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Whiteboard Wisdom
Episode 1

The word sustainability is very ambiguous and it means different things to different people. However, it does just mean one thing, and I like to use the ESG acronym because it's so simple. Environmental care or environmental stewardship, social responsibility and governing your company ethically.

-Elba Pareja-Gallagher

Episode Summary

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Whiteboard Wisdom: Quick Tips for Supply Chain Success, with Scott W. Luton!

This brand-new, YouTube-only podcast program breaks down supply chain success into quick, easily digestible lessons. Join host Scott Luton along with expert guests as they explore key strategies, best practices, and innovative approaches to elevate your supply chain game. Whether you’re a logistics expert, supply chain enthusiast, or somewhere in between, tune in to this special series and learn how to drive success in the dynamic world of supply chain management.

Join us for this first episode as Scott welcomes back Elba Pareja-Gallagher, Principal with Sustainability Navigator, and they walk you through four easy steps to launch a simple starter sustainability strategy. Walk away with tips to take constructive action in your role and organization. Join us for Whiteboard Wisdom!

Episode Transcript

Scott Luton (00:01):

Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are, Scott Luton and special guest, Elba Praha Gallagher with you right here today on Supply Chain. Now welcome to today’s episode, Elba. How you doing?

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (00:35):

Great. Glad to be here.

Scott Luton (00:37):

We are so delighted to have you back. You’re on top of the charts for appearances here and it’s so neat to have you back after way too long. So folks, we’ve got a great episode here today, especially for our supply chain now community on YouTube. We’re featuring a practical and efficient and fun discussion on four steps to launch a simple starter sustainability strategy. Say that five times fast, right? We’re offering constructive tips for taking action and making progress in your organizations and in your role. So stay tuned. But before we move forward, I think federal regulations, Elba requires me to ask all of our viewers out there to like and comment on this episode. And if you enjoy this conversation, share it with a friend, they’ll be glad you did. Okay. Again, great to have Elba back featuring my dear friend, a proven leader, proven practitioner, Elba Perha Gallagher, who brings over 26 years of experience at UPS to the table and a whole lot more, a plethora, as I call it, of get it Done, leadership Success. Elba, great to have you back and if you would tell us a little bit about yourself.

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (01:46):

Great, I’m so happy to be here. I became a supply chain professional years ago and I have just so enjoyed networking with the supply chain community. So I am glad to be back and sustainability is so important as organizations look at the risk around their supply chain and how to be more environmentally sustainable. So I’m excited today to talk to everybody about what you can do about supply chain sustainability.

Scott Luton (02:18):

We’re going to do that. Elba, I always have loved not only your constructive and sheer capability for making things happen, but the passion in which you do it, it is contagious. Lemme tell you, Elba, the very practical agenda we have here today. Please share it with us.

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (02:34):

Sure. I’m going to give everybody a four point checklist if you don’t know where to start with the sustainability strategy or doing anything with sustainability, I’m going to basically give you the four things that you can do. And it’s all about stakeholder engagement, contacting your customers, finding out what’s important to them, talking to your employees and understanding what’s important to them, recruiting an to help you summarize some information and then sharing the information with your executive leadership team with a call to action. So we’re going to walk through that today.

Scott Luton (03:10):

It can be just that easy. I can’t remember the quote out there, Elba. It’s not easy to keep things simple, but gosh, when you can bake in a lot of simplicity into a process or an initiative or a change effort, you can bring a lot of people to the table to help drive more outcomes quicker. Is that right?

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (03:31):

Yes, absolutely.

Scott Luton (03:32):

Okay, so let’s do this, Elba, before we get into these four steps, what I love where you’re starting out is to make sure we’re all part of the conversation. No one’s left behind because we hear this acronym e, SG regularly. So Elba, if you would walk us through what folks should be thinking about when we hear the acronym ESG.

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (03:53):

And really even the word sustainability is very ambiguous and a lot of people are like, what does that mean? So it means different things to different people. However, it does just mean one thing, and I like to use the ESG acronym because it’s so simple. Environmental care or environmental stewardship, social responsibility and governing your company ethically. So if an organization does these three things in balance, they’re going to create an organization that lives a long time, right? Has longevity, and that’s really what the word sustainable needs. So the environmental section includes the typical things you’d think of, waste reduction, energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions. Certainly in the transportation and supply chain sector, we emit a lot of carbon dioxide emissions. So that’s a key part of the environmental section. In the social responsibility side, I like to think of people, it’s all about people. So you’ve got gender diversity, labor standards, certainly giving the people a right to organize and keep the company in line with keeping their rights in check, human rights, human capital management, so all of the things around people.

(05:10):

And then the last one, governing ethically or governance. A lot of times people say government, but it’s governance and it has to do with how does a company govern itself? Does it follow all the rules? Does it work within the guidelines? Certainly board diversity, which sometimes people think about gender equity and board equity, but it’s within the governance part. How does the board govern itself? Executive pay auditing. Also, another thing that people may not think about is IT security falls under governance because you’ve got to protect the information of the customer and the organization itself, all the employee data, all of that stuff. So that’s in governance. So those are the three components of what we mean by sustainability.

Scott Luton (05:57):

I love that. And on that last note, goodness gracious folks, if you think there’s been massive cyber risk in the most recent years, just wait, it’s about to get a whole lot more challenging and that just brings a lot more weight and importance to the whole ESG world. Is that right, Elba?

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (06:14):

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. There’s so much risk. All of the ai, I mean every day there’s some more and more information and ways that you can use AI and it’s just another opens up more doors for more risk.

