Supply Chain is Boring
Episode 48

Episode Summary

James R. Stock is a University of South Florida Distinguished University Professor and Frank Harvey Endowed Professor of Marketing. He has interviewed many of the greatest minds in transportation logistics, a practice area we call supply chain management today. He shared those interviewed with Chris Barnes to be republished as part of the Supply Chain is Boring program.

In this interview, Stock speaks with Don Bowersox, one of the most well-known and influential supply chain management academics in the world, about his military experience and first foray into the academic world.

Listen in to learn more about this important thought leader in supply chain management.

Episode Transcript

Chris Barnes (00:06):

Hey, it’s Chris. The supply chain doctor and host of supply chain is boring. Over the years. I’ve interviewed some of the brightest minds and successful leaders in the world of supply chain management. In May, 2020. I sat down with Ken Ackerman to learn more about him, collect a little supply chain management history. After our discussion. Ken told me about a similar interview he had with Dr. James stock many years prior, and the related work Dr. Stock was doing in November, 2020. I was able to catch up with Dr. James stock to learn about his work as an academic in the field of transportation logistics. And now what we call supply chain manage ment Jim was well connected to many of the original academic thought leaders in the space. Jim did interviews with many of these original thought leaders and shared them with me. The list includes Ken Ackerman, Don Bauer, SOS James Hasket, bud littleand John Langley, Jr. Tom Menser, Tom SP and Daniel Ren To carry on the great work started by Dr. Jim stock. I’m dusting off these interviews and bringing them to you on supply chain is boring.

Dr. Jim Stock (01:13):

And what do you think you learned most from having that military background, uh, that perhaps you carry on even into this day in terms of how you approach your profession in life in general?

Donald Bowersoz (01:27):

Well, one thing is I learned how to compete in a class in which, uh, they literally, I think the phrase, look, the person on your left and your right, because they’re probably not gonna be there before you finish mm-hmm <affirmative>, uh, I think that might have a re originated with pilot training, cuz it was true. So surviving through that kind of rigorous training where you were expected to perform a hundred percent all the time, the expectations were extremely high mm-hmm <affirmative> was very competitive, uh, very maturing, uh, probably, uh, a tremendous school in how to develop leadership skills. So I think the whole military discipline, the no, uh, no excuse environment it’s either perform or don’t, but if you don’t, the consequences were significant that, uh, I think was a very useful period of my life.

Dr. Jim Stock (02:27):

So you mentioned earlier that your ultimate decision to go on the academic arena had somebody with both college, as well as military. How did the military then fit into that?

Donald Bowersoz (02:40):

Okay. The, the decision to be assigned to the ran Corps corporation. Uh, we had a, uh, technical advisor on our base from the ran corporation because they ran, uh, all of the air defense training and they ran simulators. It allowed us to have, uh, simulated attacks on the United States and, and we would use the simulators to, uh, to respond. It was my first experience with anything that dealt with computer generated activity. And this was very early on. Um, when the opportunity came to go to the ran corporation, I was assigned to, uh, be an air force liaison to that group in terms of their global training missions. And I worked with, uh, a psychologist to Dr. Jim Wickers, who all he talked to me about was going to graduate school. And, uh, I didn’t really want to be a lawyer. I should look into the academic world, but I, it ran right off my back mm-hmm <affirmative>, but we had some rather rigorous, uh, um, simulation exercises that were much more than casual events.

Donald Bowersoz (04:00):

And I learned rather extensively, uh, systems, network theory, working at the ran corporation, which was an emerging science at that time. Uh, probably applied more electrical engineering than any other field, but something which in the social sciences, uh, was pretty far out. I mean, there wasn’t much written on it. And, uh, we ran a lot of, lot of what appeared to be kinda like crazy experiments, but it was all part of building a database. And, uh, it was just a, a, it was one of those kind of things where you just waited to go to work in the morning. It was that exciting and living in Santa Monica is not exciting, but the work was very exciting. It was a great six months.

Dr. Jim Stock (04:48):

Okay. So after your military experience, uh, and then the ran experience while you were in there mm-hmm <affirmative> uh, was that then what motivated you on for the master’s

Donald Bowersoz (04:57):

Degree? Well, here’s what happened in a nutshell, um, I getting a master’s degree in business was suddenly becoming something of, of a very popular destination for people getting out of the military. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, the MBA was just emerging and, uh, one of my good friends was going to Stanford and I applied and was admitted Hamford and was all set to go to Stanford. When my wife informed me that she was, and, and I were both ready to have a second child. And at that point I decided, uh, I would take her home after close to three and a half years of moving around with one baby already from house trail, her to apartment, to whatever it was to, to a little motel room in Santa Monica that we would, uh, go back home. So she could have the support of parents, uh, during that time.

