W. Kent Lorenz is the retired Chairman and CEO of Acieta LLC, a provider of advanced industrial automation systems to North American manufacturers specializing in robotic solutions for Material Handling, Assembly, Arc Welding, and Foundry applications with over 4,400 industrial robots installed in North America. With over 30 years of experience in industrial automation, Kent continues to provide engineering and financial consulting services to Wisconsin based manufacturers. In addition, Kent is the managing partner of a commercial real estate investment company, serves on numerous boards of both public and privately held companies, and frequently speaks publicly about manufacturing technology and automation. Kent holds a B.S. in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.