Scott Luton (06:28):

Well, more bad folks out there trying to do bad things, but hey there, there’s always good news if you go looking for it. And on the flip side, that intersection that you’re kind of speaking to Elba of where modern technology, AI of course intersects with ESG and sustainability, there are some powerful things taking place. In fact, I was reading the other day, Elba and Harvard Business Review where GE Research partnered with GE Renewable Energies and they applied modern machine learning to wind turbines across a certain part of the world to really optimize maintenance when they operated just all of this stuff, saving billions of dollars in a renewable energy sector. So massive opportunities. And

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (07:17):

Scott, you bring up a great point, which is that a lot of people think that it costs money to be more sustainable, but many times being sustainable actually saves you money. And you were just describing one example when I was at UPS, we use telematics a lot in our vehicles and it helped us reduce the amount of maintenance that we had to incur expense and it helps you save on energy, save gas, et cetera. So absolutely

Scott Luton (07:44):

And beyond saving, adding to the bottom line as investors and consumers and all those stakeholders we’re going to probably touch on in a moment, they’re demanding more. Action is made, more progress is made when it comes to the whole ESG umbrella. So a lot of good news there folks, if you go looking for it. Okay, so Elba back to our four point checklist. We’re going to make this really practical and give folks an opportunity to take action when they leave this show here today. So where are we starting with the first step?

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (08:19):

So let’s go for it. I think we have a slide. So step one. So the first thing you want to do is to contact, just pick your top three customers and talk to them and ask them these three questions. Hey, what part of sustainability, if any, because some companies, for whatever reason, that may not be something that they’re going to focus on and it would be good to know that so you’re not wasting your resources. So what part of sustainability matters to your stakeholders? So you’re asking your top three customers what matters to their stakeholders because what matters to their stakeholders matters to them, and it should matter to you. And stakeholder engagement involves talking to customers, employees, suppliers, investors, regulators, and communities. So have a chat with your top three customers and take a lot of notes and listen closely about what is important to them so you know how to prioritize your resources.

(09:13):

Then the second one, Scott, if you can pull up that slide. Sure. Where are they in their sustainability journey? Are they just getting started? Are they in the middle? Are they well advanced? This is important for you to know so that you can figure out where you fall in, where they are in their journey. And then the last one is, do they have sustainability goals? Ask ’em what are they? You should get familiar with them and ask them, how could you collaborate? Is there a way for my company and your company to work together to move their goals forward around sustainability? Back to your comment on it doesn’t just cost you money, it can create growth opportunities. So if you work with your customers, you might be able to add an additional product or sell more of what you’re good at because you engage in this relationship around sustainability. So that’s number one. Talk to your customers.

Scott Luton (10:04):

Yes, and where you started back on the first part of this first step is listen. Listen to them. That’s the word you emphasize on the front end. I love that all of us talk too much and we don’t listen enough, but this is such an important first step. And I would just add also Elba, I love the emphasis on customers, but all those stakeholders you listed there, especially suppliers, supplier, relationship development and management, big powerful trends that can really deliver some big time results as well. So this might be a helpful exercise beyond just customers, but all those stakeholders. Yeah, and

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (10:42):

Scott, you mentioned one thing. Listen, one of the things that I really learned from my education and sustainability is listen to your critics. So if you listen to your critics, that’s how you really understand opportunities and risk. And so that’s key.

Scott Luton (10:58):

Wonderful. I love that. All right, Elba, man, we got so much going on and we’re just the first to step out of four. Where are we going with number two? Number

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (11:07):

Two, okay, so now we already talked to your customers and understood their stakeholders. Now I want you to talk to your employees. Our employees are so critical they understand our business in whatever role they play in the business. And so if you convene a diverse group of employees, and I just pick 10, right? Keep it simple, just pick 10 diverse employees from different parts of the company, different backgrounds, and talk to them about these three things. Number one, what part of sustainability matters to you and why? Really understand why. All those things on that chart that you showed, right? Those three columns, E, S and G, which one of those matters to them and why? Number two, how could sustainability impact their day-to-day job responsibilities and goals, which one of all those things in sustainability, could it be that there’s hidden opportunities that the business could grow from? Each employee is familiar with their area of responsibility and maybe they can find a hidden gem. Number three, based on their job knowledge area, what business growth opportunities could sustainability generate for the company as a whole? So really understanding your employees and what they know about sustainability and how it could create opportunity for the business.

Scott Luton (12:25):

I love that Elba engaging the team members and employees from diverse walks of life functionally, all the different full holistic definition ways that we can define diversity. One quick question, I love that. Number 10, I know you have led big old auditoriums full of thousands of people and you’ve led really small and small groups. That number 10 seems to be significant to me because if you get a group of eight, 10 folks together, everyone can really share in a full sense what their perspective, their expertise, or what their views are. Would you comment on that?

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (13:02):

Yeah, exactly. It’s like a focus group, and by having a group of 10, it enables, like you said, people to feel comfortable speaking up and having a chance to be heard. In a group of 10, everybody gets a chance to talk. Where if you have a large group, different personalities, people may feel intimidated, may not be able to be more candid with you. So I find that a group of 10 is a great number and it’s easy to manage, right? To schedule 10 people to take notes for 10 people, et cetera,

Scott Luton (13:35):

And making sure this is manageable, actionable, practical. There’s a big important aspects of this approach. We want to again, give folks an opportunity and a guide for getting started basically the minute they finish watching this video, right?

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (13:50):

That’s right. And one last thing about this, number two is that there’s a hidden benefit of engaging with your employees, making them feel like they matter. Like wow, they’re asking me for my opinion, talk about employee engagement and retention. It’s a great practice,

Scott Luton (14:12):

Absolutely great rule of thumb, whether you’re talking sustainability or really anything else, I would argue, okay, Elba, we’re 50% down, 50% they go, if my South Carolina math works for me, let’s move on to number three. If you would tell us about number

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (14:26):

Three. Sure. So reviewing number one, we talked to three customers. Number two, we talked to 10 employees. Number three, we’re going to recruit one top performing employees. Sometimes we call these high potential employees, employees who are very committed and have a lot of capacity to add value. And we are going to recruit them to now summarize all this information from the customer groups and from the employee focus groups and consolidate it and create a presentation. And so what we’re going to do is we’re going to look for a high potential employee with a passion for sustainability, to volunteer for a high profile project that they’re going to be able to help you take to a senior leadership team for consideration and what’s in it for them. They can help craft sustainability actions and receive coaching and executive visibility. So you’re basically recruiting someone because we know we don’t have budget for consultants and we don’t have a lot of time, so how can we make this easy to execute ourselves?

