Logistics with Purpose
Episode 76

When we say the words ‘clean shipping,’ that can mean anything from scrubbers to a slightly different fuel, slow steaming to planting trees. So, you're not just adjusting your behavior, you're offsetting.

-Danielle Southcott, CEO and Founder of Veer Group

Episode Summary

Danielle Southcott started thinking about the benefits of clean shipping while working in different roles in the maritime industry. What frustrated her was the challenge of proving the financial viability of the model. In fact, as she explains, she became obsessed with the idea that clean shipping could support a for-profit business model. In this episode of Logistics with Purpose, Danielle joins hosts Enrique Alvarez and Kristi Porter to talk about the progress she has seen and the work that remains to be done.

Episode Transcript

Intro/Outro (00:02):

Welcome to Logistics with Purpose presented by Vector Global Logistics in partnership with Supply Chain. Now we spotlight and celebrate organizations who are dedicated to creating a positive impact. Join us for this behind the scenes glimpse of the origin stories change, making progress, and future plans of organizations who are actively making a difference. Our goal isn’t just to entertain you, but to inspire you to go out and change the world. And now here’s today’s episode of Logistics with Purpose.

Enrique Alvarez (00:34):

Good Day. My name’s Enrique Alvarez, and welcome everyone to another amazing episode of Logistics with Purpose. Christie, good morning. How are you doing today?

Kristi Porter (00:42):

Good morning. I am still waking up, but I know this podcast is going to wake me up even further because we have such an exciting guest to talk to today and just doing really innovative things for people in our industry. So I’m excited to chat with her. And I have my coffee and I’m ready to go.

Enrique Alvarez (00:58):

It’s, uh, it’s usually amazing to actually interview people, but in particular today, you’re right, it’s very innovative, creative, uh, out of the box thinker, like could probably disrupt the industry if she’s not already doing that. So now I’m happy to people

Kristi Porter (01:11):

Gonna talk her, talk about her website

Enrique Alvarez (01:13):

For sure. Well, go ahead, give us a make the, make the honors, uh, Christie introducing our guest today.

Kristi Porter (01:18):

I will. And yes, p plug for her website. We both had a lot of fun just scrolling around so everybody at the end of the show, when we tell you about her, then you’re gonna have to go check out her website and take a look and see what we mean. Um, so I’ll give that little teaser, but in the meantime, we are excited to welcome Danielle Southcott, who is the founder and c e o of Veer Group to the show. Danielle, thank you so much for being here with us.

Danielle Southcott (01:40):

Thank you both. I’m very grateful to be here and to be able to share what we’re up to with beer. Uh, it’s not the morning where I am, but I also have a coffee <laugh>, so yeah. Thank you both.

Kristi Porter (01:51):

As long as you have coffee, you’re good to go. <laugh>. Yeah. Well, let’s start out, before we get into beer and all the really cool things that you’re doing there, um, tell us a little bit about, because you, you have a really fascinating background that completely leads up to what you’re doing now. So tell us a little bit about your childhood and growing up and, um, yeah, just sort of you as an early in your early years.

Danielle Southcott (02:13):

Sure. So, again, my name is Danielle, and I’m originally from Lake Ontario, which is the Great Lakes region, uh, on the Canadian side. So I’m from north of Kingston, Ontario. And I grew up, uh, really just outside like a normal kid. We were in the countryside and I remember planting trees with my mom and that my dad, he works for the Ministry of Environment, so Oh, while it wasn’t really that we were such an environmental family, there were, uh, themes of that throughout my life. Yeah, I started sailing on the Brig Andeen St. Lawrence two when I was 13 years old, which is an amazing youth sale training program. It’s like a summer camp, adventure summer camp out of Kingston. And ever since I sailed on the St. Lawrence two, I knew that sailing and tall ships and square rig in particular were really something that I was passionate about. So yeah, I mean, um, there’s a lot to share. So yeah,

Enrique Alvarez (03:10):

It sounds amazing. And just for all of us may include it that don’t know what a square sales, right? Yeah. Ship is <laugh>. What does that mean?

Danielle Southcott (03:18):

So square week sailing vessels or traditional sailing ships would be, uh, just to make it really easy, but don’t equate This is if you picture pirates to the Caribbean, that’s

Kristi Porter (03:30):

What I was picturing.

Danielle Southcott (03:30):

Yeah. But they’re not pirates and they,

Kristi Porter (03:34):

That’s a little bit the let down. Yeah.

