Brigitte de Vet is the CEO at Materialise, a global leader in 3D printing software and services, taking over from co-founder Fried Vancraen on January 1st, 2024. Prior to this, Brigitte served as Executive Vice President of Materialise Medical, which develops software and 3D printing solutions that help improve patient outcomes. Under her leadership, the medical segment grew to become the company’s fastest-growing and most profitable business segment.

Brigitte holds an MBA from INSEAD and a BA with a major in Engineering from HEC Liege, and before joining Materialise in 2016, Brigitte was an accomplished business leader with over 20 years of experience across multiple industries. Brigitte held various management, sales, R&D and marketing positions at Johnson & Johnson, ultimately serving as General Manager for Cordis in Germany and VP EMEA for Cordis Neurovascular. She led several companies through growth and transformation, including in her role as CEO of Acertys Group, where she drove a significant effort to improve operational efficiencies, strengthen the technology portfolio, and create growth.

Cora Leibig is the Founder and CEO of Chromatic 3D Materials, a Minneapolis-based, manufacturing technology company combining industrial chemistry and 3D printing to make manufacturing more flexible, cost-effective, and sustainable. Cora’s mission was to use the promise of 3d printing to transform supply chains through development of novel 3D printing materials. Cora invented RX-AMTM, a novel materials and technology platform based on reactive extrusion additive manufacturing which allows manufacturers to 3D print industrial-strength elastomeric using a cost-effective printing platform. With 25 employees and over 50 customers and partners, Chromatic's products can be found in hearing aids, agricultural equipment, rail, and consumer products.

Prior to founding Chromatic, Cora held leadership roles at The Dow Chemical Company and Segetis, a biobased specialty materials startup. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from MIT, and later earned a PhD from the University of California. Cora is an inventor on more than 25 US patents.

Melissa Orme is Vice President of Additive Manufacturing at The Boeing Company, where she leads a highly innovative team that drives advanced engineering solutions to complex design problems for commercial airplanes, space vehicles, satellites, and many other flight vehicles. Use of AM at Boeing has been demonstrated to enhance quality and performance while simultaneously saving millions of dollars. Additionally, Melissa oversees Boeing research focused on AM including the development of new processes; materials; digital transformation for industry 4.0; the creation of the digital thread; machine learning and data analytics.

Melissa began her career in AM over three decades ago as Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine in the US. Here she developed a research programme centred on AM that drew international recognition, and resulted in 15 US patents. Melissa went on to hold senior leadership roles at start-up AM companies, including chief scientist and chief technology officer. Melissa has been a leader in AM since the early days when she was an outlier in her academic department, advocating for adoption of manufacturing processes of the future.

Nesma Aboulkhair is the Director of Additive Manufacturing at the Technology Innovation Institute’s Advanced Materials Research Centre TII-AMRC (UAE). Coming from a mechanical engineering background and holding a PhD in Materials Engineering and Materials Design, she specialises in developing new materials, materials processing, manufacturing, multi-material 3D printing, and characterisation for metallurgy and mechanical properties. At TII Nesma has set up a state-of-the-art AM laboratory, and the latest successful output of her team is the invention of high strength and high temperature aluminium alloys for AM (AMALLOY3D and AMALLOY3D-HT).

Prior to joining TII, Nesma was an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham (UK), where she still holds a visiting academic role. Her work has been published in numerous scientific publications, and she has achieved over £2m in research funding. Nesma has been a keynote at international conferences and reputable institutions, as well as serving as an editor and reviewer for various reputable scientific journals.

Olga “Dr.O” Ivanova is the Director of Applications & Technology at Mechnano, a specialist materials company bringing carbon nanotube technology to the world of AM. She leads the development of additive manufacturing materials and identifies applications for these materials to meet customer needs. During her time at Mechnano Olga has developed and released four new product lines and developed numerous further materials.

After completing her PhD in Analytical Chemistry at University of Louisville in 2010, Olga gained over a decade of experience across academia, industry and government sectors. Prior to joining Mechnano, Olga was Applications Lead and Services Manager at Open Additive where she developed relationships with customers across industry and academia to meet their AM research and application needs. Throughout her career Olga has tackled everything from designing textiles for uniforms to developing silicones for medical devices, and even channelling her inner pyromaniac to craft decoy flares that dazzle the skies.