(15:29):

So recruit an employee, help them summarize all this information and then have them create a PowerPoint deck. And this short PowerPoint deck is what the leader can take back to some executives and say, Hey, this is what we did. This is what our customers and their stakeholders are saying, this is what our employees are saying, this is what we can do. What do you think? We want to create a call to action. So step three is recruiting a high potential employee to help you consolidate this information, create a presentation that we’re then going to take and deliver a call to action to executives.

Scott Luton (16:04):

Love that. Alban, let me ask you a critical question that I always struggle with because if anyone knows me, they know I’m not real brief. Brevity is not my strong suit. But when you’re thinking of assembling all this information, great information, but into any kind of visual or any kind of plan, presentation, brevity is really important. Your thoughts.

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (16:23):

Absolutely. And so you see there’s a theme here where you’re going to see it in the last one, the 10 PowerPoint slides. So we got 10 diverse employees that do the focus group and then 10 PowerPoint slides. And really I’m being generous with 10, when I was presenting to executives, we might only get five slides. So it really requires strategic thinking, critical thinking, and a strong capability to summarize and condense information into only the most essential points. And so that’s why you need a high potential employee who has the skill to consolidate information.

Scott Luton (17:00):

Excellent point. And I didn’t mean to overly foreshadow point number four, but it’s such a great bridge. So point number four, this four point checklist is as you’re saying,

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (17:10):

Yeah, so you’ve got this high potential employee, they’ve volunteered to create this message of 10 slides and now you’re going to go present it at a future meeting to leaders and explain to them what happened, what you did, and what your call to action is. So based on these findings from interviews with customers and employees and other stakeholders, you’re going to ask your executive leaders, Hey, what do you need to know to support the development of a sustainability roadmap that aligns to our customer sustainability goals? So you’re not asking them to spend money and create this big program and electrify the fleet, for example, or anything crazy like that. All we’re going to ask them is, Hey, what do you need to know to support the development of a roadmap on a piece of paper? Just a roadmap. If we did something, these are five things we could do. So that is number four, a call to action to your executive leadership team.

Scott Luton (18:10):

I love it. Elba, it seems like to me this exercise of, especially in this case, starting with your customers meeting, whether you’re meeting them in person, which is always valuable. And as the world has started to open back up, man, I really enjoyed those opportunities or Zoom or whatever. You know what I’ve come to appreciate just simple little phone calls with no video these days, but as you’re gathering information, really listening to them, whether it’s five or 10 or a hundred, and as you go through these steps and then take the most important points to your point, which is a really important point as part of this conversation and sharing that with leadership that is valuable as it relates to sustainability opportunities and really the organization as a whole. Because it’s the thing over the pulse, it’s what customers are saying, right?

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (19:00):

That’s right. And the thing about these four steps is they really are simple. Like if you were doing nothing with sustainability right now, you could do these four things pretty easily. No money’s involved, really, it’s just using the time of your employees and you’d be able to come back and give the executives the summary that is so aligned with your organization.

Scott Luton (19:22):

That’s right. Okay. Speaking of, I forgot the phrase. We preview what we’re going to share with folks, we share with the folks and then we tell ’em again what we told ’em somewhere in that butchered phrase I just shared there. Let’s just quickly review what we’ve shared here with this four point checklist.

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (19:43):

That’s right. So if you want to do something about sustainability and you don’t know where to start, here are four simple steps you can take immediately that aren’t going to cost you any money. Number one, contact your top three customers and listen to what matters to them about sustainability by asking them those key questions. Number two, convene a group of 10 diverse employees and leverage their insights about sustainability and how sustainability fits into their jobs and what opportunities they see for growth within the company around sustainability. Number three, recruit a top performing employee to help you develop and launch an executive conversation around creating a roadmap. And it’s a great with them for the employees, they get executive visibility, coaching and personal fulfillment for doing something that’s different than their day-to-day job. And then number four, using steps one, two, and three information, you’re now going to make a call to action and you’re going to ask executives, Hey, what is needed for you to be able to support the development of a sustainability roadmap? So you’re not asking for money, you’re just saying, Hey, what would it take for you to let us write down steps of what we think could become a sustainability roadmap?

Scott Luton (20:55):

Well said, well said Elba. I love that recap and hey, I messed up that last phrase, but we have what we’re going to nail this one. Cause the three Bs we have been brief, you have been brilliant, and now we’re about to be gone, right? So the three Bs I think is a rule of thumb. Alright, so what I want to make sure folks is y’all connect with Elba, connect with all the great things she’s doing, take action. I love how actionable this expertise and advice and information that Elba has presented here today. So Elba on that note, so we’ll make it really easy for folks to connect with you. How can folks connect with you and grab a conversation with you or a cup of coffee or you name it?

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (21:36):

Sure. So I’ve got a website, sustainability navigator.com. There’s also a QR code there. I write a sustainability newsletter on LinkedIn. You can sign up for that. But yeah, reach out to me. You see my cell phone number there and I also want to put a plugin for a $49 course I’ve got out on my website for anyone who wants to figure out how to get into a sustainability career. So there’s so many young developing career professionals and many people who want to change into sustainability. So I’ve got a course out there, 60 minutes and you can get my tips on how to transition into a sustainability career.

Scott Luton (22:18):

I love it Elba. I love it. What a great deal and what you can’t even call it an emerging market these days. Again, the interest, the demand is out there. It’s really been cool to see the places we’ll go across the globe in the months and years to come. Okay, Elba Prayer High. Gallagher, thank you so much for joining us here today. Really have enjoyed your time as always.

Elba Pareja-Gallagher (22:41):

Thanks everybody.

Scott Luton (22:43):

Alright folks, on that last note, again, Elba has shared a real simple but effective and proven plan for how you can get started here today. So I hope you’ve enjoyed this conversation with Elba as much as I have. Hey, be sure to connect with her, take advantage of those resources she shared out there. I love that LinkedIn newsletter, I’m a regular reader of that. But you know that the onus is on you now to take at least one thing, hopefully four from today’s conversation, put it into practice deeds, not words. Your customers, your suppliers, your leadership, your colleagues will all be thrilled. And with all that said, Scott Luden here challenging you on behalf of the supply chain now team to do good, to give forward and to be the change that’s needed. And we’ll see next time right back here at Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.

