Digital Transformers
Episode 60

When it comes to things like security and cybersecurity, I think we should talk about them in a different way. I think we need to be talking about the cost of insecurity, not the other way around.

-Sally Eaves, CEO, Tomorrow's Tech Today

Episode Summary

RSA is an annual conference that brings together thousands of cybersecurity professionals to discuss new areas of expertise, groundbreaking innovations, and best practices. This year’s theme was “Stronger Together,” and celebrated the benefit of bringing everyone together in one place and also a ‘strength in numbers’ response to today’s many cybersecurity challenges.

Sally Eaves is an award-winning international keynote speaker, author, and influencer with globally leading rankings across all advanced technology disciplines, digital transformation, future of work, and social innovation. She is also the CEO of Tomorrow’s Tech Today and a member of the Forbes Technology Council. Listen in as she shares her perspectives on the 2023 RSA Conference in San Francisco with host Kevin L. Jackson.

Episode Transcript

Intro/Outro (00:01):

Welcome to Digital Transformers, the show that connects you with what you need to build, manage, and operate your digital supply chain. Join your host in a timely discussion on new and future business models with industry leading executives. The show will reveal global customer expectations, real world deployment challenges, and the value of advanced business technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotic process engineering. And now we bring you Digital Transformers.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:33):

Hello. This is Kevin L. Jackson and welcome to Digital Transformers on Supply Chain Now. Today, I have the incredible pleasure of teaming up once again with the illustrious Sally Eaves to discuss our perspectives on the RSA Conference in in 2023 in San Francisco. Welcome, Sally.

Sally Eaves (00:55):

Oh, thank you, Kevin. Always a pleasure. Absolutely. And what an amazing event in person that was, wasn’t it? I think like the 32nd in a row. But from our experience, I think from everybody I’m hearing has been at that event, I think was kind of a whole new level in terms of just the innovation, bringing together different people, but also the collaboration that we saw. Kind of the good guys coming together for cybersecurity, you know? So, yes, an amazing, amazing couple of weeks that we’ve had at the event and beyond, because again these are trends set to last.

Kevin L. Jackson (01:23):

Yes, I think I’m going to pat ourselves on the back for the three a day. Did you really enjoy that?

Sally Eaves (1:30):

Amazing.

Kevin L. Jackson (1:31):

We both are streaming and actually livestreamed multiple events every day, from the hotel to the booth to the evening recollections at the bar. That was great. We pointed out each day’s learnings. The conference highlights and crucial, crucial proof points, supporting while we believe AT&T is delivering a new networking standard to their customers. Wasn’t that fun?

Sally Eaves (01:58):

Oh, it was. Honestly. And those examples you gave of how we did that, the three a day, I love that. It’s going to stick forever, I think. But we took the audience with us, didn’t we? And that’s what I loved about that.

Kevin L. Jackson (2:07):

Mm-hmm.

Sally Eaves (2:08):

It was kind of starting our day, bringing the audience in, as you said, at the hotel sessions. Kind of our highlights being at the booth, and then our recollection down at the hotel afterwards. And that’s what people do, isn’t it?

Kevin L. Jackson (2:18):

Yes.

Sally Eaves (2:18):

It really is a genuine reflection of an event. But doing that live and be able to share that live and, kind of, bring everybody with us was I thought was an amazing thing. And also, again, you know, the theme of RSA this year, Stronger Together, I think it really reflected that as well. You know, what we were doing together in collaborating, but also the cybersecurity community as a whole as well. It really felt quite a special moment of coming together. So, yes, loved it’s a short answer.

Kevin L. Jackson (02:39):

I think it was actually a very broad together. I mean, in the evenings I would get comments and e-mails about, you know, what they saw. And the audience was there with us.

Sally Eaves (2:53):

Exactly.

Kevin L. Jackson (2:54):

It was it really amazing.

Sally Eaves (02:55):

Definitely. Definitely.

Kevin L. Jackson (02:56):

And that first day — yes, yes. And — so, each day was different. We sort of had a theme for each day. And like, the first day we were talking about security in the network and how the cyber threats were really growing. How organizations had to really limit their vulnerabilities. And they all start with the network.

Sally Eaves (03:22):

Absolutely. It’s so, so true. And you’re right, I think across the three days, key points to look at. And I think maybe my first one is around the expertise, you know, is business, you know, I think we saw that. Particularly on day one, I think that really supported all we were learning about. I mean, so many interactions up close, you know, at the booth but obviously in other areas as well.

Sally Eaves (3:41):

And I think it really reflected as well how AT&T has supported the community. You know, business continuity and planning would be a great example of that. And we’ve got to learn and see, didn’t we, firsthand how AT&T supported the kind of the navigation of that experience, and particularly the rapid changes that produce really in the business environment. So, really interesting there.

Sally Eaves (04:00):

A couple of things that caught my eye was, for example, IoT consulting specialists, that expertise and how that really embedded solution development right through, you know, from solution development and the roadmap that produced right through to implementation. So, it’s massively important, kind of that move from proof of concept right through to mass deployment. And we saw, again, technology expertise, business all coming together to deliver that. And we also saw other areas too, didn’t we, in terms of customer collaboration, market sensing, but also bringing out expertise externally such as analyst relationships too.

