“If you get complacent, you can lose everything.”
– Jimmie Gianoukos, President & CEO of ATS Logistics Inc
It is the real life experiences of career entrepreneurs that offer the richest insight to those starting out in an industry. Jimmie Gianoukos is the President & CEO of ATS Logistics, Inc., a company he founded with his brothers three decades ago. Their hard work and willingness to seize opportunities has allowed them to go from a tiny family startup to a huge asset based operation.
As explained on their website, “In 1986, ATS Logistics, Inc. got its start as Atlantic Transportation Services, a courier service for several airlines at the Charleston International Airport delivering passengers’ lost luggage. Gradually the business was expanded by offering package delivery services throughout the local area for department stores and appliance companies.” Today ATS provides transportation, warehousing and freight management services from their headquarters in South Carolina.
In this live Interview from SC Logistics Tech Talk, Jimmie shares his perspective on the following with co-hosts Greg White and Scott Luton:
– The incredible growth and continued change in the logistics industry.
– How to find and retain qualified truck drivers in a tight labor market.
– His expectations for global business in 2020 and beyond.
[00:00:05] It’s time for Supply Chain Now Radio. Broadcasting live from the Supply chain capital of the country, Atlanta, Georgia. Supply Chain Now Radio spotlights the best in all things supply chain the people, the technology’s the best practices and the critical issues of the day. And now here are your hosts.
[00:00:29] Good afternoon, Scott Luton here with you live on Supply Chain Now Radio. Welcome back to the show. We aren’t broadcasting live today from Atlanta, Georgia, but we are covering the South Carolina fall Logistics tech talk right down here in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina, at the Gilliard Center, where we’ve been interacting, interviewing a wide range of industry leaders, all in partnership with the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness. This event highlights some of the leading innovative companies that are driving the Logistics industry forward here in the booming state of South Carolina. To our listeners, like all of our series on Supply Chain Now Radio, you can find our replays on a variety of channels Apple podcast, SoundCloud, YouTube, wherever else you get your podcast from. As always, we love to have you subscribe so you don’t miss anything. OK. My co-host, Steve, co-host Joe Hurley us one more time. Hey, let’s get Greg White serial supply chain tech entrepreneur and trusted advisor and board member. Greg, how are you doing?
[00:01:25] I’m doing great. This has been a great session, man. It’s going by fast. We’ve done a lot in this short time.
[00:01:32] Absolute learned a ton. I’ve got 38 pages notes. I think there’s a lot happening here. We’re going to write a book on the way back to Vetlanta. But now we get a lot of fast conversations from a wide variety of different aspects of End to end Supply chain. In this episode, I think it’s also going to continue that that string get our cleanup hitter today. Yeah.
[00:01:51] And let’s welcome in Mr. Jimmy, Danica’s president, CEO of ATSI Logistics. Jimmy, how you doing?
[00:01:57] We’re doing well. Thank you. Great to have you. Glad to be here. We enjoy the warm up. I wish we’d recorded all the warm up sessions from the time you sat down. Yeah. Let’s see if we can. We’ll see if we can prove it. Yeah. Well so we want to start. You’ve got a really neat story both personally and professionally how you y’all stood up the company. So. So for starters, before we talk about $80 80 atsi Logistics, let’s talk about your background, where you’re from and in kind of your journey took to right now.
[00:02:29] Well, I’m right here. Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. And this is where I’ve lived except for four years when I went to college, which was not too far up the road, and Columbia, South Carolina University, South Carolina, and been here this whole time. I had the fortunate times to be able to travel a little bit. So, you know, that’s been that’s been fun. But this journey here with the. Yes is has been an interesting one. And it’s been a good one.
[00:02:59] Mm hmm. And as you were talking, tell us in the warm up, you and your two brothers. Yes. But too, browns of the company, right. Quite some ago in March made nineteen eighty six. March eighty six. So tell me what goes through your mind. What data do you mean what let’s say it’s the first of March 6. So at the end of February what went through your mind before you founded ATSI Logistics. What’s said hey let’s do this.
[00:03:23] Yeah. My brother and I at the time both was singled out, married. We were living together and we had talked about maybe don’t. One of my brothers talked about doing something together and he was working part time out of the airlines back in the day with Olympic Airlines, which when it ended up being U.S. Airways later. But he said that people deliberately lost luggage out at the airport are not doing a good job and they’ve got a monopoly and they getting fed up with them. And he said it might be an opportunity. So I said, well, brother wanted to go back. You know, it’s not a big airport, especially at that time. Yeah. I say, you know, the station managers wanted to go back and see if they will entertain us coming in and talking to him about the possibility of doing it. And it took probably 30 days from the time we we spoke about going to them and we did. And they set forth to the five airlines. So they’d give us an opportunity to do come in and then take the work over. So now we that’s a big opportunity.