Donald Bowersoz (05:54):

And so I applied to Michigan state late. I learned we were gonna get an early out if we were admitted to a, to a college. So I applied to Michigan state found out they didn’t have an MBA, but they had a thing called a master’s in business and they were gonna start an MBA. So, uh, I went back to Michigan state were personal reasons, family reasons, more than anything else mm-hmm <affirmative>, otherwise I’d have been off to Stanford and life might have taken quite a different turn, but, uh, there I was back at Michigan state.

Dr. Jim Stock (06:29):

So during that, uh, time in Michigan state and the master’s program, um, did anything occur, which said, you know, Don Bowers actually go on for a PhD?

Donald Bowersoz (06:41):

Well, it occurred in the following way. Yes. Some things did occur. I was on my way to law school. I had applied for admission to the university of Michigan’s law school during my master’s program. Uh, academics seemed relatively simple. I ended up getting the award for the highest scholarship in my program, which, which, uh, something I felt very good about at the time. And, uh, as I was going through the program, uh, one of my former high school teammates, uh, and classmates, uh, a guy, my name Larry hour, who was a attorney later, became an attorney, was going to graduate school at, at, uh, getting his master’s degree before he went to law school. And he took me up to introduce me to a professor he’d met in business, who, uh, was trying to, it was working on some ideas that he thought I would be able to contribute to.

Donald Bowersoz (07:45):

And I wanted to get a graduate assistantship. So I went up and met two professors, Edward, Mikey, and Frank Mossman. And these two professors were doing some work in, they called at that time extended transportation. And they were trying to figure out how to look at the impact of transportation beyond purely the freight rates. And, uh, I had talked to Larry, well, we’d gotten together evenings and spent time, and I’d told them all about this systems network theory that I’d been working on the air force. And he thought I could match up with them and maybe contribute something. And, and I, but I also became deeply involved with Tom stout. Okay. And Don Taylor, in fact, Don Taylor ultimately became my, my, uh, professor, my senior professor. And I would say the number one person that guided me through my career, but my field fundamental major was in marketing.

Donald Bowersoz (08:51):

And, uh, I was kind of doing this work in distribution and we didn’t have a field. We started the first course and I attended and took it as sort of a student assistant. It was, um, uh, physical distribution, 4 45, which I think still stands as the, probably the first formal course, uh, Mosman and taught it. And, uh, Mikey and I kind of more or less, even though Mikey was a professor, we were the graduate assistants. And, uh, we put together this class and that preceded the book a couple of years, but so I was doing that work, but my real major was marketing. And I, then I got excited at about a PhD. I was working in the inner circles of a university. And at that point I decided to, uh, make application to some schools and I applied to Columbia and to Indiana. And, uh, I got accepted and Indiana offered me the best financial package.

Donald Bowersoz (09:58):

And, um, so at that point I, uh, was on my way to Indiana and Michigan state got a new grant where they could award a, a funded position for one of the, I guess, the first funded P HS that they had, that wasn’t just purely teaching mm-hmm <affirmative>. It was teaching and research. It was funded by a guy by the name of George Ramlow, an early warehouse design person. And George was very interested in extending the thoughts about warehousing beyond just purely the four walls. And, uh, so I had the transportation guys on one side warehousing guy on the other side, and some money offered. Uh, so while I was supposed to go to Indiana in the fall, the night before we began to pack, by the way, my wife was pregnant again for our third child, mm-hmm <affirmative>, uh, Tom stout came to our student apartment, all excited.

Donald Bowersoz (11:01):

He, if you knew Tom stout, you knew that he could get totally motivated and was contagious in that sense that he had the financial assistant. Now he had sponsored me to Indiana where he had gone to school mm-hmm <affirmative> so he was kind of said, you’ve got his stay here, get your PhD. Well, I’ve got him on one side and I’ve got a pregnant wife on the other side, and Indiana lasted about 30 seconds. And, uh, I stayed on a Michigan state for the third degree. Again, I’m very unplanned along the way I had decided law school was, I was a NoShow so law school was, was gone for them.