Sally Eaves (4:33):

So, all of that coming together was definitely some of my kind of highlights from day one and, kind of, the result of that. It’s that software defined cloud connections that we got to really drill into. I mean, how that works kind of friction free, I would say, with AT&T network services. And it gives those two things, security and reliability hand in hand. And of course, as well, we got to see how voice and reliable collaboration solutions using cloud was really making a massive difference. And again, that integration piece into the AT&T network made that all happen. So, kind of embedded by design springs to mind for me.

Kevin L. Jackson (05:06):

Well, wonder thing customer services is that AT&T really stepped up over the pandemic. In fact, the automation they put into the network resulted in like 97% of all of the managed service requests being resolved in the first interaction. And they had these real, this newly launched express tickets. They were actually able to handle over 30,000 tickets per month. And the focus on customer experience is really outstanding. They have — you can order a dedicated internet or a VPN or the IP Flex in as little as 30 minutes.

Kevin L. Jackson (5:51):

And they’re consultants, you’ve talked a bit about that. They had real expertise from architecting and designing and integration deployment, optimization of the network and specialized knowledge of the industry, you know, supply chain, manufacturing, transportation, retailer, financial services. They really were able to identify issues, take immediate action and satisfy the customer really, really fast.

Sally Eaves (06:26):

Absolutely. It’s that active intelligence, isn’t it? It really is the active intelligence help giving you, kind of, that agency to act based on all the different elements you were describing there. And with real focus to the different verticals too, I think that’s massively important. And again, it brings to the fore, that depth and breadth of expertise alongside the technology itself. And kind of, in other words, it’s teams that are dedicated to serving the business, isn’t it?

Sally Eaves (6:50):

And again, we’ve mentioned already about business continuity and planning. And it really was that responsiveness of AT&T alongside network connectivity for work from home or work from anywhere that think made such a difference. And, you know, we talked about proof points earlier as well. And I think, you know, the investment that went into this was staggering, and it really shows how that pays off is, I think, it was around $650 million that went into a network disaster recovery program alone.

Sally Eaves (07:14):

And again, the difference that made in terms of restorative communications to areas affected by disasters. Obviously, we’ve had the pandemic, but there’s many other examples of world issues at the moment as well. It keeps people connected. It’s a massive, massive difference and huge — hugely important to build trust as well.

Sally Eaves (7:30):

But the other thing, for me, that I think is really interesting here, obviously we can reflect back about business continuity planning, particularly at moments like that, but the needs keep coming, don’t they, you know. As we’re looking ahead, particularly around cybersecurity but other areas as well, these threats, these challenges, they continue to evolve and they need to evolve at pace in terms of how we react and get ahead of that.

Sally Eaves (7:51):

So, for me, we’re seeing, say, organizations needing their infrastructure to be more active. And I would say more than that to be, kind of, the anchoring role, should we say, for protecting the enterprise today. And I, you know, especially in our multicloud world and kind of work from anywhere world, isn’t it? And again, you know, network up, isn’t it, is the way to really embed this, I think.

Kevin L. Jackson (08:09):

Well, you mentioned the — this multicloud world. I mean, if you have an operator across multicloud, it really is the network that enables you to have access to that data. And it was highlighted on day two, that number 594 petabytes of traffic, that’s a million gigabytes. You know, how — I was trying to think — trying to get my head around that. It was like the equivalent of streaming nearly 40,000,000 two-hour long movies. And they’d laid over 60,000 miles of fiber in 2022 alone in the U.S.

Kevin L. Jackson (8:53):

So, that fiber was actually accessible by over 40 million — 4 million business locations across the United States. And the mobility network, you know, the highlight of the whole network is security is the way the synergy between a wireless network and the fiber network. You know, you — with mobility, you get, like, more redundant connectivity than the industry standard.

Sally Eaves (09:29):

Absolutely. Absolutely. I think the numbers that you mentioned there, Kevin, at 594, I’m never going to forget that one. Absolutely. That’s emboldened in my brain. But really in this particular case, the numbers do say so much, don’t they? In terms of demonstrating the investment, but also the impact that’s bringing as well. I think for very much, it’s that the phrase that we brought to life. I like to think about this is a new standard for network that what we’re seeing here.

Sally Eaves (9:54):

And it’s, kind of, also a bit of a tech marriage, I would say, in some sorts as well because it’s fiber 5G, the perfect pairing, isn’t it, that we saw there. And I know there’s a lot more stats around this as well. But you know, AT&T has got the largest wireless network in the world, I think it’s 288 million people.

Sally Eaves (10:09):

But also, we’ve got the 10th anniversary here of fiber for AT&T right this year as well. So, if we couple all of the wireless network reach and how that’s being supported and the coverage that brings, but with the fiber advances as well. You know, again, AT&T is now the largest fiber internet provider. I think 4 million business locations, more numbers there as well. And it’s growing, there’s a huge evidence base around that.