[00:04:28] I mean, this. Yeah. Even in a small airport, that’s a big opportunity. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:04:31] And you know, it’s a well we ended up doing was so we went in at least a little small van and we came out and we went toe to toe with the existing company out there. And after the first week we were able to take all of those four airlines, one airline was holding out for the other company and buy the first part of the next week. Didn’t have any choice but to go with us to because it just there’s just too much and there’s a lot of hours. Involved in that particular an adventure we in because you had to start at 7:00 in the morning.
[00:05:06] You didn’t finish to 1:00 in the morning, 365 days a year, because we all know the airlines don’t, then they don’t stop. Listen, you’re lucky.
[00:05:14] And so we we went on with with that and we battled those people and they you know, we knocked him out after two weeks. And, you know, our moral story is, you know, you get complacent. You can you can lose everything. This particular company became complacent enough that they allowed us the opportunity. We seized the moment and we went in and took the airport over. Wow. And we ended up getting in another van after two weeks so we can handle all the volume. Wow.
[00:05:46] And so we went on with that. And, you know, we were rolling along. And 30 days later, these guys try to make a run back at it. And we you know, it’s a funny story.
[00:05:57] But, you know, when you are talking and waiting on lost luggage at these airlines, and so we hired a couple of guys sort of, you know, I wouldn’t call them bouncers.
[00:06:07] Verusen guys, you know, they had a couple little smelt, small fellas and a guy they go to grabbed a bag, guys away. You die, you go, you have it. So how did you last law? We bugged about it and we took over for good.
[00:06:24] And so he went off and took over the airport. And now that was an adventure, because at first my two brothers and I for the first especially probably six months, even though my brother that brought the idea to me, still work part time at the airport.
[00:06:40] I worked Full-Time out of being out of college and not really being able to get in a field that I wanted to get in. My dad was on the the the waterfront and he was with the clerks injectors. You knew he was in the first one. They have a form here in the late 50s and early 60s. So he knew I was unhappy where I was at. He said Sciarrotta wanted to come back. When you just can’t work out here with me, just work two or three days and do your thing. You know so well he had to make a long story short. I was twenty three years old. I went only went out on the waterfront, and within a couple of years I was one working.
[00:07:16] Two or three days I was working five and six days. And I was a young man and I was able to Obama first house had some car. So, you know, I sort of trapped myself. But anyhow, we were we were rolling. We were rolling. And I did that for the first six my first six years or so out of college.
[00:07:34] And and but that time is you know, when I got into my new right, about 30 or so, that’s where my brother and I came up with this idea. So we had we went ahead and we had the younger brother who was basically full time for us when we started. And my brother was working at myself. We each worked on on the weekends driving different routes to deliver bags. And we we would deliver bags within a hundred mile radius of Charleston. Got it. So we did that. Try to speed up story a little bit. We did that and we got in a small delivery and so forth.
[00:08:08] And right about 1988, the Eastern Airlines on off your own, that they unfortunately by last when I tell this story, unfortunately, they lost about 50 percent of the bags in the industry really so bad and they never on time. So I’ll I’ll tell you everything going forward. And ultimately at that time, they went out of business. Yeah. So they weren’t half of our business. Oh, yeah. So we went to the airlines after losing money for about six. About 45, 50 days. And we said, look, you guys, we’re gonna have to change that. We are gonna have to cut back hours. We’re gonna have to up our rates. And they said, we don’t want you to do the one. And that’s where I’ll tell you what we load you guys. Could you give us a start? And we’re gonna go ahead and give you guys 30 days to decide what you all want to do. And if y’all can’t, you know, help us and we will we will be out of here. 30, they came and I guess they thought, we are bluffing. And the thirty first day came, sorry. And they thought we were bluffing. When you show up and and they’d never call us anything. And that was the end of us for them. We just went on with the small deliveries we’re doing. And now and fortunately for us about that time, one of our freight forwarders that we did business with came to came to me on a Monday and said, hey, y’all ever thought about getting in the warehouse?