Dr. Jim Stock (11:44):

Okay. Now, as we look at your career, uh, tell us how you went about securing your first job in the academic sector. We know it occurred after having been in business. Uh, so how did that first position as an associate professor develop, how did you go about securing your first academic position?

Donald Bowersoz (12:03):

Well, um, my first,

Donald Bowersoz (12:07):

What progressed was a book that I think, uh, we’ll talk about at some point, but it was, uh, a book and physical distribution that was written during the same time I was doing my doctoral dissertation. Um, in the fall of 1960, I went to work for the railway express agency in New York. And, uh, the book had been after at that point, it was under review. It was a very, very difficult to get that book published by the way. And, and, uh, so it took a long time between the time we had the manuscript ready to go. And when somebody would actually publish a book in this obscure field that no one knew what it was mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, so I, I went to New York and started working in the fall while I was finishing my dissertation. And I graduated in, in December. So I was not in academia.

Donald Bowersoz (13:06):

I was in business mm-hmm <affirmative> and I stayed in business then for stayed at REA until he then president bill Johnson, who had hired, uh, this team to come in and reinvent the railway express agency decided it couldn’t be done. And the team was disbanding and, uh, going to different jobs. And, and, uh, the same time style called me up and said, wouldn’t you like to teach now? I, lot of people don’t know that I went back to Michigan state in the 10 year track in the spring of, I believe it was 62 and taught for one term. And then, uh, I had an offer to go with EF McDonald company and, uh, Tom, again, his opinion was, well, we don’t have any graduates that are vice presidents of major corporations. So you ought to go do that. You can always come back here. So I left Michigan state and went with EF McDonald company.

Dr. Jim Stock (14:09):

Okay. So

Donald Bowersoz (14:11):

That was a pretty fast transition. And we moved back to east Lansing and then to date in Ohio, we, it then, uh, the six month period, mm-hmm,

Dr. Jim Stock (14:19):

<affirmative> now in terms of, um, we mentioned earlier in your introduction, 40 years at Michigan state, um, we’ll talk specifically about some of those years in, in a few moments, but when you look back on that 40 year, uh, time horizon, what do you consider to be, be the most significant accomplishment, uh, as a professional academic?

Donald Bowersoz (14:42):

Oh, wow. Uh, the, the 40 years seem to go fairly quick. It’s, uh, just amazing how fast, uh, in retrospect, they, those years do go upon arriving at Michigan state. Full-time after I’d been in business for close to five years. And then that started the 40 year, uh, uh, of continuous service. Um, I wasn’t planning on really staying. Um, another event had happened in my family. My wife had gotten ill mm-hmm <affirmative> and it was, uh, uh, the decision to go to Michigan state was after deciding not to go to Ohio state, I’d been offered, uh, the chair that Jim Hesket had had at state when he went to Harvard and, uh, uh, it, a full rank chair at Ohio state. His initial, uh, academic appointment was, uh, with the chair was a pretty exciting event of my life. And it was only right there almost the last minute that I, I turned it down when Michigan state made me an offer of an associate professorship without a chair.

Donald Bowersoz (16:00):

And I didn’t do it cuz I wanted to, I did it because my wife, uh, had Ms and was not in, in good shape. And it was the only right thing to do to put her back again in the family context. Mm-hmm <affirmative> so we went to east Lansing on because of that. Now that starts you in a, in a position where you figure that, uh, soon as things get a little better here, I’m going to get on somewhere else. Cuz I had felt I’d been there an awfully long time already. Mm-hmm <affirmative> uh, I was promised a promotion within a year and, and actually the first year came up and bud aand was there at that time. And I remember Tom stout saying, well, bud, Bud’s in line be promoted and I can’t get two through in one year. Uh, but trust me, you’ll go up next year.

Donald Bowersoz (16:54):

And I did and it all happened, right, bud got promoted and then I got promoted. Then bud left went to Ohio state, took that chair. So that’s worked out great for bud and I stayed in Michigan state. What do I accomplish over those 40 years made a lot of students miserable. I, uh, uh, board a lot of people with my stories and uh, continued to work on that one book and develop it. And it’s now moved through a couple of different title configurations and it’s still, uh, on the market. I’m proud to say that there’s only some part of two or three chapters that are still the same as the first book mm-hmm <affirmative>, but there are still a few paragraphs in there that have stood the test of time. And I think that was my main accomplishment building. The, the supply chain program is one of the faculty with a committed administration and continuing to write and do research in the field.

