Supply Chain Now
Episode 347

Episode Summary

“We do energy treasure hunts in our own facilities for our operations. It’s a great method. I’ve personally done 100 of them globally and some at our suppliers. We also did one for a customer, which was a lot of fun. We find them to be great opportunities for energy savings, water reduction, and carbon savings.”

– Al Hildreth, Global Energy Manager for General Motors

 

For many companies, the supply chain represents a significant portion of their carbon footprint. This means that in addition to investing in renewable energy sources and carefully managing the materials and process used in their operations, they have to collaborate with suppliers and customers to have the maximum impact on the environment.

Al Hildreth is the Global Energy Manager for General Motors and Lecedra Welch is the Program Manager of Environmental Sustainability at AIAG. They joined Supply Chain Now Co-hosts Greg White and Scott Luton to talk about:

  • Going beyond opportunity identification to reach action planning, the step in the process where potential benefits become tangible results
  • The sheer number of resources, frameworks, and support systems that are available for companies and industries that are looking to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on the environment
  • Why efforts to improve sustainability also have to be economically sound if they are to continue making a difference long into the future

Episode Transcript

Amanda Luton (00:05):

 

It’s time for supply chain. Now broadcasting live from the supply chain capital of the country, Atlanta, Georgia, heard around the world. Supply chain now spotlights the best in all things, supply chain, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and the critical issues of the day. And now here are your hosts.

Scott Luton (00:29):

Hey, good morning Scott Luton here with you own supply chain. Now welcome to today’s show. On today’s episode we’re speaking with a couple of business leaders, really about sustainability and climate change. Some some big issues that industry is grappling with. The interview is part of our continuing collaboration with the automotive industry action group. You can learn more@aiag.org in fact, both of our guests here today are keynotes at the AIAG corporate responsibility summit. So stay tuned as we look to increase your supply chain act. Cute. A quick programming note before we get started here, if you enjoyed the live stream, we invite you to check out our podcast wherever you get your podcasts from. I want to welcome in my fearless cohost for today’s session, mr Greg white, cereal supply chain, tech entrepreneur and trusted advisor. Greg, good morning

Greg White (01:17):

and apparently supply chain adjutant today. So already having a Twitter battle on LinkedIn. Hey, great to have. We’ve had some great discussions so far and it’s just great to have Al and the you’re here with us. Uh, I’m really looking forward to this topic. We are,

Scott Luton (01:35):

we are too. And as we all know, passionate discussion and debate moves the industry forward. So I’m glad you’re doing, you’re doing a the industry of service this morning already, Greg. All right, want to welcome in our featured guests, as Greg alluded to, first up, uh, Al Hildreth, global energy manager at general motors, general motors. Al, good morning. Good morning, great to have you really have enjoyed our prep conversations and getting to know you and your thought leadership better. So can’t wait for you to share that with our audience. And also let’s see. Deidre Welch, program manager, environmental sustainability for the automotive industry action group. Again, AIG. Lissandra pleasure to get to know you as well. How are you doing?

Lecedra Welch (02:16):

No, I’m great. Thank you. Good morning.

Scott Luton (02:20):

You’re like one of the AIAG secret weapons. And we have seen that in our prep conversation. So looking forward to you as well, sharing some of your expertise and experiences on today’s broadcast. Thank you. You bet. All right, so Greg, we’re going to dive in pretty quick here. Uh, we want to start with getting, uh, you know, given our audience the same opportunity that we’ve had, which is getting know Al and Lissandra a little bit better. So let’s see. Deidre, let’s start with you. Tell us a little bit about yourself, you know, where you’re from, and give us a little snapshot of your professional journey.

