KC SmartPort Annual Industry Briefing
SAVE THE DATE: 2024 ANNUAL INDUSTRY BRIEFING
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
3:00 - 6:00 P.M.
KC Convention Center
2023 EVENT RECAP
KC SmartPort’s 2023 Annual Industry Briefing celebrated the Kansas City region’s momentum as a leader in the field of electrification, bringing together 650+ local and national business leaders on April 12, 2023. The event featured Panasonic and Burns & McDonnell leadership, who shared their insights on the electric vehicle (EV) industry and its impact on infrastructure, global supply chains and industrial development.
Read the full event recap.
2023 FEATURED SPEAKERS
AJAY GNANASEKARAN
Director of Strategy and Program Management
Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd.
Ajay currently leads Panasonic Energy's expansion project in Kansas. Throughout his career, Ajay has held leadership positions in supply chain strategy and program management at global organizations including Gulfstream Aerospace, HAECO Americas, Bridgestone Aircraft Tires, and Triumph Aerospace. Before joining Panasonic, Ajay served as the Program Leader for Triumph Aerospace's Boeing contract.
Ajay is an Aerospace Engineer, with a MBA in Aviation Finance and Operations.
CHRIS RUCKMAN
Vice President, Energy Storage
Burns & McDonnell
With over 25 years of power generation experience, Chris leads Burns & McDonnell’s presence in the energy storage market. He oversees the development of safe, reliable, and cost-effective energy storage solutions for both utility scale and behind-the-meter applications.
Throughout his career, Chris has worked on electrical system design and analysis, protective relaying, and detailed design for new and retrofit power generation projects, microgrids, and black start facilities. He is a professional engineer in 10 states, a senior member of the IEEE, active in the Power System Relaying Committee, and has been a contributor on numerous generation standards.