Supply Chain Now
Episode 1037

Today, supply chain is the first on the agenda. Are we even going to be able to supply, before we spend money on this commercial, before we spend money on this trade plan, are you even able to supply this? So that's also a positive thing that has come out. I am more recognized. I am more known. Now everyone knows my name because in the meeting, I'm the first to say, can you even achieve your plans or should you keep quiet and go home?

-Temitope Ogunfayo

Episode Summary

Tune in for this Supply Chain Now classic episode in our Leadership Across Africa series in conjunction with SAPICS. In this episode, you’ll hear from Procter & Gamble Senior Director of Supply Network Operations Temitope Ogunfayo. Join Scott and Jenny as they chat with Temitope about the value of education, what it takes to build a personal brand in supply chain, current logistics challenges, new supply chain opportunities across Africa and more.

Episode Transcript

Intro/Outro (00:03):

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

Scott Luton (00:32):

Hey, good morning, everybody. Scott Luton and dear friend, Jenny fur here with you on supply chain. Now. Welcome to today’s show Jenny, how you doing

Jenny Froome (00:41):

Really good. Thanks Scott. It was great to be here.

Scott Luton (00:44):

Always a pleasure. It’s like a monthly treat it’s conversations. We’ve had going back a couple years. We’re continuing today, our supply chain leadership across Africa series in conjunction with Jenny and our friends at STIX. And these really have been well received, but you know what, Jenny, they’ve been a pleasure and a lot of fun to conduct with you.

Jenny Froome (01:03):

Absolutely. And have you noticed how they just keep coming up faster and faster? We finish one and a month later here we are. Again,

Scott Luton (01:11):

We got a slow time down, slow time down. Exactly, but Hey, for the handful of folks that may not know out there across our global listening world, Jenny free serves a COO at SAP pick, which is doing wonderful work from a professional development and networking standpoint. So check them out@sappick.org. So Jenny outstanding guest here today. Are we ready to introduce our guest?

Jenny Froome (01:35):

I’ve been, I’ve been ready for two years to do this one.

Scott Luton (01:39):

Okay. Well with no further ado, let’s officially welcome in Temitope senior director supply network operations at Proctor and gamble. Temitope how you doing?

Temitope Ogunfayo (01:50):

I’m doing super cool. So good to be here. And it’s, it’s lovely meeting you, Scott. Thanks again, Jenny, for this opportunity, I’m super excited and we’ve not even started yet.

Scott Luton (02:01):

We are too. And you know what? We we’ve uncovered some synergies and some Kindra spirits already in a brief amount of time. We’ve been with us in the pre show. And one of those TIMI is you and I are both big fans and maybe we would share our respective local fan clubs of Jenny fr. Huh?

Temitope Ogunfayo (02:17):

<laugh> That’s true. Yeah. That’s very true. That’s true. Yeah.

Scott Luton (02:23):

But you know that there is, uh, part of the be attitudes maybe that we didn’t capture and document way back in time is blessed are the connectors. And you know, Jenny, you do a ton of <laugh>. You do a ton of ton of work and good work across industry, but man, we need these connectors that make conversations like this one make ’em happen. So thank you. Uh, Jenny sincerely from our, uh, supply chain now team, but I digress. So Tim and Toby, uh, you know, this interview and our conversation has been long in the making. I’m really stoked to, uh, learn more about your expertise and perspective and point of view. But I wanna start with, uh, your childhood, right? We, we love kind of those origin stories. So tell us about your childhood. I think growing up in Nigeria.

Temitope Ogunfayo (03:03):

Yeah. Thanks again, Scott. I grew up in Nigeria and um, I must confess that I don’t have pleasant memories of my childhood. I it’s interesting to note. Right. So I grew up in the very poor part of Nigeria in, in the city center. So it was the Legos, the capital of, of Legos actually. So the, the biggest metropolitan city around. So I grew up there, but in a very small town in, in Legos, Nigeria and the memories of my childhood and great, I mean, I was from a very poor background, poor parents, actually, we were so poor that the poor used to call us poor <laugh>, you know? Wow. So man, so that was very interesting. Uh, they used to say, okay, those poor guys and we’re all poor together. So went to, to primary school there, secondary school there. And you know, I still remember vividly how the classrooms looked.

Temitope Ogunfayo (03:58):

I remember whenever it rained, it was a big problem. I can’t imagine my kids, you know, schooling under such circumstances today. It was just some blocks and then a roof over it and the roofs were leaking. So I mean, when it rains classes and for that day, right. But I still remember, you know, learning a lot and you know, aspiring for a great future. Um, unfortunately, you know, my dad was a work. Um, he wanted to get us, you know, the best life, but that comes with some disadvantage because he didn’t pay good attention to us. E zone was just about, you know, paying the bills and then let my mom take care of the rest. And as you can imagine, that doesn’t work pretty well. Right. So, so that also was not there. There were not a lot of people to look forward to.

Temitope Ogunfayo (04:48):

I think what kept me going was just a determination, a determination that, look, I don’t want my kids to end up in a place like this. I need to make something out of this. Right. And you know, back then in school, you were the local champion. I was the best in maths, the best in service subjects. But then I was a local champion and you know, I kind become some experiences where we then went out of town into the city for competitions. And then I’m like, wow, look at these guys, look at the way they speak English when they tell you where they’ve traveled to. And you’ve not even seen the airport. You’re like, wow. So there is life after year, right. But they’re in that school, in that locality, I was the local champion. I was the best kid in town. Right. But when you go out, you realize, you know, the world is bigger than that and all of that. So my, I wasn’t really pretty, right. I remember, you know, reading a lot with LAN, no lights, nothing to look forward to sometimes going hungry sometimes just, you know, being satisfied with one or two meals a day. And you know, you can imagine how grateful I am when I look back right now, where I am. So,

Scott Luton (05:57):

But let me ask you a question about that, Tim Metopia when you look back and that profound sense of gratitude based on you know, where you are now and what you’re able to do for your kids as you’ve referenced a couple times, is that a, a daily reflection for you as, as you, you know, think back on your childhood and where you are, is that, is that create a daily sense of gratitude and, and reflection?