Lecedra Welch (02:53):

Okay, well, again, good morning everyone. I’m happy to be here. Uh, let’s see. The wild program manager, uh, Vimal

Lecedra Welch (03:00):

sustainability. I’ve been with the organization a little over six years now, um, prior to working at AIG and I’ve been in waste management for almost 15 years. So, um, but again, I’m happy to include this podcast in our AIG first ever virtual summit, which is next week, April 28th and 29th. Um, this time, it started back in 2011 as a way to bring awareness to social and environmental issues that were becoming increasingly important in the supply chain. So, um, that’s really,

Al Hildreth (03:36):

really appreciate the work you are doing to give a forum and give a spotlight to these issues that, that we need to be tackling as business leaders and organizations. So love that component to the AIG mission. Uh, alright, so Al, same question for you. Tell us about yourself, where you’re from and, and give us, you know, 40 years at GM is tough to put into minutes, but tell us about your professional journey. So I have to do this quickly. So I’ve also been married for over 40 years too. So those kind of have gone together. Yep. Same wife. Do I have to have to clarify that? And we have three kids, five grandchildren. Uh, I’ve, I’ve worked for GM over 40 years and in a number of different locations, uh, worked in SpringHill Tennessee, Detroit, uh, uh, Korea, Seoul, South Korea, and Germany. And so I had a lot of fun and in each of those, because I really am passionate about sustainability, I’m currently the global energy manager for general motors and, uh, been working with AAG for about 10 years since I moved back from Korea. And, uh, they’re a great organization that helps, helps us collaborate with our supply chain, which, uh, you know, as I describe, uh, our missions, uh, feel a good portion of it is in our supply chain. So I’m really enjoyed working with those folks and it gives us the opportunity as OEMs to collaborate on something that’s not really competitive, you know, sustainability and, and a clean environment is something that we’re all, uh, endeavor for. And so I’m just, just glad to be here today and share some, uh, some things about, uh, general motors.

Lecedra Welch (05:16):

Yeah. And you know, we value Al very much on the volunteers that we have, but we definitely value out. He’s been very active and he’s been a great asset to AIG, so we definitely appreciate him very much.

Al Hildreth (05:29):

Great point. So before Greg chimes in here and, and, and, and really starts picking your brain on some big topics. I gotta ask the painting behind you. Is that a, is that a first run addition? Tell us more. Yeah, so it’s much, much larger than the, than the real Mona Lisa. We, uh, my wife and I used to travel to Paris. It was only four hours from where we lived in Frankfurt and went to the loop quite a bit and really kind of, you know, was just enthralled with the painting. And then we moved to Korea, found it in a, in a, uh, underground store, which, you know, most of the shopping in Korea is underground and bought it and brought it home with us. So it’s been around and I really appreciate it. Her eyes really do follow you too when you’re in the loop and then walking around, look at those first thing I tested, you know, as an engineer on that one. It does actually. Yes. Which, you know, keep people out of your office, but it doesn’t keep the grandkids out. They love it here. Good.

Lecedra Welch (06:27):

Well let’s shift gears a little bit and, and dive into this topic. So we’re here to talk about climate change, big topic for a short interview. Um, but you know, a lot of organizations are concerned about it. Obviously the whole world is concerned about it. And I feel like with what you all have done at GM and you particularly out, you can offer a lot of knowledge to not only the attendees here at, at the, uh, corporate responsibility summit, but to companies all over and we’d like to share that with them. So tell us a little bit about how you guys are taking action there.

Al Hildreth (07:04):

Sure. So I feel very fortunate to work for a company that has a vision of zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. Uh, we believe climate change is real and we have methods in place, we have goals, targets, uh, we interface with our supply chain. Um, and really the, the big emission for us, uh, as you’ll see in, in the, in the next slide is our vehicles. So when people drive our vehicles, that’s, that’s our largest, uh, emission of carbon. And, but secondly, our supply chain is number two. Uh, however we feel that with, uh, electrification of our vehicles, which is, you know, one of our, one of our company goals, uh, is to, uh, be all electric vehicles in the future. That, uh, really our supply chain will probably be our majority of emissions. So you see kind of our operations, which we have a lot of, uh, of, uh, activities and goals and our operations reductions.

