Control Station Appoints Chris Christie to Lead Optimization Services
The process control expert will oversee the expansion of Digital Lifecycle Solutions to address global manufacturing performance gaps.
- By Jesse Jacobs
- Mar 11, 2026
Control Station announced that Chris Christie, PhD, has joined the company as director of services to lead the expansion of its Digital Lifecycle Solutions (DLS) program. The appointment comes as manufacturers increasingly look to maximize the value of automation and process control investments amid rising operational costs.
The company reported a 29.6% increase in service contracts over the past year. This growth highlights an industry-wide push to improve control loop performance and reduce process variability, which can significantly impact production throughput and product quality.
While platforms like PlantESP allow for the continuous monitoring of control system health, many manufacturers struggle to sustain improvements due to limited internal expertise or resource constraints. The DLS program aims to bridge this gap by pairing advanced analytics with engineering services to identify and stabilize poorly performing loops.
“Manufacturers are increasingly looking for partners who can help translate data into sustained operational gains,” said Dennis Nash, president of Control Station. “Chris brings extensive experience deploying PlantESP at enterprise scale along with deep expertise in process control strategy.”
Christie has more than 20 years of industrial experience in sectors including mining, oil and gas, and food and beverage processing. He previously served as process control capability lead at Cargill, where he managed the enterprise-wide rollout of monitoring technology across more than 100 global facilities.
His academic background includes a doctorate and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree from the University of the West Indies. He also served as a postdoctoral research fellow at Drexel University, focusing on biological control systems.
The move addresses a significant economic gap in the industrial sector. Research suggests that optimizing industrial process control represents a global opportunity valued between $100 billion and $200 billion annually. However, much of this remains unrealized because organizations lack the infrastructure to continuously diagnose and maintain system performance.
Control Station’s DLS framework utilizes a three-phase approach: identifying poorly performing loops, implementing corrective optimization strategies, and maintaining those gains through remote monitoring and engineering support.
“Customers increasingly rely on us not only for the technology to monitor control performance, but also for the expertise needed to translate those insights into sustainable operational improvements,” said Bob Rice, PhD, vice president of engineering at Control Station.