In addition to his experience in industrial automation, digital transformation and global business management, Thooris brings an engineering degree from the Grande Ecole ENSAM in Paris to his new role.

"With UAO, we are in the right place at the right time," emphasizes the newly elected UAO President. "The diverse technological and logistical challenges facing industrial companies around the world, as well as the influence of software and digitalization, make the need for open automation clearer than ever. I am therefore delighted to be able to play an active role in the future transformation of our industry. As UniversalAutomation.Org, we offer a mature and ready-to-use technical approach that enables truly fully open, software-defined automation."

New members of the Board of Directors

The Annual General Meeting of the UAO was also held as an online event in May 2026. Two new members were elected to the Board of Directors. Harry He takes over the role of Kyland Group representative from Sam Huang. Brad Mozisek will represent Wood on the Board of Directors in future.

Harry He © Universal Automation Org

Harry He is Deputy General Manager and General Manager of the Smart Control Business Unit at the Kyland Group, which specializes in industrial Internet and network communication. Previously, he held management positions at Emerson Process Control as Sales Director and at Schneider Electric as VP Process Automation.

Brad Mozisek © Universal Automation Org

Brad Mozisek works in Wood's Digital Integration Group as a Business Manager and Automation and Control Expert. He is also a Program Manager at Wood's Open Process Automation Center of Excellence. There he plays a leading role in the development of reference architectures and application frameworks. The Chemical Engineer has more than 19 years of experience with automation projects in the process industry. The British Wood Group operates worldwide as a service provider for process automation and plant engineering.

With Harry He and Brad Mozisek, the UAO's eight-member management board also includes representatives from ASRock Industrial, ExxonMobil, Intel, Kongsberg Maritime, Kyland, Schneider Electric, Wood and Yokogawa.

The Annual General Meeting also confirmed Gregory Boucaud for a further two years in his role as Chief Marketing Officer of UniversalAutomation.Org. The Frenchman has been responsible for the organization's global marketing since 2021.

Automation layer based on IEC 61499

UniversalAutomation.Org provides an independent automation layer for OT components with its implementation of the IEC 61499 automation standard, which is managed as a guarded source and can be used free of charge for members. In contrast to approaches such as NOA or OPC UA - and therefore not in competition with them - the solution enables a fundamental decoupling of automation hardware (PLC) and automation software. This forms the basis for manufacturer-independent and significantly freer automation based on IEC 61499.

For users, this approach offers the advantage that once code has been created, it can be reused across different providers and installed on different hardware components in a decentralized manner. In addition, the lifecycles of hardware and software are completely separate, which makes integration and migration processes easier.

UniversalAutomation.Org now has more than 110 member companies.