 

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Featured Guests

Elba Pareja-Gallagher is a finance and strategy professional with 20+ years of experience at UPS. She’s held roles in Finance, Investor Relations, Marketing and Strategy. Today she’s part of a Business Intelligence and Analytics team, reporting on the $46B+ US Domestic business unit. She’s an enthusiastic champion for change and for finding new ways of thinking about problems. She believes in the power of diversity and inclusion to harness the creativity of all levels and generations of employees. Elba is also the founder of ShowMe50.org. The non-profit’s vision is to achieve 50% women in senior leadership positions across America by influencing change in workplace cultures and talent management practices.

Hosts

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

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Adrian Purtill serves as Business Development Manager at Vector Global Logistics, where he consults with importers and exporters in various industries to match their specific shipping requirements with the most effective supply chain solutions. Vector Global Logistics is an asset-free, multi-modal logistics company that provides exceptional sea freight, air freight, truck, rail, general logistic services and consulting for our clients. Our highly trained and professional team is committed to providing creative and effective solutions, always exceeding our customer’s expectations and fostering long-term relationships. With more than 20+ years of experience in both strategy consulting and logistics, Vector Global Logistics is your best choice to proactively minimize costs while having an exceptional service level.

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Kim Winter

Host, Supply Chain Now

The founder of Logistics Executive Group, Kim Winter delivers 40 years of executive leadership experience spanning Executive Search & Recruitment, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Corporate Advisory, Motivational Speaking, Trade Facilitation and across the Supply Chain, Logistics, 3PL, E-commerce, Life Science, Cold Chain, FMCG, Retail, Maritime, Defence, Aviation, Resources, and Industrial sectors. Operating from the company’s global offices, he is a regular contributor of thought leadership to industry and media, is a professional Master of Ceremonies, and is frequently invited to chair international events.

He is a Board member of over a dozen companies throughout APAC, India, and the Middle East, a New Zealand citizen, he holds formal resident status in Australia and the UAE, and is the Australia & New Zealand representative for the UAE Government-owned Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), the Middle East’s largest Economic Free Zone.

A triathlete and ex-professional rugby player, Kim is a qualified (IECL Sydney) executive coach and the Founder / Chairman of the successful not for profit humanitarian organization, Oasis Africa (www. oasisafrica.org.au), which has provided freedom from poverty through education to over 8000 mainly orphaned children in East Africa’s slums. Kim holds an MBA and BA from Massey & Victoria Universities (NZ).

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Kevin Brown

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kevin Brown is the Director of Business Development for Vector Global Logistics.  He has a dedicated interest in Major Account Management, Enterprise Sales, and Corporate Leadership. He offers 25 years of exceptional experience and superior performance in the sales of Logistics, Supply Chain, and Transportation Management. Kevin is a dynamic, high-impact, sales executive and corporate leader who has consistently exceeded corporate goals. He effectively coordinates multiple resources to solution sell large complex opportunities while focusing on corporate level contacts across the enterprise. His specialties include targeting and securing key accounts by analyzing customer’s current business processes and developing solutions to meet their corporate goals. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn.

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Jose Miguel Irarrazaval

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Jose Manuel Irarrazaval es parte del equipo de Vector Global Logistics Chile. José Manuel es un gerente experimentado con experiencia en finanzas corporativas, fusiones y adquisiciones, financiamiento y reestructuración, inversión directa y financiera, tanto en Chile como en el exterior. José Manuel tiene su MBA de la Universidad de Pennsylvania- The Wharton School. Conéctese con Jose Manuel en LinkedIn.

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Nick Roemer

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Nick Roemer has had a very diverse and extensive career within design and sales over the last 15 years stretching from China, Dubai, Germany, Holland, UK, and the USA. In the last 5 years, Nick has developed a hawk's eye for sustainable tech and the human-centric marketing and sales procedures that come with it. With his far-reaching and strong network within the logistics industry, Nick has been able to open new avenues and routes to market within major industries in the USA and the UAE. Nick lives by the ethos, “Give more than you take." His professional mission is to make the logistics industry leaner, cleaner and greener.

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Allison Giddens

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Allison Krache Giddens has been with Win-Tech, a veteran-owned small business and aerospace precision machine shop, for 15 years, recently buying the company from her mentor and Win-Tech’s Founder, Dennis Winslow. She and her business partner, John Hudson now serve as Co-Presidents, leading the 33-year old company through the pandemic.

She holds undergraduate degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Georgia, a Masters in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University, a Masters in Manufacturing from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Certificate of Finance from the University of Georgia. She also holds certificates in Google Analytics, event planning, and Cybersecurity Risk Management from Harvard online. Allison founded the Georgia Chapter of Women in Manufacturing and currently serves as Treasurer. She serves on the Chattahoochee Technical College Foundation Board as its Secretary, the liveSAFE Resources Board of Directors as Resource Development Co-Chair, and on the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association Board as Membership Chair and is also a member of Cobb Executive Women. She is on the Board for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Northwest Area Councils. Allison runs The Dave Krache Foundation, a non-profit that helps pay sports fees for local kids in need.

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Billy Taylor

Host

Billy Taylor is a Proven Business Excellence Practitioner and Leadership Guru with over 25 years leading operations for a Fortune 500 company, Goodyear. He is also the CEO of LinkedXL (Excellence), a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm dedicated to implementing sustainable operating systems that drive sustainable results. Taylor’s achievements in the industry have made him a Next Generational Lean pacesetter with significant contributions.

