" data-arrowposition="">

Digital Transformers
Episode 797

I think if you are interested in getting involved in gaming or Esports or really digital media at all, you gotta know what the competition's doing, what works, what doesn't work, and what to avoid. And then secondly, you're gonna have to find out what works for you and your audience.

-Chase Peterson

Episode Summary

What is Esports exactly? A business, a lifestyle – or a gateway to the metaverse? Co-hosts Kevin and Scott sat down with two Esports experts at the 2021 Veterans Bowl to get some answers. Listen in as guests Tygarlily, an Esports host and digital content creator, and Chase Peterson, CEO of Premier Esports, offer their perspectives on the rise of virtual business, keys for successful content creation – and tips for how to kick start a career in gaming. Whether you’re a Halo fan, curious about NFTs, or interested in learning from the booming business of Esports, don’t miss this one-of-a-kind episode.

Episode Transcript

Intro/Outro (00:03):

Welcome to supply chain. Now the voice of global supply chain supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues. The challenges and opportunities stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain now,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:32):

Hello, this is Kevin L. Jackson hosts of digital transformers on supply chain. Now in December, 2021, Scott Luton, and I had the distinct pleasure of working with an all volunteer team to produce stream and host the 2021 veterans bowl. This project vet event is designed to educate the public on the challenges our military veterans face. If they need mental health assistance. eSports is used by mental health professionals to augment treatment. That is why we support premier eSports and decided to do this transformer special on the business of eSports. In this show, we discussed eSports with tiger Lily, a Facebook sponsored E gamer and Onstream hosts and chase Peterson, chief executive officer of premier e-sports enjoy.

Scott Luton (01:44):

Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Scott Luton and Kevin L. Jackson, special episode of digital transformers right here with our newest best friend. We’re with tiger Lily, an eSports host influencer and enthusiast tiger. Lily, how you doing?

Milan McKinnon (02:00):

I’m great. I’m your best friend? Absolutely.

Scott Luton (02:04):

Well, Kevin and I are learning a ton about e-sports here at the veteran’s bowl, right? Yeah, absolutely.

Kevin L. Jackson (02:10):

I tell you, I didn’t know how intricate this could be. Um, but you know, as you said, I’m in a great mood today, so

Scott Luton (02:19):

Let’s learn more about it. Navy be army, and we’ve got an expert get us through the, the, uh, uh, the learning exercises here. So tiger. Let’s start with, uh, how’d you get into e-sports

Milan McKinnon (02:31):

That’s a great question. And, uh, I wanna call myself an expert per se. I just happened to have my foot in so many different doors because when it comes to e-sports, I personally tried my best to be a player. Um, and I feel like I entered the eSports industry and world a little too late to be a player, an efficient gamer where my actual gameplay put me in on a team, for example, mm-hmm <affirmative>. So instead I took the route of being a host and now that’s where I’m in. I, I host the events and I try my best to educate a lot of the viewers on eSports, because it’s becoming well known now. Right. And you know, yeah. Colleges are now bringing in teams and scholarships and they’re playing professionally around the states and even around the world.

Kevin L. Jackson (03:18):

So I’m wonder pull on that actually, because my daughter was at ODU and she was actually the captain of the silver eSports team.

Milan McKinnon (03:27):

That’s amazing. First off, I love girl power, a girl running their own team. I love that,

Kevin L. Jackson (03:33):

But she’s actually a director of Dame on and eSport center in Virginia Beach. So, uh,

Milan McKinnon (03:40):

That’s amazing. You

Scott Luton (03:41):

Gotta get tiger Lily and your daughter connected.

Milan McKinnon (03:43):

That’d amazing. Absolutely. I would love to one day host one of her games or even interview her or talk to her about, what’s like being a team captain, cuz I’ve never done that myself. Oh great.

Scott Luton (03:54):

So let’s, let’s do this. Let’s you know, for folks like me and maybe Kevin, I’m not speak for Kevin, but I am, I’m an eSport expert or enthusiast. I don’t know a whole bunch about the industry. Tell us if you had eSports 1 0 1 and just a small nutshell. What do folks need to know?

