Jim Wetzel

Jim Wetzel is a visionary leader in smart manufacturing with a proven track record of advancing industrial innovation, operational efficiency, and digital transformation. With more than 30 years of experience at General Mills, Jim held senior roles where he championed global manufacturing excellence, led technology deployment at scale, and fostered a culture of continuous improvement. This included control and automation, technical architecture, system engineering and improvement, maintenance and reliability, sustainability, energy and technical training and development.

As the interim CEO of CESMII – The Smart Manufacturing Institute, Jim was instrumental in shaping national strategy and accelerating the democratization of smart manufacturing capabilities across industries. He brings deep expertise in industrial data systems, open architecture, and workforce enablement.

Jim is currently a co-founder of NxGen Group, where he advises companies and institutions on digital manufacturing strategy, ecosystem development, and future-ready operations. Known for bridging vision with execution, Jim collaborates across public-private partnerships to create scalable, sustainable impact.

A respected thought leader, Jim speaks frequently at national forums and industry conferences on the future of manufacturing, developing vision and strategies, innovation and transformation, and workforce development.

Jim holds a BSME and MBA both from the University of Minnesota