Sally Eaves (10:32):

So, yes, this coming together is like perfect pairing, as I like to call it, is really one of complementary strengths, isn’t it? It’s tech and its coverage combined.

Kevin L. Jackson (10:38):

Yes.

Sally Eaves (10:39):

And again, supported by massive investment, $140 billion, I think, between 2018 to 2022 alone. So, exciting trajectory here, I would say.

Kevin L. Jackson (10:48):

Well, I think that is really a differentiator for any business that’s leveraging AT&T. The way that the wireless accessibility and fiber bandwidth, as well as the redundancy that it provides. You know AT&T is — has expanded to over 24,000 cities in the United States. And that reliable wireless network covers almost 3 million square miles. And the 5G network, with that rollout, over 288 million people are covered by 5G.

Kevin L. Jackson (11:31):

Actually, I’m out here in L.A. right now. So, that $5 billion investment in 5G spectrum really is paying off. And as a business customer of AT&T, like I said, that gives you a differentiator in your business.

Sally Eaves (11:52):

Absolutely. Absolutely. And also, when you consider the payoff of that investment as well, so when fiber and 5G come together, again, this is like a multi-decade lifespan. So, you’re investing in your future and your future readiness around connectivity too. So, that’s an investment that pays multiple dividends if you see what it means. So, I think that’s really, really exciting. And again, I love the statue brought to the fore there. Again, I think it really kind of proves what’s happening here.

Sally Eaves (12:17):

And you know, I like to talk about pillars, Kevin, don’t you? It’s one of my —

Kevin L. Jackson (12:20):

Yes.

Sally Eaves (12:20):

— one of my my little things when I’m talking about development —

Kevin L. Jackson (12:21):

You have three.

Sally Eaves (12:23):

I’ve got four. I’ve got four this time.

Kevin L. Jackson (12:25):

Oh, wow.

Sally Eaves (12:27):

Yes, I’ve, I’ve got four pillars that kind of underpin the different areas that we’re talking about. You know, what — what’s underneath this? What’s underneath this new standard for networking? And a couple of them we’ve mentioned a lot already, I think in terms of that next generation technology, and particularly it’s integration, and also the nationwide coverage. But there’s more areas that we can explore as well.

Sally Eaves (12:44):

So, for example, the architecture and making sure, you know, by design from conception, it’s built for flexibility but also resilience as well. But also, how we need to build in backup, that embedded backup, embedded solutions. And again, I think what we’ve seen there, bringing those areas together makes a massive difference. And we’ve seen some, again, some amazing benefits from investing in this. One of which is, for example, major out outages being reduced, the chance of that by around 35%.

Sally Eaves (13:11):

So, again, really, really interesting development. Another one, that really caught my eye too, again, software defined networking and the use of intelligent routing. And again, it’s that quest for agility, isn’t it? It’s giving that active intelligence to do the right decisions to really react to customer demands and do that really consistently in reliability. But also, the use of new — newer emergent technologies coming together, say A.I. and machine learning for network traffic forecasting. And it literally is — I remember this on the day, billions of measurements every single hour that the AT&T network is taking. It’s quite staggering. But yes, I think three words, its continual service improvement, isn’t it, that’s being invested in here which is fantastic to see.

Kevin L. Jackson (13:51):

Yes. And that sort of brings us to — I think it was my favorite day, day three. We got — I got to see — well, we got to see Teresa Leonard with us again. I tell you, she spoke on a biz talk recently. And during, during that discussion, she really focused on the erosion of I.T. silos and how businesses, really, are doing a lot of cross collaboration. And this drives cyber resilience, you know, back to the whole theme of RSA is better together. I mean, if you are collaborating, you can actually improve your cyber security. But key to that, key to collaboration is really the network, and network resilience will harden an organization’s security posture.

Sally Eaves (14:45):

Absolutely. As we said before, you know, security is the network, if you see what I mean. I think that’s where we’re heading. I could not agree more strongly. And particularly when we consider things, in terms of constant change and constant raising of expectations and behaviors and the consistency of increased data traffic and usage as well. Roughly 23% year over year increases in that low. And obviously as we’re moving with great acceleration of 5g, but also to 6g, et cetera in the future as well. The data volume is only going to increase, isn’t it? So, how make the —

Kevin L. Jackson (15:16):

That’s dependents —

Sally Eaves (15:17):

— post optimization of that.

Kevin L. Jackson (15:17):

We depend on that roll [phonetic], you know.

Sally Eaves (15:18):

Massively, yes.

Kevin L. Jackson (15:20):

Yes.

Sally Eaves (15:20):

Oh, gosh. Absolutely, absolutely critical. And you are right there about Teresa, what an amazing, A, tech person, women and tech, but just an amazing ambassador. Her speech at the booth was amazing. I loved the energy. Just really brought everybody around that. And, you know, it really is the embodiment of expertise at those business, I would say. And again, you mentioned there around key themes of the event, and I think the cyber security insight report. The AT&T cybersecurity produced there was super interesting as well. I think it’s about the 13th in a row and got a lot of insights there that can be supportive for the audience too.