Milan McKinnon (04:09):

I think the biggest argument these days is how to convince your parents to let you play video games. You know, <laugh> how do, how do I do this? But my biggest advice to the parents is it’s just like any or any musical instrument you need to practice. So if your kids are really serious about gaming and making it a part of their career or a part of their, instead of making it a hobby transitioning into actually practicing every night, then it becomes really serious. And like I said, earlier, colleges are actually looking into recruiting students that take this seriously and practice every night and they have a team they practice with and they they’re able to get together. Then they, the college teams put them, you know, they get scholarships and all that. Right, right.

Scott Luton (04:53):

Scholarships.

Kevin L. Jackson (04:54):

Yeah. Scholarships. But I could say that my daughter was doing a lot of streaming over Twitch. Right. And, and she actually used software robots to manage her audience. And she learned how to code.

Milan McKinnon (05:08):

And your daughter is impressive. <laugh> first off, she’s a team captain. And now she’s a coder.

Kevin L. Jackson (05:14):

Well, she, she, she graduated two years ago and she, like I said, she, she works at it as her career

Milan McKinnon (05:20):

Right now. See, that’s the thing, when it comes to gaming, you’re either won the player or two, you end up growing into like strategy planning or team managing community management. Uh, you can also go into producing, which is the amazing team we have today. Atlanta premiere, thank you for producing this event. And even goes further than that. You know, content creator is a lot of people are like define content creation. But what you’re really doing is you’re bringing the content that we all wanna know about and watch to stream. It’s almost an entry into film. So being a host or being an actress and, and being able would be on screen, you know?

Scott Luton (05:59):

So in addition to giving thanks to the, to the world class production team here at a veterans bowl, uh, premier gigg, we’ve gotta give thanks to TNS and digital names for sponsoring digital transformers in our conversation here with tiger Lily. So, all right, one last point, and then I’d love evident for you to weigh in on this transformation, the metaverse and all that good stuff. Absolutely. So you’re speaking to tiger Lilly, just the growth, the, um, um, the opportunities and more that the eSports industry offers and it’s blowing up getting bigger and bigger each year, right? Yes.

Milan McKinnon (06:32):

I agree with you. I think it’s gonna continue getting bigger and there’s gonna be way more job opportunities for different players, gamers, developers, producers, coders. Yeah. Team managers, you know, we’re gonna need more people that can lead. So we’re gonna see that grow as we move on.

Scott Luton (06:47):

Awesome. One last point, Kevin is, uh, I think the college game is coming back after beating hiatus, NCAA football. The only thing about this tiger Lily, it’s been high in, um, off the market for a couple years. Wow. With the N I, um, yeah. NCAA, uh, programming is coming back and maybe me and you can, can, uh, anchor a team. Good team. Yeah.

Milan McKinnon (07:10):

Yes, definitely. All right. This

Kevin L. Jackson (07:12):

Is really a business and I don’t think a lot of people maybe accepted as a business or recognize it as a business from, from your point of view, how do you see yourself fitting in what people may refer to as the real business? Or is this the business of entertainment

Milan McKinnon (07:33):

If definitely falls into business of entertainment, but at the end of the day, who’s gonna run these teams. Mm-hmm <affirmative> a lot of investors are gonna drop lots of money. We are gonna run into that, but what are we gonna do with that? We’re gonna get a team of producers and we’re gonna get a team of hosts and actors here today to talk to you. And then even more someone to educate us for you. Like you, for example, on what we’re gonna talk about with the metaverse and all that. Well, so

Kevin L. Jackson (07:59):

The metaverse people think that that’s sort of not real it’s, it’s virtual and they’re right. It’s not real. It is virtual, but what’s really important to recognize is that the physical world and the virtual world are now in merging and businesses, not just entertainment business, but just about every industry have to learn how to interact and operate in the metaverse and connect with their customers. What do you feel about the metaverse? Is it a real thing?