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A disciple of continuous improvement, Taylor’s love for people inspires commitment to helping others achieve their full potential. He is a dynamic speaker and hosts "The Winning Link," a popular podcast centered on business and leadership excellence with the #1 rated Supply Chain Now Network. As a leadership guru, Taylor has earned several invitations to universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain effective results through cultural acceptance and employee ownership. Leveraging the wisdom of his business acumen, strong influence as a speaker and podcaster Taylor is set to release "The Winning Link" book under McGraw Hill publishing in 2022. The book is a how-to manual to help readers understand the management of business interactions while teaching them how to Deine, Align, and Execute Winning in Business.

A servant leader, Taylor, was named by The National Diversity Council as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in the country in 2021. He features among Oklahoma's Most Admired CEOs and maintains key leadership roles with the Executive Advisory Board for The Shingo Institute "The Nobel Prize of Operations" and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME); two world-leading organizations for operational excellence, business development, and cultural learning.  He is also an Independent Director for the M-D Building Products Board, a proud American manufacturer of quality products since 1920.

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Tandreia Bellamy

Host

Tandreia Bellamy retired as the Vice President of Industrial Engineering for UPS Supply Chain Solutions which included the Global Logistics, Global Freight Forwarding and UPS Freight business units. She was responsible for operations strategy and planning, asset management, forecasting, and technology tool development to optimize sustainable efficiency while driving world class service.

Tandreia held similar positions at the business unit level for Global Logistics and Global Freight forwarding. As the leader of the Global Logistics engineering function, she directed all industrial engineering activies related to distribution, service parts logistics (post-sales support), and mail innovations (low cost, light weight shipping partnership with the USPS). Between these roles Tandreia helped to establish the Advanced Technology Group which was formed to research and develop cutting edge solutions focused on reducing reliance on manual labor.

Tandreia began her career in 1986 as a part-time hourly manual package handling employee. She spent the great majority of her career in the small package business unit which is responsible for the pick-up, sort, transport and delivery of packages domestically. She held various positions in Industrial Engineering, Marketing, Inside and On-road operations in Central Florida before transferring to Atlanta for a position in Corporate Product Development and Corporate Industrial Engineering. Tandreia later held IE leadership roles in Nebraska, Minnesota and Chicago. In her final role in small package she was an IE VP responsible for all aspects of IE, technology support and quality for the 25 states on the western half of the country.
Tandreia is currently a Director for the University of Central Florida (UCF) Foundation Board and also serves on their Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Previously Tandreia served on the Executive Advisory Board for Virginia Tech’s IE Department and the Association for Supply Chain Management. She served on the Board of Trustees for ChildServ (a Chicago child and family services non-profit) and also served on the Texas A&M and Tuskegee Engineering Advisory Boards. In 2006 she was named Business Advisor of the Year by INROADS, in 2009 she was recognized as a Technology All-Star at the Women of Color in STEM conference and in 2019 she honored as a UCF Distinguished Aluma by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.

Tandreia holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from UCF. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is being the proud mother of two college students, Ruby (24) and Anthony (22).

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Marty Parker

Host

Marty Parker serves as both the CEO & Founder of Adæpt Advising and an award-winning Senior Lecturer (Teaching Professor) in Supply Chain and Operations Management at the University of Georgia. He has 30 years of experience as a COO, CMO, CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), VP of Operations, VP of Marketing and Process Engineer. He founded and leads UGA’s Supply Chain Advisory Board, serves as the Academic Director of UGA’s Leaders Academy, and serves on multiple company advisory boards including the Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference, Zion Solutions Group and Carlton Creative Company.

Marty enjoys helping people and companies be successful. Through UGA, Marty is passionate about his students, helping them network and find internships and jobs. He does this through several hundred one-on-one zoom meetings each year with his students and former students. Through Adæpt Advising, Marty has organized an excellent team of affiliates that he works with to help companies grow and succeed. He does this by helping c-suite executives improve their skills, develop better leaders, engage their workforce, improve processes, and develop strategic plans with detailed action steps and financial targets. Marty believes that excellence in supply chain management comes from the understanding the intersection of leadership, culture, and technology, working across all parts of the organization to meet customer needs, maximize profit and minimize costs.

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Laura Lopez

Marketing Coordinator

Laura Lopez serves as our Supply Chain Now Marketing Coordinator. She graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Mexico with a degree in marketing. Laura loves everything digital because she sees the potential it holds for companies in the marketing industry. Her passion for creativity and thinking outside the box led her to pursue a career in marketing. With experience in fields like accounting, digital marketing, and restaurants, she clearly enjoys taking on challenges. Laura lives the best of both worlds - you'll either catch her hanging out with her friends soaking up the sun in Mexico or flying out to visit her family in California!

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Jake Barr

Host

An acknowledged industry leader, Jake Barr now serves as CEO for BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, providing support to a cross section of Fortune 500 companies such as Cargill, Caterpillar, Colgate, Dow/Dupont, Firmenich, 3M, Merck, Bayer/Monsanto, Newell Brands, Kimberly Clark, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Estee Lauder and Coty among others. He's also devoted time to engagements in public health sector work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At P&G, he managed the breakthrough delivery of an E2E (End to End) Planning Transformation effort, creating control towers which now manage the daily business globally. He is recognized as the architect for P&G’s demand driven supply chain strategy – referenced as a “Consumer Driven Supply Chain” transformation. Jake began his career with P&G in Finance in Risk Analysis and then moved into Operations. He has experience in building supply network capability globally through leadership assignments in Asia, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. He currently serves as a Research Associate for MIT; a member of Supply Chain Industry Advisory Council; Member of Gartner’s Supply Chain Think Tank; Consumer Goods “League of Leaders“; and a recipient of the 2015 - 2021 Supply Chain “Pro’s to Know” Award. He has been recognized as a University of Kentucky Fellow.

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Marcia Williams

Host

Marcia Williams, Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain, has 18 years of experience in Supply Chain, with expertise in optimizing Supply Chain-Finance Planning (S&OP/ IBP) at Large Fast-Growing CPGs for greater profitability and improved cash flows. Marcia has helped mid-sized and large companies including Lindt Chocolates, Hershey, and Coty. She holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a degree in Accounting from Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay (South America). Marcia is also a Forbes Council Contributor based out of New York, and author of the book series Supply Chains with Maria in storytelling style. A recent speaker’s engagement is Marcia TEDx Talk: TEDxMSU - How Supply Chain Impacts You: A Transformational Journey.