[00:09:33] And I said, No, not really. Then think nothing of it. Then Wednesday, another one, James asked the same question. So I told my brothers, I said, Man, we might want to research there. Some might be some two-disc because we we know something about loading and unloading the containers, working on the waterfront, you know. So we researched and it found it was a good time to get into the business. We got into it and we’re you know, we came. So we said, how we gonna come up with. Money because I was a young man with it, but a place but not much equity, and they didn’t have any bars.
[00:10:04] They didn’t have yet to have any money.
[00:10:06] And make a long story short, we. We are fretting and with it and so forth. We’re from a close Greene family and our mom and dad came into the office and sat down with us. You know, we understand y’all was struggling with a new idea. Yes, there we are. And we told them to say we need forty thousand dollars to get this warehouse business going and we don’t have it, you know.
[00:10:29] And when next day they came back to work and said, we got a second mortgage, our house so y’all could get the phone. I said, oh, wow. What year was that? Nineteen eighty eight. Wow. And I’m so serious. That was that was pretty good.
[00:10:43] And it just shows, you know, the love they had for us and so forth. And we went ahead and took the money, got in business. We actually the next Fayza was getting a business and trying to get a bill. And we had a gentleman that we were actually in the bill and doing our delivery business in the back of a big building where nobody where the North American line man moving storage agent moved out of when they went bankrupt. So we’d be around the back, which you have to come around. You went there in time.
[00:11:15] We saw somebody come on on the property with a coat and tie. We hide because we had a little off with we were paying $200 a month for it. So they wouldn’t, you know, say once you got to get out, but make it, you know.
[00:11:26] But fortunately for us, six months went by. Nobody came to the building. So I went to the owner to billman, and I asked the gentleman, I said, would you consider renting this building? He said, OK. Is said how you can pay me?
[00:11:40] I said as little as possible.
[00:11:43] And so he was able to strike a deal with him that he took a liking to us. And he said, I tell you what, should I pay you a thousand the first month?
[00:11:53] And now you’re looking at a bill and a cost like ten thousand a month. Yeah.
[00:11:56] And anyhow, he gave us some time. Give us a little bit of square footage to lease and we went ahead and started and what we’re supposed to get in three months down the road. We got it in three weeks. So you give us the whole bill and they give us enough time before we get up to the agreement we had with him to get to the full payment in six months. Yeah. And we had three or four months to run before we had to pay very big money. So we did that. And then we often run running in the 50000 square feet and we we were able to move on it and get it all filled up.
[00:12:32] And then about a year later, I went back to this gentleman and that’s it.
[00:12:37] And then as a Mr. Hall, is it a. How about if we’d like to buy a billion in property from you?
[00:12:43] It was a bill, an honor, you know, 7 acres prior, worth a million or so. And he said, well, I’ll sell it to you for 1.2 million.
[00:12:51] I said, Oh, boy, oh, boy. And I said. I said, oh, I see.
[00:12:56] So he says, well, how use plan on finance? And then that’s almost all. I was hoping you’d help us with that. And he said, OK, if I finance it with, you know, 10 percent downpayment, how are we gonna do that? I was hoping you could do that.
[00:13:13] And he came back the next day and he said, you know what? I like you guys. I would do it. And so we bought a 1.2 million dollar property with no money.
[00:13:23] It’s amazing.
[00:13:24] And it cost we bought it down. We finance it cost us less than what we had to pay the lease for. Yeah. So we owned a piece of property, which was a nice thing. And and we.
[00:13:32] So we went rolling on. And over the next six years we went from fifty thousand square feet to six hundred thousand square off on that property. Yes. Yes we are. We had something new, meaner. The biggest thing that Boone does for our growth was a nineteen eighty nine. We had a little storm come through that called Hurricane Hugo. I’ve heard of that and it destroyed but in everybody in the town had damage. We had two places, we had got another bill. And what the builder was completely tore up and you couldn’t find anybody. Communication was down. And so we went ahead and my two brothers and I and my dad, we went ahead and got all the cargo. It was ex-POWs upended part of the bill and it wasn’t covered with plastic.
[00:14:14] And we started Friday. And on Sunday when we finished, it started raining.