Milan McKinnon (08:35):

Digital content is I have this argument these days. Uh, <laugh> where it all almost is like the real world is the stage for digital content. Okay. Um, we run into that all the time. And as we look to the internet and even now NFTs or Bitcoin, you’re gonna see a lot of that digital content becoming more and more accessible. It’s the, the thing that we’re trying to do these days is wrap our head around NFTs the non-tangible non-function. Yes. So, you know, a lot of people are con like interested in that, because it’s the unknown. But as I continue forward, even in the gaming space, I see it becoming more and more of an everyday thing.

Kevin L. Jackson (09:13):

Well, one thing, like my company TNS actually has a global blockchain. Right. Okay. And we actually have a, a product called NIFT. That’s a marketplace for NFTs and other projects that we are working on include, um, the management of, uh, for virtual spaces in second life. Okay. Okay. So we are, we are sort of, we are in that world. Definitely <laugh>. But, but when it, when it, when it comes to other businesses and their own digital transformation, I also think that this is about community being able to communicate with other businesses within your ecosystem and to be able to connect with your customers like you. Yes. Yeah. So tell me, what does a business need to do to digitally connect to you and your general?

Milan McKinnon (10:17):

My generation and the generations after me love adorable, cute things they can collect. Uh, we’re all here we go to events to collect. We want that eSport shirt to rock our favorite team member. Right? You see that in sports today and in the past, and a lot of artists like me, we are going into NFTs that, or almost like cards or Pokemon cards, magic, the gathering cards or favorite sport team cards that you can collect and you can keep in your digital wallet.

Kevin L. Jackson (10:44):

Okay. Wow. So is this just a fad? I mean, you say you like cuddly things, but I may be giving away my age, but people used to collect beanie BA and they were thousands and thousands of dollars, but now nobody wants to buy a beanie baby. So you’re collecting NFTs maybe next year. Nobody cares now you’ll spend money and now it’s gone. It’s a

Milan McKinnon (11:09):

FA right. Well, you know, with the classic with artists, for example, if in the future, one of our favorite artists that was producing NFTs passed away, I know that’s the saddest truth is when your artist or musician or favorite athlete passes away, then anything they had created in the past just becomes that their price it’s it’s value it’s, it’s important to people and you’re gonna spend more money on that. So I don’t think NFTs are going to run out honestly.

Scott Luton (11:34):

So on that note, I hate to wrap up this conversation with tiger Lily and Kevin L. Jackson, but we must tiger. Lily. How, how can folks connect with you after today’s chat

Milan McKinnon (11:44):

With us? I am found under tiger Lily, which is actually spelled T Y G a R L I L Y on Twitch. I’m also a Facebook Facebook partner where I like to upload a lot of content like this today. Okay. And then I’m on most socials under the same username. It’s pretty simple.

Kevin L. Jackson (11:59):

Wonderful. Great. You have a new follower now. That’s

Chase Peterson (12:02):

Thank you.

Scott Luton (12:03):

<laugh> well, Hey, again, big. Thanks to TNS and digital names for sponsoring digital transformers. Hey, best luck to the players. And second half of the veterans bowl on behalf of Kevin L. Jackson and Scott, Luke, we’ll see you next time right here on digital transformers. We’re spending some time post-game with chase Peterson. Co-owner with premier. How you doing chase?

Chase Peterson (12:27):

Excellent. Glad to be here. Wonderful. We’re happy to, uh, to be working with such a great charity, a great cause and supporting all our servicemen and women out there. It’s a absolute pleasure. Yeah.

Kevin L. Jackson (12:39):

Mental health is a really, um, under or overlooked issue. Uh, um, not just in military, but in the society’s general. And it’s really great to be able to support and educate, uh, audio. So this important

Scott Luton (12:55):

Aspect. Excellent point. Yep. So of course, big, thanks to our friends, TNS and digital names for sponsoring this special episode. So chase, let’s start with, uh, how did you get into eSports?