Al Hildreth (08:03):

Uh, we do energy, treasure hunts. Uh, we have, uh, we have it integrated into our business plans, sustainability, energy, carbon, water reduction, and, but it’s only 2% of our, um, of our carbon footprint. Logistics is huge. There’s create savings out there and, and, uh, logistics operations and, and, uh, you know, efficiency in those areas. But if you, if you look at, uh, our use of vehicles, which is our largest one right now, as that reduces with renewable energy, uh, we have an [inaudible] commitment for our company operations and we’re working with, uh, you know, utility companies and we want to expand that, uh, quicker throughout the rest of the world. Then our supply chain will really be our next biggest carbon footprint. And so engaging with them through organizations like AIG, uh, CDP is another one, um, that we engage our, our supply chain in. Um, and so we’ve kind of figured out the impacts based on a part, you know, we’ve done life cycle analysis of carbon emissions, water emissions, land use, and so we kind of know where the major parts are and we also know that it really is kind of a minor piece in our first tier.

Al Hildreth (09:17):

Well that’s the ones we have a relationship with. We have a contract with a, but it’s only about 15% of our total carbon emissions. So we really have to kind of engage our tier one suppliers, make them understand that, you know, we’re, we’re interested in, in decarbonizing our industry and figure out ways to do that. And it may be things like renewable energy is going to be a huge, um, um, reduction for us. As you see, the two biggest industries are electric generation of primary steel. There’s the ones that are major contributors. And so that as well as sustainable materials, um, you know, like recycled steel versus primary steel and in areas where it’s applicable, uh, and other types of substitutions as well as, uh, lightweighting, uh, lightweighting our vehicle, provides us with, uh, you know, less materials, which is good, uh, as well as increased, um, uh, miles per gallon. Now, real quick. Sure. For folks that may not know what light-weighting is, give us a couple of examples there. Sure. So it can be, uh, you know, using, uh, high strength carbon steel, uh, which takes weight out of the, uh, out of the vehicle. Uh, structural pieces. Uh, we have, our supply chain has been very active, uh, with us and that a specialist like the, the new CA Corvette, uh, we use lightweighting techniques, uh, and so less material and better, uh, fuel efficiency is really what, uh, you know, helps us in those areas.

Lecedra Welch (10:47):

So, you know, we talked with, uh, Bruno Sarda at CDP who you mentioned, um, and they’re, you know, a great clearing house and facilitator of, of efficiency and just recognition of what your issues are. And we also talked to a lot of people on our shows about, you said tier one, but you know, um, every level of the supply chain and just making them aware of their impact on, um, you know, on, on the environment. And I know you have an active, uh, you have an active effort there, but you’ve also mentioned, um, treasure hunts, right? So is that, is that a vehicle by which you help companies recognize where their opportunities are? Can you tell us a little bit about these treasure hunts?

Al Hildreth (11:36):

Yeah, so, so we do a energy treasure hunts in our own facilities for our operations. It’s, it’s a great method. Uh, energy star is a standardized process that you can get, you know, free information for, uh, become energy star partner for it’s free. Uh, the department of energy also has resources, can help you with energy. Treasure. I’ve done personally a hundred of them globally and summit at other suppliers. We have people on our team that, uh, go to other suppliers and we invite suppliers to our treasure rounds so that they can learn the process. Uh, we also did one for a customer, which was a lot of fun too. Uh, and, uh, so we find them to be great opportunities for energy savings, water reduction and, and carbon savings.

Lecedra Welch (12:22):

And energy star has a standard practice there.

Al Hildreth (12:25):

Yeah, it’s a free, a standardized process. Uh, you know, it’s typically a two and a half day, sometimes large sites. We may take four days, uh, if we, if we do a powertrain facility as well as an assembly plant and, and, uh, but, but we have a lot of fun with it. Uh, you know, we find typically we can go into a facility and find a million dollars a year savings, which is really rewarding and save energy. So when you identify these opportunities, uh, so I’ve been a part of rattlesnake hunts from a lean standpoint where you identify, uh, instant improvement opportunities and then you prioritize and then you, you, you, you get out there and make it happen. Right. And you, you manage those, those micro projects. Talk to us about when you do these energy hunts, the followup and making sure that the savings and the gains are captured, what does that look like?