Danielle Southcott (03:36):

<laugh>. Well, I did get to work on the set part for the Caribbean, so Oh

Kristi Porter (03:39):

My gosh. Okay. We’re gonna have to talk about

Danielle Southcott (03:41):

That, that let down <laugh> <laugh>, but the traditional ships and square rig vessels, so when we say square rig, we just mean the sail. It’s like a square. So that can go as far back as Viking age up until the, the end of that era, you say, was around 1920 to 1930s. So that was even less than a hundred years ago. So it had a very long span of when you used the word square rig in a broad sense.

Enrique Alvarez (04:06):

Well, it sounds, it sounds like you had an incredible, uh, childhood sailing Yeah. And enjoying nature. Uh, do you, is there any kind of particular kind of, uh, experience back then that inspire you or was starting to shape the person that you are now and the kind of things that you’re now doing?

Danielle Southcott (04:23):

I mean, I have to say that there was something about the way I was raised. Maybe it was just being in the outdoors, maybe just climbing trees, I really don’t know. But there was a little bit of a fearlessness, and for many years I took that fearlessness that I have. I took it for granted. I assumed that everybody believed that they could achieve anything, or everybody could just believe when they pick something, then they can go for it. And everybody can, but not everybody believes in themselves and not everybody believes that they can. And so I would say that it’s only been relatively recently that I’ve, I’ve realized that that’s a little bit different about me, is that I always just assumed that I could do everything. And of course, there’s some privilege that comes with that inherent privilege that I, I’m born with. But, um, I try to inspire others and let them know that if they set their mind to something, it’s very likely possible that they can achieve it. And, uh, I think, I hope I answered your question somehow with that.

Kristi Porter (05:19):

Yeah. I think that’s a beautiful aspect too that so many of us grow out of, unfortunately, too. That’s a unique, um, and wonderful facet that you’ve kept with you. And yeah, I think it definitely lends to the inspiration of what you’re doing now and, and where you’ve come from. But of course, before I ask you about your professional career, I now have to ask you about Pirates of the Caribbean, <laugh>. Of course. So what was that about? What did you do with them? How did you get hooked up with that project?

Danielle Southcott (05:45):

Yeah, so I, one of the companies I founded, uh, this was now years ago, I think it might have been 2012, was called Top Sale Rigging. And we had a, a, uh, traditional rigging company. So that was doing rope work on wire splices and working with the sales. So actually fabricating all of the sales and ringing that you would picture. Oh, it was really fun. Very, very hands on. Very tactile. Yeah. And, uh, so then my company was brought on because they were doing a segment of one of the Pirate’s movies in British Columbia, Canada. So they wanted to bring a bunch of Canadian, uh, talent on board. So we were able to do some of the ropes and, and sales and this sort of thing. Very cool. Uh, for pirates, and yeah, it was, it was great. <laugh>.

Kristi Porter (06:32):

That’s fantastic. Um, I, I love that. What a unique experience to have. Okay. So let’s talk about your professional career, because it is also very impressive. So talk about university and what did those early career, uh, choices look like?

Danielle Southcott (06:46):

Yeah. Well, it’s interesting. I, I didn’t, uh, well, I did go to university for about a year. I went to University of Toronto for aboriginal studies and forestry. Wow. Uh, but I actually dropped out and ran away to sea on a schooner. Wow. Wow. Which was very classic. Me at that point, <laugh>. Um, and so eventually I said, I do want an education. I’m not just running around playing on boats. Uh, and I went to nautical college in the Netherlands, and that was on Kaza Save Art school, uh, which we had to learn. It was all in Dutch at the time. All the classes, all the textbooks, all the long form essay answers. Wow. Wow. So for that, I did have to learn Dutch, and I really wanted to go to that school because it still is to this day, to my knowledge, the best school for a traditional spin on, uh, maritime and seafaring.

Kristi Porter (07:43):

And Okay. So what does that, I have no idea. I’m picturing all kinds of curriculum in different things. What does that actually mean?

Danielle Southcott (07:49):

Yeah, so in some ways it would be a normal maritime college. So you have navigation, stability, uh, maritime law, all sorts of different courses. But they, so they teach the standard for everything, but then they also teach, how would you do this only under sale? Or how would you do this as a square rig, a large square rig ship? How would you maneuver a whole vessel? Or how do you take into consideration some of those other things like leeway, uh, with your sales, and yeah, just sort of approaches like that anchoring under sale a big ship. So, uh, some things that are missed in other more standardized courses.

