Jeff Winter

Career in automation and manufacturing software

Jeff Winter is a Purdue University graduate^[3]. Belden describes him as having more than two decades of manufacturing industry experience across automation, controls and digital transformation^[1]. In a 2023 interview with ISA he said his role changed from industrial safety to Industry 4.0 at the start of 2019, while he was working for a control systems integrator, and that his job was to work out what Industry 4.0 meant for that company^[3].

He went on to hold senior roles at Microsoft, Hitachi Solutions, Omron Automation and Critical Manufacturing, advising multi-billion-dollar manufacturers on digital transformation strategy^[1]. ISA's author biography describes him during his time at Microsoft as an industry executive for manufacturing^[4]. At Hitachi Solutions he was Senior Director of Industry Strategy, according to the Manufacturing Leadership Council^[5]. EMSNow reported that he led a shift at Hitachi towards an industry-focused approach, and that he had also worked at Rockwell Automation^[2].

In September 2024 he joined Critical Manufacturing, a maker of manufacturing execution systems and a subsidiary of ASMPT, as Vice President of Business Strategy^[2][8]. In that role he led business development and product marketing and acted as an evangelist for the company^[2].

Belden

On 9 February 2026 Belden announced that Winter had joined as Vice President of Commercial Strategy^[1]. The company said he would help shape and lead its commercial strategy and expand its technical capabilities in IT/OT convergence^[1]. Winter said Belden was building the infrastructure that makes Industry 4.0 practical, and that he would continue to serve the wider industrial community as an independent voice^[1].

Industry associations and standards

Winter serves on the international boards of directors of the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) and the International Society of Automation (ISA), and is a U.S.-registered expert for the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)^[1]. ISA has also listed him as a member of IEC technical committee TC 65, part of the leadership committee of ISA's Smart Manufacturing and IIoT Division, and benchmarking chair with the Control System Integrators Association^[4].

In the 2023 ISA interview he said he had joined ISA about six years earlier and became active through the then-new Smart Manufacturing and IIoT Division, which he later directed^[3]. Through ISA he helped review Purdue University's new undergraduate degree in smart manufacturing^[3]. He said he had set three goals when he began his Industry 4.0 work: to become one of the top thought leaders in the field, to meet the other leading experts, and to advance the industry and encourage others to get involved^[3]. Belden states that he has been named the number one global thought leader for Industry 4.0 by Onalytica^[1].

Writing and speaking on Industry 4.0 and AI

Winter has written for ISA's Interchange blog and Automation.com^[4]. In an August 2022 article for ISA's InTech magazine he traced the term Industry 4.0 to Bosch at Hannover Messe in 2011 and the German government's High-Tech Strategy 2020 action plan, and explained why ISA's division chose the term smart manufacturing as a more global label^[6].

In an April 2021 article titled Why Isn't Everyone Using AI?, he cited a 2018 McKinsey study finding that only 21% of companies had embedded AI in several parts of their business^[7]. He compared AI adoption to electricity, arguing that electricity changed the world through the products built on it, and that AI's value would likewise come through applied products^[7]. In January 2025 he discussed how generative AI is shaping manufacturing, from predictive maintenance to factory optimisation, on The Only Constant podcast^[8].

Known for

• Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing strategy
• Board roles at MESA and ISA
• Vice President of Commercial Strategy at Belden from February 2026
• Writing on Industry 4.0 for ISA and Automation.com

Sources

1. Belden: Belden taps Industry 4.0's leading voice, Jeff Winter, to shape commercial strategy, February 2026 — checked 6 Nov 2026
2. EMSNow: Critical Manufacturing welcomes Jeff Winter as VP of Business Strategy, October 2024 — checked 6 Nov 2026
3. ISA Interchange: In Conversation: How Being an ISA Member Helped Me Become a Thought Leader, July 2023 — checked 6 Nov 2026
4. ISA Interchange: Jeff Winter author page — checked 6 Nov 2026
5. Manufacturing Leadership Council: Jeff Winter — checked 6 Nov 2026
6. Automation.com (ISA): Introduction: The Birth of Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing, August 2022 — checked 6 Nov 2026
7. Automation.com (ISA): Why Isn't Everyone Using AI?, April 2021 — checked 6 Nov 2026
8. The Only Constant podcast: Jeff Winter, Generative AI's Role in Smart Manufacturing, January 2025 — checked 6 Nov 2026