[00:14:19] Wow. So with that happened in, nobody in Charleston had inventory to give to them. Most of the clients back in the days were textiles are all up in New York and the fashion districts are. We were getting flooded by these people. Yeah. Everybody else was shut down for like two weeks. We were. The storm happened Thursday night and Monday morning we’re operating. Wow. And we became popular. And that’s why we grew to six hundred thousand square feet. We went a little extra mile to to try to deliver protect our clients. And so that was cool. And then we went on and then we got in now and trucking because nobody would service to customers like they wanted to be service. So. And we got a small truck and back in the late 90s and then move fast forward all the way up to by 2010. And we had about 12 trucks and then we’d made a decision in 2012 to get more trucks. And now we’ve got 100 over-the-road truck trucks. So we deliver all our own freight plus other people’s freight and a lot of steamship line freight and so forth.
[00:15:21] So we you know, we’re we’re a big warehouse dealing with importers and exporters and we deal with a lot of steamship lines on our truck inside and we service the southeast. And that’s what we presently do. We’re made up of about 130 people now.
[00:15:38] So what I like is kind of with where you’re where your role has evolved is you’re out meeting with business leaders. Right. And you’re off the market. Right. And I can only imagine some of the conversations and insights. Probably it’s a healthy two way street based on what you’ve experienced for 33 years in business, growing this this business into where it’s dropped. But also all the insights you get from meeting folks that are business, that whether the. Yes. Or they’re doing they’re doing business in other aspects. And in Supply chain, I would love to kind of, you know, what are some of the topics or trends or news or developments? What are you hearing?
[00:16:22] Well, lately, I industry has really grown, especially in this Charleston market. You know, basically south east, you know, even in the state, you guys from Savannah is. Yeah. Is really, really growing at a faster pace. In the past, over Charleston, of course, Charleston has been growing pretty good the last few years for sure. And but between the two, the two ports, they just they’ve taken up a good market share of what’s going on out there. And it’s, you know, other ports out there on the West Coast that got so many problems, so much congestion, same thing up in the northeast that everything’s sort of migrating this way.
[00:17:02] And, you know, with the Panama Canal open in a lot of stuff that used to come on the West Coast and get railed in. Yeah. Is now being brought about, you know, by ocean carry straight to the southeast ports.
[00:17:16] And we’re getting it to the consumer because 70 percent of all the consumers in the United States are on our east of the Mississippi. Right.
[00:17:25] You know, so it’s we’ve been, you know, beneficiary of all this new business. And what I can see and I have just gone through a nice conference here this just the last few days, it appears. Everything is going to continue to grow. The rest of this year, they shown in 2020 that they feel like because it’s always the year of the election. And, you know, we have some issues. You know, I know you already talked about this with previous people you had on board here, but you know, the tariff issue and so forth. And I personally don’t think that the Chinese are going to change their stance until they know they feel that either Trump has been reelected or they think he’s gonna definitely be reelected. But once if he is reelected, you will see them soften. Yeah. Because, you know, they can’t afford their their. Their economy can’t afford another four years of that. You know, the older, though, in the downturn that they’ve been experiencing. So I think you’ll see a little bit of softening in 2020.
[00:18:30] I’m not much, you know, maybe a half percent or so at least Phos on the East Coast. And and then I think once the election’s over. As history has shown the last three elections, that you’ll see it the following year in 2021. One take off again.
[00:18:44] Yeah. Hmm. I think there’s good reason to believe that. Yeah, right. Yes.
[00:18:49] So Jimmy, out to run a grow organization to Europe to deciles ya. I think he had one hundred trucks. And you’re right. Right. Yes, sir. And keeping good drivers and keeping all those things moving. What what kind of culture have y’all put in place to to to keep all the town on board?
[00:19:08] Well, that’s a good question, because, you know, we’ve we’ve taken a lot of pride in trying to find the right team to put together. And as as we mentioned in the pre-game show, I’ve been able to put together a nice team of four managers that all smart and really versed in the areas.
[00:19:32] We have somebody that’s in charge of our truck and somebody in charge of our warehouse and somebody that’s actually in charge of finding which is a big challenge today. Fine. And truck drivers and retaining them. I think we just heard a statistic in here just a little while ago, one of these forms that said that, you know, whenever you lose an employee and you got to replace them, it costs right.
[00:19:57] About $5000 per each. That’s right. To do that. You know, and so that was Michael from Syntheo, I think. Right. That’s him.
[00:20:05] That’s him. And the thing about it is that, you know, we’re not when we go up to the last 10 years, we were proper dominantly warehouse men, warehouse people, and we were used. We had such a great culture. We still do in our company that those type of people came and we never lost them. I mean, I turnover in our company was like that, you know, and the with once we got in a truck and that’s a different animal these days, guys. You know, even though we’re an asset based company, which you don’t see, many of you that we own all our trucks, we’re not we don’t have owner operators in these even at that. These guys get a little finicky and and so forth. And we’re one of the better companies in Charleston and the truck industry. And, you know, most of them will have an turnover of 100, 110 percent every year. And we’re probably we’re probably around 60 or 65 percent. And that’s considered good.
[00:21:04] And we were used to that. So you’re replacing almost two thirds of your drivers every year. I mean, you know, like I I’ll talk to my guy, George, my driver Tench. I say, how are we doing? So we’ll get six open trucks. I got six drivers. Got them in there and to quit yesterday. So it’s sort of that type of thing. You know, it’s two steps forward, one step back. All right.
[00:21:24] But right at the present moment, thank God we are Rod and full on all on all sides of the business. And I just feel blessed and I hope it just continues that way for a while, you know?
[00:21:37] So let’s make sure, by the way, doing our homework, we were checking out ATX eight dot net. Loved the site. And one of my favorite parts, I believe is this is the pictures of you and your brothers down through the years. Yes, I love that. I mean, that just screams family owned business. Family run business.
[00:21:57] Well, companies don’t get built like that anymore. I’m not sure that you could do that anymore. That I mean, that is a that’s a unique combination of guts, ingenuity. Right. Ambition and assistance from your family. I mean, that’s just that is a great story.
[00:22:14] You know, I’ve had the fortune of, you know, teach in some of the college classes on entrepreneurship and everything. And every every time somebody will ask the question, you say, well, how did you guys get along? You know, I can always be serious face. And I’ll say, well, I tell them what to do and they do it.
[00:22:29] And it was like looking at me like that. I said not. Yeah, yeah.
[00:22:34] I said, we have arguments like other people. But, you know, we were we were taught. But early age by our parents that y’all can get in fights, whatever you want.
[00:22:42] You know, whenever you have to do that, but you know, the next day is a new day. Yeah. Y’all don’t make up a move on. And that’s why we that’s what we’ve always done, you know, and that is unique. It is unique is so. But there there’s turmoil.
[00:22:57] And, you know, no different than the other business. Right. Right. No, not at all.
[00:23:01] A lot of passion, whether it’s family or non-family, you know, you’re not going to see. I think the beauty of diversity and diversity of perspective is folks see the problems definitely. They see challenges. They see growth opportunities. Right. I mean, that going back to that 1.2 million dollar purchase y’all made. I bet y’all had some differences of opinion, terms of how to approach that. But it made job better, more informed group. And then the other thing that you mentioned that that stood out that I bet you had some opinionated or passionate discussions around is when you’re doing your warehousing research because you hadn’t done warehousing yet. Right. And and I bet that that decision to jump into that really built the next chapter of the company is what it did when I heard it did.
[00:23:45] You know, we’ve we’ve always had a knack, I guess, back in the day. We you know, we sort of used to maybe the Japanese mentality of analyzing something maybe a little longer than most companies in America would.
[00:24:00] But most companies America analyzed something and come up a decision fairly quick. Then they take they have it implemented. We would make sure we took pretty much as much risk as we possibly could out of it. And then when we made the decision, we hit we didn’t look back. We implemented right there. We didn’t sit down over, analyze it, or wait eight months down the road to do it. We do it right away.
[00:24:22] Boy, that’s great guidance. That really is great guidance for companies.
[00:24:26] And, you know, sometimes you’re wrong, but you do it to you live and learn and you try not to make the same mistake again. And you just you just go down the road.
[00:24:35] Yeah. Well, if you’re not wrong, some of the time you plant too safe. Right.
[00:24:38] That’s right. That’s right. And like, you know, you got to take that. You know, I see so many companies out then and I look at it like a circle. You know, they want to get that chair over there and all the way they can get to it. It’s a risk. Yeah. Is it have to leave the circle on a stretch and they it then they never get to. Yeah. But if you want to do you just got to leave circle. Go and get it.
[00:24:59] Love it. Well. So to our listeners to learn more. ATDC dot net. Right. Yes. And of course they can find Jimmy Jinhua is out across the market.
[00:25:10] He’s on air. Yeah.
[00:25:11] I’m, I’m I’m in different markets in the southeast. I come to Atlanta a lot. Charlotte UPS Day, you know, travel.