Al Hildreth (13:18):

Yeah. So the action plans that we create are really the important things. Cause you know, just finding the opportunities doesn’t do me any good, but you really have to implement. Um, so we use, uh, we use energy performance contracting as a mechanism where we can, you know, have a contractor come in, provide us with the energy savings and then we share the savings with them over time. That’s one option. We also use our own money and we have team dedicated teams at each site that are really focused on energy, water and carbon savings. So as each site’s got a target that they have to meet, they know they have to come up with a sufficiency plan to meet that target. And what we find from energy treasure hunts is, is really one thing that’s helpful in, in them meeting their targets. Hmm. Love that. I love how practical that is, Greg. Yeah,

Lecedra Welch (14:06):

yeah. And structured. Honestly, I didn’t know that energy star had developed a framework for that. I think that’s really important. We’ll put that in the show notes so that other companies can access that in case they’re not aware. I would imagine procedure that they’re probably pretty well aware of this, but it can never hurt that more information. Right. Absolutely.

Al Hildreth (14:26):

And so one of the things that’s kind of, you’d think now, well if we can’t do energy treasure hunts, but we can do virtual ones. Uh, we have systems, we have a system called energy OnStar, which looks at the energy use. It looks at our HPAC systems, which are major contributors to energy use in a facility. And we can look at that virtually and find out, you know, we have energy dashboards that tell us where some opportunities are and we can pinpoint and when we are able to get back into our facilities, which we’re hoping will be shortly, we’ll be able then to implement and, and get those savings.

Scott Luton (15:01):

Love that, you know, um, as we have seen in, uh, with robotics automation firms by the way, uh, of our Ford Ford example where they’ll go and do an assessments and they’re not letting this current environment stop that they’re doing virtual assessments. So I love to hear how, you know, the need is still there. You know, even though we’re in this pandemic environment and it’s, it’s challenging for so many people, some of the operations and uh, and companies still finding a way to get, you know, GSD, get stuff done that these are stories that we love to hear about here. Right, Greg?

Lecedra Welch (15:34):

Yeah, no doubt. No doubt. We’ll see. Cedar is doing a little bit of a, of an audit in her office right now. Pretty much alone, her and the it person making it happen. So I can get an interesting assessment of how energy is consumed even where you don’t have robotics or mechanics and that sort of thing. Operating in a facility, just the presence of human beings and their activities, um, changes the, the energy consumption, um, structure as well, right?

Al Hildreth (16:09):

Yep. Just, just having the visibility into how much energy you’re using, not being able to go there and look at meters in an online system. We use that. We send out a daily report to all our plant managers and say, here’s how you performed today compared to the targets and we’re getting really, really high percentage reductions in energy because of that.

Scott Luton (16:31):

Yeah. So, so before we went live here on today’s episode, we are talking about supplier development and I imagine, uh, my hunch is that GM was really a trailblazer and supplier development as was the industry. Uh, you’ve already, you’ve already laid out a few examples where it seems like you’re not only looking within the four walls, but looking upstream and downstream for overall end to end efficiencies. Speak more to the importance of supplier development programs right now in the era of global supply chain.

Al Hildreth (17:02):

Yeah. So, um, you know, AAG [inaudible] assisted us with this as well as other organizations and you know, having a, you know, suppliers that are up to speed with what our goals are, what our vision is and supporting us in those areas is really important. You know, obviously in the quality side, so logistics and delivery costs, but now sustainability and you know, sustainability includes, you know, make it a profit, which is really good. So we are really looking forward to expanding this in our supply chain. Um, I was just at a webinar earlier with CDP and about a hundred of our suppliers, uh, talking to them about, uh, ways that we can work with them to, uh, you know, improve sustainability and it really requires a collaborative

Scott Luton (17:50):

effort with them. You touched on something that’s really important and that’s that whatever effort we undertake to try and confront climate change or save the environment, anything, it has to be economically feasible. We know that GM wants to do the right thing. We also know that in order for GM to continue to do the right thing, you have to make money, right? So we have to have an equal, equal effort on making these conservation efforts as economical and cost effective as possible. Right, right. Great point. Great point, Greg. And that, and that’s really, I’m not sure what y’all have been seeing, but it seems like in the last couple of years in particular, that point has really dawned on a lot of folks of how we can really get sustainable action in these critical areas where it, it positively impacts all shareholders. So I’m good, Greg, I appreciate you bringing that up.