Dr. Jim Stock (17:55):

Okay. And uh, when you look back, we talked about this very early as a youngster. You said you were a stubborn person. You think that was instrumental in, uh, uh, having you get as many things done and accomplished as you did.

Donald Bowersoz (18:11):

Well, I, I think it probably did because, uh, uh, between the combination of the military, uh, and then, uh, the academic discipline this necessary, uh, I think that that allowed that, that early persistence as opposed to stubbornness, but being focused on doing things and getting ’em done matured. And I do believe that trade has carried through mm-hmm <affirmative> I can’t remember starting projects and not finishing them. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, they’re not all outstanding, but at least they’re finished.

Dr. Jim Stock (18:47):

Do you have any regrets regarding your career path and what you were able to achieve in those 40 years that you spent at Michigan state?

Donald Bowersoz (18:56):

Well, I regretted not going to law school and I had a sabbatical, uh, that, uh, was coming due. And so I decided I would use my sabbatical and, uh, reapply to law school. And that was, uh, by that time I was a full professor and I remember, uh, I went out to lunch with, uh, an attorney in Lansing was also had been my CPA and I told him what I wanted to do. And, uh, and he said, uh, he looked at me and he said, he said, I’ve always thought you were nuts, but now I know you’re nuts. He said, you know, you, you’re my role model. If I could do what you’re doing, I quit being an attorney. So I didn’t go to law school. And, uh, yeah, I think there were some other aspects of research that maybe could have pushed the field faster if we’d gotten more done. I think that no matter what you’re able to, if you make a realistic evaluation of what you could have accomplished, there’s always a gap.

Dr. Jim Stock (19:57):

And do you think you achieved most of what you wanted to accomplish? If not, what else would you like to have done?

Donald Bowersoz (20:04):

I, uh, I think yes, although I found myself, uh, just in the last year, since retirement writing another different kind of book and, uh, my wife is convinced that I, I, I never will stop and I guess that’s kind of in our blood, if you’ve, I read a tremendous amount and, uh, have seem to have a lot of ideas, uh, but not quite the same amount of ambition. And I’m, I’m kind of working my way into retirement right now. Cause,

Dr. Jim Stock (20:38):

And in those early years, were there any individuals that served as a mentor or mentors for you and you know, how did they influence you in those early days?

Donald Bowersoz (20:50):

Yes. Um, the very, uh, the very beginning of my career, uh, when I had my first assistantship during my master’s program, I worked with, uh, under a gentleman by the name of art Warner and art, uh, was a, uh, very interesting real estate. And he taught me a lot about location analysis. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, he was an economic grapher and I w and he was very influential. And then Tom stout and I always have to, uh, uh, take stout and Taylor in combination because they were, uh, the one, two punch. And I can’t really say who was one and who was two, they were both influential, um, Tom in the motivational sense and Don in a research sense. And, uh, one of the great honors of my career was, uh, being brought in as an author on the stout Taylor marketing, managerial marketing book, which, uh, I believe to this day was kind of a, a pace setting book. It, uh, it truly dealt with managerial marketing and, uh, I helped through one, one revision and both of them were finished for one reason or another and writing textbooks and, and we allowed it to die.

Dr. Jim Stock (22:15):

To what extent have you, uh, conducted your professional life with a personal code or mission statement, uh, or belief system, and how has that influenced how you’ve, uh, conducted your professional life?

Donald Bowersoz (22:28):

Well, I, um, I sincerely believe that, uh, a number of us and I include you. I have, uh, have felt for a long time that there’s a missing discipline in business. And that supply chain management is, uh, represents the integration of most of the operating area as a business in a cross-functional and cross organizational manner in the development of that discipline, which is being carried on by many disciples of, of the original people Grover plow. And then, uh, and I would put Jim Hesket in that cat growing, but LA land, I mean, uh, and others, I could go on naming. Uh, they, uh, they started something and the development of it has continued to the point where today the, I think there’s a growing recognition that we do have a discipline. It does have framework, it does have principles, it is capable of prediction. It can be used for advancing research.

Dr. Jim Stock (23:38):

An interesting question. Uh, what, would’ve been your ideal job, if you could have had any job in those 40 years, what would it been?

