Veteran Voices
Episode 20

Episode Summary

“He (Dave Ewing) taught me how important it was to care about the people that you were working with, not just the problems you were trying to solve or the people you were answering to upstairs; but the people on the deck plates making things happen.”

-Rear Admiral Casey W. Coane, U.S. Navy (Retired)

 

 

In this episode of the newly re-launched Veteran Voices series, Scott welcomes Rear Admiral Casey W. Coane, U.S. Navy (Retired) to the podcast.

Admiral Coane served as a Navy pilot and senior officer for thirty-four years. He now serves as a member of Mission: Readiness since 2010 and is currently a Board Member on the Council for a Strong America. On this episode, Scott Luton and Admiral Coane dive into his military experiences, especially a few of his most treasured moments & fellow naval officers. They also discuss a critical mission that Admiral Coane is on now: protecting our national security by battling child malnutrition.

Episode Transcript

Scott Luton (00:05):

Welcome to veteran voices, a podcast dedicated to giving a voice to those that have served in our country’s armed forces. On this series, we sit down with a wide variety of veterans and veteran advocates to gain their insights, perspectives, and experiences. We’ll talk with many individuals about their challenging transition from active duty to the private sector, and we’ll discuss some of the most vital issues facing veterans today. Join us for this episode of veteran voices.

Speaker 2 (00:42):

[inaudible].

Scott Luton (00:43):

Hey, good morning, Scott Luton with you here on veteran voices. Thanks for joining us today on today’s show, we had the honor of speaking with a senior level officer that spent 34 years in uniform serving our country in the U S Navy. And he continues that service and leadership in a new critical mission today. Stay tuned for what promises to be an outstanding interview here on veteran voices. Quick programming note, before we get started, this program is part of the supply chain. Now family programming, fondness, and subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts from simply search for veteran voices. As we publish several times a month, go ahead and welcome in our featured guests here today. We’ve got the honor of interviewing were Admiral Casey. Coleraine retired us Navy. Who’s also a member of mission readiness with us here on veteran voices, Adam McWane Goodman

Casey Coane (01:33):

Morning. Good morning, Scott. Good to be with you.

Scott Luton (01:36):

Happy to have a moment to sit with you and pick your brain and learn more about your background and equally as important about what you’re up to now and that the incredibly valuable initiative that you and a variety of other volunteer leaders are spending your time and energy on. So we’ll get to that momentarily. But before we do, I really look forward to this opportunity to getting to know you better and not only your background, but what you did in the military as you served in the U S Navy. So for starters at McClain, where are you forged to grow up and give us an anecdote or two about your upbringing?

Casey Coane (02:07):

Well, I was a beach kid from Redondo beach, California. So a little bit South of Los Angeles, along the beaches of her Mosa Redondo palace birdies. Uh, that was, that was my home, uh, until I went away to college, which was a university of California at Berkeley. So I didn’t leave. The state just went North for awhile. And, uh, from there off to the Navy, what

Scott Luton (02:28):

Did you major in at UC Berkeley?

Casey Coane (02:31):

Something really useful like political science. Okay. I really enjoyed that. I had a teacher in high school that got me interested in that sort of thing. So I went, I went to Cal with the idea of a pre law going into law school. And so political science was a good pre law major. That’s the road I went down and along the way, I ended up in Naval ROTC and fell in love with flying. And so I made an immediate sharp right turn on graduation and headed to Pensacola, Florida for flight train.

Scott Luton (03:05):

Love that. So speak a little more. He is a perfect segue because I want to find out a little bit more about what you fell in love with flying, but what really made you join the military? What, what were you passionate about?

Casey Coane (03:16):

You know, Scott, to be perfectly honest, I’m not so sure it was passion. This is in the middle of Vietnam, 1960. I graduated in 68. So it was a difficult time. It was difficult time, frankly, for being a ROTC student at the university of California, because up there, they didn’t think too much of the war. And I suppose neither did I, but my father had served in world war II. And, uh, one day, uh, as I was getting ready to head off to, uh, to school, he saw an ad in the local newspaper about the ROTC program. And I thought, well, you know, rather than just frankly, take my luck on the draft, why not manage my life? And so my dad was army and he said, you know, you’ll eat a lot better in the Navy. And so there I went and, uh, and I really enjoyed it. I mean, ROTC was, was kind of a second home for students that were in that, uh, you know, immediate comradery with the other guys wearing a uniform on a campus like that. And, uh, and like I said, I got introduced to flying one summer, uh, through the Navy and thought, boy, you know, if I’m going to be a Naval officer, I think maybe I want to be in Naval aviator. And, and I never looked back. It worked out to be the thing to do.