Sally Eaves (15:56):

But one that caught my eye from that research is really the fact that enterprises now are looking for that balance in terms of where they’re investing and particularly security and edge, that was kind of one of the big takeaways from that. But as you mentioned as well, how network reliability is absolutely an imperative for business today. And, you know, to access that critical innate data when it’s needed the most, the reliability of 5G came out to the fore.

Sally Eaves (16:20):

And obviously, as we mentioned earlier, 5G embedded by design with inbuilt security. So, those were three of the big areas to come around from that. And maybe one other talking point as well. I’m going to rephrase the narrative. I have a thing about that, kind of, reclaiming narratives. But, you know, we’ve come so much about the cost of investment, don’t we? We do that all the time.

Sally Eaves (16:39):

But I think when it comes to things like security and cybersecurity, I think we should just talk about that in a different way. It’s the cost of insecurity, I think we need to be talking about more, not the other way around, you know? And I think AT&T’s leadership position here is really very impressive. Over a thousand security related patents just speaks volume for the investment in this area, which means so much to so many, you know, not just enterprises, but families, home life, everybody is affected by that. You know, organizations of all sizes are great to see that investment and support.

Kevin L. Jackson (17:09):

I like the way you made that your own, Sally.

Kevin L. Jackson (17:16):

But the other thing is the perimeter, you know, the cyber threat really isn’t increasing, in both — in complexity, especially with the rise of hybrid cloud. And we talked about earlier about how the network is critical when you’re doing multicloud and hybrid I.T. operations. And this has been driven by all the different work from home or work from anywhere options because you have to — you never know where you’re going to be when you’re working. And you never know what device or applications that you need to use.

Kevin L. Jackson (17:58):

And the integrated converge solutions that AT&T has really delivered to the market gives you both that fixed and mobile network to help customers respond quickly to these dynamic changes. You know, like I said — I mean, I really didn’t know I’d be out in L.A. today and — but I’m able to, you know, do this show no matter where I am. This adaptable network with real time vulnerability detection and threat analysis yields better investigative results if something does happen. So, you have these protective actions that are timely and effective to any network security events should an attack occur.

Sally Eaves (18:48):

So, so true. I mean, that adaptability, you made me smile then, Kevin, because I remember a LinkedIn live that we did when I was in a lift.

Kevin L. Jackson (18:57):

Yes, exactly.

Sally Eaves (18:57):

From anywhere, sort of, a whole meaning. Yes. An acceleration in requirements, quite literally there, I think. But it shows — we’ve shown the art the possible made real, we have, haven’t we? Absolutely. And you reminded me of another area that came to the fore, I think, during RSA, but also massively beyond that as well, which is the power of the ecosystem. You know, the power of the collective and collaboration to negate some of these threats and challenges. And one of the —

Kevin L. Jackson (19:21):

Working together again.

Sally Eaves (19:24):

Yes, exactly. Stronger together. Definitely, definitely. And you know, we saw that in one of the sessions, didn’t we? That we went to, for example, the XDR session, which was looking at the impact of security and network operations and the collaboration there. So, we had AT&T business there. But also, we had — sorry, AT&T cybersecurity, but also representatives from SentinelOne and Avanti as well. I loved the collaborative knowledge sharing there. I loved how the alignment of complimentary fits came together, and it was a great vision around the future security.

Sally Eaves (19:53):

So, I wanted to mention that too because again, it’s a great example of right organizations coming together, trusted partnership really benefiting the community and businesses of all sizes. And of course, there was the Bloomberg interview as well. The special report also came out on day three. And I love the focus there.

Sally Eaves (20:11):

And again, if anybody who didn’t see it, definitely recommend catching that. I’m sure we can send a link across a bit later on as well. But broadly speaking, it was looking at the areas of — for example, generative A.I., one of the biggest topics of our time right now. But the impact of that on the cybersecurity industry, but also the impact of cloud, the transformational impact of cloud on business too.

Sally Eaves (20:30):

And what struck me was it was about 70% mark of respondents saying that top of mind is their number one concern. Their leading concern was security. So, it shows really, I think, the elevation of security. It’s almost a level of performance today now, isn’t it? You know, consumers aren’t — not discerning, shall we say, between how they connect. It’s about their connect — their concern is the connection being, you know, reliable and secure and fast. So, I think that’s a really interesting change that came forward to me from that particular interview. You know, enterprise customers need it. They need better solutions that have that reliability, safety, and security. And that’s what AT&T is really focusing on. That need massively came to the fore there. We need that integrating converged solution that AT&T is providing.

Kevin L. Jackson (21:13):

What’s really unique, I think, is how AT&T is embedding the security capabilities into the network. And it gives you visibility across both the wireless and the fixed network, this adaptable network. And as you said before, it’s really powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. It gives you that real time vulnerability detection and threat analysis. You know, this is really important in today’s dynamic world where, you know, everyone’s against you in the cyber world, where you got to protect yourself. So, this sort of brings us to day four. I tell you, it went so fast when we were there.

