In this special episode of This Week in Business History, host Scott W. Luton shares the inspiring business journey of his beloved grandfather: Leroy “Dick” Winton Rutland. Throughout his life, Dick Rutland represented the ‘gold standard’ in terms of professional integrity and action-based, servant leadership. He was a dedicated employee at Winn-Dixie and Kimberly-Clark, providing an example that now lives on – at scale – through Supply Chain Now’s organizational values. Like most people, Dick Rutland was loyal to a few brands – the Solo Cup Company and Buick in particular – and his relationship with their products serve as emblematic reminders of his personal values. Among the key lessons we learn in this week’s episode are:
- Don’t let anything go to waste if you can avoid it, even if it means eating chitlins or handwashing a ‘disposable’ cup
- Strive for balance between work and family, making your own luck and opportunities as you can
- Let your actions speak for themselves, doing the right thing for its own sake, not the attention it may garner
More Podcast Episodes
supply chain
Podcast
March 14, 2024
100th Episode of Logistics With Purpose®
Join us as we celebrate the 100th episode of the Logistics with Purpose podcast! This special episode, hosted by Enrique Alvarez and Kristi Porter of Vector Global Logistics, features many special guests, including Scott Luton of Supply Chain Now, Kelly Cobb with Bombas, Julie Forsyth with Partners for World Health, and so many more. Listen in as Enrique and Kristi reflect on the evolution of the podcast over the past four years, highlighting the diverse range of guests and topics covered. They discuss the significant changes in the logistics and supply chain industry, including a greater focus on sustainability and purpose-driven business models, and so much more. Tune in and celebrate this important milestone for the Logistics with Purpose team, and here’s to at least 100 more!! Featuring Special Guests: Scott Luton- Founder and CEO, Supply Chain Now Julie Forsyth- COO, Partners for World Health Sam Berman- CEO and Co-Founder, Logistics Advanced Research Center Cristina Aleixendri- COO and Co-founder, bound4blue Kelly Cobb- VP of Giving, Bombas Christopher Hussaini- Senior Sales Manager, Hapag-Lloyd Jenise Steverding- Chief Impact Officer, Gifts for Good Christelle Delenclos- Senior Director Growth Enablement Aid and Relief (Maersk Project Logistics, A.P. Moller-Maersk
advanced manufacturing
Podcast
February 2, 2026
Building AI-Ready Operations in Advanced Manufacturing
Operating conditions in advanced manufacturing are changing fast as organizations push to modernize operations while navigating quality requirements, long lead times, and increasingly complex supply chains. As leaders look to apply AI across the physical world, many discover that technology alone is not enough. Success depends on strong operating fundamentals, clean master data, and a culture that aligns teams around execution, accountability, and continuous improvement. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton is joined by special guest host Wiley Jones to kick off a new 2026 series, Enterprise Unleashed, powered by the DOSS team. Together, they sit down with Garuth Acharya, investor at 8090 Industries and former operator with experience across GE, SpaceX, and Blue Origin, to explore what it really takes to build AI ready operations in advanced manufacturing. The conversation examines why AI initiatives often fail in industrial environments when data hygiene is weak, and why clean, correct, actionable data and disciplined master data practices are foundational to any successful transformation. The discussion also emphasizes practical ways AI can unlock value, from accelerating work instructions to improving shortage detection, surfacing procurement anomalies, and strengthening quality feedback loops. The panel returns to the human side of transformation:…