Curriculum vitae · 25 years of industrial AI

Sebastián J. Brau

Industrial AI Deployment lead. Deploying AI in industrial plants since the 90s — the last 25 years leading the iLEAN team. Author of Lean Manufacturing 4.0. Strategic advisor to industrial multinationals and private equity funds.

25+
Years of experience
300+
Hands-on deployments led personally
8+
Agreements with national governments
Portrait of Sebastián J. Brau
Deployments

Factory projects

A sample of our work in automotive, aerospace, food and more.

Sebastián J. Brau. Industrial AI Deployment lead, Human-Centric approach

I have spent more than 25 years deploying artificial intelligence in industrial plants, going back to a time when industrial AI was still a futuristic concept. With experience built project by project, we work alongside companies that need to turn AI into real operational impact, without improvisation.

Client testimonial

We had been looking for this for years

We had worked with European institutions trying to solve it, but we never reached a robust detection system. We didn't have this solved either at the group's North American plants or in Europe, until this project.

Iñigo Meseguer

Head of Internal Production, Héroux-Devtek (CESA)

3rd largest landing gear manufacturer worldwide · 18 plants across North America and Europe

AI deployment documented by the European Industry 4.0 Initiative

Iñigo Meseguer testimonial poster
Industrial AI didn't start with ChatGPT

This plant was already running on AI in 2021.

The AI engineers of my generation have been deploying systems in factories since the late 90s — when we still wrote in LISP, the language of John McCarthy, the man who coined the term "artificial intelligence".

They were narrow AI systems: each one solved a specific problem. But the fundamentals of a real plant deployment haven't changed since then.

In this documentary the Iniciativa Europea Industria 4.0 filmed at one of my aerospace deployments you'll see — already running on the plant floor: a CNN for computer vision, an AI-powered OCR capturing each part's traceability, a conversational AI assisting operators by voice, and autonomous agents generating evidence packs. It was filmed in 2021. Before the GPT explosion.

Easier to show than to tell. Hit play.

Clip 1 poster: CNN detecting oil leaks
Clip 1 · Computer Vision

CNN detecting oil leaks in a landing gear piston

A convolutional neural network detecting defects in the production of aerospace parts in real time, directly on the line.

Clip 2 poster: AI-powered OCR digitising delivery notes
Clip 2 · OCR + traceability

AI-powered OCR: nameplate traceability and supplier delivery notes into the ERP

Automatic capture of nameplates and multi-page delivery notes feeding into the ERP with no human input.

Clip 3 poster: conversational AI assisting QC
Clip 3 · Voice NLP

Conversational AI assisting the operator with voice-based quality control

On a tablet, an AI trained on 250 commands guides the operator and records the answers back into the system.

Clip 4 poster: agentic AI generating evidence packs
Clip 4 · Agentic AI

Hand-programmed agentic AI generating evidence packs in minutes

On request from an OEM (Airbus, Boeing…), the agent assembles the full per-part documentation and photo dossier.

Full documentary · 15 min

Full Iniciativa Europea 4.0 report

If you want to see the deployment end to end, with industrial context and interviews. Produced in 2021.

Full 2021 documentary poster

It's not that industrial AI is new — it's that it's now accessible.

Imagine what we can do today with the latest versions of our multi-agent systems.

Let's talk →
Material since 2012

Talks and conferences

Talks and interventions on industrial AI and Industry 4.0 since 2012.

Press, radio and television

In the media

Interviews in the United States, Europe and Latin America.

Screenshot of the interview with Sebastián J. Brau on Univision Communications (USA)
TV · Univision LA · USA

Interview on Univision Communications

Appearance on the North American network Univision on industrial AI and advanced manufacturing.

Screenshot of the El Español article on Sebastián J. Brau and General Motors, October 2023
Press · El Español · Spain

"The Spaniard advising General Motors on AI"

Disruptors section: "Industry is absorbing AI at a prodigious speed."

Sebastián J. Brau interviewed on COPE radio
Radio · COPE · Spain · in Spanish

Live interview on industrial AI

Interview on COPE, one of Spain's main national radio networks.

El Heraldo (Mexico) page interviewing Sebastián J. Brau, August 2017
Press · El Heraldo · Mexico

Sebastián Brau, author of "Lean Manufacturing 4.0"

"We must be prepared for the rise of Industry 4.0 driven by AI."

Institutional signatures and funding programmes

Agreements with governments and organisations

As Chair of the AI Advisory Board of European Initiative 4.0, I am honored to sign agreements with governments, across both Latin America and the United States, to bring industrial AI in service of the human being into their factories.

Sebastián J. Brau in an institutional interview with EU and Spain flags
Institutional interview · 8 min

European Initiative 4.0 agreements in the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru

Collaboration agreements signed with the governments of each region to drive AI projects for human empowerment in the industrial sector.

Sebastián J. Brau signing a collaboration agreement with CENALTEC, Government of Mexico
CENALTEC · Government of Mexico

Bilateral agreement with the Centro de Entrenamiento en Alta Tecnología (Mexico)

Collaboration agreement signed with CENALTEC, the Mexican government's institution for advanced technological training and industrial development.

My four passions

Current roles

I have the privilege of dedicating my time to my four great passions: industrial AI systems architecture, European governance, on-the-floor client consulting, and the push for AI that empowers humans rather than replacing them.

Publications

Book and materials

Cover of the book Lean Manufacturing 4.0 — The Technological Evolution of Lean, by Sebastián J. Brau

Lean Manufacturing 4.0

The technological evolution of Lean. A practical guide to using technology (AI, Industry 4.0, digital tools) in real Lean projects on the shop floor.

View book
Coming soon Cover of IRIS — Industrial Reality Intelligence Systems, by Sebastián J. Brau

IRIS · Industrial Reality Intelligence Systems

Coming Summer 2026

The new category of industrial AI: "why factories with people empowered by AI will win".

Join the waitlist
FAQ

About the career

Since when has Sebastián J. Brau been working in industrial AI?

Since the late 90s, trained in Spain's first generation of AI engineers when LISP was still the language of choice. More than 25 years of deploying systems in factories.

In which industrial sectors has he deployed AI?

Mostly aerospace (OEMs and Tier 1), automotive and food. Deployments cover computer vision, OCR, industrial NLP and multi-agent systems.

What are his current roles?

iLEAN (ilean.ai), Iniciativa Europea 4.0, AmericanLean.ai and AIForHuman.org. Four complementary lines: industrial deployment, European outreach, US expansion and ethics.

How can he be contacted for collaboration or a talk?

Via the contact form at the bottom of this CV or by email at info@sebastianbrau.com.

Direct contact

Let's talk

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