Scott Luton (18:46):

Um, so I’m going to pivot over to the Seadrill and, and I love how y’all just in this interview, clearly I’ve got a close collaboration, a great relationship, uh, symbiotic. And, and what I love that AIG is doing is, is serving as an outstanding platform to get best practices from one of the global automotive, the global automotive manufacturing leader. And that is so important right now, especially in this environment where we’re business leaders are, are really looking hard for how to, how to break through, you know, this, this certain environment where we’re navigating through. So with that said, so don’t go anywhere out without, with that said, I want to bring, uh, let’s see, Deidre back into the conversation and seizure. I’d love for you, you know, w we’re, we’re big fans, supply chain now this is our second event. We’ve collaborated with AIG own, uh, we love the, the practical can do, we’re going to figure it out and we’re going to share a lot of information with the industry that that’s so baked into the AIAG DNA. But for those that, for the three or four folks out there that may not have heard of AIG, speak more to the value proposition of getting involved in some of the resources that the organization offers.

Lecedra Welch (19:58):

Okay. So AIG, we are a nonprofit organization where OEMs, suppliers, service providers, and academia. We work collaboratively to create solutions that drive down costs and complexity for the automotive supply chain. Um, and we develop solutions, um, that benefit the supply chain and it, uh, helps deal with their impacts. We do it by three different ways. We either have events like we’re doing now, which is, uh, this is in prepares for our virtual event, which is next week. Uh, we have trainings that we do and we also have publications. Um, we also have numerous work groups, three areas of expertise. We’ve got a corporate responsibility and we have supply chain, which I know you have done some podcasts with Jim. Uh, who was our supply chain project manager. Program manager. Yup. Yup. He, he’s awesome person to work with as well as, um, our quality area, which we have two program managers, uh, which is, uh, Brian Martinson and Karen crutch.

Lecedra Welch (21:07):

So we have many, many work groups, um, that, uh, the suppliers and the OEMs can lend their voices to some of the emerging issues that are out there. So in our environment sustainability area, we have our overall sustainability work group. We have our greenhouse gas work group, which our chairs, uh, we have our benchmarking, uh, work group. And then we also have a new ad hot work group on waste management. So this is where we tackle the emerging issues that, uh, that are surrounding these areas. And we work to develop those solutions that benefits all levels of the supply chain. So we definitely implore, um, and we encourage participation, you know, the, you know, in order to, to, um, tackle these issues out here. We need your, we need your help. We need your voice.

Scott Luton (21:58):

Well, you know, let’s see, drew, we are, um, again, we’re, we’re very partisan here. We’re big fans of AIG. We’ve seen the, we’ve seen what y’all do. We’ve seen the impact and we’re sharing aig.org, the website Homesite there, but you know, one big move that can’t be over overlooked. And, and, uh, Greg, you know, we’ve seen folks get really opportunistic during these times, right? And then we’ve seen other folks take the other move and say, you know what, there’s a lot of people in business leaders struggling. They’re looking for good information and insights, whether it’s related to COBIT 19 or if it’s related to what I’ll call normal times, if that exists. Still these days, Greg, speak to the, I mean when, when AIG took this summit, uh, and made it an open to the public free event, how big of a move was that?

Lecedra Welch (22:47):

Well, it was big in a lot of ways. First of all, this was originally and all of the attendees who had already signed up recognize that this was a physical event at one time. Right. And, um, and I think the team at AIG acted rapidly to recognize the seriousness of the situation with our seismic societal disruption and global pandemic and switched quickly to a virtual, um, event, which, um, let’s see, Dre, you all had already been planning for, for future events. Maybe next year. I don’t know exactly where

Lecedra Welch (23:25):

we were trying to find a way to take our trainings and our events spiritual. So, but the pandemic, it kind of allowed us to work faster to achieve that.

Lecedra Welch (23:33):

Hmm. Forcing you to work faster. Right. Really, it’s really, it really is impressive what you all did to one, recognize that this needed to, this needed to happen badly enough that, um, that we needed to take it virtual in order to make sure that it occurred and to, um, to, you know, to make it open to literally everyone I know not everyone will attend, but everyone who, who, who has any interest in, in the automotive trade can participate in this thing. I just think that’s a big leadership move.