Chase Peterson (13:08):

Well, um, when I tell my story, I always say the same thing and I tell people it was a, it was an accident accident. Yeah. It was an accident. Um, I have been playing games as long as I can remember. What was your

Scott Luton (13:22):

Favorite one

Chase Peterson (13:22):

Halo for sure. Okay. Okay. Uh, and there’s a new halo out. So all you guys enjoying the

Kevin L. Jackson (13:29):

Yeah. TV shows. Halo.

Chase Peterson (13:30):

Yeah. Yeah. Halo is a, is a big franchise now. Yeah. But, um, I grew up playing games and, you know, in 2017 I tried my hand at creating content as a streamer on Twitch. Okay. About a year later I found I was pretty bad at it. <laugh> so I, you know, tried to utilize some different talents and groups of, uh, you know, just expertise that I had and decided we wanted to make a group and we no intentions of doing e-sports at all. Right. Um, it was just a group for a lot of mental health reasons. Okay. You know, content creating and live streaming as a full time person is not an easy job. Right. And, uh, I thought maybe if we could make a group to make it easier on people, um, that was the point sort of that supportive each other. Yeah. And it kind of just snowballed from, as we got more and more interest, different kinds of people would, you know, come in that had different skill sets and wanted to do different things and would ask me questions that made me go, huh, maybe I should do that. Right. And now we’re here in, uh, you know, professional apex, legends, and sons of really awesome content creators and staff members facility. And yeah, it’s been a journey for sure. And as,

Scott Luton (14:40):

As many of our listeners and viewers may know we’re in Johnson stem center here in Atlanta, Georgia name for Dr. Lonnie Johnson, famed and legendary inventor. We got a picture of him just out of the shot of the camera. Um, so Kevin, with chase, we wanna talk about kind of the logistics behind big eSports tournaments, like, like they’re involved in all the time. So, so talk to us a little about that. What what’s all involved in putting on a world class eSports experience?

Chase Peterson (15:07):

Well, I think, uh, you gotta talk pre and post COVID. Uh, I think that’s a very interesting conversation that you have to, uh, you know, you have to bring that up, um, pre COVID you’re talking mega

Kevin L. Jackson (15:19):

Events. So we were talking about the difference between, uh, pre COVID and post COVID and the fact that we are now in a virtual world, everybody’s comfortable with interacting virtual world. Um, so if I’m in, you know, uh, distribution or I’m, uh, um, an electrical company or not some industry outside of entertainment, transportation, what does that mean to me? What does it mean with, to my employees and my customers?

Chase Peterson (15:56):

So, uh, this is a question that I not only have thought about, but also have spoken to other people, uh, in regards to, um, I think when I review, like what its future look like, right? What is, what should your business look like as we move into 20, 22 mm-hmm <affirmative> and I think it really boils down to a couple different things, but really the main point is where are you engaging your audience? So going where your people are, and you can look at history and how history has evolved with businesses first, it was, you know, advertisements in your newspaper because that’s where everyone was reading, you know, about what’s happening in the world. Right. And then job ads. Yeah. And then you radio radio radio comes out in the newspapers up in, up in arms, right? Yeah. And then television, cell phones, you name it, everything that just progresses us forward. This is where progressive forward

Kevin L. Jackson (16:48):

Businesses live. Like all those traditional media are now going out of business cause they couldn’t keep up with the internet. And now with maybe is this the media of the metaverse is eSports just, uh, the tip of the iceberg?

Chase Peterson (17:08):

Yeah, definitely. I think E eSports is one of those things you could dive into for hours and hours and hours. And this is why you see people selling tickets to these online webinars that last for a couple days, right? Yeah.