Kristi Porter (08:29):

Yes. We did not have the same college experience. <laugh>,

Enrique Alvarez (08:33):

They didn’t have a lot of sailing in

Kristi Porter (08:35):

Texas. Oh, we didn’t, we didn’t In West Texas. No. Surprisingly. Um, it would’ve been, yeah, navigating the dirt storms would’ve been more like that, but yes. And so what were those, what, after college, after you graduated and got this incredible experience in a completely other, another language, what were, what were those next steps?

Danielle Southcott (08:53):

So there were, there were a number of, of different experiences I had, which I, all of which I’m grateful for working for different ships and different projects. And I began to transition a little bit from working in the shipyard, so doing wire splices myself. And I transitioned a little bit to being behind the computer, looking at the business plans and a little bit, which is a natural transition, I think, when you kind of move up into more of a management position. Gotcha. And I became a little bit obsessive about proving the value of clean shipping, because I had worked for, uh, a couple of different companies at that point. And while they were extremely inspirational mm-hmm. <affirmative>, which was great, they did not really hit home with the financial viability. So, you know, picture these sailing, beautiful sailing ships, cargo ships, uh, but they weren’t necessarily like a very strong for-profit business.

Danielle Southcott (09:45):

Right. And that frustrated me because I knew it was possible, and I knew that we could make it work. So I devoted myself to developing business plans, investor packs, numbers, all this sort of correspondence. And we brought that together in a company, uh, called Sale Cargo Inc. Wow. And I founded Sale Cargo Inc in 2014. And it was really for, with that mission, and I wasn’t sure what project it would be, whether it was building schooner’s in Canada, I wanted to buy a us, uh, schooner that was already existing. And what we landed on was building a brand new huge ship in Costa Rica. And it was really to prove the value of clean shipping and prove these numbers, that it was possible to both have a clean and responsible, accountable company that could also be for profits.

Enrique Alvarez (10:36):

Yeah. Wow. That’s a, that’s incredible. And it’s a great story. And of course, that’s kind of the baseline from what you’re doing now. And we’ll dive right into that in a second. But before we do that, I’ve always been amazed, uh, by the ocean. So I, I love the ocean. This comes from my father as well. And, um, and I wanted to ask you, where do you, can you tell us a little bit of, uh, any experience that you might have had many, maybe one sailing, something dangerous that taught you a lesson? I mean, what was the experience and then what did that teach you about, uh, you and the kind of person you are?

Danielle Southcott (11:07):

There’s a lot of stories I probably shouldn’t tell here. Uh, when you work, uh, on sailing ships for a number of years, you get a number of those kind of experiences, <laugh>. But yeah, I can definitely echo your sentiment about being amazed by the ocean and the power you see there. And I think really one lesson I’ve taken away, and I’ve seen it repeated time and time and time again. So there are many different experiences that would have the same end result, which is, don’t underestimate it. Don’t underestimate. And if you know that you’re leaving something exposed, or you know that you should check something, or you know that the wind, you know, deep inside of you, you have this feeling that you haven’t done everything to the best of your ability, you’ve got to go back and do it to the best of your ability. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because the sea and the water and the wind are these pervasive elements of very, very strong pervasive elements, wind and water are not going to leave any crack, uh, un unexplored. And so it’s the same with things like fire, heat, emotions, whether it’s a crew member, or you can apply it to anything. Yeah. If you know that you have left something that you didn’t do to the best of your ability, go back, you’ve gotta go back and do it.

Enrique Alvarez (12:32):

Well, that’s a, that’s a great life. Uh, a great lesson. Lesson. Right. This is amazing. And I love the analogy with the ocean. Thank you so much.

Kristi Porter (12:39):

Yeah. Really remarkable. Um, so let’s talk about veer, because we’re Yeah. Completely on the path. What was the transition from that company to veer and of course, tell us about your mission and, and exactly what, um, veer is doing now.

Danielle Southcott (12:54):

Absolutely. So yeah, there’s been a, um, a growth phase for me mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and it’s been over the past couple of months. So I founded Sail Cargo Inc. In 2014. The primary headquarters are all in Costa Rica. We, last year negotiated the purchase of another vessel, so they’re building the largest friendship in the world right now. And we just bought a very large one, uh, called Vega. And you gotta check out their social media from Instagram to the YouTube. It seems like you’re gonna be addicted, uh, just at Sale Cargo. And so that was a huge, huge push, a huge, everything about that company is amazing. Um, but I still personally felt an inkling that I wanted to do a bigger scale, a little bit more industrial, a little bit more, right on the nose with, uh, you know, containerized shipping. And I wanted to address the concerns of these very large companies, whether it is Amazon, Ikea, Walmart, whomever.