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Luisa Garcia

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Luisa Garcia is a passionate Marketer from Lagos de Moreno based in Aguascalientes. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico. She specializes in brand development at any stage, believing that a brand is more than just a name or image—it’s an unforgettable experience. Her expertise helps brands achieve their dreams and aspirations, making a lasting impact. Currently working at Vector Global Logistics in the Marketing team and as podcast coordinator of Logistics With Purpose®. Luisa believes that purpose-driven decisions will impact results that make a difference in the world.

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Astrid Aubert

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Astrid Aubert was born in Guadalajara, she is 39 years old and has had the opportunity to live in many places. She studied communication and her professional career has been in Trade Marketing for global companies such as Pepsico and Mars. She currently works as Marketing Director Mexico for Vector Global Logistics. She is responsible for internal communications and marketing strategy development for the logistics industry. She is a mother of two girls, married and lives in Monterrey. She defines herself as a creative and innovative person, and enjoys traveling and cooking a lot.

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Sofia Rivas

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia self-identifies as Supply Chain Ambassador, her mission is to advocate for the field and inspire young generations from diverse backgrounds and cultures to join the industry so that thought diversity is increased and change accelerated. Recognized as Linkedin Top Voice and Linkedin Community Top Voice in Supply Chain Management, as well as Emerging Leader in Supply Chain by CSCMP 2024, Top Women in Supply Chain by Supply & Demand Executive 2023, and Coup de Coeur Global Women Leaders in Supply Chain by B2G Consulting in 2021. 

Public speaker at multiple international events from keynotes and panels, to webinars and guest lectures for bachelor's and master's degrees, discussing topics such as sustainability, women in the industry, technology and innovation. Writer at different online magazines on logistics, supply chain and technology. Podcast host and guest on different recognized programs in the industry. Sofia has more than 5 years of experience from academic research and field studies to warehouse operations, demand planning and network design. She has worked in manufacturing, airport operations, e-commerce retail, and technology hardware across Latin America, North America and Europe. 

Currently working as Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Manager at HP within their Global Supply Chain and Logistics team. 

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Karin Bursa

Host

Karin Bursa is the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year and the Host of the TEKTOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast powered by Supply Chain Now. With more than 25 years of supply chain and technology expertise (and the scars to prove it), Karin has the heart of a teacher and has helped nearly 1,000 customers transform their businesses and share their success stories. Today, she helps B2B technology companies introduce new products, capture customer success and grow global revenue, market share and profitability. In addition to her recognition as the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year, Karin has also been recognized as a 2019 and 2018 Supply Chain Pro to Know, 2009 Technology Marketing Executive of the Year and a 2008 Women in Technology Finalist. 

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Vin Vashishta

Host

Vin Vashishta is the author of ‘From Data To Profit’ (Wiley 2023). It’s the playbook for monetizing data and AI. Vin is the Founder of V-Squared and built the business from client 1 to one of the world’s oldest data and AI consulting firms. His background combines nearly 30 years in strategy, leadership, software engineering, and applied machine learning.

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Trisha Cordes

Administrative Assistant

Trisha is new to the supply chain industry – but not to podcasting. She’s an experienced podcast manager and virtual assistant who also happens to have 20 years of experience as an elementary school teacher. It’s safe to say, she’s passionate about helping people, and she lives out that passion every day with the Supply Chain Now team, contributing to scheduling and podcast production.

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

As the founder and CEO of Supply Chain Now, you might say Scott is the voice of supply chain – but he’s too much of a team player to ever claim such a title. One thing’s for sure: he’s a tried and true supply chain expert. With over 15 years of experience in the end-to-end supply chain, Scott’s insights have appeared in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CNN. He has also been named a top industry influencer by Thinkers360, ISCEA and more.

From 2009-2011, Scott was president of APICS Atlanta, and he continues to lead initiatives that support both the local business community and global industry. A United States Air Force Veteran, Scott has also regularly led efforts to give back to his fellow veteran community since his departure from active duty in 2002.

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Greg White

Principal & Host

When rapid-growth technology companies, venture capital and private equity firms are looking for advisory, they call Greg – a founder, board director, advisor and catalyst of disruptive B2B technology and supply chain. An insightful visionary, Greg guides founders, investors and leadership teams in creating breakthroughs to gain market exposure and momentum – increasing overall company esteem and valuation.

Greg is a founder himself, creating Blue Ridge Solutions, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in cloud-native supply chain applications, and bringing to market Curo, a field service management solution. He has also held leadership roles with Servigistics (PTC) and E3 Corporation (JDA/Blue Yonder). As a principal and host at Supply Chain Now, Greg helps guide the company’s strategic direction, hosts industry leader discussions, community livestreams, and all in addition to executive producing and hosting his original YouTube channel and podcast, TEChquila Sunrise.

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Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

Talk about world-class: Chris is one of the few professionals in the world to hold CPIM-F, CLTD-F and CSCP-F designations from ASCM/APICS. He’s also the APICS coach – and our resident Supply Chain Doctor. When he’s not hosting programs with Supply Chain Now, he’s sharing supply chain knowledge on the APICS Coach Youtube channel or serving as a professional education instructor for the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistic Institute’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) program and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Center for Professional Education courses.

Chris earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Bradley University, an MBA with emphasis in Industrial Psychology from the University of West Florida, and is a Doctoral in Supply Chain Management candidate.

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Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

Tyler Ward serves as Supply Chain Now's Director of Sales. Born and raised in Mid-Atlantic, Tyler is a proud graduate of Shippensburg University where he earned his degree in Communications. After college, he made his way to the beautiful state of Oregon, where he now lives with his wife and daughter.

With over a decade of experience in sales, Tyler has a proven track record of exceeding targets and leading high-performing teams. He credits his success to his ability to communicate effectively with customers and team members alike, as well as his strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

When he's not closing deals, you can find Tyler on the links or cheering on his favorite football and basketball teams. He also enjoys spending time with his family, playing pick-up basketball, and traveling back to Ocean City, Maryland, his favorite place!