Scott Luton (24:09):

So, Hey, Al, I’m gonna bring you back to the conversation. Uh, sure. One of the common themes in this conversation here today is that clearly is emerging, is um, getting outside the four walls, whether it is within GM and its supply chain and, and how you’re developing, uh, all, all nodes of that global supply chain and you have for 40 years or if it’s AIG and how they’re helping to facilitate different sec, uh, uh, different levels of professionals, different, different aspects of, of supply chain and quality and corporate responsibility. They’re helping serve as a vehicle for those, those conversations and that dialogue that has to take place for the, for the industry, global industry to get better. Al, speak to just how important in 2020 it is to get outside of these four walls and have these types of discussions. Yeah, so that’s a great point.

Scott Luton (24:58):

And you know, so many of our suppliers are common between auto OEMs and you know, although we can’t work together on competitive issues, uh, we can work through organizations like AIG, uh, energy star, department of energy, um, they can bring industries together to find, you know, to identify best practices and sustainability to include supply chain in that which all of those organizations have, you know, reach out to, to the supply chain and service providers to, so there’s people that, uh, you know, they’re not our suppliers, but they can provide services and we can include them and AAG. That’s kind of their third, third wing is service providers, which can help us in energy efficiency and collaboration as well. Yup. Great point. And let’s see, drew, if you could speak to the same, same, uh, subject here today and you know, the need to get out and, and connect with folks and not stay. So you got to take the blinders off. Right. Let’s see. June.

Lecedra Welch (25:56):

Yeah. You really, you really do. I agree with what Al said. You have to yep.

Scott Luton (26:04):

And you, so you, you have industry, like you said on the front end, uh, you were involved industry I think waste management, that sector prior to joining AIG, right? Yes. And it seems like we’re seeing, uh, especially in the waste. I was reading the other day about the impact that the current pandemic environment is having on the waste management industry and it seems like there’s a lot of maybe newfound levels of practice of best practice and information sharing in that sector as well. It seems, I don’t know if you, if you’re still, you know, got your finger on the pulse of that industry.

Lecedra Welch (26:37):

Uh, not as much as I would like to. Um, hopefully with this new waste work group that we’re trying to start

Lecedra Welch (26:44):

here, AIG, I can kind of get back in the fold and you know, be back in the no house things that are happening in the waste management world.

Al Hildreth (26:52):

Outstanding. Yeah. Um, all right. So one final question as we start to wind down here. Uh, Greg, what do we want to make sure we connect? Speaking to connecting, we want to make sure we get our audience connected with are with Alan. Let’s see drew, right?

Lecedra Welch (27:04):

Yeah, well AIG is such an important organization and um, and I think critical to the automotive industry and the key part of AIG is action, right? I mean that’s one thing that we have clearly seen in this association is lots of action. So we want to make sure that folks can get in touch with you. And so let’s see here. Let’s start with you. I’m, I flip the script a little bit. Let’s start with you and tell folks how they can get in touch with you and how they can participate in contact. Uh, AIG.

Lecedra Welch (27:42):

Um, you had the website up not too long ago, but from our information or corporate responsibility, you can just go to aig.org and click on corporate responsibility. You know, there you’re going to find lots of information, not just on the environmental areas that I manage, but also the social areas that Tonya Bolden, who was the director of corporate responsibility, manage managers as well as um, you know, other areas of AIG, which day two we’ll focus on the social aspects. So please tune in and continue for um, AIG on day two, which will focus on the social areas where they want to obviously focus on environmental. Um, on our website you also find resources to assist you on mitigating your cyber security risks, which is also a big, a huge project for IAG, um, which is an increasing concern for everyone. Um, we’re also looking to do a virtual event for a cybersecurity, uh, coming in the next couple months. Um, your listeners may also be interested to know that the companies may meet this may meet a criteria for free AIAG memberships. So, um, so please visit our website and if you want to contact me, you can contact me@crsaiag.org for more information on any of the initiatives we talked about today.