Donald Bowersoz (23:47):

Well, I had a couple of chances as the years went on to leave and go into industry and into consulting. Um, I had an offer to become the director of global logistics for GM, and, uh, each time I went down that road and, and, uh, particularly the consulting partnership a little later on, um, I, uh, I decided in favor of staying with the academic profession. So, um, I guess I have generally got the feeling that that’s where I was destined to be. I’m surprised I was at Michigan state all those years. Uh, it wasn’t by design. Uh, you do build a lot of loyalty and, you know, we worked together for a while. I was very comfortable there, uh, but I considered leaving for other academic jobs a few times almost went back to Indian, Anna to Columbia, talked to Harvard at one time. And each time I would finally decide, uh, I guess the final one came at Tennessee. These were during the years when I didn’t have a chair and other people were offering chairs. Uh, but by that time I had children and family and a place in Northern Michigan, I on lake and the life, the things in life that were important were much different. And then Michigan state developed the chair and that sealed the deal, I guess mm-hmm, <affirmative> from that point on. Okay,

Dr. Jim Stock (25:18):

Well, let’s, uh, turn back. We’ve talked about, uh, your early family. That is your parents. Yeah. Um, talk about, um, uh, your family now and, and, uh, growing up. Do you have children? And if so, how many and, uh, how

Donald Bowersoz (25:33):

Long, how long is this tape? We

Dr. Jim Stock (25:35):

Got, we have time.

Donald Bowersoz (25:36):

We have time. Okay. <laugh> well, in, in my, uh, my life, I lost my first wife, uh, few years after we moved back east Lansing <affirmative> and, uh, we had three children, two girls and a boy. Okay. Uh, a few years later I got remarried. Unfortunately, that marriage didn’t work out well with one major overriding exceptions. I had two wonderful sons who, uh, are still with me. So that adds up to five. And a few years ago, I got Remar to a wonderful lady who had four children. So now we have nine and, uh, it might be easier to tell you what they’re not doing than to tell you what they are doing. Uh, I have two sons, two oldest are in the supply chain field. I have a daughter who’s a marketing, uh, consultant. So that’s the first three I have, uh, uh, or excuse me.

Donald Bowersoz (26:39):

I, I got that mixed up again. I gotta back up a little bit. First family, two daughters. One’s a high school teacher and, uh, chairman of a department at, uh, Michigan high school. Uh, my oldest son is, uh, in logistics and my youngest daughters, a marketing consultant. Then my next two sons, uh, one of those is with the Kohler corporation in logistics. The other one, hold your hat is attending school at Ohio state university. And then I, uh, uh, have my four stepchildren. Uh, one of, uh, of whom is with Disney on ice is a stage producer. Another only been a skater with Disney for 10 years. Uh, one of them is in culinary school and the other one’s going the university of south Florida. So we have quite a plan.

Dr. Jim Stock (27:36):

And as a parent to a number of children, what was your main goal as a parent, uh, were raising those children,

Donald Bowersoz (27:45):

Uh, much like my fathers, uh, with a little less insistence on graduate education, but to get, uh, uh, fully prepared for life. And, uh, everybody in our family is one way or another, either going to school part-time or full-time, or has degrees.

Dr. Jim Stock (28:06):

Now we’ve mentioned and discussed your parents, uh, several times already. In what ways do you think your parents influenced you the most?

Donald Bowersoz (28:13):

Um, I think the very most was, was encouraging that, that drive to be persistent to you accomplish something and also building confidence that, that, so often I see lacking in young people that I’ve worked with, and that’s a, yes, you can do it otherwise you can make that speech, or you can be in that club, or you can be, uh, anything you wanna be because in the environment that we’ve been raised in, in this country, uh, saying you can, is only an alibi for not putting out the effort to do it.

Dr. Jim Stock (28:52):

And you mentioned briefly some brothers and sisters in your family. Uh, how many are they? Are they older or younger? Are they in what professions are they in today?

Donald Bowersoz (29:03):

Well, my oldest brother’s deceased. He was a physician, you know, my son, the doctor, the first one that went to, to a college in the history of our, our particular family went all the way through. In fact, he became a, uh, a gynecologist and he was a specialist. He died, uh, a couple of years ago. Mm-hmm <affirmative> uh, then I was, then I have an older sister. Uh, she married a world war II, veteran, an amputee, and, uh, uh, she did not go on to school, but she did go to the college of life. She had 13 children and has quite a, quite a clan. Uh, then, uh, I have a younger brother who, uh, uh, went on to school, but not to graduate school. And who is now a trustee of lake Sumter junior college.