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Kevin L. Jackson

Host of Digital Transformers

Kevin L. Jackson is a globally recognized Thought Leader, Industry Influencer and Founder/Author of the award winning “Cloud Musings” blog.  He has also been recognized as a “Top 5G Influencer” (Onalytica 2019, Radar 2020), a “Top 50 Global Digital Transformation Thought Leader” (Thinkers 360 2019) and provides strategic consulting and integrated social media services to AT&T, Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson and other leading companies. Mr. Jackson’s commercial experience includes Vice President J.P. Morgan Chase, Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. He has served on teams that have supported digital transformation projects for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Intelligence Community.  Kevin’s formal education includes a MS Computer Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School; MA National Security & Strategic Studies from Naval War College; and a BS Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. Internationally recognizable firms that have sponsored articles authored by him include Cisco, Microsoft, Citrix and IBM.  Books include “Click to Transform” (Leaders Press, 2020), “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” (Packt, 2018), and “Practical Cloud Security: A Cross Industry View” (Taylor & Francis, 2016). He also delivers online training through Tulane University, O’Reilly Media, LinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems Engineering, Carrier Onboard Delivery Logistics and carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control. While active, he also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

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Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

Enrique serves as Managing Director at Vector Global Logistics and believes we all have a personal responsibility to change the world. He is hard working, relationship minded and pro-active. Enrique trusts that the key to logistics is having a good and responsible team that truly partners with the clients and does whatever is necessary to see them succeed. He is a proud sponsor of Vector’s unique results-based work environment and before venturing into logistics he worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). During his time at BCG, he worked in different industries such as Telecommunications, Energy, Industrial Goods, Building Materials, and Private Banking. His main focus was always on the operations, sales, and supply chain processes, with case focus on, logistics, growth strategy, and cost reduction. Prior to joining BCG, Enrique worked for Grupo Vitro, a Mexican glass manufacturer, for five years holding different positions from sales and logistics manager to supply chain project leader in charge of five warehouses in Colombia.

He has an MBA from The Wharton School of Business and a BS, in Mechanical Engineer from the Technologico de Monterrey in Mexico. Enrique’s passions are soccer and the ocean, and he also enjoys traveling, getting to know new people, and spending time with his wife and two kids, Emma and Enrique.

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Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Kelly is the Owner and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point and MyPurchasingCenter. She has been in procurement since 2003, starting as a practitioner and then as the Associate Director of Consulting at Emptoris. She has covered procurement news, events, publications, solutions, trends, and relevant economics at Buyers Meeting Point since 2009. Kelly is also the General Manager at Art of Procurement and Business Survey Chair for the ISM-New York Report on Business. Kelly has her MBA from Babson College as well as an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College and she has co-authored three books: ‘Supply Market Intelligence for Procurement Professionals’, ‘Procurement at a Crossroads’, and ‘Finance Unleashed’.

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Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

Mary Kate Soliva is a veteran of the US Army and cofounder of the Guam Human Rights Initiative. She is currently in the Doctor of Criminal Justice program at Saint Leo University. She is passionate about combating human trafficking and has spent the last decade conducting training for military personnel and the local community.

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Constantine Limberakis

Host

Constantine Limberakis is a thought leader in the area of procurement and supply management. He has over 20 years of international experience, playing strategic roles in a wide spectrum of organizations related to analyst advisory, consulting, product marketing, product development, and market research.Throughout his career, he's been passionate about engaging global business leaders and the broader analyst and technology community with strategic content, speaking engagements, podcasts, research, webinars, and industry articles.Constantine holds a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA in Finance & Marketing / Masters in Public & International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Amanda Luton

Vice President, Production

Amanda is a production and marketing veteran and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries and organizations including Von Maur, Anthropologie, AmericasMart Atlanta, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Amanda currently manages, produces, and develops modern digital content for Supply Chain Now and their clients. Amanda has previously served as the VP of Information Systems and Webmaster on the Board of Directors for APICS Savannah, and founded and managed her own successful digital marketing firm, Magnolia Marketing Group. When she’s not leading the Supply Chain Now production team, you can find Amanda in the kitchen, reading, listening to podcasts, or enjoying time with family.

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Clay Phillips

Business Development Manager

Clay is passionate about two things: supply chain and the marketing that goes into it. Recently graduated with a degree in marketing at the University of Georgia, Clay got his start as a journalism major and inaugural member of the Owl’s football team at Kennesaw State University – but quickly saw tremendous opportunity in the Terry College of Business. He’s already putting his education to great use at Supply Chain Now, assisting with everything from sales and brand strategy to media production. Clay has contributed to initiatives such as our leap into video production, the guest blog series, and boosting social media presence, and after nearly two years in Supply Chain Now’s Marketing Department, Clay now heads up partnership and sales initiatives with the help of the rest of the Supply Chain Now sales team.

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Chantel King

Social Media Manager

My name is Chantel King and I am the Social Media Specialist at Supply Chain Now. My job is to make sure our audience is engaged and educated on the abundant amount of information the supply chain industry has to offer.

Social Media and Communications has been my niche ever since I graduated from college at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. No, I am not a West Coast girl. I was born and raised in New Jersey, but my travel experience goes way beyond the garden state. My true passion is in creating editorial and graphic content that influences others to be great in whatever industry they are in. I’ve done this by working with lifestyle, financial, and editorial companies by providing resources to enhance their businesses.

Another passion of mine is trying new things. Whether it’s food, an activity, or a sport. I would like to say that I am an adventurous Taurus that never shies away from a new quest or challenge.

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Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

Lori is currently completing a degree in marketing with an emphasis in digital marketing at the University of Georgia. When she’s not supporting the marketing efforts at Supply Chain Now, you can find her at music festivals – or working toward her dream goal of a fashion career. Lori is involved in many extracurricular activities and appreciates all the learning experiences UGA has brought her.