Kevin L. Jackson (17:20):

<laugh> so we don’t have a lot of time, but what does it take to put together this type of, to produce this type of event, if I’m a company and I know I have to reach out to my customers via this type of channel and this type of media, what does it take? What type of skill sets do I have to bring in with my, um, and onto my team? Where does it fit within a corporate organization? Uh, you

Chase Peterson (17:49):

Know, I think within a corporate organization, first off you have to, you have to do your research. Mm-hmm <affirmative> I think if you are interested in getting involved in gaming or eSports or really digital media at all, you gotta know what the competition’s doing, what works, what doesn’t work and what to avoid. Mm. Um, and then secondly, you’re gonna have to find out what works for you and your audience. And, um, I think above all else, you could have the most talented team in the world. You could have the worst team in the world, your content that you put out, whether that’s an interview like this sitting at a table, or, you know, you’re filming your products or you’re hosting a tournament, anything like that, it’s about what the why is and why that’s important to your customer more than it is what it is.

Scott Luton (18:37):

Oh, salmony yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Kevin L. Jackson (18:40):

Absolutely. So are you saying that digital transformation includes this type of multimedia production capability?

Chase Peterson (18:50):

Of course. Yeah. Definitely. You could have the, the best chicken biscuit in the world. <laugh> but if no one knows about it and no one cares about it, then no, one’s gonna buy it. Right.

Scott Luton (19:02):

Love

Chase Peterson (19:02):

That. But you could have an amazing chicken biscuit. How

Scott Luton (19:04):

Keep, keep talking chicken biscuits, you talking, talking my language. Right. So yeah, I guess have to wrap up. Don’t worry. Well, I’d love to spend a couple more hours with chase. I think we could pick a lot of his brain here. Yeah. But I’m learning. Chase. How can folks connect with you in premier? Yeah,

Chase Peterson (19:20):

I think, um, we’re probably most active on our Twitter account. Uh, underscore premier gigg follows on there. Um, or if you wanna send me an email, I’m happy to you, uh, discuss further as a chase at Atlanta, premier, Don Gigi. All right.

Scott Luton (19:35):

And one last question. Sure. Where can you get the best chicken biscuit? <laugh> who who’s got your votes. Think IM gonna keep

Chase Peterson (19:42):

That one close the chest. I’m not sure I wanna drop

Scott Luton (19:45):

Spot. I got that’s okay. Hey, um, Kevin big. Thanks. What a great, great conversation. Congrats to the players and the winner of the veterans bowl. Your last comment as we, uh, sign off for tonight, go Navy, go <laugh>

Kevin L. Jackson (20:06):

And I want take a, a minute with two guests, tiger. Louis. I to have her tell you more about earth and chase Peterson, and we take this time to talk about the business of e-sport. So before we get down to business, chase what’s background, where you come from, you know, how did you, uh e-sports

Chase Peterson (20:33):

Well, my background is in sales and marketing. Mm-hmm <affirmative> I’m from Atlanta and I got into eSports on accident.

Kevin L. Jackson (20:42):

<laugh> you didn’t intend to do this? No, not at all.

Chase Peterson (20:46):

Someone asked me why I wasn’t doing it. Wow. And

Kevin L. Jackson (20:50):

I said, you know what? I don’t know. <laugh> and, uh, tiger. Lily, can I just call you tiger. Understand you really? Uh, that’s your, your game when you are out, uh,

Milan McKinnon (21:01):

Shooting the up. Yeah, that’s totally fine. You know, tiger. Lily is a gamer to, I chose for myself when I was 14 years old. Okay. So I do come from the gamer background where I would just play games as a hobby or an escape. A lot of us can relate with that, but it wasn’t until I moved from Oregon to Georgia, I gave up a salary position in it. And at that time, when I, to Georgia, I was like, I’m gonna take content creation on seriously. I need to make this work. So, uh, for about the last five years, I’ve been doing my best at that. Uh, like my foot has been in multiple doors trying to figure out where I fit in, but I finally found a place for me, tiger Lily in the eSports industry. And I think things are going pretty well.

