Bernardo Cuervo is a Principal Integrity Consultant for EN Engineering (an ENTRUST company) with 30 years of experience in pipeline design, construction, and in-line inspection (ILI) operations and analysis. Cuervo graduated as a Civil Engineer in 1989. He is co-chair of the Corrosion Control Course at the University of Oklahoma and a PHMSA associate instructor for the "Safety Evaluation of In-line Inspection Programs." Cuervo has authored many publications related to corrosion, hard spots, cracks, and integrity assessments. Cuervo serves on several committees developing technical standards for the pipeline industry.

Brian Gaal is the Sr. Welding Engineer at Special Metals Welding Products. He has Degrees in Welding Engineering from Ohio State. He has worked for multiple suppliers of welding consumables and has held many different roles from Engineering, Research, Technology, Applications, Quality, and Management roles. In addition to his experience as a product development engineer, he is a Certified Welding Inspector and maintains NQA-1 Lead Auditor qualifications.

Chris is currently the Business Unit Manager for Orbitalum North America. He has 15 years of experience in the orbital machining and welding industry and has played a pivotal role in the development and deployment of new products and technologies during his career. His orbital background covers a broad range of applications and industries including Aerospace, Semiconductor, Pharmaceutical, Food & Beverage and Heat Exchanger. He also developed the North American operator training program with the UA, and their contracting partners.

As Director of Business Operations at Texas Stress, Cy Rankin brings over 25 years of hands-on experience in the heat-treating industry. Since joining the company in 1998, he has served in nearly every area of the business — from field technician and superintendent to operations, sales, and quality management — before advancing to his current leadership position.

Today, his focus is ensuring that Texas Stress’s People, Processes, and Equipment are always ready to meet customer needs. He works closely with department managers to support execution, align resources, and help teams meet their objectives. A strong advocate for both customer satisfaction and employee development, Cy believes long-term success begins with field technicians — the professionals representing the company on the front lines. He also serves as the Management Representative for Texas Stress’s ISO 9001 certification, driving quality and continuous improvement across the organization.

Mr. Stoll has recently retired from ARC Specialties. He previously served as an application engineer, and strategic accounts manager, for voestalpine Bohler Welding North America, after working for Lincoln Electric-Metrode Products Ltd. for 27 years.

His extensive experience in our industry includes assisting many varied companies in purchasing their fabrication equipment, as well as the development and implementation of their welding procedures and practices.

He is a life member of the American Welding Society (AWS) with 49 years of continuing service and has served as AWS District 18 Director. He was elected and served on the Executive Committee of the AWS Board of Directors in 2016. He has served on the advisory boards for both San Jacinto College and Tulsa Welding School (Houston campus). He was a past judge for the Houston Livestock Show’s Ag-Mechanics contest for 23 years.

He developed, produced, and conducted at least two Welding Symposiums per year, during the past twenty years. These Symposiums included some of our industry’s leading authorities sharing their experience and wisdom pertaining to the betterment of our welding industry.