Danielle Southcott (13:55):

And I wanted to go right to the, that corporate level and knock on their door and say, I have your solution. This is your boat. If you choose not to use it, well that’s fine. But then you’re not coming through on the ambitions statements you’ve made, the commitments you’ve made and all these things. And I say, because I feel sorry for you, large company, because you don’t have an option, but thankfully we’re giving you the option, uh, which is beer. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so I decided to move into a new space, which is very different from Sell Cargo. It’s, it’s like a lot more industrial, clean, uh, it’s, um, it’s like corporate containerized. It’s, it’s, in many ways, it’s a very different approach. But, uh, I think that between the two companies, we can really satisfy a number of different clients and get as many people as possible shipping clean.

Kristi Porter (14:47):

Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So let’s talk, uh, let’s define that a little bit more. You’ve talked about clean resilient shipping. Um, what does that mean to you? What does that look like

Danielle Southcott (14:56):

To you? So that’s a very good, uh, question, and it’s an important distinction because especially with, well, I know about clean shipping, but I’m sure it’s with all green or blue economy conversations. There are a lot of new terminologies that we use that we kind of just throw around, and they’re not as yet defined. And so when we say the words clean shipping, that can mean anything from right scrubbers to slightly different fuel, to just driving more slow, slow steaming, uh, to planting trees somewhere else. So you’re not even adjusting your behavior, but you’re offsetting. And so, just for the purpose of this conversation, I’m not attacking any of those, but for the purpose of this conversation, I’m gonna use the word clean to mean true zero to kind of quote, uh, zero emission, uh, shipping technology association. Zetas, they’re very obsessed with the words true. Zero. And so that’s no, that’s like a no compromise. And that doesn’t, so veer will have zero fossil fuel Wow. If propulsion at all.

Enrique Alvarez (15:59):

Wow. Well, which, which we have been using for millennia, right? I mean, yes. When was our only source of, uh, energy back in the day. And somehow we kind of, uh, deviated for a little bit, but it’s very refreshing to not only speak to people like yourself, but to see in general that companies like the ones that you mentioned, uh, Ikea and Walmart and some of those big guys really are really understanding that sustainability is no longer like a good thing you do for the planet. It’s a competitive advantage. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it’s a strategic competitive advantage that will make you money. So even if you don’t believe in saving the planet, that’s still going to be the future, which is, which is exciting, especially for early movers like yourself and, and beer. Mm-hmm.

Danielle Southcott (16:41):

<affirmative>. Yeah, absolutely. And that’s where it’s recently I’ve seen a major shift. So I’ve worked in clean shipping in this space for over around 12 years, I think. And, um, it’s just been the past two years where all of a sudden it’s like a light switch was flipped and people realized I can make money by being, being blue or green focused, centric. And I’m not commenting, I’m refraining on commenting on whether or not that’s a healthy driver <laugh>. Um, but it is a major driver, right? Like, people wanna make money. That’s what these companies are for. And so if you go to a company and you ask them to change their habit and make less money, that is contradictory to everything that they ex exist for. And so in the past two years, I’ve seen a shift where people realize we can make money with this. And now it’s like the game is on. And it’s very exciting because of course, we’ve always been pushing for clean shipping, so now they’re interested. It’s great

Enrique Alvarez (17:41):

<laugh> Yeah. Must be incredibly validating for someone that’s been doing this for so long as you and, and a lot of other people and companies out there. Yeah. Changing gears a bit here. So beer looks back at the classic design of ships and all the different techniques of rigging, but you guys have implemented a very innovative, uh, engine, uh, technology called diner ring. Can you tell us a little more about diner ring and what it is and how it works?

Danielle Southcott (18:04):

Yeah, absolutely. So the, yeah, there’s some interesting, uh, I find myself defining our project a lot, so please forgive me on that. But the diner rig is the sales, so the square sales that you see mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And then for your information, this vessel that we are first designing with fear has two forms, two primary forms of propulsion, which is the diner rig or the sails, and an engine below the water. Most projects that you’ll see today that work with wind are described as, or categorized as wind assist. So you’ll have some form of propulsion that ends with a propeller, however that propeller is turned, could be different ways. Um, but that’s their primary engine. And then you’ll have an assist or auxiliary engine, which are the sail. And that can take any form. We have kites, rigid sails, rotor, like there’s all kinds of different exciting things. Veer is quite different because we’re not wind assist or wind primary. And in terms of a competitive large commercial project, we’re the only ones in that category. And we have a, a hydrogen assist. Uh, so if you were to type in hydrogen assist, there’s like not too many <laugh> in that category. Well, technically they would, but they would be a, uh, diesel hybrid. So we’re a

Enrique Alvarez (19:31):

Wind, right? The wind, the wind’s not the other counterpart of the hybrid.