Dr. Jim Stock (29:59):

And you had mentioned, um, uh, while in the military, having a young wife and a, a baby, and then another one on the way, which influenced you to move back to Lansing. How did you and your first spouse meet?

Donald Bowersoz (30:12):

We met, uh, during my senior year of school. She’d been from the same high school I’d gone to. And, uh, we’d been in high school, one in the year together. She was a freshman at, uh, Michigan state. And, um, I met her quite by accident at a, at a party during Christmas holiday. And she knew all about me and I never had remembered having seen her from that time on, I, I saw a lot of her <laugh>.

Dr. Jim Stock (30:45):

Was she supportive of your, uh, uh, move into career?

Donald Bowersoz (30:50):

Absolutely. This, she was, uh, very supportive and all those years in the military and moving around and, and the sad thing was she was quite young when we began to realized that she was ill and I’ll never forget the day we went to actually to Ohio state university medical school, where she got diagnosed.

Dr. Jim Stock (31:13):

Now, Don changing course for just a moment, looking at, uh, the history aspect, uh, other than the present time, what period or era would you like to have lived in

Chris Barnes (31:27):

Supply chain is boring as part of the supply chain. Now network the voice of supply chain, interested in sponsoring this show or others to help you get your message out. Send a note to chris@supplychainnow.com. We can also help with world class supply chain, education and certification workshops for you or your team. Thanks for listening. And remember, supply chain is boring.

Featured Guests

Donald Bowersox, one of the most well-known and influential supply chain management academics in the world. Bowersox was professor emeritus of marketing and supply chain management and served as dean of the Broad College of Business and the Broad Graduate School of Management from 2001-02 He dedicated more than 40 years to Michigan State University and is largely responsible for the stature that the Broad College has in the field of supply chain management. U.S. News and World Report currently ranks MSU’s supply chain management program No. 2 behind only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s program. Bowersox received three degrees from MSU – a bachelor’s in 1954, an M.B.A. in 1958 and a doctorate in 1960. Prior to his 1966 appointment on the faculty at MSU, Bowersox was an Air Force pilot and in executive management for the E.F. MacDonald (Plaid) Stamp Co.  He was appointed as the John H. McConnell Chair in Business Administration in 1985 in recognition of his contributions to academia, industry, and the community.  In 2002, he was honored with the Broad College’s first Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award. Throughout his career, Bowersox wrote 10 textbooks that have been translated into 15 languages. He co-authored such works as the fourth edition of the textbook “Supply Chain Logistics Management” and “Physical Distribution Management: Logistics Problems of the Firm,” which is said to be the industry’s first logistics textbook. He also authored more than 250 articles on marketing, transportation and logistics. He was a member of the editorial review board of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Quarterly, Journal of Business Logistics, International Journal of Logistics Management, the Journal of Supply Chain Management and Supply Chain Management Review.

Dr. James Stock has been honored internationally three separate times for his achievements in supply chain and logistics management by the industry’s leading professional organizations. This year, he will receive the Supply Chain Management Professionals’ Distinguished Service Award – the highest honor that an individual can receive for their achievements in supply chain and logistics management. In addition, he will also be honored with the Special Lifetime Logistics Service Award by Yasar University in Izmir, Turkey and the 9th International Logistics and Supply Chain Congress for his outstanding achievement and continuous contributions to the field.

During the course of his 35-year career, Stock has also been honored with, DC Velocity magazine’s “Rainmaker for 2006” and has been awarded the Eccles Medal and the Armitage Medal by SOLE – The International Society of Logistics.
Stock has more than 150 publications in the field. He has authored six books and his publications have been translated into five different languages – Chinese, Czech, Portuguese, Russian, and Thai. He has also traveled to 46 countries on six continents to conduct research, lecture, or do consulting work for various organizations and universities.

Before coming to USF in 1989, Stock, the Frank Harvey Endowed Professor of Marketing at the College of Business, taught at Michigan State University, the Air Force Institute of Technology, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Notre Dame. He holds a BS and MBA from the University of Miami (Florida) and a PhD from The Ohio State University. Stock is an active member of numerous professional organizations, former editor of the Journal of Business Logistics and International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, serves on many international editorial review boards, and is on the USF Honors and Awards committee.