Temitope Ogunfayo (06:18):

It sure does stop. I mean, every day I wake up and I’m grateful for what I am. Right? So it, it, it, it comes with gratitude at the same time. I’m also checking that, you know, the kids that I’m raising with these blessings are they as tough as I am, you know, they, they look so feeble, they can’t do much to themselves and I’m asking, Hmm, I pray for this, but am I sure that they’re turning out? Well, I mean, they have everything that they back and call. I had to struggle to get those things, you know? So that is a part of gratitude for sure, on a daily basis. But there’s the other part of me that keeps asking, won’t you mix this with a beat, you know, for these kids, so that they’re tough of a beat as well, uh, the way you were

Scott Luton (07:04):

And what I’m hearing there, Jenny is it comes with not only a great sense of, of gratitude, but more importantly, perhaps is a great sense of responsibility for doing and taking and leading and maybe helping others. Jenny, is that what you’re picking up?

Jenny Froome (07:19):

Uh, totally. I mean, it’s, it’s one of those situations where it’s so easy to take for granted what we have and, you know, I, I was brought up and education was, was, I didn’t have to work for it. I was given it. And I think that that’s something that continues to inspire and impress me the more, or the longer I live in, in Africa is, is just how it’s never, ever taken for granted. It’s not a right. It is a privilege. It should be a right. But it’s something that, that even people who, who work full time, they still make time to go to university in the evenings for classes or at weekends, or constantly trying to better their education, that, that just to improve their, their circumstances, I think. And it’s really something that you realize you, I have taken for granted. Mm.

Scott Luton (08:16):

As, oh, Chris Barnes says never stop learning, not for a single minute. Yep. Mm-hmm <affirmative> so as much as I I’d love to dive deeper into those early experiences of your journey, uh, you have now since then have lived, you know, beyond Nigeria, a lot of different countries, uh, Egypt, Switzerland, we were talking about coffee a minute ago. Uh, Dubai, which is one of the coolest places, most innovative places, maybe around, around the planet. And maybe some others I’m leaving off, but Nigeria’s home. But give us, you know, beyond coffee, say with Switzerland, what are some of your favorite highlights from some of these other places?

Temitope Ogunfayo (08:50):

Yeah. And I, it’s a privilege to live in different countries, right? So again, that’s another, I’m grateful for. And you know, when you live in different countries, you see different things, right? So if, if I take Switzerland, for example, beautiful city to leave, I mean, the transportation works superbly well that if you don’t own a car on your own, you you’re fine. Right? You’re so close to nature. I mean, I remember those evening walks in Switzerland. It’s a beautiful place, beautiful scenery, very natural. You breathe in fresh air. You feel, you know, nature is all around you, right? The mountains are there. One of the things I love about Geneva, the opportunity to travel to different part of Europe. I mean, on Tuesdays evening, you can decide that, guess what? This weekend I’m gonna be in Spain. <laugh> and voila. You’re in Spain next weekend, you can say, I want to be in Italy.

Temitope Ogunfayo (09:46):

And then you are in Italy. Whether you want to drive, you want to go back train. I made, I did several good trips with my kids. The experiences would never leave them. I also did some interesting stuff in Geneva, like skin, you know, coming from Africa, you know, your parents would ask you, I mean, what are you doing? Are, are you kidding me? You know, are, you know, it was, he was funny carrying all those gadgets of the mountain. And you know, in Africa, when, when you are successful, you also expect people to help you, right? Even you, you want to carry those stuff. You expect someone to carry to the mountain and you just get on those stuff. And you know, you, it was different. You need to carry it yourself, no matter how well you are. And for me was an over experience. I mean, carrying those dos, those shoes and walking as if you’re gonna fall, or just because you wanna run the experience. And guess what? I paid a lot of money to do that <laugh>

Scott Luton (10:43):

To, to work harder, paid a lot of money to work harder. That’s that’s vacation these days,

Temitope Ogunfayo (10:49):

Jeanine, a beautiful place. Uh, it cannot leave my memory. It’s such an awesome place to leave.

Scott Luton (10:54):

You know, I, I had the, the great pleasure of growing up with a Swiss family that moved to ache in South Carolina, where I grew up as when I was in elementary school, uh, Stephan throwing was his name. I’ve never been able to track, you know, track him since, but some of their, their customs and culture still sticks out that I was able to pick up just when I would visited his house and, and sometimes stick around for dinner and whatnot. So I’m gonna have to add Switzerland to my bucket list. But one last question for our, uh, toss it back over to Jenny is Dubai. So, you know, Jenny, of course you and I both know Kim winter, uh, great supply chain ambassador in Dubai. What’s your favorite part? Cause I believe you make, is that where you live now? Yes, yes. Yes. What’s one thing maybe if folks wouldn’t know about Dubai or, or one of your favorite things about living there,

Temitope Ogunfayo (11:40):

I think for me is the way they innovate. I mean, in this city, you can wake up tomorrow and something else has gone up. Right. And if I contrast it with, with Geneva, that that’s a big difference. I mean, I was telling someone jokingly when I was in Geneva. If, if I have a problem with my electricity and I call someone to come and fix it, don’t be surprised that the first day what, you know, the guy comes and tells you, what is the problem? Oh, there is a, there is a short circuit there. What is not gonna fix it that day. Right? It would give you another appointment of the day. You will come to fix it. Right? So things move a beach. They are slower development. Is there for sure in Dubai is the <inaudible>. I mean, you can sleep today, wake up.

Temitope Ogunfayo (12:26):

And there is eye rise tomorrow. Okay. I was part, I was privileged to be part of the export 20, 20, 20, 20. And I was there five, six times amazing stuff. All you see around is just innovation. You see people who are thinking, people who are progressing even the way their educational curriculum is designed is designed with a lot of innovation. I I’ll give you an example at the export 2020, there was a room called the youth pavilion. So you, you, you get youth there. And what they want them to do is to dream, just come into that group. You don’t come with your parents, just put on a, on a computer, what you want become in life, anything, and whatever you are feeding into that computer is determining their education curriculum for the next 20 years is determining what, uh, ministries and government Paratas. They need to put in place for the next 20 years. You can see such innovation. It’s not, I mean, these guys are thinking, so every day, every corner you turn to, you see an innovative behavior. And that’s what tick me about this city.

Scott Luton (13:33):

I, I love that. And, and not to pick on academia or education, but you know, it’s really, I think it’s easy. I think for academic professionals, as they look to bake process into making sure we’re equipping students with a great experience, you know, you, you set a great curriculum and, and then you go into the process, Hey man, you blink and that curriculum’s gotta change. And it’s, I bet it, I bet I’m not, they don’t let me teach, but I bet it is so challenging to, to constantly update what should be maybe living and breathing curriculum based on just how you know, based on those elements, you just shared Tim tope, how fast industry is changing lightning fast. And we’ve seen it for good or for worse even accelerate these last few years based on some of the, the challenges out there. So I know we’re gonna touch on some of that Jenny, uh, already in the first 10 minutes, man, the vibe and the perspective that Tim tope brings here to our listeners. I mean, it’s like addictive. So now I know what you’re talking about. So where are we going next with our, our dear friend here?

Jenny Froome (14:33):

Well, I was just gonna say, I wonder what they would’ve made about my ambition when I was at school, which was to be the fifth member of Abba. I don’t quite know how they would’ve, how they would’ve done that.

Temitope Ogunfayo (14:43):

<laugh> that would’ve been interesting, right?

Scott Luton (14:46):

I think, well, Tim and tope, I think Jenny should audition right here. I think, I think,

Jenny Froome (14:51):

Uh, how about a, I think it’s not, <laugh> moving swiftly along, moving swiftly along. So talking about being on the stage and all the rest of it, that was quite good. I thought that was quite a good segueway there. One of our very, and are, as in safe, community’s favorite speakers in the whole of the cosmos is Timian and whenever he’s on stage, be it virtual or, or in real life as I call it, um, without doubts, the feedback is positive. It’s inspirational. It’s, it’s amazing. Um, take me back to that very, very first one that you did when you actually won your very first best speaker award, you described it yourself as being life changing. Why was that?

Temitope Ogunfayo (15:40):

Thank you, Jenny, for asking, um, you are taking me back memory lane. I don’t know how many minutes we’ve got for this question because it can take me whole half an hour to explain what happened that day, but such an interesting time. You know, I just completed my certification and maybe that story for another day. Unfortunately, when I came into supply chain world, I didn’t see anything in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the universities were not offering supply chain. I checked all the colo. It wasn’t available. Believe you, Ms. Scott. The closest I saw was in South Africa, the closest to Nigeria, that’s six and half hours to seven hours flight. So I was traveling to South Africa every quarter to take my certification exam. Okay. With SEPs. And that’s why I can never forget SEPs. Uh, so I was always traveling every quarter, all expense paid by me, of course, P G didn’t bother whether I was certified or not.

Temitope Ogunfayo (16:32):

So I was paying all the expenses lot, all the exams, uh, with a colleague of mine who is in Canada right now. And then he just told me, look, uh, you know, te I’m, I’m going be speaking at SS. And I’m like, okay, how did you become a speaker at SS? And I’m not aware. And he said, look, I’m just going to be presenting this paper. You can do the same. So I checked and I said, okay, there is an opportunity to speak. Why not? Right. I’ve always enjoyed speaking. I love impacting knowledge again, Scott, one other thing we have in common. I think I’m going to end up as a lecturer someday. I hope they will allow me to teach, but I think I’m going to end up someday as a lecturer. So I said, okay, let’s give it a shot. And to be honest, it started as a joke.

Temitope Ogunfayo (17:13):

I’m like, okay, let’s put something together. I don’t even know if you’ll be shortlisted, especially because I wasn’t presenting something really technical. It wasn’t something that has anything to do with supply chain. Right? I was teaching, I was gonna be talking about work life balance. I thought I’ve seen enough supply chain professionals who are running up of steam. Okay. We were collapsing under the weight of work and I wanted to bring that perspective to a professional body. So, you know, for some reason I was picked and for some reason it was on the first day after the event, I was like, are you guys kidding me? No one knows me. Yeah. You put me on the third day when everyone is tired and maybe a few people will just attend and I’ll practice and all of that, it was immediately after the main event, but guess what?

Temitope Ogunfayo (18:01):

Scott and, and, and Jenny, I, I gave it my best as usual. And, you know, I did my thing. It was well received. You know, I, I, I was going out and people started, you know, stopping me. Wow. That was fantastic. And then, you know, there’s this after meeting, we do, after your session, the old place was filled. People started asking questions and I’m like, wow, this is working. This is interesting. Yeah. But even after that, I never imagined for once that that will be voted the best session in the, in the data, because I really attended some wonderful session. I mean, professor Lumumba was there that year. He was speaking, there were a couple of great speakers. So I was like, wow, this is good. So I came both as a speaker and as an attendee, you need to have that perspective. So I attended almost all the other sessions and to be honest, I had some wonderful stuff, wonderful delivery.

Temitope Ogunfayo (18:56):

And I’ve always told Jenny, I feel that, you know, SS conference is one of the best organized conference that I’ve ever been in my entire life. And I’ve been to several, I, I attend conferences three, four every year, right? So for me to keep saying after 10 years is still one of the best organized conference, I made it so fast forward to the, to the evening before the end. I, I, I, I don’t, I cannot remember what you call that evening. And, you know, there was this guy, wonderful guy who was sharing jokes and we were all laughing fun evening. I mean, I was lost in laughter until Clive. I think Clive was someone else came and say, Hey, to your, your neck to connect with pro as the best picker, it’ll be either of you. And I’m like, what’s this guy saying, uh, can he really be serious?

Temitope Ogunfayo (19:45):

And you know, before we could say Jack, then the announcement was made. And then I got best picker, not only that. So I got the best picker and I was about to leave the stage. And then the guy said, no, don’t leave. There is another award. You also got the award as the most innovative, uh, presentation of the year. So I got two awards in one and yay is the transformation that it costs. So as I was working at that stage, right, to go to the back and take photographs, I must have met at least not less than 10 people. Who’ve wanted me to speak in different conferences. Wow. And for me, that opened a lot of doors. I mean, even APS wanted me to speak. I’m like APS. Okay. You know, let’s, let’s do something. And then I got introduced to the bill and me, the gates foundation. I did a lot of work with them in Nigeria for a while. Actually. I, I see that you brought one of the people I work with on one of, as one of your guests, I cannot remember a name,

Scott Luton (20:43):

Deborah doll, a bit Deborah doll.

Temitope Ogunfayo (20:46):

Doll. Yeah. Yeah. Deborah do. And they in Nigeria as well, who kayak, I think who, who was editing ministry in Nigeria, work with them as well. So for me, that just opened up a lot of stuff, opened up lots of opportunities and the rest is history. I’ve leveraged those of opportunities from Dell,

Scott Luton (21:05):

Jenny. Wow.

Jenny Froome (21:06):

But you know, you know, what’s so special is that never once has, has he ever forgotten, you know, it’s so easy for people to find success and then just close the door on where, where the growth started and the special, lots of special things that the special thing with te Metopia is that it’s always, there’s always room to give back. There’s always room to say, thank you. And it really is just, it’s such an amazing privilege to be able to have watched this incredible person’s career and, and, and still be a part of it. So thank you for that.

Temitope Ogunfayo (21:45):

Thank you so much, Jenny. And I, I, I cannot forget. And this is why I say, you know, when civics comes calling, every other thing becomes secondary. You know, whenever I am, even the last conference I was in the us, I was joining at 2:00 AM or so 3:00 AM by time. And I, I feel great doing that because, you know, you never forget your sauce, right. That experience 10 years back, almost exactly 10 years back opened doors for me that I’ve never forgotten to. Now, I was just one of the supply chain guys in lake at that time. Now I’m leading regional supply chain, right. I’m leading regional supply chain for India. Middle Eastern Africa we’ll have talked. Wow.

Scott Luton (22:26):

So, wow. So

Jenny Froome (22:28):

I would’ve done <laugh> <laugh>

Scott Luton (22:32):

All right. Well, we’re gonna talk more about what you’re doing now, professionally and, and, and especially some of the challenges that, that, uh, you’re working through day in, day out, which is gonna be fascinating. But Jenny, before we go there, personal brand, which holy cow, if you, if you hadn’t gotten a sense of Tim toe’s personal brand already and how cool it is and how invigorating it is, but Jenny, we’re gonna ask him about it that a little bit. Right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>,

Jenny Froome (22:58):

He’s just one of the first people that actually ever made me realize it was a thing. And, and, and all the little intricacies that go into your own personal brand. And I think, yeah, you’re quite right. He lives breeds. He’s a, he’s an absolute example of it, but TEPY, you know, there are, there are a couple of things that I do remember one of which is that you have to concentrate. It’s always important on how you smell. You mustn’t ever take that for granted. And, and I just, that’s never left me. So that’s 10 years old, that memory, I think, but from, for you just quickly, what, what would be, and I know one, but what would be one really important piece of advice that you would give to someone who maybe is struggling with their personal brand or doesn’t realize it’s a thing? Why is it so important?

Temitope Ogunfayo (23:49):

I, it, it’s so important because you know, uh, what drove me to that first, and then I’ll give the piece of advice. I, I started studying in my company who were those moving and moving so fast. And they were not the supply chain guys, neither they, the manufacturing guys that’s by the fact that we pride ourselves in doing a lot, there were the commercial folks that we detest, we speak against were like, what are they moving? What is it doing? The sales guy? What is it doing? This guy is not even that smart, but guess what? Hey, they already VPs, uh, before you were even the regional ed. So I started studying what they were doing. And then I stumbled upon these secrets that I’ve taught. And, you know, I also teach this globally in P and G the pie principle. So I call it how to bake a pie.

Temitope Ogunfayo (24:37):

And that talks about your personal ground. How, how do you bake your pie and pie is stands for three things. So performance image and exposure. Mm. That you are some total of this three, your performance is crucial. It’s important, but can I, can I say this? It’s not as important as sometimes we think it’s not the most important. It just gives you a foot at the door. So it it’s important because it gives you a foot at the door. But you know, I, I have supply chain folks who brand their score card and say, everything is green. I need to be promoted. Yeah. Everything can be green. And no one is still thinking about you. So performance is one thing and is important. And I discovered strangely that in the pie, it takes only 20%. I was shocked. I’m like, performance should be like 90.

Temitope Ogunfayo (25:26):

And then other things, no performances, you 20, your image and exposure is more important’s image. That’s your that’s personal brand. That’s your equity. When your name comes up, what is the one word that sums you up? Lousy? You know, some, some people want, once, once you mention their name is lousy, then want some people when you mention their name is reliable, you know, that’s your image. It’s not what you want people to think is what people know about you. So when your name comes up, what is the image that, and that’s the one that you need to pay attention to. So the advice is you need to, what do you want people to see? That’s the first one. Then you need to ask, what are they seeing? And then now they plan to bridge the gap, right? Because a lot of times we see ourselves in one way, your con customers are seeing you another way.

Temitope Ogunfayo (26:22):

So you need to ask, I have this conversation with my boss on a regular basis, because I don’t want to deceive myself. So I ask him if you’re gonna describe me one word, what is it? And I, I see is this what I want to be noticed as known as if not, I need to make adjustments. And then the final one is exposure. Who knows you? Who knows your work. Sometimes, you know, you are in one cocoon doing wonderful stuff, but only your manager knows about your work. That’s not gonna get you far. Does ease manager know, does the VP knows? Does the president know how you make sure that what you are doing? The great work that you’re doing does not stop at the desk of your boss. It goes up to leadership. That’s exposure. Once, once upon a time, I, I met, you know, a colleague 10 years old than the company was already a senior director.

Temitope Ogunfayo (27:11):

And I’m like, of course other people will be beefing her and wondering, wow, who does she know? I was, I was surprised. And, you know, being the kind of student I am, I was asking what’s this. And she told me of, I experienced in a year one when a vice president visit the plan she presented and the vice president said, Hey, listen, I’m going to be responsible for you. I’m going to expose your work. Okay. And everything she does goes to this vice president. Everyone sees it whenever there’s a problem, the vice president picks a call. Are you willing to solve this problem? And she goes, so she goes, she goes in 10 years, she’s already leading a dream, right? Why? Because of exposure. So it’s performance, it’s image and it’s exposure. So my question always is how do you bake your pie? It’s your really, is your spy really smelling nice? Or is it smelling really bad? And people are going away

Scott Luton (28:05):

So much there. Jenny <laugh>, uh, I love the a, you know, we’re in supply chain. We love acronyms, right? Performance image exposure. And one of the things that, that I love there, uh, you shared so much goodness, uh, Jenna, that I loved is you gotta make sure your performance does not stop at the desk of your boss or your superior, your manager. That is so, you know, sometimes some folks I know I was maybe early in my career, you know, you kind of, you kind of get that command structure, right. Wanting to stay kind of within the boundaries and, and, you know, making sure you’re going up through the, the, the chain of command, so to speak, you know, not, and, and it’s lost on you that other folks need to be familiar with, to your point, you’re making Timma toe of what you’re doing and who you are and that personal brand and what you can do. Cause otherwise your opportunities can certainly be stunned and, and politically limited. But Jenny, that’s one of the things I loved Tim and Tubby shared there. What else did you hear that you really enjoyed?

Jenny Froome (29:05):

Well, it’s probably sweet apple pie, probably just, and it is that it, it goes back to that. I love that idea of one word. And, and obviously it’s gonna change on a daily basis. Sometimes I would think, you know, you are someone and you’ve been horrible to them, which of course I never am. And they, and, and they’ll say, you know, moody or something like that. But then in a week’s time, if you’ve done something brilliant, it could change. So it’s trying to find that consistency. I think that reliability, perhaps. So there’s lots of, there’s it never old, that’s just say it’s pie, there’s pie and listening to tatoe never gets old. There’s always something to learn.

Scott Luton (29:47):

And, uh, I mode when these ice cream on that pie, which I’m sure there’s an acronym there, Tim toe will cover that. Maybe the next appearance, but I wanna shift gears a bit. Uh, you alluded earlier in, in our chat here about how your, your role, uh, there at P has grown dramatically and it’s more regional. And I think you mentioned India, the middle east, uh, Africa. I mean, goodness gracious. I hope you get sleep at night, but, and we also alluded to, you know, everyone and their brother and sister know just how challenging global supply chain has always been. But, but really some of the, I don’t wanna use the word nuances because they’re much more significant than that, but these are new challenges, right? New challenges that we’re, we’re being press to solve. So speak to that a little bit. What, you know, from your day to day, uh, what are some of the challenges that, that, uh, you and your teams are, are faced with?

Temitope Ogunfayo (30:40):

Thank you, Scott, for that question, as you rightly said, I think supply chain itself been challenging over the years, but you know, with COVID it has even become more challenging. Right? I was telling, you know, folks the other day that I used to think that my work was more strategic. Right. You know, think long term, but I must confess that in the last couple of months, it’d be more operational because you need to survive first and foremost, are you on the shelf? <laugh> so that’s, that’s the first thing I will face multiple challenges. Let, let me talk about some of them logistic disruptions. I don’t know if you’ve seen, there is, there is a video now that is making the rounds on our congested supports in the USR. You, you probably not be able to recognize this is a port, right? But there is disruption everywhere.

Temitope Ogunfayo (31:34):

People are missing shadows, right? China. Right? Most of a lot of our materials come out of China with the instability in China today, you are not even sure of your deliveries. So there’s a lot of logistic disruptions I have worked with, uh, with who would even, you know, delay your consignment without even updating their website because they are themselves, are not aware that the consignment got delayed <laugh> so it, it, it’s amazing. The, the kind of challenges we’re facing with logistic disruptions. What about production delays? So this is an outcome of logistic disruptions, right? So the government materials are not getting to where they’re going. So production is not happening, right? That’s a lot to deal with. What about commodity pricing? That’s a major one today. I, I, I don’t know if you’re aware, I’m, I’m just renewing some contracts today. And just because the contract expired and a new one will start, sometimes I’m getting 300% of the old price, no negotiations, nothing asked.

Temitope Ogunfayo (32:40):

I mean, you are just moving from March to June and there is 300% upcharge. Wow. And the guy explains to you that you were lucky in the last one year because he couldn’t increase price. He was under contract. So he was already playing at the loss. Now he’s his opportunity to, to get back on winning waste. So it’s giving you 300% right. Material, you know, electricity, and the guys are passing down the cost actually. So we go into meetings with, with, with, with suppliers and they tell, Hey guys, what do you want us to do? Energy prices increasing. The four price is increasing. What do you want us to do? Okay. Another challenge you have seen is workforce and labor, especially in places like the us, where, you know, with COVID people are now satisfied being at home, right? So people to go back to work, it’s a big deal.

Temitope Ogunfayo (33:32):

It’s a big deal. So that, that’s a challenge. In my view, one of the biggest challenge that we have as we have actually seen, and we need to work on is end-to-end visibility because when all this is happening and you are not even aware of them, it becomes a bigger problem. If you are aware, you can plan, right. Maybe trigger some BCP business continuity plan and all of that. But the point is sometimes you’re not even aware, you don’t know what’s happening. Uh, these things are not updated or they’re updated in, in, in silos. So you don’t have an end to end visibility of your supply chain. And these, I would say has been the biggest challenge that I have seen with my team in the last couple of months. Yeah.

Scott Luton (34:19):

Not just where’s my stuff, you know, and, and as, as people have told me throughout my career, Hey, bring me your good news, but bring me your bad news too. So we can sit down and figure out a plan if it’s in our blind spot, nothing happens. And that’s the worst case scenario. Yeah. So there there’s been some really cool, uh, developments, uh, even through the pandemic tech from a technology standpoint that I’m, I’m, I think we’re all hoping, uh, has some more breakthrough, uh, visibility, uh, uh, moments, uh, to come. Yeah.

Temitope Ogunfayo (34:48):

Yeah. And, and I’m glad you mentioned that Scott, because that’s right, right. Maybe because of that, we’ve been forced to rethink end to end visibility. I’m also seeing some tools there. There’s an idea called the digital twin. I don’t know if you read about it, that’s really a brilliant idea that is coming well. You can simulate what happens in the supply chain on a computer, right? And then whatever happens, you change certain parameters and that’s, what’s going to happen in real life. So lots of stop happening. The other good thing I’ve seen happen is that supply chain discussions are suddenly taking the center stage. So in most of the board meetings that I attend before we discuss all the sales and commercial plans, and in the last five minutes, they give you an opportunity to add your views. Okay. So tell me, what do you think?

Temitope Ogunfayo (35:37):

And then you are rush to share your views today. Supply chain is the first on the agenda. Are we even going to be able to supply before we, we, we spend money on this, uh, on these commercials before we spend money on this trade plan, are you even able to supply us so that that’s also a positive that have come out, right. I am more recognized. I am more known. Now everyone knows my name because in the meeting, I’m the first to say, can you even achieve your plans or should you keep quiet and go home?

Scott Luton (36:07):

<laugh> I love, I love the question you used earlier. Are you on the shelf? Are you on the shelf? You know, so that is so, uh, that’s such a great way to put, especially these, these last couple years that we’ve all experienced together and, and the pressure is put on supply chain organizations. Okay. So Jenny, I’m gonna switch gears with TIMI in a second, but I wanna give you a chance to weigh in. I mean, man, he painted quite a picture, the challenges that, uh, not just supply chain, they, they take the brunt of it perhaps, but global business is facing what what’s some of your takes there.

Jenny Froome (36:40):

Yeah. Uh, absolutely. And, and it’s really interesting because one of the, one of there are two main themes circulating through just to go back to the conference that, that people have proposed topics on one is sustainability, supply chain sustainability. The other is visibility. So, you know, it’s clearly critical that, that we have this. The other thing that I think was so relevant to what you were saying about how we learn our mistakes, we learn from things going wrong. And I know people don’t want to talk about what went wrong, but isn’t it wonderful to be able to talk about how you put it right as well. And, you know, that’s, that’s where we need to have those discussions because why make the same mistakes other people have, why not learn from people’s mistakes, right. But it’s brave. It’s brave people who share them.

Scott Luton (37:33):

Excellent. Absolutely. And, and, uh, you know, while I love to see, you know, I was just, I was just writing about, about this of the day. I love to see the immense contributions and impact that, uh, some of the newest members of industry, you know, that, that, that don’t have the blinders on, of, of, you know, years past they’re making. I love it. I mean, it’s so important for global supply chain global business, but at the same time, as, as, as much as I value that I value the power experience cause of mistakes that we make as experienced, uh, business professionals. Not only can we help our teams and organizations avoid them, but we can help industry from making this some of the same mistakes again, too. So really we, we value from, from all levels of experience. And that’s a really powerful, uh, thought really quick before we, we go back Tim tope on, uh, kind of more of an Africa focused question. SAEX 20, 22, the conference that, that, um, uh, Tim was, was, uh, sharing about. And the one you’ve touched on a couple times here, Jenny, that’s coming up June 12th through the 15th, right. How can folks learn more? And what’s one thing you’re looking forward to Jenny?

Jenny Froome (38:40):

Well, I would like a little bit more time. Five weeks seems a bit scary. Um, first and foremost, the thing we are looking forward to the most has being back in person it’s, you know, the being able to do it online has been great. And we’ve been able to engage with you and with te topi and thank you again for your support, but being back in person, being able to have that face to face conversation is I think what everybody’s looking forward to, and, and there are just some outstanding, outstanding speakers and, and always, I’m always just overwhelmed by the support that’s given people are prepared to travel, um, and it’s just really gonna be great to get the community back together again.

Scott Luton (39:20):

Agreed, agreed. We’re gonna have a link to that in the show notes of today’s episode, thanks for all that you and your, your safe esteem does like, Hey, if you can sign up to hear people like Tim and tope, it is worth the price of mission and then some, so y’all check that out. Mm-hmm <affirmative> okay. So back to my cousin, Timpe here honing in <laugh> so let’s, let’s talk, you know, you know, we, we’ve kind of gone local and then gone broadly broader, whatever the word is. And now I wanna take about local to the continent of Africa, right? So what are some of the opportunities you see facing supply chain professionals here today, across the continent, Tim?

Temitope Ogunfayo (39:55):

Wow, thanks God for asking that question. I, I believe for me, if I look at the continent of Africa, you know what, we’re still a lot behind, right? If you take away South Africa, especially we were even much more behind. I think most of the advancement that we’re even seeing in supply chain would be, you know, in South Africa that about in the other parts of Africa, we’re still a lot behind. And, uh, today I, I will just look at two things. Uh, number one is infrastructure. Uh, one of the biggest challenge that I’ve seen is infrastructure, whether it is physical infrastructure, you know, uh, electronic infrastructure, whatever it is, is just not available in the continent. Right. And I know that in the last couple of years, there has been a lot of investments, but the output has not been commensurate with the investment. I mean, I was head of supply chain for proton gamble in Nigeria.

Temitope Ogunfayo (40:56):

And I can tell you a couple of times I’ve visited the ports. It it’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable. I mean, from the seat ports to anywhere in Nigeria, there is no even rail system. There’s no rail transportation. You are coming to the port with trailers and trucks. No wonder all the goats leading to the port are in a state, the complete state. I mean, you’ve, you have goods there for two weeks, three weeks sitting, who does that? Okay. And that’s a micro of what happens elsewhere. Maybe I will take South Africa bid out. The infrastructures are not just there. Electricity is not there. A rail system is not working. Water. Transportation is almost missing. Everyone is using the road, right? So that’s a big challenge. However, I see a bigger challenge in skill and capabilities, skill and capabilities score. It’ll interest you to know, you speak to loads of people who say they are doing supply chain and they don’t even know the basics.

Temitope Ogunfayo (41:57):

They don’t know what the week plan is. The supply chain for them is purchasing, you know, just buying and selling. That’s purchasing negotiating contracts. That’s what purchasing, that’s what the supply chain is. But it’s bigger than that, right? You, you ask people about demand driven supply chain. They don’t have an idea and the reasons are not farfetched. I just told you now, I, I finished as a mechanical engineering graduate. So I, I started working with PNG as an engineer, right after four or five years of doing engineering. I thought, look, there should be something smarter to do. So I add something called supply chain, let’s go and try it. And then I said, okay, let’s see you who offers these capabilities? Non-existent there was no university at that time that was offering it anywhere. Not as a first degree, not as a second degree, you can imagine that I have to go to South Africa to get a certification.

Temitope Ogunfayo (42:48):

I know things are improving now. And, you know, with, with SEP help, Jenny and all the, all the community that we have, they are bringing loads of stuff into the country. And I thank them for that, but it’s not. So the skills, and then the capabilities are absent. They are not there. And that’s why, you know, I, I, I find myself fortunate even as, as the head of supply chain in Nigeria, when I got out of the country, you know, I had to learn and rele, right? I give you an example. In as end of supply chain, I was dealing with 30 SKUs. That’s it? Maximum 30 SKUs in the country. Okay. Right now, right now in India alone, I have 200 better scales.

Scott Luton (43:28):

Wow.

Temitope Ogunfayo (43:29):

That I have to think about every day in India alone. <laugh> but I was dealing with 30. So you can see that, you know, I, I’m glad that I work for a company like proton and gamble that will then invest in my capabilities to be able to the new world. But you can imagine in some places in Africa, they just take you and they throw you into the water, you learn sink or swim, and this is the issue. And that’s why I want to reiterate your call. Jenny, earlier on, if your supply chain professional listening to this, you need to develop capability. One strong way is join this body of knowledge, join SEPs, join supply chain. Now these are things that will expose you and develop your capability and skills. You cannot just be a local champion, right. Come and listen to what others are doing, and you’ll be better for it.

Scott Luton (44:16):

I love this notion. And you know, that kind of takes us back to where we started, you know, being, you can’t just be a local champion, right. You’re really stunting your growth, going back to the pie, you know, the PIM and, and, and your performance, trying to make sure it doesn’t stop at the desk of boss. You know, the good news, the good news in light of all those challenges and opportunities that you shared there at Timpe. You know, Jenny, we’ve had lots of different conversations with business leaders across Africa. You know, we’ve got a trade deal involving all the various countries that make up the continent has been signed as making continue makes a lot of progress as composed a ton of opportunities. We’ve had, we’ve got movements of onshoring manufacturing production onto the continent of Africa, which is a great thing. As we all know, manufacturing our big cogs of the economy, uh, economic development, right.

Scott Luton (45:04):

And, and the whole globe benefits from that. Uh, but to Tim toe’s point for any part of the world to, to fully leverage those types of, of, uh, trends, movements, whatever, gotta have infrastructure, and we’ve gotta have a workforce. Right. And that’s, you know, that’s been an interesting part of this, this world we’ve been living in, uh, the, these workforce dynamics that, uh, we won’t have time to get into here today, but, uh, but good news is lots of opportunity. The challenging news is we got a lot of heavy lifting to make sure we can fully capitalize on it. So, um, but Jenny, what, what else from what he shared there, that was more Africa centric? What we’re, uh, your thoughts there?

Jenny Froome (45:44):

Yeah. It goes back to the professionalization. It goes back to that the COVID silver lining, I guess that, you know, to Tim Toby’s point, he’s now the most popular person or unpopular person in the boardroom, but people know his name and people know, or start to understand the importance of what it is he does. And I think we’ve gone from that whole scenario where people only understand or care about supply chains when they go wrong. Mm. Now we’re actually getting to that point where we’re starting to be as a, as a, as a company, perhaps we’re starting to be more proactive to, to try to find ways so that they don’t go wrong and to do that collectively. Um, and, and, and it’s just that example of that education. And I think that, you know, conversations we’ve had with people in the public health sector, which is where so many supply chain professionals are having to do things intuitively because they’re not in a position to be able to get the supply chain education that they need. We’ve got to address this, and we’ve got to make sure that supply chain management is recognized as the profession it is, and that the education is, is available. And, and that’s, you know, that’s really what, what we do every day is to try to educate that education is so important.

Scott Luton (47:07):

I’m with you. And, and, and I would add to that list, the networking is available. The connectors are there, like you and I talked about on the front end is so important. And that there’s a healthy upstream of ideas that, that the ideas don’t all, you know, for so long, it feels, I mean, I think even prior to the pandemic global business was, was in, in my opinion, more slow to embrace new ideas, more slow to work with startups, you know, because there, there was, there was, there’s more risk perhaps, but now the industry is to the point where I think more and more we’re embracing, we’re looking for these new ideas. And, and that takes a deliberate leadership presence to make sure that I think that upstream, uh, is available and, and, and action is taken on these ideas. It’s not just in that cliche innovation where, well, let’s have a great two hour whiteboard session and all the ideas stay on the whiteboard. What does that do? <laugh> so, anyway, I digress, but Tim tope, you just, you just sparked so many ideas and, and, and really, uh, I love your approach. I love your passion that you, you exude passion and your perspective here, Dave. I think we got one more question before we make sure folks know how to connect with Tim tope. So, Jenny, what, what what’s, I think you’ve got the honor of our final question, right?

Jenny Froome (48:22):

I think I do, but I think there’s so many things that you’ve sort of addressed to answer this anyway, but I’m gonna put, put you on the spot and ask you for one thing. One thing that you have seen that has really changed since you first started out in your supply chain career, what’s one thing on the continent that, you know, and you have seen that has changed beyond your wildest dreams.

Temitope Ogunfayo (48:49):

Thank you, Jenny. I, I think I answered it in my last response, but let me, let me on the line. One thing is awareness, right? So vessels, you know, 12, 13 years ago, when I ventured into supply chain. When if you, if you tell anybody in Africa, you are in supply chain, they, what, what is that? You’re not a doctor. You’re not an engineer. What supply, what right now, you know, people are starting to understand though. I still feel the, the definition is very narrow, but people are starting to understand what supply chain is too, is the education is also, you know, improving. It’s not where it should be, but with, with help from people like you, I know the work you are doing in the country. And I know you visited a few times, you know, things are starting to improve, uh, not only with the education with the formal education, but also with the, with the connections.

Temitope Ogunfayo (49:42):

So I give you an example of my, of the connection that I had with bill and me, the gates foundation. Amazing. I was in KA the other day for a couple of days, you know, training and teaching government workers who, who, all the things I was teaching them was like magic. You know, I’m teaching them how to even have a vision, a supply chain vision, and it’s like magic. Right. But that has also improved. So with, with the collaboration right now, you know, people are seeing a bit more, so education has changed. Awareness has changed. The collaborative environment has changed, but I almost confess that we’re still way off for where should be despite the fact that there has been movement in the right direction. We’re still not where we should be completely. Yeah.

Scott Luton (50:28):

Well, and that’s a good thing, you know, that’s a good thing. I, I think if, if we can, uh, if, if we can take that mentality and get our industry, the supply chain industry to really embrace it, that there is no finish line, right. Even after the biggest accomplishments, there is no finish line. Cause there’s always more to, more, to improve more, to, more, to do more new developments to, to chase after and pursue. But Jenny, you were about to say something, sorry.

Jenny Froome (50:51):

Yeah, I was, I was just gonna say quickly because you know, you’ve alluded to, and I think that it, it, it needs to be said over and over and over again is that education is not just all about textbooks. You know, it’s not, it’s not about who knows the best fact or the it’s down to experience it. You learn from other people it’s about networking. It’s about, it’s about the, all of it. Yeah. And, and we need to get away. We need to teach our kids. That life is not just all about what qualification you have or what piece of paper you have. Um, it’s, it’s about so much more than that.

Scott Luton (51:27):

Amen. Completely agree. I completely agree. Hey, by the way, one of the things I really enjoyed the last episode we had with our friends from village reach, we’re doing some really cool things, especially in healthcare, a big shout out to them and our dear friend, uh, at a bio one and only so Timpe, let’s make sure folks know how to connect. And we’re just scratching the surface with what you could share here today. I, I love a good hour, but man, we need a couple more here. Uh, as we sit down with you, but how can folks connect with you and learn more?

Temitope Ogunfayo (51:58):

The best way to connect with me is on LinkedIn. So just look for me on LinkedIn, send an invite. I would accept, and we can get connected and learn from each other.

Scott Luton (52:08):

I love it. I love it. I tell you, LinkedIn has come a long way. Haven’t it? I, I, we got in the wrong business. Jenny, we should have, we should have invented a social media platform. <laugh> but it is powerful. Uh, I love the connections we’ve made here. I really love this conversation. We’ve had you share so much passion, but also really practical perspective that, that that’s actionable. So big. Thanks to you. Uh, Tim tope, a go IO, senior director, supply network operations at P and G. We hope to have you back again very soon.

Temitope Ogunfayo (52:39):

It’ll be my pleasure, Scott. Um, thank you. Thanks to Jenny for inviting me. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my afternoon

Scott Luton (52:46):

Outstanding. Well, we’re gonna have you back. I’m you’re gonna be back by popular man. By that time, Jenny, we might have to go through his agent cause he he’s, uh, that’s me. Okay. He’s gonna be in Hollywood soon, but uh, nevertheless, uh, Jenny, as we wrap here, what’s one of your favorite things that tatoe shared here today.

Jenny Froome (53:06):

Well, first of all, I’m just taking my claim. I am the right. No negotiations for me. One of the things that sort of has hit home the most is is that 300% increase. It’s that, it’s that gap between when, what, when the first con contract was to what the contracts gonna be now and the reality that this is all gonna come downstream, it’s all gonna come down to us, the consumer. And uh, and you know, fortunately we’re lucky with people like Temi topi who are there at the, at the sharp end, but not, not every organization has got that. And, and so I think, yeah, it’s gonna be interesting times ahead.

Scott Luton (53:47):

Uh, completely agree, completely agree. And it it’s such a wonderful time. Challenging, sure. Gives headaches. Sure. But it’s such a wonderful time to be in global supply chain. And that rub elbow BOS with folks like both of y’all. So, Hey listeners, hopefully you enjoyed this conversation as much as Jenny and I have. Tim toe is a special individual. Be sure to check out, say pick 20, 22 is coming up. Uh, by the time we publish this, it’ll be probably sorry, Jenny, about four weeks away. So as <laugh> the 12th to the 15th of June stix.org, you’ll find a link also in the, uh, show notes, be sure to connect with Timma tope. Uh, GOFI on LinkedIn. You won’t regret it. Uh, it’s like it’s a musty, uh, musty connection, but whatever you do, Hey, be like Timma tope. Be like Jenny for do good. Give forward. Be the change that’s needed. And on that note, we see next time, right back here at supply chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (54:40):

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

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Featured Guests

Temitope Ogunfayo studied Mechanical Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria and recently obtained his MBA from Warwick University in UK. Upon graduating, Temitope joined Procter and Gamble in Nigeria and has worked with the firm for the last 19 years, in what he describes as an interesting career. He currently leads the supply chain for the Babycare business of P&G in India, Middle East and Africa, having risen through the ranks across different disciplines and departments including Manufacturing, Supply Planning, Demand Planning, Initiatives Planning, Warehousing, Sales and Operations Planning, End to End Integrated planning, amongst others. Temitope also has international work experience in Middle East and Africa, having led the end-to-end Supply Chain for the Laundry business of P&G in that region for 3 years. He is a certified member of the Association of Production and Inventory Control Society, APICS. Excellent people management skills have been the hallmark of his career – always empowering people to DARE and to challenge what is possible. He also brings to the table strong analytical skills and proficiency in use of qualitative and quantitative problem-solving tools. Training and imparting knowledge are great passions both in and out of the workplace. Temitope is married to his beautiful friend, Olubukola, and together, they are privileged to care for and nurture 3 angels under their roof. Connect with Temitope on LinkedIn.

Jenny Froome is passionate about how supply chain management affects our lives on every level.  Her original and now current profession is event management – the epitome of a well-honed supply chain.  After many years working as COO of SAPICS – the professional body of supply chain management in South Africa she realized the importance of shining the light on the supply chains of Africa.  Managing events such as the SAPICS annual conference, the People that Deliver Global Indaba, and the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards have truly allowed Jenny to combine her skills, knowledge, and community.  Jenny’s lived all over the world and has settled in South Africa with her husband and many 4 legged friends while her sons are scattered around the world. Connect with Jenny on LinkedIn. 

 

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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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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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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

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

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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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).

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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. 

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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.

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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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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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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.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.

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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.

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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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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.

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