Danielle Southcott (19:33):

Correct, yes. Um, but so our diner rig technology, which is back to those sales, was actually designed in the late 1950s or or early 1950s by, uh, German inventor. And that was in response to a, uh, oil crisis back then, especially in the seventies. And there were other experimental sale and wind power designs around the sixties and seventies, but when the oil prices fell again mm-hmm. <affirmative>, those kind of got pushed aside and they were never actually brought to fruition. But now we have different, uh, factors being energy, autonomy, right. Energy security, you know, like lots of different things. And we’re reexamining wind. So we’re bringing those, that design from the 1960s back into the future today. Wow. And this design of the diner rig exists on two yachts already. So it’s a proven existing design combined. They have 24 years of sailing time with the diner rig, and that is the sailing yacht, sailing yachts, Maltese Falcon, and Black Pearl. Definitely check them out. If you type in Black Pearl,

Enrique Alvarez (20:38):

It had to be the Black Pearl. Right? It had to, it had to tie full circle with your experience with Pirates of the Caribbean.

Danielle Southcott (20:44):

It did. But I love Maltese Falcon as well. If, if you type in Black Pearl, you’ll see old square sales, and if you type in yacht Black Pearl, you’ll see the new square sales. Okay.

Enrique Alvarez (20:53):

All right. We’ll definitely go and Google. We have so many things to Google after this conversation. I know. <laugh>, it’ll be my whole afternoon after this <laugh>.

Danielle Southcott (20:59):

Yeah. It’s a rabbit hole. You go down it and you keep typing things

Enrique Alvarez (21:03):

<laugh>. We know, we know it, we know it. But it’s a, it’s very interesting to me that all these technologies are not even new. We’ve had them forever, like the electric car mm-hmm. <affirmative>. It’s not a new thing, it’s just the cost parity is to where it needs to be now, so that people are now looking back and saying, oh, now it’s, now it’s, uh, economically possible. It’s attractive idea.

Danielle Southcott (21:22):

Absolutely. And the hydrogen engine was around, I’m not an expert on this, but at least over a hundred years ago.

Kristi Porter (21:28):

Wow.

Danielle Southcott (21:29):

Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And the question is then just like the windmills. So if you picture a wind turbine that we see today that looks very sleek mm-hmm. <affirmative>, kind of like a cool spaceship that is coming from windmills that were all over the world, but really pushed forward by the Dutch in 1500, 1600, 1700. And these windmills that you can picture old ones are like made of wood, and they have sail kind of, and it’s like quite a rickety, crazy old structure. And we brought those wind turbines into the future. And we’re doing kind of a similar thing with sales on ships today.

Kristi Porter (22:05):

Wow. What’s old? It’s new again.

Enrique Alvarez (22:08):

Exciting

Danielle Southcott (22:08):

Renewable. It’s, it’s really harnessing renewable energy. The main thing that I’ve seen is that essentially from the World Wars one and two, primarily World War ii, where combustion engines really took the forefront because they have, you know, that immediate power that you need. And, and there’s, there’s a lot of great things about a combustion engine, and especially during a war where you can, you need that power and you need that sort of thing. Um, we basically took a side step or divested from renewable energy mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and now we’re starting to reexamine renewable energy. And that’s really what the difference is, in my opinion. Really

Kristi Porter (22:45):

Cool. And besides what you’re doing, you’re, um, you’re not only looking to create a, a clean conscience here, but also projects that support it. And of course, even expanding that out to encourage others to do the same. Um, and one example, which I’d love to hear more about is the Estillo Verde, which I should have given Enrique this question. <laugh>. Um, which stands for Green Shipyard in Costa Rica. So tell us a little bit more about that.

Danielle Southcott (23:10):

Yeah, absolutely. So hopefully I say it. Okay. Uh, as Verde, that’s how they say it. Nice.

Enrique Alvarez (23:17):

Accent

Danielle Southcott (23:17):

<laugh>. Um, as Verde is a nonprofit association for, uh, coastal communities in Costa Rica, in Punto Morales, which is one of the financially poorest districts in the whole country. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and it is representative of the shipyard, but also of the communities around there. And so Verde, which is, you can also check out on Instagram and online is, uh, an affiliate 5 0 1 [inaudible] [inaudible]. It’s tax deductible in the us. And, um, they do a really amazing job of fulfilling the corporate social responsibility and the, the environmental responsibility of sale cargo. So Sale Cargo is a for-profit company, and then as Theore Verde satisfies those extra, uh, wants and needs that we have, so they’re tied into each other and fulfill that. And it’s, it’s just really beautiful. They’ve planted now around 9,000 trees, uh, which offset the trees that they’re actually cutting to build that wooden ship. Oh, wow. It, so it’s tied in very, very closely and in the same bio regions and this sort of thing. Yeah. You’ve mentioned Costa Rica a couple of times. How did you end up there? Costa Rica was identified as the country to go to for building the ship for Sail Cargo Inc. So I actually lived there for a number of years. Oh, wow.