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Host, Supply Chain is Boring

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Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

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Mary Kate Love

VP, Marketing

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

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

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Joshua Miranda

Marketing Specialist

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

Donna Krache

Director of Communications and Executive Producer

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

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Vicki White

Controller

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

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Ben Harris

Host

Ben Harris is the Director of Supply Chain Ecosystem Expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Ben comes to the Metro Atlanta Chamber after serving as Senior Manager, Market Development for Manhattan Associates. There, Ben was responsible for developing Manhattan’s sales pipeline and overall Americas supply chain marketing strategy. Ben oversaw market positioning, messaging and campaign execution to build awareness and drive new pipeline growth. Prior to joining Manhattan, Ben spent four years with the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Center of Innovation for Logistics where he played a key role in establishing the Center as a go-to industry resource for information, support, partnership building, and investment development. Additionally, he became a key SME for all logistics and supply chain-focused projects. Ben began his career at Page International, Inc. where he drove continuous improvement in complex global supply chain operations for a wide variety of businesses and Fortune 500 companies. An APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Ben holds an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration (EMBA) and bachelor’s degree in International Business (BBA) from the Terry College at the University of Georgia.

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Page Siplon

Host, The Freight Insider

Prior to joining TeamOne Logistics, Page Siplon served as the Executive Director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, the State’s leading consulting resource for fueling logistics industry growth and global competitiveness. For over a decade, he directly assisted hundreds of companies to overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities related to the movement of freight. During this time, Siplon was also appointed to concurrently serve the State of Georgia as Director of the larger Centers of Innovation Program, in which he provided executive leadership and vision for all six strategic industry-focused Centers. As a frequently requested keynote speaker, Siplon is called upon to address a range of audiences on unique aspects of technology, workforce, and logistics. This often includes topics of global and domestic logistics trends, supply chain visibility, collaboration, and strategic planning. He has also been quoted as an industry expert in publications such as Forbes, Journal of Commerce, Fortune, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, American Express, DC Velocity, Area Development Magazine, Site Selection Magazine, Inbound Logistics, Modern Material Handling, and is frequently a live special guest on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Radio Show. Siplon is an active industry participant, recognized by DC Velocity Magazine as a “2012 Logistics Rainmaker” which annually identifies the top-ten logistics professionals in the Nation; and named a “Pro to Know” by Supply & Demand Executive Magazine in 2014. Siplon was also selected by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Georgians” for 2013, 2014, and 2015. He also serves various industry leadership roles at both the State and Federal level. Governor Nathan Deal nominated Siplon to represent Georgia on a National Supply Chain Competitiveness Advisory Committee, where he was appointed to a two-year term by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and was then appointed to serve as its vice-chairman. At the State level, he was selected by then-Governor Sonny Perdue to serve as lead consultant on the Commission for New Georgia’s Freight and Logistics Task Force. In this effort, Siplon led a Private Sector Advisory Committee with invited executives from a range of private sector stakeholders including UPS, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Delta Airlines, Georgia Pacific, CSX, and Norfolk Southern. Siplon honorably served a combined 12 years in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force. During this time, he led the integration of encryption techniques and deployed cryptographic devices for tactically secure voice and data platforms in critical ground-to-air communication systems. This service included support for all branches of the Department of Defense, multiple federal security agencies, and aiding NASA with multiple Space Shuttle launches. Originally from New York, Siplon received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering with a focus on digital signal processing from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned an associate’s degree in advanced electronic systems from the Air Force College and completed multiple military leadership academies in both the Marines and Air Force. Siplon currently lives in Cumming, Georgia (north of Atlanta), with his wife Jan, and two children Thomas (19) and Lily (15).

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Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

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Katherine Hintz

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

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

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Kim Winter

Host, Supply Chain Now

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

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

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

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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.

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Kevin Brown

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Jose Miguel Irarrazaval

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Nick Roemer

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Allison Giddens

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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

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Billy Taylor

Host of Dial P for Procurement

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.

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Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

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

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Chantel King

Social Media Manager

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

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

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

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Trisha Cordes

Administrative Assistant

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

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Clay Phillips

Business Development Manager

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

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Amanda Luton

Vice President, Production

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

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Constantine Limberakis

Host

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

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Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

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

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Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

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

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Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

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

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

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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 CiscoMicrosoft, 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 UniversityO’Reilly MediaLinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems EngineeringCarrier Onboard Delivery Logistics and carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control. While active, he also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

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Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

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

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

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

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Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

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

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

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Greg White

Principal & CMO, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain Now and TECHquila Sunrise

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

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

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

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

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

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