Sally Eaves (22:04):

It really did. It was almost as fast as the speed of change that we’re talking about today, isn’t it? It really was. It, kind of, whizzed — it whizzed by. It really, really did. And day four, again, really another interesting day. I think for me, probably the go live, really, around the Wall Street Journal special edition was a particular on that day. Really, really interesting.

Sally Eaves (22:23):

And it just, again, in terms of what kind of came out as key highlights from that, it was network reliability right up there as a C-suite priority today that absolutely came to the fore, but also just how far things have changed. And there were a couple of stats that caught my eye then. So, if we go back in time to 2010, gosh, that seem — that does seem a long time ago now, doesn’t it? But —

Kevin L. Jackson (22:41):

Yes, a long time ago.

Sally Eaves (22:43):

— it was showing kind of almost half and half, so it was about 51% of enterprises using cloud in some form or another. And most critical, applications being kind of locally hosted. So, if we go back to 2010, that’s where we were go back forward, not quite to 2023, but based on that research to 2022, it was a 100% of enterprises dependent on that cloud access and also applications too.

Sally Eaves (23:07):

And alongside that, obviously, as we mentioned earlier, we’ve got the network requirements going up. More and more traffic, more need for speed, as we mentioned during the event. All of those are just accelerating and coming together and coming together. And now, so much more hosting, being remote obviously as well. So, we’ve got these millions of connections needed over thousands of miles to the cloud every single day. And obviously, supporting that is an imperative. It needs that new standard networking we’ve been talking about today.

Sally Eaves (23:33):

And for me, and I know for you too, Kevin, it is this pairing, it is this fiber and I5G coming together. It’s complementary strengths working together, and it’s giving you that more dependent business operations wherever you are. Whether you’re in a lift, whether you’re in Las Vegas, whether you — whether you’re —

Kevin L. Jackson (23:47):

Yes, exactly.

Sally Eaves (23:48):

— you know. It’s bringing us all closer. It’s giving that holistic support end to end. And for me, it’s also a labeling — sorry, enabling count and leveling up, I would describe it as really. So, you’ve got bandwidth coming together with reduced latency and also that intelligent routing of traffic we spoke about earlier too. For me, that is kind of max performance at the maximum available speed, which is where we should be heading. And of course, making sure that’s all integrated in a system that’s delivering all of those different benefits, but has network security embedded from a very start. That’s the holistic coming together for me. And, kind of, day four brought those themes in that converge point, I think.

Kevin L. Jackson (24:23):

Yes, you know, you were on the trip to the past, right? The — it’s kind of hard to imagine any business not leveraging the cloud today, but, you know, because today, if you don’t have cloud, you probably don’t have business. And if you don’t have a network, you don’t have access to the cloud. So, the thing that RSA taught me was the importance of ensuring that your business has a strong network partner capable of providing that secure and reliable network. This combined — combination of fiber and 5G wireless that you can get to your information, get to your application, get to your data, no matter where you are, no matter what device that you’re using. And that you have the bandwidth to do the business that that needs to be done. I really — wow, it’s amazing how business has changed in just short — such a short time.

Sally Eaves (25:33):

Absolutely. I mean, can you imagine, you know, back in 2010 and that example we gave then, the pandemic had happened then and where we were from a connectivity perspective. It’d be a completely different picture, wouldn’t it? I mean, really, really so great examples there, Kevin. And I think as well, recommendation to the audience to have a look at the AT&T business page for more resources then, because whether it’s cloud or I.D. — I.T. disaster recovery or that use of A.I. machine learning we were talking about as well. All those different elements, there’s so many resources there to dive into.

Sally Eaves (26:04):

So, definitely recommend looking at that. And just thinking aloud a little bit more as well about some of these themes coming together. I think it also shows, as well, that importance of trusted partnership for your business in a whole range of areas. So, your network partner kind of needs to bring together, obviously, the security we’ve talked about today, but I’ll do some more S’s.

Sally Eaves (26:21):

So, scalability — I have a thing with that as our audience probably is aware. So, security, absolutely up there. Support and gain that trusted partnership. The experts, you know, business I think really, kind of, embodies that. But also, scalability. Simplicity as well, because that’s another challenge for so many organizations as well. And then I have to mention two that aren’t an S I think, and that would be different.

Kevin L. Jackson (26:44):

Another S.

Sally Eaves (26:45):

I think it’s — yes, we’ve seen a lot of examples of that today. I think it’s so, so important that particularly as needs and expectations and behaviors continue to involve, you know, whether you’re a customer, an employee, a stakeholder partner, we’re seeing all that change. And you need to have a network partner that, kind of, changes with you and helps you grow as you do, and can be act — react to all these different vectors of changed. So, really, really excited about that. And I think AT&T business really generally encapsulates that very vision.

Kevin L. Jackson (27:12):

Here’s another S for you, a superb relationship with AT&T. I mean, they have 147-year —

Sally Eaves (27:18):

I like it. Absolutely.