Kevin L. Jackson (21:51):

So what attracted you to, e-sports why e-sports

Milan McKinnon (21:55):

Right, because I come from a gaining background. Why did I wanna step into the competitive scene? Why did I wanna match with content creators that were just outputting so much content, our favorite video games every day. And it really just for all into it didn’t feel like work for me every day. Uh, more or less I was able to wake up and I’m like, I’m motivated and I would do it. And at the end of the day, I’d have all this content and over time I’d get experience. And I became more knowledgeable on certain topics. And then people asked me to speak about them first. They were panels and then they were we’re on live streams and now they’re recordings. And, and I just, I just keep doing it it’s because it’s what I do every day. I live and breathe this lifestyle,

Kevin L. Jackson (22:38):

You know, this is, this is really interesting cause you actually targeted the lifestyle and the business and chase here to sort of fell into. Definitely. Okay. So, um, that’s true. Is, is this a lifestyle or is a business chase

Chase Peterson (22:56):

For me? It’s both. It has to be both. I think my lifestyle is premier mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, premier is a lot of things that, you know, one of those is e-sports. So, uh, my lifestyle is, is very much embedded with gaming and competitions and creating videos and editing websites. And I mean, you name it. I mean, everything that goes into making this happen, uh, is what I do every day. Well,

Kevin L. Jackson (23:26):

But our audience may not know what premier is and it sounds like it’s actually a business, but there’s a lot of people that don’t think gaming is a business. Tell us more about

Chase Peterson (23:38):

Premier. Yeah. So I’ll, uh, I’ll explain it in the way that I try to explain to people when they ask me what I do and what premier is. Uh, I’d say it’s a lot like a traditional sports team if their sports team played online. Okay. So it runs a lot like the NFL, you know, you have professional players, uh, coaches, staff, uh, everybody is, you know, involved in seeing succeed when they’re competing. Uh, but it goes a little bit deeper than that. Um, you know, you have people that represent the organization like content creators and influencers. Uh, these are our, you know, our faces, if you will, of the organization, uh, leaders amongst the, the influencer community and these people, you know, out there live streaming making videos and really showcasing their entertainment skills rather than their competition skills.

Kevin L. Jackson (24:36):

So, um, is this like the new type of slopes person?

Chase Peterson (24:41):

<laugh> yeah, for sure. I mean, I think when I saw Tim, the tap man on, uh, super bowl commercial, I was sold. Yeah, that was, uh, that was it.

Kevin L. Jackson (24:51):

So, so tiger, I mean is how do you sort of prepare for this type of career or this type of lifestyle or this type of business? You said you wanted to do it, but, um, <affirmative>, you know, what got you

Milan McKinnon (25:08):

Ready for this? Right. I like to consider eSports and video game development, like the wild, wild west. It’s almost like you with Bitcoin mm-hmm <affirmative>, uh, but for us, for gaming, there’s so many opportunities and a lot of people can’t grasp what they are yet. Uh, a friend of mine asked the other day, hello, my kids are in just in gaming. They’re only nine to 10, but how do I get them ready to be a gamer in a, in a world where they’re making money, where they’re able to create a career off of it. And I told ’em what type of games are they interested in and figure out their personality. And that really goes into what they’ll grow into. For example, what type of games are they playing? Are they playing first person shooters? Uh, and are they leading the squad or following the squad?

Milan McKinnon (25:54):

First person shooters leads into eSports. They could be a player. If they’re leading, then they’re gonna be a community manager or a team leader, or as your daughter is, you know, the, the captain of the team, are they playing creative games? Do they like coding? Then they get into development. It can even lead into production or filmmaking. So it really depends on the branch or the game they get into it. And you have to really pay attention to that. For me, it was building computers, playing games and understanding them on a fundamental level, like game development. So that’s where I came from. And as I learned about how games operated, I started to learn started more or less getting into eSports as well. Uh, and on a competitive level, like simple coding and Overwatch, I would love the fact that blizzard would make all the items, uh, you can interact with them. Right. And I wanted to learn that on a fundamental level, but then I ended up getting really good at healing people. And then that led into eSports.

