Augmented Ops

Augmented Ops

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, shop floor operators, citizen developers, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. We equip our listeners with the knowledge to understand the latest advancements at the intersection of manufacturing and technology, as well as actionable insights that they can implement in their own operations. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform.

Episodes

April 23, 2025 29 mins
This week’s guest is Joel Fidalgo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-fidalgo-7b6347121/), CIO of NextPharma. Joel shares how NextPharma is bridging IT and operations to lead digital transformation across a decentralized CDMO network, and taking a modular, app-based approach to MES and eBR. He also explores the changing role of the CIO in driving innovation on the shop floor, the importance of cross-functional collaboration, and the...
Mark as Played
This week, Natan Linder (https://www.linkedin.com/in/linder/), Co-Founder and CEO of Tulip (https://tulip.co/) sits down with Madilynn Castillo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/madilynncastillo/), Tulip’s CMO for a recap of their experiences at this year’s Hannover Messe—the world’s largest industrial trade fair. They explore the overwhelming AI hype at the fair, the confusion it creates for manufacturers, and the persistent gap betwee...
Mark as Played
April 2, 2025 1 min
This week, we're at Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial trade show. We’re foregoing our usual episode this week, but, we’ll be recording our annual on-site episode at the show later this week covering the state of the industry, analyzing the trends we’re seeing, and cutting through the hype to figure out which of the latest technologies on display here at Hannover will have real impact on the shop floor. We’ll be back ...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Audrey Van de Castle (https://www.linkedin.com/in/audrey-van-de-castle/), Senior Director of Operational Excellence Technology at Stanley Black & Decker. Audrey breaks down the challenges of scaling digital initiatives across 100+ manufacturing sites, how to balance governance with citizen development, and the need to move past the buzzwords and invest in technology that can make a difference on the shop floor ...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Erik Udstuen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-udstuen-00000), Co-founder and CEO of TwinThread. Erik shares insights from his 30+ years in industrial software, discussing how AI and digital twins are transforming manufacturing by standardizing data, optimizing operations, and driving operational excellence. He also dives into the challenges of industrial data standards, the importance of empowering engineers w...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Nicolette Naya (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolettenaya/), Senior MES Engineer at a leading luxury jewelry manufacturer. Nicolette shares insights into how she helped digitize centuries-old manufacturing processes, the challenges of introducing technology to the shop floor, and the importance of a structured governance model to successful digital transformation. She also explores the role of citizen developer...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is ZJ van de Weg (https://www.linkedin.com/in/zegerjan/), CEO of FlowFuse. ZJ shares his journey from an intern at GitLab to now leading FlowFuse, how open-source technology is transforming industrial operations, and why Node-RED has become the go-to platform for low-code manufacturing connectivity. He also takes a deep dive into the challenges of scaling open source solutions in enterprise environments, the value...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Vijay Chinnasami (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijayan-chinnasami-6595a931/), former COO of Ultra Clean Technology. Vijay shares an inside look into how electronics supply chains and manufacturing practices have evolved over his 35+ year career, the rise of EMS and ODM business models, and how the semiconductor industry is shifting in response to global pressures. The discussion also explores best practices for ...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is John Harrington (https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-harrington-142906a/), co-founder and Chief Product Officer of HighByte. John shares how his experiences working on Kepware at PTC led him to co-found HighByte, why Industry 4.0 requires a fundamentally different approach to interoperability, and the importance of contextualizing data in manufacturing. He also breaks down the real value that a Unified Namespace ...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Kence Anderson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kence), CEO of Composabl. Kence and Natan explore the role of AI agents in industrial processes, how manufacturers are using them to solve complex problems like scheduling or machine control, and the challenges of building startups in the manufacturing space. Kence also lays out how his concept of machine teaching differs from traditional machine learning techniques, ...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Fabio Violante (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabioviolante), CEO of Arduino. Fabio and Natan explore the importance of open source technology in manufacturing and how the democratization of embedded systems development is reshaping the industry. Fabio also shares the history of Arduino, and how he led the charge to evolve their approach from focusing purely on makers and hobbyists, to supporting enterprise grade...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Kevin Kidd (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-kidd-5ab572113/), Director of Software and Analytics at RFK Racing. While advanced manufacturing might not be the first thought that comes to mind when you hear the word NASCAR, Kevin sheds light on the complex processes and digital tools that go into building high performance race cars. He also explains how citizen development helped the team go from running on Exc...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Marc Nash (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcnash1/), SVP of Operations and R&D at Outset Medical. In an industry dominated by legacy players, Marc explains how Outset set out to redefine what is possible when it comes to patient health, and how they leveraged an equally disruptive approach to manufacturing to give them a competitive edge. He also explains how they are taking advantage of IoT to improve their pro...
Mark as Played
This week, Natan Linder (https://www.linkedin.com/in/linder/), Co-Founder and CEO of Tulip (https://tulip.co/) sits down with Tulip CMO Madilynn Castillo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/madilynncastillo/) to reflect on the second annual Operations Calling conference and what it means for the future of frontline operations. Natan and Madi discuss what makes Operations Calling more than just another user conference, the importance of au...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Daniele Iacovelli (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniele-iacovelli-8684a9b2/), SVP, Global Head of Digital, Analytics (AI) & Operational Excellence at Roche. Although regulated industries like pharmaceutical manufacturing can be slow to digitally transform their manufacturing operations, Daniele lays out how changing trends in the industry have led Roche to architect a new digital production system, with a focus ...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Rick Bullotta (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickbullotta/), longtime veteran of the industrial software space and co-founder of Lighthammer and Thingworx. Rick and Natan explore the history of MES solutions, how Frontline Operations Platforms are democratizing the development of industrial software, and what this means for the future architecture of the manufacturing tech stack. They also break down the hype vs....
Mark as Played
In this bonus episode, Elisabeth Reynolds—MIT Professor of the Practice, former White House policymaker, and now Strategic Advisor to Tulip—joins Natan Linder to discuss the building momentum around reindustrialization in the United States. Liz calls attention to the most important factors shaping the industrial landscape, and the need for a clear national strategy that can direct government coordination with manufacturers. Liz als...
Mark as Played
This week marks the final episode of Season 1 of Augmented Ops! Natan Linder and Erik Mirandette sit down to discuss their takeaways from the first season—while trying not to get derailed analogizing frontline operations to the Celtics Championship win. Natan and Erik highlight the advancements (and stumbles) in industrial AI, and the way that open, interoperable ecosystems have fundamentally changed the way manufacturing tech stac...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Jeff Kramer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-kramer-a367906/), VP Technology & Digital Factory at Kason Industries (https://www.kasonind.com/). Jeff discusses why manufacturers struggle to develop a cohesive digital strategy, and lays out best practices around governance, data architecture, and bridging the IT/OT divide. He also explains why it’s critical for organizations to empower their frontline personn...
Mark as Played
This week’s guest is Kai Yang (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaiyangtw/), VP of Product at LandingAI (https://landing.ai/). Kai discusses the need for a data-centric approach to AI, why vendors should build tools rather than solutions, and more, sharing lessons learned from his career in machine learning and software development. He also explains how new tools like visual prompting are democratizing computer vision and enabling anyon...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.