Inspector Gadget Attends CES January 16, 2019 • Bill Griffin, SVP Sales, Bright Machines By Bill Griffin, SVP Sales, Bright Machines Each year more than a 100,000 people attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to get a firsthand look at today’s hottest technology trends and I was thrilled to be among the crowd this year, along with several of my Bright Machines colleagues. As a company, our mission is to empower our customers to effortlessly and autonomously build physical products, so understanding the latest trends in automotive and electronics is key to our success. For me personally, attending CES is always a highlight. My wife likes to call me Inspector Gadget (as in, the “high-tech” 80’s cartoon character) for my unwavering love of electronic gadgets. Inspector Gadget is a bit like another one of my brethren, Maxwell Smart from the TV show “Get Smart.” They both always seemed to have the right gadget for every situation. I am fascinated by the explosion of electronic devices in auto, home and wearables, and how they’re changing the way people live in all aspects of their lives. We are truly in the enlightened Digital Age. At CES, my head was on a swivel as I walked 7-10 miles a day, observing cutting-edge innovations in electronics from two different perspectives: 1st: Cool tech I want in my hands right away. 2nd: Product leaders (or companies) who will join Bright Machines in transforming the manufacturing industry. I saw multiple opportunities where Bright Machines can help manufacturers bring their products to market quicker, increase quality and profitability, decrease waste, and deal with the ever-shifting global trade dynamics. For example, the electrification of cars seemed to be on display everywhere I turned in Vegas. From the autos to the tech companies, there seemed to be agreement that the car and truck is the next computing frontier to conquer. For Bright Machines, that means helping these automotive and technology providers better and more efficiently design, prototype and manufacture all the electronics required to deliver these data centers on wheels. While I didn’t come home with any new gadgets from CES, I did come home with the realization that I am a step higher on the Inspector Gadget spectrum. I work for a company whose robots are powered by software embedded with machine learning and analytics, that will help manufacture many of the electronics I saw this year at CES. As a proud owner of the Inspector Gadget title (in my wife’s mind, anyway), this makes me extremely proud and excited about the ambitious journey we are on at Bright Machines to help our customers deliver the next generation of products. About the author Before joining Bright Machines as SVP Sales, Bill spent over two decades leading sales organizations at Aspen Technology and Autodesk. Throughout his career, Bill has been known for creating high performance teams and driving sales growth. He’s also the forthcoming author of “What it takes to Win” and a partner at Tech CXO.