Kevin L. Jackson (26:50):

Wow. So this is really complex, right. You know, and, and you would, uh, some C-suites of traditional businesses really don’t think this is a real business. So if, if you were giving them advice as to how to make, uh, eSports or this new type of multimedia entertainment, uh, a part of their business, is it something they should even think

Milan McKinnon (27:22):

About? Definitely. Uh, right now I’m a, a content creator. So we were talking about content creators for this business called ants online. Uh, essentially what I’m doing is I became their brand ambassador. They, I have a position where I do, I’m getting paid obviously, but I’m not just playing video games. I have to strategize the plans for a month. We have to plan ahead. Then we have to plan the content we’re gonna stream. And if our fans or viewers actually want that, for example, unboxing computer parts, we all wanna see those new GTXs. We all wanna see the new PlayStation fives. Right. Um, and then that goes into the gaming, you know, the hot new games, which is marketing the brand new games. So I’m sure chase for, to go into this as well, because then that goes into sales and marketing, which is a skillset, not all of us have, but chase definitely has that.

Kevin L. Jackson (28:11):

Yeah. So chase, you do a lot of sales and marketing and the logistics of, of eSports. And I mean, you said this is just like running a football team or a baseball team. So, um, <affirmative> are you in the front office? Are you part of the C-suite? Yeah, I mean, <laugh>,

Chase Peterson (28:33):

I think, you know, every day when, when you have to sell your business model to make money as a, as a job, mm-hmm, <affirmative>, you have to look at what you’re doing a little more serious. And, you know, if you look at tiger Lily’s story of, you know, just wanting to do it and having to learn those skill sets, she didn’t say this, but it’s definitely not easy. It is very, very difficult in the skillset in order to be very successful at, it takes a lot of work. Um, but when it comes to, you know, marketing yourself and making it very worth your while, right. Um, yeah, I think really one of the biggest things is marketing. And I said it earlier, when we were live it’s you could have the best chicken biscuit, right. But in this case you could be the most entertaining person in the world, but if you don’t know how to market yourself, if you don’t know how to speak about, if you don’t know how to engage your audience, if you’re really entertaining, you, you gotta learn those things. So

Kevin L. Jackson (29:33):

Well, you know, I, I really appreciate what you’re saying, but I also believe that we are in a unique time, um, of our society. Uh, we’ve all gone over the past few years through the pandemic. And I personally believe the world is a pre COVID world is different than the post COVID world. And part of that is the rapid adoption of these remote technologies. These virtual technologies, everyone’s working from home now everyone’s comfortable of sitting on zooms for hours. Um, and, and now even, uh, <laugh> maybe not too comfortable, but even now the, the biggest buzzword in business is the, is the metaphor. So, um, so chase is the world coming to your world now. And your virtual world is the post COVID world. More friendly to the, the, the virtual business world

Chase Peterson (30:40):

Is the whole COVID world friendly to the virtual world. Yeah. Yeah. But I think it answers your statement previous. I think everyone’s just now catching up, right. Gamers have been doing this as long as I can remember, uh, meeting online, engaging their friends, spinning hours of time playing games. Right. Right. And the rapid adoption thing that you talked about, I think yeah. Is, is happening right now, but really what you’re seeing with this, you know, word metaverse right. Right. And for people who don’t really know what a metaverse is, right. It’s just another world online that you can interact with. Right. 3d 40, whatever you want to call it. Right. The way that I see the metaverse is really just a social environment. It’s just where people are, where they are. Right. They don’t have to physically be there, but that’s where they spend their time. That’s where they get their, uh, ingest of either news or, you know, social feed. It can be anywhere. And I think the number right now was, uh, Roblox. If I’m not mistaken, Roblox is the number one metaverse right now with like 36 million average daily users.

Kevin L. Jackson (31:52):

So you’re saying this is just an evolution of all society. Yeah,

Chase Peterson (31:57):

Definitely.

Kevin L. Jackson (31:58):

So, so, uh, tiger Louis, uh, is it easier for you and the post COVID world than the pre COVID world? And you see more opportunities opening up? And so on my show, digital transformers, we talk about businesses digitally transforming themselves, their, their business models, the way they interact with their ecosystem, the business partners and their customers. So what do they need to learn? What do they need to do as our society? Um, you know, transitions into the matter.