Enrique Alvarez (24:33):

Okay. Yeah. Must have been beautiful. I’ve never been, but it sounds amazing.

Danielle Southcott (24:37):

Oh, it’s so beautiful. And it’s such a, it’s a really wonderful country, you know, it’s, uh, very, very peaceful. So Costa Rica abolished the Army in 1949. Wow. And according to the government reallocated, uh, most of their funds to education and, uh, more specifically environmental education. Wow. And so they have a very high literacy rate and a very high to use the same type of term literacy, environmental literacy mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so it’s one of the most forward thinking countries in terms of green policy. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and Co according to different global indexes. Costa Rica is second only to Norway as being the most forward thinking green country in the world. Wow. It’s amazing. They’re, they’re a world leader, but they’re just not on the same level that we think of when we think of world leader of green economy. Right. Uh, but Costa Rica has a lot of policies that are really worth looking at. Very

Enrique Alvarez (25:30):

Cool. Well, and I’m selling in Norway compared to selling in Costa Rica. There’s a little bit about weather difference here.

Danielle Southcott (25:36):

<laugh>, you go to one in the summer, one in the winter. That’s right. <laugh>.

Enrique Alvarez (25:40):

Yeah. I think even the one in the summer for me would be cold. I’ll probably stick to Costa Rica, Costa Rica the whole year around. But no, uh,

Danielle Southcott (25:47):

I was just, I was just in Norway for a couple weeks actually. So Norway seems to be revealing itself, uh, as a strong potential location for Veer to sort of put down roots. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> Veer is registered in The Bahamas and intends to make The Bahamas flag state the largest green shipping registry in the world. Wow. Uh, but we, they don’t have a place to build ships. Mm-hmm. And so there’s other types of infrastructure around that, that we’re looking at. Norway might be the place, so it’s not confirmed, but, uh, it’s, there’s some beautiful sailing in Norway.

Enrique Alvarez (26:21):

<laugh> really, really exciting. And, uh, before, before we jump into the next one, I just wanted to, uh, quick question around like the timeline. When do you think the first ship will be

Danielle Southcott (26:30):

Built? So, ves first design has received approval and principle from the American Bureau of Shipping, and this means that our design, the preliminary design, is complete. And this is super exciting. Uh, it means that we are just about ready to approach shipyards with our bid package. Wow. So,

Enrique Alvarez (26:50):

Congratulations. Yeah. Congratulations.

Danielle Southcott (26:53):

It is, um, major milestone that mm-hmm. <affirmative>. I still, you can see my smile when I start saying it. I get so excited. And yeah. So we intend to approach shipyards with the bid package by the time this podcast is out, actually.

Kristi Porter (27:09):

Wow. Okay. Very

Danielle Southcott (27:10):

Quick. Yeah. I’ve already met in person with representatives of eight shipyards, so we’ve sort of begun those conversations already.

Enrique Alvarez (27:18):

Congratulations.

Danielle Southcott (27:19):

Yes, thank you very much. And the ship itself should not be very difficult to build and should be from the time of laying the keel, including all, all aspects of it around 18 months. Wow. To be in the water.

Enrique Alvarez (27:33):

All right. We’ll definitely be following up with you in a couple more months and ask, the ship is being built. I would love to have like a camera or something, like a couple pictures or something Yeah. That we could stream at some point. Yeah,

Danielle Southcott (27:44):

Yeah. No, we have a lot of ideas of how to share on the journey of the build and, and sort of bring people into that, because that’s another really important aspect of beer is that I’d really like to sort of demystify part of industrial shipping. Industrial shipping is a notoriously hard to abate sector, but it’s also a notoriously opaque sector. Mm-hmm. So we talk about transparency in, in companies and shipping, not always the leader in transparency mm-hmm. <affirmative> as we know. So veer, part of what we wanna do is also a social aspect and accountability aspect, and ensuring that we are transparent and telling the story about that. So yes, the build of our ship will have a carbon footprint. What is it? How are we addressing that? How can we improve that? It doesn’t mean that we will have a zero carbon footprint for the build, but we can address that in a transparent manner and make steps to improving our subsequent builds. So we will be making

Kristi Porter (28:44):

For sure. Well, you, uh, we’ve of course highlighted this pretty much in every question, but you’re doing things differently. Um, you’re taking new steps that people haven’t taken or perhaps they took many years ago, and you’re bringing back in a whole new way. So challenges always come with obstacles, um, as well as opportunities. There’s probably been pushback you may have shown up at these shipyards, and they’re like, I, I, I’ve never seen anything like this. So tell us about some of the, the challenges of trying to bring a wind driven version of a cargo ship to the industry.

