Jacob Cassady
Jacob Cassady is Director of Government Relations at the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) in Washington, DC. Since 2020, he has represented AHAM before Congress and state legislatures on energy standards and regulations, chemicals, microfibers and microplastics, packaging and appliance recycling, and batteries and e-waste. Prior to joining AHAM, Jake spent a decade at the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), working on issues affecting all aspects of the cleaning product supply chain. He started his career on Capitol Hill in the office of U.S. Senator Mark Dayton and with the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. He holds a Master of Arts from George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, he lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
Monday Dec 7
Joint Cleaning & Floor Care Products Program
The Product of 2031 — Reimagining Household & Commercial Products for the Next 5 Years
What will household and commercial products look like five years from now? Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), connected devices, smart packaging, robotics, and digital technologies are transforming how products are developed, purchased, used, and replenished. As appliances become increasingly intelligent and autonomous, these innovations are creating new opportunities and challenges for manufacturers and consumers alike. With the emergence of "physical AI" — robotics and AI-enabled technologies that interact directly with the physical world — the role of the consumer is also evolving. Will consumers continue to use cleaning and floor care products themselves, or will they increasingly rely on autonomous systems to perform these tasks? And as connected devices become the primary users of certain products, how might that change the way companies approach product development and formulation? This session will explore how emerging technologies are shaping the future of household and commercial products, with a particular focus on AI adoption in the cleaning and floor care sectors. Panelists will discuss opportunities for collaboration between appliance manufacturers and consumer product companies to ensure product compatibility, performance, and safe use, as well as the evolving expectations of consumers and regulators. Attendees will gain insights into how these technological advancements could influence the way companies formulate, design, manufacture, package, market, and sell their products.
Speakers:
Jacob Cassady, Director of Government Relations, Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers
Sohrab Haghighat, Co-Founder and CEO, Hestus
Mike Sanders, Senior Design Director, Procter & Gamble
Manmit Shrimali, CEO & Founder, Turing Labs