Kevin L. Jackson (27:19):

140-year heritage, you know, of innovation and it’s set to continue, you know. So, I really appreciate you taking the time with me to discuss all three a day in San Francisco, Sally. Unfortunately, our time is coming to an end. But, you know, I always like to give our guests an opportunity to reach out to the audience so that the audience can reach out to them. So, how could somebody reach — get in touch with you if they have more questions about the importance of security in the network?

Sally Eaves (28:01):

Oh, thank you, Kevin. Always a pleasure. We could always talk for twice as long if not more, could we? Absolutely. And, yes, for everyone watching and listening at the moment, honestly, my door is open. I’d love to continue the conversations that Kevin and I have had today. And honestly, I — I’m available in most places. So, LinkedIn would be a good place. Tomorrow’s Tech Today, the podcast website and YouTube, and across all social media at @sallyeaves.

Kevin L. Jackson (28:25):

I got to say, I mean, I love your podcast. Tomorrow’s Tech Today —

Sally Eaves (28:30):

Thank you.

Kevin L. Jackson (28:30):

— gives you really a — gives you the foresight to understand what you have to prepare for, what you and your C-Suite colleagues should be discussing. So — but in closing, I’d like to invite everyone to check out the wide variety of industry thought leadership that we have here at Digital Transformers and supplychainnow.com. You can find digital Transformers wherever you get your podcast. You can get Tomorrow’s Tech Today there as well. So, be sure just to subscribe to both, you get a twofer. So, on behalf —

Sally Eaves (29:09):

Excellent.

Kevin L. Jackson (29:11):

So, on behalf of the entire team here at Supply Chain Now, this is Kevin L. Jackson wishing all of our listeners a bright and transformational future. We’ll see you next time on Digital Transformers.

Intro/Outro (29:26):

Thank you for supporting Digital Transformers and for being a part of our global Supply Chain Now community. Please check out all of our programming at supplychainnow.com. Make sure you subscribe to Digital Transformers anywhere you listen to or view the show. And follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on Digital Transformers.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Featured Guests

Sally Eaves, A member of the Forbes Technology Council, Sally is an award-winning international keynote speaker, author, and influencer with globally leading rankings across all advanced technology disciplines, digital transformation, future of work, and social innovation aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. She has recently been ranked 8th in the World in Blockchain impact and is continually ranked in the top 10 for digital disruption and across frontier technology subjects by leading bodies such as Onalytica. Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Hosts

Kevin L. Jackson

Host, Digital Transformers

You May Also Like

Click to view other episodes in this program

Additional Links & Resources

Learn more about Digital Transformers

Subscribe to Supply Chain Now and all other Supply Chain Now programs

Learn more about Small and Midsize Business Management Software with SAP

Check Out Our Sponsors

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 :

Kim Reuter

Host

From humble beginnings working the import docks, representing Fortune 500 giants, Ford, Michelin Tire, and Black & Decker; to Amazon technology patent holder and Nordstrom Change Leader, Kimberly Reuter has designed, implemented, and optimized best-in-class, highly scalable global logistics and retail operations all over the world. Kimberly’s ability to set strategic vision supported by bomb-proof processes, built on decades of hands-on experience, has elevated her to legendary status. Sought after by her peers and executives for her intellectual capital and keen insights, Kimberly is a thought leader in the retail logistics industry.

Connect on :

Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

Connect on :

Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

Connect on :

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

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

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

Connect on :

Billy Taylor

Host

Billy Taylor is a Proven Business Excellence Practitioner and Leadership Guru with over 25 years leading operations for a Fortune 500 company, Goodyear. He is also the CEO of LinkedXL (Excellence), a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm dedicated to implementing sustainable operating systems that drive sustainable results. Taylor’s achievements in the industry have made him a Next Generational Lean pacesetter with significant contributions.

An American business executive, Taylor has made a name for himself as an innovative and energetic industry professional with an indispensable passion for his craft of operational excellence. His journey started many years ago and has worked with renowned corporations such as The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) leading multi-site operations. With over 3 decades of service leading North America operations, he is experienced in a deeply rooted process driven approach in customer service, process integrity for sustainability.

A disciple of continuous improvement, Taylor’s love for people inspires commitment to helping others achieve their full potential. He is a dynamic speaker and hosts "The Winning Link," a popular podcast centered on business and leadership excellence with the #1 rated Supply Chain Now Network. As a leadership guru, Taylor has earned several invitations to universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain effective results through cultural acceptance and employee ownership. Leveraging the wisdom of his business acumen, strong influence as a speaker and podcaster Taylor is set to release "The Winning Link" book under McGraw Hill publishing in 2022. The book is a how-to manual to help readers understand the management of business interactions while teaching them how to Deine, Align, and Execute Winning in Business.

A servant leader, Taylor, was named by The National Diversity Council as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in the country in 2021. He features among Oklahoma's Most Admired CEOs and maintains key leadership roles with the Executive Advisory Board for The Shingo Institute "The Nobel Prize of Operations" and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME); two world-leading organizations for operational excellence, business development, and cultural learning.  He is also an Independent Director for the M-D Building Products Board, a proud American manufacturer of quality products since 1920.

Connect on :

Tandreia Bellamy

Host

Tandreia Bellamy retired as the Vice President of Industrial Engineering for UPS Supply Chain Solutions which included the Global Logistics, Global Freight Forwarding and UPS Freight business units. She was responsible for operations strategy and planning, asset management, forecasting, and technology tool development to optimize sustainable efficiency while driving world class service.

Tandreia held similar positions at the business unit level for Global Logistics and Global Freight forwarding. As the leader of the Global Logistics engineering function, she directed all industrial engineering activies related to distribution, service parts logistics (post-sales support), and mail innovations (low cost, light weight shipping partnership with the USPS). Between these roles Tandreia helped to establish the Advanced Technology Group which was formed to research and develop cutting edge solutions focused on reducing reliance on manual labor.

Tandreia began her career in 1986 as a part-time hourly manual package handling employee. She spent the great majority of her career in the small package business unit which is responsible for the pick-up, sort, transport and delivery of packages domestically. She held various positions in Industrial Engineering, Marketing, Inside and On-road operations in Central Florida before transferring to Atlanta for a position in Corporate Product Development and Corporate Industrial Engineering. Tandreia later held IE leadership roles in Nebraska, Minnesota and Chicago. In her final role in small package she was an IE VP responsible for all aspects of IE, technology support and quality for the 25 states on the western half of the country.
Tandreia is currently a Director for the University of Central Florida (UCF) Foundation Board and also serves on their Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Previously Tandreia served on the Executive Advisory Board for Virginia Tech’s IE Department and the Association for Supply Chain Management. She served on the Board of Trustees for ChildServ (a Chicago child and family services non-profit) and also served on the Texas A&M and Tuskegee Engineering Advisory Boards. In 2006 she was named Business Advisor of the Year by INROADS, in 2009 she was recognized as a Technology All-Star at the Women of Color in STEM conference and in 2019 she honored as a UCF Distinguished Aluma by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.

Tandreia holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from UCF. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is being the proud mother of two college students, Ruby (24) and Anthony (22).

Connect on :

Marty Parker

Host

Marty Parker serves as both the CEO & Founder of Adæpt Advising and an award-winning Senior Lecturer (Teaching Professor) in Supply Chain and Operations Management at the University of Georgia. He has 30 years of experience as a COO, CMO, CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), VP of Operations, VP of Marketing and Process Engineer. He founded and leads UGA’s Supply Chain Advisory Board, serves as the Academic Director of UGA’s Leaders Academy, and serves on multiple company advisory boards including the Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference, Zion Solutions Group and Carlton Creative Company.

Marty enjoys helping people and companies be successful. Through UGA, Marty is passionate about his students, helping them network and find internships and jobs. He does this through several hundred one-on-one zoom meetings each year with his students and former students. Through Adæpt Advising, Marty has organized an excellent team of affiliates that he works with to help companies grow and succeed. He does this by helping c-suite executives improve their skills, develop better leaders, engage their workforce, improve processes, and develop strategic plans with detailed action steps and financial targets. Marty believes that excellence in supply chain management comes from the understanding the intersection of leadership, culture, and technology, working across all parts of the organization to meet customer needs, maximize profit and minimize costs.

Connect on :

Laura Lopez

Marketing Coordinator

Laura Lopez serves as our Supply Chain Now Marketing Coordinator. She graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Mexico with a degree in marketing. Laura loves everything digital because she sees the potential it holds for companies in the marketing industry. Her passion for creativity and thinking outside the box led her to pursue a career in marketing. With experience in fields like accounting, digital marketing, and restaurants, she clearly enjoys taking on challenges. Laura lives the best of both worlds - you'll either catch her hanging out with her friends soaking up the sun in Mexico or flying out to visit her family in California!

Connect on :

Jake Barr

Host

An acknowledged industry leader, Jake Barr now serves as CEO for BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, providing support to a cross section of Fortune 500 companies such as Cargill, Caterpillar, Colgate, Dow/Dupont, Firmenich, 3M, Merck, Bayer/Monsanto, Newell Brands, Kimberly Clark, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Estee Lauder and Coty among others. He's also devoted time to engagements in public health sector work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At P&G, he managed the breakthrough delivery of an E2E (End to End) Planning Transformation effort, creating control towers which now manage the daily business globally. He is recognized as the architect for P&G’s demand driven supply chain strategy – referenced as a “Consumer Driven Supply Chain” transformation. Jake began his career with P&G in Finance in Risk Analysis and then moved into Operations. He has experience in building supply network capability globally through leadership assignments in Asia, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. He currently serves as a Research Associate for MIT; a member of Supply Chain Industry Advisory Council; Member of Gartner’s Supply Chain Think Tank; Consumer Goods “League of Leaders“; and a recipient of the 2015 - 2021 Supply Chain “Pro’s to Know” Award. He has been recognized as a University of Kentucky Fellow.