Lecedra Welch (29:02):

Thanks. We’ll see if you’re alright out other than your obvious security station at the live

Al Hildreth (29:08):

right, right. How can folks contact you? So feel free to pass out my email address, Alfred dot J dot. hildreth@gm.com and uh, we’re always, uh, welcoming talking to folks and we find great business processes that are out there. Um, from our suppliers standpoint, again, we’re, we’re engaging with you through CDP, through AAG, uh, suppliers, partnership for the environment and others and always looking for, for, for new processes and environmental.

Scott Luton (29:43):

And one thing I might say about this current time that we’re in that, uh, you know, this I think is really pointed to a glimpse into the future of what, you know, sustainability could really provide us, you know, there’s people that are swimming in the clubhouse of Venice and I’ve been there and I wouldn’t have swam in them, but they’re very clean right now. You know, people are seeing the Himalayan mountains, so they’re kind of getting a glimpse of oil. If we could decarbonize in the future, this is what the world would look like, and I think that’s really going to help sustainability in the future. Great point. Great point. There’s so much more we can’t get to given the time. We’ll have to have y’all back on and uh, really own that note. Uh, let’s see. Jurors we talked about, we look forward to facilitating a live stream post event and we’ll get some AIAG team members sharing some of the key takeaways from a gathering of some of the, the most established thought leaders in the corporate, uh, responsibility, uh, world.

Scott Luton (30:38):

Um, one of the point you mentioned Tonya Bolden, uh, talk about folks that get stuff done. I think she’s leading off the keynote by the time folks see this, she will have, I think, opened the, uh, the summit coming up and she has been an incredible leader through these, these new events and new vehicles and new, new ways of serving industry, right? Yes, yes, yes. All right, wonderful. Well. Thank you Al and Lissandra before we wrap up, Greg, you know, I got to get one key takeaway from you before we wrap things up here today.

Lecedra Welch (31:11):

You know, this hits my hot button. Anything that we’re talking about sustainability or ethicality or anything in supply chain is really important. I really appreciate what Al is doing. Obviously what Lissandra you and your team at AIG are doing. Um, and I know there’s a lot of work ahead of us, but I feel like you all, um, have a great process. You’ve got great support mechanisms with CDP, um, and some of the other organizations out there and um, you know, I can’t say anything but thank you for what you’re doing for recognizing this and continuing to, you know, to reach out to try and um, really change things. There are a few companies on the planet that can have as much reach and as much impact on this matter as GM.

Scott Luton (31:57):

Great point, Greg. That’s a great point to wrap up on. So big thanks to our guest here today. Al Hildreth, a global energy manager with general motors, a 40 year career of making an impact out. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. Absolutely. We’ll do it again. Let’s see, drew welts, program manager for environmental sustainability at AIG, checkout aig.org to find ways of getting engaged and helping make a big impact. So thanks so much. Let’s see, DRA.

Lecedra Welch (32:25):

Yeah, thank you so much

Scott Luton (32:27):

to our audience. Uh, be sure to check out a wide variety of industry thought leaders that we have at supply chain now, radio.com, uh, fondness and subscribe in terms of our podcast, wherever you get yours from on of the entire team here, Scott Luton, wishing you a wonderful, successful week ahead. Stay safe. Uh, but know this, there are much brighter days ahead and we’ll see you next time here on supply chain now. Thanks everybody.

Featured Guests

Al Hildreth is the Global Energy Manager for General Motors, overseeing the company’s energy management practices, including carbon, energy and water conservation. Hildreth also manages the teams responsible for energy use at all of GM’s facilities around the world.

Lecedra Welch, Program Manager of Environmental Sustainability, joined AIAG in March 2014. She is responsible for managing collaborative volunteer projects, addressing critical issues throughout the automotive supply chain, and creating an environment where stakeholders can work together to develop recommendations, guidelines and best practices for the good of the industry. Prior to joining AIAG, she worked for Veolia Environmental Services, as Waste Manager for two Ford manufacturing facilities. Her responsibilities included project and program management and waste minimization. She has over 15 years of experience in Environmental Management. She has received a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Michigan State University in Chemical Engineering.

Hosts

Greg White

Principal & Host

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

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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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