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Katherine Hintz

Director, Customer Experience

Katherine is a marketing professional and MBA candidate who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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Mary Kate Love

Chief of Staff & Host

Mary Kate Love is currently the VP of marketing at Supply Chain Now focused on brand strategy and audience + revenue growth. Mary Kate’s career is a testament to her versatility and innovative spirit: she has experience in start-ups, venture capital, and building innovation initiatives from the ground up: she previously helped lead the build-out of the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific and before that, MxD (Manufacturing times Digital): the Department of Defense’s digital manufacturing innovation center. Mary Kate has a passion for taking complicated ideas and turning them into reality: she was one of the first team members at MxD and the first team member at the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific.

Mary Kate dedicates her extra time to education and mentorship: she was one of the founding Board Members for Women Influence Chicago and led an initiative for a city-wide job shadow day for young women across Chicago tech companies and was previously on the Board of Directors at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Young Irish Fellowship Board and the UN Committee for Women. Mary Kate is the founder of National Supply Chain Day and enjoys co-hosting podcasts at Supply Chain Now. Mary Kate is from the south side of Chicago, a mom of two baby boys, and an avid 16-inch softball player. She holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Joshua Miranda

Marketing Specialist

Joshua is a student from Institute of Technology and Higher Education of Monterrey Campus Guadalajara in Communication and Digital Media. His experience ranges from Plug and Play México, DearDoc, and Nissan México creating unique social media marketing campaigns and graphics design. Joshua helps to amplify the voice of supply chain here at Supply Chain Now by assisting in graphic design, content creation, asset logistics, and more.  In his free time he likes to read and write short stories as well as watch movies and television series.

Donna Krache

Director of Communications and Executive Producer

Donna Krache is a former CNN executive producer who has won several awards in journalism and communication, including three Peabodys.  She has 30 years’ experience in broadcast and digital journalism. She led the first production team at CNN to convert its show to a digital platform. She has authored many articles for CNN and other media outlets. She taught digital journalism at Georgia State University and Arizona State University. Krache holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Orleans. She is a serious sports fan who loves the Braves. She is president of the Dave Krache Foundation. Named in honor of her late husband, this non-profit pays fees for kids who want to play sports but whose parents are facing economic challenges.

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Vicki White

Controller

Vicki has a long history of rising to challenges and keeping things up and running. First, she supported her family’s multi-million dollar business as controller for 12 years, beginning at the age of 17. Then, she worked as an office manager and controller for a wholesale food broker. But her biggest feat? Serving as the chief executive officer of her household, while her entrepreneur husband travelled the world extensively. She fed, nurtured, chaperoned, and chauffeured three daughters all while running a newsletter publishing business and remaining active in her community as a Stephen’s Minister, Sunday school teacher, school volunteer, licensed realtor and POA Board president (a title she holds to this day). A force to be reckoned with in the office, you might think twice before you meet Vicki on the tennis court! When she’s not keeping the books balanced at Supply Chain Now or playing tennis matches, you can find Vicki spending time with her husband Greg, her 4 fur babies, gardening, cleaning (yes, she loves to clean!) and learning new things.

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Katherine Hintz

Creative Director, Producer, Host

Katherine Hintz, MBA is a marketing professional who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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Kim Reuter

Host

From humble beginnings working the import docks, representing Fortune 500 giants, Ford, Michelin Tire, and Black & Decker; to Amazon technology patent holder and Nordstrom Change Leader, Kimberly Reuter has designed, implemented, and optimized best-in-class, highly scalable global logistics and retail operations all over the world. Kimberly’s ability to set strategic vision supported by bomb-proof processes, built on decades of hands-on experience, has elevated her to legendary status. Sought after by her peers and executives for her intellectual capital and keen insights, Kimberly is a thought leader in the retail logistics industry.

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Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kristi Porter is VP of Sales and Marketing at Vector Global Logistics, a company that is changing the world through supply chain. In her role, she oversees all marketing efforts and supports the sales team in doing what they do best. In addition to this role, she is the Chief Do-Gooder at Signify, which assists nonprofits and social impact companies through copywriting and marketing strategy consulting. She has almost 20 years of professional experience, and loves every opportunity to help people do more good.

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Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia Rivas Herrera is a Mexican Industrial Engineer from Tecnologico de Monterrey class 2019. Upon graduation, she earned a scholarship to study MIT’s Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and graduated as one of the Top 3 performers of her class in 2020. She also has a multicultural background due to her international academic experiences at Singapore Management University and Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg. Sofia self-identifies as a Supply Chain enthusiast & ambassador sharing her passion for the field in her daily life.

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Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Demo Perez started his career in 1997 in the industry by chance when a relative asked him for help for two just weeks putting together an operation for FedEx Express at the Colon Free Zone, an area where he was never been but accepted the challenge. Worked in all roles possible from a truck driver to currier to a sales representative, helped the brand introduction, market share growth and recognition in the Colon Free Zone, at the end of 1999 had the chance to meet and have a chat with Fred Smith ( FedEx CEO), joined another company in 2018 who took over the FedEx operations as Operations and sales manager, in 2004 accepted the challenge from his company to leave the FedEx operations and business to take over the operation and business of DHL Express, his major competitor and rival so couldn’t say no, by changing completely its operation model in the Free Zone. In 2005 started his first entrepreneurial journey by quitting his job and joining two friends to start a Freight Forwarding company. After 8 months was recruited back by his company LSP with the General Manager role with the challenge of growing the company and make it fully capable warehousing 3PL. By 2009 joined CSCMP and WERC and started his journey of learning and growing his international network and high-level learning. In 2012 for the first time joined a local association ( the Panama Maritime Chamber) and worked in the country’s first Logistics Strategy plan, joined and lead other associations ending as president of the Panama Logistics Council in 2017. By finishing his professional mission at LSP with a company that was 8 times the size it was when accepted the role as GM with so many jobs generated and several young professionals coached, having great financial results, took the decision to move forward and start his own business from scratch by the end of 2019. with a friend and colleague co-founded IPL Group a company that started as a boutique 3PL and now is gearing up for the post-Covid era by moving to the big leagues.

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