Connect on :

Marcia Williams

Host

Marcia Williams, Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain, has 18 years of experience in Supply Chain, with expertise in optimizing Supply Chain-Finance Planning (S&OP/ IBP) at Large Fast-Growing CPGs for greater profitability and improved cash flows. Marcia has helped mid-sized and large companies including Lindt Chocolates, Hershey, and Coty. She holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a degree in Accounting from Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay (South America). Marcia is also a Forbes Council Contributor based out of New York, and author of the book series Supply Chains with Maria in storytelling style. A recent speaker’s engagement is Marcia TEDx Talk: TEDxMSU - How Supply Chain Impacts You: A Transformational Journey.

Connect on :

Luisa Garcia

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Luisa Garcia is a passionate Marketer from Lagos de Moreno based in Aguascalientes. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico. She specializes in brand development at any stage, believing that a brand is more than just a name or image—it’s an unforgettable experience. Her expertise helps brands achieve their dreams and aspirations, making a lasting impact. Currently working at Vector Global Logistics in the Marketing team and as podcast coordinator of Logistics With Purpose®. Luisa believes that purpose-driven decisions will impact results that make a difference in the world.

Connect on :

Astrid Aubert

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Astrid Aubert was born in Guadalajara, she is 39 years old and has had the opportunity to live in many places. She studied communication and her professional career has been in Trade Marketing for global companies such as Pepsico and Mars. She currently works as Marketing Director Mexico for Vector Global Logistics. She is responsible for internal communications and marketing strategy development for the logistics industry. She is a mother of two girls, married and lives in Monterrey. She defines herself as a creative and innovative person, and enjoys traveling and cooking a lot.

Connect on :

Sofia Rivas

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia self-identifies as Supply Chain Ambassador, her mission is to advocate for the field and inspire young generations from diverse backgrounds and cultures to join the industry so that thought diversity is increased and change accelerated. Recognized as Linkedin Top Voice and Linkedin Community Top Voice in Supply Chain Management, as well as Emerging Leader in Supply Chain by CSCMP 2024, Top Women in Supply Chain by Supply & Demand Executive 2023, and Coup de Coeur Global Women Leaders in Supply Chain by B2G Consulting in 2021

Public speaker at multiple international events from keynotes and panels, to webinars and guest lectures for bachelor's and master's degrees, discussing topics such as sustainability, women in the industry, technology and innovation. Writer at different online magazines on logistics, supply chain and technology. Podcast host and guest on different recognized programs in the industry. Sofia has more than 5 years of experience from academic research and field studies to warehouse operations, demand planning and network design. She has worked in manufacturing, airport operations, e-commerce retail, and technology hardware across Latin America, North America and Europe

Currently working as Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Manager at HP within their Global Supply Chain and Logistics team

Connect on :

Karin Bursa

Host

Karin Bursa is the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year and the Host of the TEKTOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast powered by Supply Chain Now. With more than 25 years of supply chain and technology expertise (and the scars to prove it), Karin has the heart of a teacher and has helped nearly 1,000 customers transform their businesses and share their success stories. Today, she helps B2B technology companies introduce new products, capture customer success and grow global revenue, market share and profitability. In addition to her recognition as the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year, Karin has also been recognized as a 2019 and 2018 Supply Chain Pro to Know, 2009 Technology Marketing Executive of the Year and a 2008 Women in Technology Finalist. 

Connect on :

Vin Vashishta

Host

Vin Vashishta is the author of ‘From Data To Profit’ (Wiley 2023). It’s the playbook for monetizing data and AI. Vin is the Founder of V-Squared and built the business from client 1 to one of the world’s oldest data and AI consulting firms. His background combines nearly 30 years in strategy, leadership, software engineering, and applied machine learning.

Connect on :

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 :

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

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

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

Connect on :

Greg White

Principal & Host

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

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

Connect on :

Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

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

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

Connect on :

Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

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

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

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

Connect on :

Kevin L. Jackson

Host of Digital Transformers

Kevin L. Jackson is a globally recognized Thought Leader, Industry Influencer and Founder/Author of the award winning “Cloud Musings” blog.  He has also been recognized as a “Top 5G Influencer” (Onalytica 2019, Radar 2020), a “Top 50 Global Digital Transformation Thought Leader” (Thinkers 360 2019) and provides strategic consulting and integrated social media services to AT&T, Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson and other leading companies. Mr. Jackson’s commercial experience includes Vice President J.P. Morgan Chase, Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. He has served on teams that have supported digital transformation projects for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Intelligence Community.  Kevin’s formal education includes a MS Computer Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School; MA National Security & Strategic Studies from Naval War College; and a BS Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. Internationally recognizable firms that have sponsored articles authored by him include 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 :

Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

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

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

Connect on :

Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

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

Connect on :

Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

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

Connect on :

Constantine Limberakis

Host

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

Connect on :

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 :

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 :

Chantel King

Social Media Manager

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

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

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

Connect on :

Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

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

Connect on :

Katherine Hintz

Director, Customer Experience

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

Connect on :

Mary Kate Love

Chief of Staff & Host

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

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

Connect on :

Joshua Miranda

Marketing Specialist

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

Donna Krache

Director of Communications and Executive Producer

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

Connect on :

Vicki White

Controller

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

Connect on :

Katherine Hintz

Creative Director, Producer, Host

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

Connect on :