Milan McKinnon (32:39):

Like I had said, when I moved from Oregon to Georgia, that transition in my life personally did not affect me as much because I was taking my internet presence with me and to everybody else, it didn’t change. I was in the same place. They can find me when they needed to. And to answer your second question with how can they up it. Community is huge, especially for your brand. If you are in tech or even if you’re selling couches, uh, your community is huge, cuz they’re the ones that are interacting with you daily and your digital content is what fuels them. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so it’s very important in my opinion, to continue doing all the, the digital content and, and the metaverse is, is coming. It’s just seems intimidating because there’s a lot of unknown. But to me it’s always been there, digital content, video games, movies, live events that are filmed on YouTube. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, you know, we, we already know it’s there. It’s just, there’s a new name to it and more doors are opening. So there’s time of opportunities. And I like to call it the wild, wild west.

Kevin L. Jackson (33:43):

<laugh> great. So, uh, we run outta town here, but people wanna reach out to you to learn more because I tell you you’re teaching me about right now. How do they get in contact with you?

Milan McKinnon (33:56):

Uh, well, I’m tiger Lily. Uh, that’s actually my username on all the OS. I also have YouTube and I’m live on Twitch. I spell it T Y G a R L I L Y. And I mean, I’m on the internet now, like just Google and it’s crazy. Just the amount of footprint I’ve left behind. So, so you’re

Kevin L. Jackson (34:15):

Everywhere. Yeah. It’s where do people reach out to catch up to you and premier?

Chase Peterson (34:21):

Well, you can, uh, you can find me, you know, similar. Um, just, uh, I go by a different name online. I don’t, uh, use my real name. I go by kick ACE on, uh, Twitter. Okay. Uh, but like I said, I’m very open to my, using my emails, chase at Atlanta, premier dot Gigi. Um, and then premier, you can find it on Twitter type in premier, Gigi, uh, on all socials.

Kevin L. Jackson (34:45):

Well, thank you both for giving us an insight into what companies need to do to transform themselves and to adjust to this new multimedia world. So with that, I’d like to thank you and my audience for joining us on digital transformers. So please enjoy your bay and have a transformative week smash

Chase Peterson (35:09):

That light button

Kevin L. Jackson (35:10):

<laugh>

Intro/Outro (35:13):

Thanks for being a part of our supply chain. Now community check out all of our programming@supplychainnow.com and make sure you subscribe to supply chain. Now anywhere you listen to podcasts and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on supply chain. Now.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Featured Guests

Chase Peterson has 10+ years experience in Sales and Marketing. He founded the Esports Organization in 2018. He is a freelance Animation and Graphic Design Artist. He is a huge Sports Fan and a previous collegiate athlete based in Atlanta, Georgia. Connect with Chase on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-peterson-7a1a1169/

Milan McKinnon, known as Tygarlily, specializes in esports tournaments and other gaming conventions around the Atlanta area. For over 10 years, role-playing, indie, and first-person-shooter games have been a part of her journey. She combines the creative with competitive gaming as a Twitch Streamer and armor builder.

Hosts

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

Kevin L. Jackson

Host, Digital Transformers

You May Also Like

Click to view other episodes in this program

Additional Links & Resources

Learn more about Digital Transformers

Subscribe to Digital Transformers and all other Supply Chain Now programs

Learn more about TNS

Learn more about Digital Names

Webinar- Practical Strategies for Adapting to Demand and Supply Uncertainty

Webinar- Adapt or Die: Your Survival Guide to Modern Warehouse Automation

What's Your Logistics Maturity?

Guy Courtin's Top 10 Supply Chain Predictions for 2022

Port X Enlists Turvo to Differentiate and Grow Revenue

2021 State of Supplier Diversity Report

2021 U.S. Bank Q3 Freight Payment Index

Check Out Our Sponsors

Adrian Purtill

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.

Connect on :

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).

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

Allison Giddens

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.

Connect on :

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.

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.

Connect on :

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).

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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!

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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. 

Connect on :

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. 

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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!

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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’.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :