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Build Better 2025 - Early Bird Ticket
$100.00
Build Better Electronics Manufacturing Summit
Tuesday September 30th , 2025 | USS Hornet Museum in Alameda
The only conference for manufacturing leaders developing electronics.
Why Attend?
Build Better is the only summit focused on the future of complex electronics manufacturing. Founded by Instrumental CEO Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, it brings together leaders from consumer, aerospace and defense, and AI infrastructure to address shared challenges and explore emerging trends. This year’s theme: navigating new frontiers in a rapidly changing global landscape. No pitches—just real conversations and practical insights.
2025 Agenda:
Opening Remarks
Welcome + Opening remarks from Instrumental CEO, Anna-Katrina Shedletsky.
The Frontier of Electronic Complexity: The Many Bottlenecks for AI Compute Infrastructure
Delivering data center capacity is key to winning the AI Race. But there are key bottlenecks that no one in the mainstream talks about: how difficult it is to build top-of-the-line systems at scalable yields and with reasonable field reliability. Designs are complex, with many SKUs, and demand is legendary. This discussion will unpack the causes of these challenges and how visionary leaders are forging a new path to process control with technology.
Speakers: Todd Steele (Principal Technical Program Manager @ AWS)
Moderator: Alon Ben-Shoshan (COO @ Instrumental)
Limitless Acceleration: The Frontier of Schedule Velocity in NPI and Production
If there were an equivalent of the sound barrier in NPI and production schedules, this discussion is about how to build a hypersonic process that still delivers. Our speakers will share real tactics to shrink first-generation NPI to four months or less and practical advice on accelerating ramping three times faster. After this session, you’ll have real ideas for opportunities to accelerate your own process.
Speakers: Zach Scott (Head of Hardware @ Backbone),
Tony Aghzarian (Consulting COO @ Archer and more)
Moderator: Heatherly Bucher (Director, Strategic Alliances @ Arena)
Outsourced: Where to Draw the Line for Manufacturing, Engineering, Innovation, and Ownership
High-volume manufacturing has outsourced assembly for years, but a new trend is to outsource engineering too, which is synonymous with innovation. This discussion tackles that trend, including the pros and cons of “just buying the box” versus retaining deep expertise in-house. Our panelists have also led strategic initiatives to open their own factories, assemble in the USA, and unite global teams. Expect a lively discussion and debate!
Speakers: Miguel Christophy (VP of Hardware @ ŌURA),
Garrett Bastable (COO @ Whoop)
Innovation in the Arsenal: New Tactics for Achieving Capacity in Defense Manufacturing
With multiple hot conflicts around the world and increasing pressure to be more efficient with taxpayer dollars, innovation in defense manufacturing is critical. This panel will dive into the operational constraints slowing down defense manufacturing and how visionary leaders are breaking those bottlenecks. They’ll cover scalable tactics for speed, flexibility, and resilience in NPI and production for this critical industry.
Speakers: Keith Flynn (SVP of Manufacturing @ Anduril)
Dan Magy (CEO & Co-Founder @ Firestorm)
Tim Murnin (Head of Industry Solutions & Business Development @ AWS)
Mike Sternowski ( Former Director of Operations @ L3Harris)
Moderator: Erin Price-Wright (General Partner @ Andreessen Horowitz)
The Frontier of Trust: Radical Data Transparency between CMs and Brands
With inherently misaligned commercial incentives between brands and their manufacturing partners, radical transparency seems off the table. But what could both sides accomplish together if it weren’t? This discussion will explore how the best EMS/CM and brand relationships are built on shared truth, not just shared timelines, and why data transparency might be your biggest untapped advantage.
Speakers: Andrew Schuermann (CEO @ Arch Systems)
Srinivas Mellacheruvu (Head of Manufacturing and Quality @ Backbone)
Morgan Teachworth (Former SVP of Engineering @ Cisco)
Registrations Open. Save Your Spot.
Build Better 2025 - Early Bird Ticket
$100.00
300+ attendees
Personalized Networking
50% of Attendees VP - C Level
Knowledge
Summit
30+ Speakers
Build Better is the only summit for leaders driving the future of complex electronics. Founded by Instrumental CEO Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, it was created to fill the gap for an electronics-focused conference.
Our Mission:
Empowering engineering and operations teams to excel. Become a part of the Build Better Community.
Check out the
Build Better Change Notice
2024 Event Speakers
Kyle Weins
iFixit, CEO
Kyle Wiens is the CEO of iFixit, the free repair manual. He’s dedicated his life to defeating the second law of thermodynamics, a battle fought in the courtroom as often as in the workshop. The Right to Repair campaign has, so far, successfully legalized cell phone unlocking and tractor repair. Kyle regularly speaks on design for repair, service documentation, and the environmental impact of manufacturing. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, Wired, Popular Mechanics, and the Wall Street Journal.
Anna Shedletsky
Instrumental, CEO
Anna-Katrina Shedletsky is the CEO and founder of Instrumental Inc., a manufacturing data company creating the first end-to-end optimization platform for product teams building electronic devices. Instrumental combines AI-powered defect and anomaly detection, failure analysis tools, complete issue monitoring and reporting, and production-quality in-line tests into a single end-to-end optimization platform.
Anna-Katrina holds two degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. Before founding Instrumental, she led system product design for the first-generation Apple Watch program, and contributed to several generations of iPod mechanical design.
Anna-Katrina holds two degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. Before founding Instrumental, she led system product design for the first-generation Apple Watch program, and contributed to several generations of iPod mechanical design.
Kyle Weins
iFixit, CEO
Kyle Wiens is the CEO of iFixit, the free repair manual. He’s dedicated his life to defeating the second law of thermodynamics, a battle fought in the courtroom as often as in the workshop. The Right to Repair campaign has, so far, successfully legalized cell phone unlocking and tractor repair. Kyle regularly speaks on design for repair, service documentation, and the environmental impact of manufacturing. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, Wired, Popular Mechanics, and the Wall Street Journal.
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