Danielle Southcott (29:18):

Yeah. You know, it’s really interesting, um, some of the pushback I’ve received, some of the, the, there’s been a lot of challenges. Sure. So typically we try to make it look kind of easy, very maintaining transparency if people have followed along with my communications, especially with sale cargo, but also with beer, very transparent about the challenges. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> sign up to our newsletter, if you wanna <laugh> read about the challenges <laugh>. Um, but I will say one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced with veer is disbelief. Disbelief from even within the industry, disbelief in me, which is something I’ve never received before as a person. Disbelief in the design, in the claims that we can actually do this emission free across the ocean disbelief in where we’ve selected hydrogen. That doesn’t mean it’s the only answer, disbelief in the fact that hydrogen is an option. Like, I mean, people screaming at me, and I mean, during presentations, if I were to do a presentation, I’ve had the following, the person following, come on and say a presenter who nobody asked their opinion on my, like, it wasn’t their position to say this. Well, we all know that’s not true.

Enrique Alvarez (30:37):

Oh, wow.

Danielle Southcott (30:37):

Calling me a liar in front of the entire crowd. So real disbelief. Wow.

Enrique Alvarez (30:43):

And

Danielle Southcott (30:43):

It’s been kind of shocking. And essentially I just say, well, if you’re, you’re in, if you’ve taken that position, then you’re not really gonna be my entire, it’s clearly

Enrique Alvarez (30:53):

Right. Right. <laugh> clearly not a part of my It’s

Danielle Southcott (30:55):

Sending you the packet. Yeah. <laugh>. Okay. Uh, it’s not, it’s, it’s my job to state the facts, but it’s not my job to convince someone who’s positioned their mind in a way that they’re not gonna listen. Right. So that’s their, their own thing. But it has been kind of shocking. Yeah. Wow. The

Enrique Alvarez (31:12):

Displace Well, you end up convincing a lot of people. You’re already turning a lot of heads, and I think you’re preaching by example is the best way of convincing. Anyways. So you’re, I love the idea, um, interesting that some people out there don’t really believe, and there’s disbelief in such very scientifically proven facts. I mean, maybe can just, first question would be, Hey, do you think the earth is still flat? And then if they say yes, all right, next one, you’re the next one. That, so sort them out quickly, but no, the future is clearly there. And I wanted to mention something, uh, you must be incredibly proud of. You were named by the Royal Institute of Naval Architects as one of the most influential women of the past century. The past century. Congratulations. Congratulations.

Danielle Southcott (31:55):

Thank you.

Enrique Alvarez (31:56):

So what was that about? And then the other one is, what would be your advice for other women right. Who are interested, maybe not necessarily in logistics or shipping or clean energy shipping, but just in general, what would be your advice for women out there, uh, that are listening to this podcast?

Danielle Southcott (32:12):

Yeah. Well, well, thank you for acknowledging that. I was named by the Rural Institute of Naval Architects in that way, it’s a huge honor. And, uh, the whole century, I speaking about disbelief, I’m in disbelief a little bit <laugh>, but I’ll take, I’ll take it with a, you know, a grain of humble humbleness. But what I would say to other women who are listening, and this goes for women especially, I’ll have a special part, but, but to everybody, because as I started this with a lot of people just don’t believe that they can. Um, so very specifically for women who are in the sort of maritime or blue ocean sector, one thing I’m gonna encourage you to do, my latest favorite thing is called the Ocean Opportunity Lab. Check it out. I, it’s just like this amazing network. It’s a map that puts all ocean things out there and has a special section highlighting and acknowledging fe uh, female founders and female leaders in the space go to the Ocean Opportunity Lab.

Danielle Southcott (33:12):

It’s just an awesome, interactive website and map to everybody else. I just wanna say like, obviously there are different privileges. I don’t wanna take those for granted. Uh, there are different things that everybody has to deal with, but just know that if you set your mind to something, there’s a very good chance you can do it. If you think that you can’t do it, and you wake up and you say, I don’t think this is possible, then you’re not making that happen. I would encourage people to write your goals down with a pen and paper or whatever you have, and stick it on the wall and see that and look at it and make that your reality, because you can do, you can do it. And when people realize that, it’s very liberating. Mm-hmm.