[00:25:20] We pretty much deal with people all the way out about Texas or so went up to New York. And we don’t we don’t really at this point in time. We have we don’t really have any clients out in California a lot. So but it’s it’s fun traveling around, meeting and talking to people. And, you know, I’ve always liked going and visiting our clients and all to learn and see what they do. And I think a couple of things happen. One, they appreciate you coming out. Yeah. Taking an interest in what they do. And one, when you there are a lot of times you can see things that, you know, will make things better for them. And you make suggestions. And, you know, a lot of times it works out and they just those are the ones I think afterward they they don’t want to leave you there. Yeah. They become when we go after a client, we want them to be a partner. If you tell them all the time as a you know, if you’re looking for a vendor. So we’re not the right people like us. I say because when I leave, somebody else comes in and they go, do it for a nickel cheaper. You go get rid of me. I said, we’re now looking for that kind of relation. We’re looking for a partner. And that we can we can work with and we can grow with and we can go back. I mean, we went through the recession and the 2008 time. Almost every one of our clients asked us to reduce our prices. We were hurt, too. But we did reduce our prices. And I tell every one of them, I said, we’re your partner and we going to do that to help you. But all I ask is that when we get back on even ground, you allow us to increase our rates and make up. Yeah. And I went to everyone. I’m not one now. One balked. Everyone UPS it. Thank you. We appreciate what you did. You know, that’s a huge testimonial.
[00:26:55] Man. Well, congratulations. Yeah. All of the success during three years in the organization. Jones. And best of luck in this new phase as you brought in the management team and as your Sheer and you’ve kind of, you know, like any business owner that’s built a business over that period of time, you probably don’t want to. It’s not easy to let go the reins, but.
[00:27:16] But I don’t I don’t mind getting rid of the date because it’s day to day operations, which is necessary. Is that what bogs you down and put you in the forest? Yeah. Now I’m outside of it. I don’t feel as stressed. And I’m able to, you know, to look at the labors of my fruit and go out and talk to people and. All of a sudden now I’m talking to my brothers now about possibly expand some more. And here’s an opportunity over here that’s in our type of business. And when you get time, you get people all the time want you to do this, this and that. But, you know, it’s not as if it’s not in our alleyway.
[00:27:54] You know, our wheelhouse. Yeah. I don’t want to get. I don’t want to go in that direction. I want. I went back to commercial Jenny delay broke. I want to I want to stay in sometime. Not that I’m good at.
[00:28:04] And I know, you know, my brothers and my company is good at, you know, so we feel like we’re the best at what we do. And we want to go ahead and utilize those expertise to, you know, bring us further down the road and utilize make him somebody else. You know better what they do. That’s what it ultimately comes down to. I mean, people pay us to take care of something for them so they can concentrate on what they do. Well put.
[00:28:31] And Jimmy John Lucas, president CEO, ATSI Logistics, thanks so much for joining us.
[00:28:36] They have pleasure. Great. We’re going to have you guys. You have to have a second installment of your story because I’m sure there’s plenty of other stories that we could quite get to today.
[00:28:44] Thank you so much. It is a pleasure to be here with you guys of the day.
[00:28:48] And good luck to you guys. Thanks, guys. Good guys to talk to fight in the trenches every day. Thank you. OK. To our listeners. Thanks for joining us here today. Hope you’ve enjoyed the conversation with Jimmy jannika as much as we have.
[00:29:02] Be sure to check us out. Apple podcast, SoundCloud, YouTube, really wherever else you get your podcast from. Of course, find us. We’ve get lots of buzz momentum going on as planned. Of course, you can find us at Supply Chain Now Radio dot com to see all of our past episodes as well as some of the events we’re gonna be broadcasting live from in the next few months. So for Greg White and Scott Luton really are intriguing. Have a great afternoon and we will see you next time on Supply Chain Now Radio. Thanks everybody.
Jimmie Gianoukos co-founded ATS Logistics Inc with his two brothers: Andy & Tony. They’ve served the Southeast for over 30 years and continue to grow & expand. Learn more about ATS Logistics Inc: https://atsinc.net/#
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Host, Logistics with Purpose
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Host
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.
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.
An American business executive, Taylor has made a name for himself as an innovative and energetic industry professional with an indispensable passion for his craft of operational excellence. His journey started many years ago and has worked with renowned corporations such as The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) leading multi-site operations. With over 3 decades of service leading North America operations, he is experienced in a deeply rooted process driven approach in customer service, process integrity for sustainability.
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.
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).
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.