strategic Projects at Cognite, I help combine domain expertise and digital technology to help clients across upstream and midstream industries harness the power of data and AI to optimize their operations, reduce emissions, and enhance safety. With over 20 years of international experience in the Oil and Gas sector, I have a deep understanding of the technical and business challenges that our clients face, and how to deliver value by combining domain knowledge with digital technologies. Before joining Cognite, I was the VP of Intelligent Operations at Wood Group, where I oversaw a global business line that provided advanced technology solutions to the process industry.
Bulent Mercan currently serves as a technical advisor for 2H Offshore in Houston. He has more than ten years of industry experience in the analysis, design, and integrity monitoring of structural systems for offshore oil, gas and renewable assets. His responsibilities include project management, technical sales, and technology development. He holds a PhD in Civil/Structural Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a Professional Engineer Licence in Texas.
Bulent also serves as a part-time senior lecturer at the University of Houston. He has more than eight years of teaching experience at the UH. He teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in the Civil Engineering Department.
Cosmin Bozenovici is a maritime strategic management and naval architecture expert. He supports maritime and offshore companies increase the bottom-line, manage risk, and bridge heritage mindsets to new business strategies.
Cosmin's entire 19-year career has been spent in the offshore and maritime industries. His associations include Global Vice President at International Registries Inc. where he headed the offshore energy (Oil/Gas & Renewables) business unit consisting of a fleet of more than 540 vessels.
He also served as Lead Naval Architect and Project Manager for Noble Drilling where he was in charge of naval architecture and marine engineering, supporting a fleet of 40 offshore drilling units. Before that, Cosmin spent significant time at Friede & Goldman Ltd., American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), and Tidewater in engineering and surveying roles.
Cosmin earned an MBA from Temple University specializing in Strategy and a BS in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of New Orleans. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Texas.
Blaine is a former software company founder, Gartner analyst, and multi-time C-level executive at both public tech giants and private enterprise software and Industrial IoT startups. Over the course of his career, his work has taken him across North America, Europe, and Asia, and his passion for AI, IoT, and edge computing has also made him a sought-after speaker at dozens of global industry events. He is currently CEO at edge-to-cloud platform company Pratexo.