The Top 9 Automation Influencers and Leaders to Follow

The world of automation evolves at a blistering pace. The rate of change can make it difficult to stay informed on what’s happening, what the challenges others are facing, and what’s next on the horizon.

One way to keep a pulse on the world of automation is to leverage all the insight, experience, and vision the leaders and experts in the industry have to offer.

Here's a list of leaders and influencers in the automation industry that we recommend you follow (in no particular order) on LinkedIn, Twitter, or whatever your professional social media channel of choice is, to stay in the know and on top of everything that is happening and coming in the world of automation.

1 - Ema Roloff

Ema Roloff is well entrenched in the world of digital transformation, change management, and process automation. Currently the Director of North American Property and Casualty Sales at EIS Ltd., Ema is a prominent voice on a variety of social media channels including TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn with explanation and insightful videos spanning different topics like digital transformation, change management, and intelligent automation.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emaroloff
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@transformationprincess
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTxpxIwGqOoZ6HieZVnNVww

2 - Kieran Gilmurray

Kieran Gilmurray is an author, intelligent automation consultant, and emerging technology strategist that regularly posts and provides insight on intelligent automation, RPA, data analytics, and emerging technologies. He’s also the co-author of The A-Z of Organizational Digital Transformation and even co-hosts Third Thursday with Ema Roloff—a live and recorded chat with a variety of guests that discuss all things digital transformation.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kierangilmurray
Website: https://gilmurray.co.uk/

3 - Dr. Evgueniia (Jenya) Doudareva

As an intelligent automation leader with a Ph. D. in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto, Dr. Jenya Doudareva offers a wealth of profound insight and expertise in intelligent automation. Currently the Principal Consultant of Digital Services at Kainos, Dr. Doudareva was recently a guest on Blueprint’s very own podcast Automation Untangled where you can hear all about her automation journey and her perspective on the industry and where it’s going.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenyadoudareva

4 - Jeremy Gilchrist

In his role as the Intelligent Automation Lead at Avanade, Jeremy Gilchrist has ample experience guiding organizations through their automation challenges. This includes helping companies through the complex process of selecting an RPA tool and managing a large environment of automated processes. To learn more about the insight and experience Jeremy has to offer, check out a recent podcast he was featured on here.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-j-gilchrist

5 - Tom Taulli

Tom Taulli is another prominent author and voice of automation that is a definite must-follow for the automation enthusiast. Having penned the books The Robotic Process Automation Handbook: A Guide to Implementing RPA Systems and Artificial Intelligence Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction, in addition to contributing to publications such as Forbes, Barrons, and eSecurity Planet, Tom has the experience and knowledge to help any organization accelerate its automation journey.  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomtaulli/

6 - Stephen Siciliano

Stephen Siciliano is the Vice President of Power Automate at Microsoft. With such a pivotal role in the world of automation at a leader like Microsoft that’s taking the industry by storm, Stephen is well versed on how automation has changed over the years, how to implement a citizen development approach, and all the exciting things Power Automate has to offer now and in the years to come. Stephen had a chance to sit down with Blueprint’s very own Matthew Agnew and discuss all this and more in a recent Automation Untangled podcast that you can listen to on-demand here.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssiciliano/

7 - Tolani Jaiye-Tikolo

Tolani Jaiye-Tikolo is the RPA Lead at AIB and the founder/sole proprietor of RPA Jargon Buster: an automation-as-a-service offering for small and mid-market financial services and healthcare companies. Tolani is a regular speaker and guest on numerous automation events and webcasts where she shares her experience and deep well of knowledge on intelligent automation.

Website: https://www.rpajargonbuster.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tolani-jaiye-tikolo

8 - Nandan Mullakara

Nandan Mullakara is a premier expert in the world of intelligent automation. As the founder of Bot Nirvana – an online professional support group for intelligent automation – Nandan has profound experience and insight on how to leverage intelligent automation with strategies, technologies, tools, and frameworks to help your automation practice grow and improve. He regularly shares his insight in his own podcast and the numerous learning resources he offers.

Website: https://nandan.info/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nandanmullakara/

9 - Leslie Willocks

Rounding off our list is Leslie Willocks, a Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Having authored over 70 books in his career, Professor Willocks’ major research interests include service automation, robotic process automation (RPA), AI, cognitive automation of knowledge work, digital transformation, and a host of other emerging technologies.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-willcocks-10254a35/

For a first-hand look into all the experience and knowledge these intelligent automation influencers and RPA industry leaders have to offer, many of them have already been featured as guests in Blueprint’s podcast Automation Untangled which can be accessed here on our website, in addition to Spotify, iTunes, and Google podcasts. Subscribe and ensure you never miss an episode on your way to getting the most out of your automation practice.