Kristi Porter (33:57):

<affirmative> good advice. I may have to pick, pin that up on my wall later. Thank you. Um, and I also just wanted to ask you, you’re a perfect example. You’re on the Logistics with Purpose podcast. You’re a perfect example of logistics with purpose, but what has logistics with purpose? What does that mean to you?

Danielle Southcott (34:14):

I think about a story my friends told me like a million years ago, and I was talking to a bunch of my friends at a bar. It was like, not, not the perfect scene, <laugh>, and they’re truckers. And I said, what’s it like? Like what is it like being a trucker across Canada, you know, it’s days mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And they said, well, it’s pretty cool, you know, you get your own space and you’re trucking. And it’s, they, they, they, they enjoyed it, but he said, but there’s not a lot of purpose and feeling to what I do. And he explained that it’s pretty common for him to be trucking a bunch of candy bars, Snickers or m and ms or whatever across, and he knows in the trucks that his friends drive, they’re driving the same product on the same road, the other direction across Canada. Oh.

Danielle Southcott (35:06):

And he said that that didn’t give him a strong sense of purpose mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and I’ve never forgotten that story. And I imagine how many other places, of course, with shipping trucks, everything, how many other places there are without this purpose. Yeah. And, and the efficiencies that could be made and the energy that could be saved, and the purpose that that person, that truck driver or that captain or whomever it is, that they could have a much more purposeful feeling to what they’re doing and meaningful feeling. And they don’t wanna be driving, driving Snickers bars back and forth and radioing each other and finding out that the other person is driving the exact same thing the other way. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So for me, logistics with purpose is making sure that the people are involved. It, the people involved also feel that purpose.

Enrique Alvarez (35:51):

Thank you. That was great. Yeah. Thank you so much. It’s been an amazing conversation. Um, Danielle, how can people connect with you? How can people learn a little bit more about beer and all the different projects that you’re, you have, and of course we’re gonna put all those links, uh, with the episode, but, uh, but what’s the best way of contacting you?

Danielle Southcott (36:10):

Definitely check out our website and all our social media via V e e r Voyage. So our website is veer voyage and on our social media checkout at veer voyage, uh, Instagram and LinkedIn are our biggest platforms. So you’ll find all our contact information there, and please check it out and follow along because we’re gonna be transparent and telling a fun story as we go.

Kristi Porter (36:35):

Yes. Well, and it sounds like there’s, um, a lot of photos and things we need to go check out anyway, so <laugh>. Yeah. Um, we will certainly do that. But thank you so much. This is incredible. Thank you for sharing your background. Thank you also for just leading the way in sustainability and clean shipping and, um, of course as a, a female founder as well. So thank you for all you’re doing, and we can’t wait to see how this progresses over the next few months and then pass that when the first ship is built. So we appreciate your time and thank you everyone who joined us for another episode, and we’ll see you again in a couple

Danielle Southcott (37:08):

Weeks. Thank you.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Featured Guests

Danielle Southcott, Having dedicated her life to the sea, Danielle was named by the Royal Institute of Naval Architects as one of the most influential women of the past century. Her mission is to be the clean shipping generation leader. Danielle accepted a gold medal from the governments of Canada and Costa Rica on behalf of SAILCARGO INC., a company she founded. From the Great Lakes of Canada, Danielle began sailing at age 13. A graduate of the ‘’Enkhuizer’’ Sea Academy, she learned Dutch to graduate. She holds a 200T masters ticket which empowered her to captain the flagship of Barbados, schooner Ruth. Danielle wrote and implemented the successful launch of Ruth, which was the largest ship built in the history of the country. She is co-founder of a Costa Rican non-profit that plants thousands of trees and creates jobs in a vulnerable coastal community. Each year Danielle’s company sponsors a young lady to sail on the St. Lawrence II – a ‘’thank you’’ to the ship that first inspired her. Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn.

Hosts

Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Enrique Alvarez

Host, Logistics with Purpose

You May Also Like

Click to view other episodes in this program

Additional Links & Resources

Learn more about Logistics with Purpose

Learn more about Vector Global Logistics

Subscribe to Logistics with Purpose

Check Out Our Sponsors

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 :

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.

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, The Freight Insider

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 :

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.

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 :

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 :

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, 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.

Connect on :

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.

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 :

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 :

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 :

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 :

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 :

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 :

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 :

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 :

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 :

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.

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 :

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 :

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.

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 :