Scott Luton (04:32):

So one final question, and I want to move forward into your, your, uh, active military career. What was the aircraft that you first set foot on and that really started your lifelong love affair of aviation?

Casey Coane (04:46):

Well, that’s interesting because it is the [inaudible] that you and I spoke up a little earlier. Uh, I was in a summer ROTC program at UCLA and, uh, they had brought a T 34 to Santa Monica airport to introduce those of us that might be interested in going that way into that. And so I had one flight at Santa Monica airport and, uh, in the T 34 out over the ocean, and I said, you know, this is fun. This is a good thing. And that was sort of the deciding moment.

Scott Luton (05:17):

Love it. You paint such a picture, gosh, Santa Monica airport. I can only imagine how gorgeous that is. All right. So let’s now move forward. Let’s talk about your active military career three decades, plus, uh, serving our country in uniform. If I’ve done my homework correctly, really appreciate that, sir. What works when you look back and I’m, I’m bet you can write several books and we don’t, I wish we had five hours to walk through so many of your experiences, but if you had a short list of some of your, your memorable, most memorable commands and experiences or roles, what would that be?

Casey Coane (05:47):

Well, someone will tell you anybody that it’s been a career military person would probably say being in command is what it’s about. And so when you get that first opportunity command, that’s a special time and a special place. Uh, I had command of a reserve P three squadron in new Orleans, and I spent a number of years there in that squadron. And so that having command of the squatter and having us doing well, you know, there were 400 of us in that squadron, all great young Americans volunteers, cause it was a reserve squadron and they all wanted to be there. A lot of them traveled miles from other States. We had reserves came from seven States to that squadron. So we had a lot of people very dedicated. So that was a special time, I think, uh, before that time I had a tour on an aircraft carrier out of San Diego for two years.

Casey Coane (06:37):

And, uh, you know, I tell people that was professionally a marvelous tour. Uh, the things I learned, the things I got to do as part of being staff on that aircraft carrier, uh, learning to drive the ship from the bridge, learning to operate the combat systems, which was my primary job down in the combat information center. I learned an awful lot in that two years at sea, it was, it was quite a special tour. And then other tours that followed the squad and so forth. And then I became a flag officer, very fortunately. Uh, so that was well into my career about a year 26 or so 25 and then for travel and do some of the things I got to do, uh, doing that. I, uh, I spent three months on active duty in Saudi Arabia in 1995 as a brand new flag officer. So I did a lot of traveling there and then probably my most memorable flag tour was three years.

Casey Coane (07:36):

I spent as the deputy commander in the Mediterranean. And, uh, again, doing that, I got to conduct personal professional visits to Bulgaria and Romania. Uh, I was based in Italy, so that was special. Uh, but the, the young people that you get to work with at that stage of your career, that you get to go out and meet and see, and, and people like you from the air force. This was 1995. We had a lot of air force in Saudi Arabia. I flew with a lot of them, uh, the army guys that were running our Patriot missile batteries and other things throughout, uh, that peninsula just met some terrific, wonderful young Americans and people that were dedicated. Because again, if you think about that 1995, they were, they were all volunteers. They were part of our all volunteer force. They wanted to serve one, one to be there, and they were just marvelous people. So I look back on every minute of my seven years as a flag officer as is pretty fantastic time.

Scott Luton (08:35):

I think a lot of folks maybe that haven’t served in the military and certainly that haven’t served in senior levels of military leaders that like you just described may not appreciate kind of the international diplomat and ambassador and the heavy dynamic that is in their responsibility. And so I can only imagine how that carried into each of the conversations you had because were putting, uh, the best us foot forward in each of those conversations, representing the country with, with leaders and officers from countries around the world. I would imagine.

Casey Coane (09:06):

Well, that is exactly correct. I mean, there were those opportunities when I’m sitting down in Romania with the head of the Romanian Navy, or I’m in Bulgaria with the chief of their general staff, which is, is like our, you know, head of the joint staff discussing their world as they were coming out of the Soviet years that they had had, and trying to figure out how they were going to get into NATO back in that timeframe is yeah. You know, amazing conversations. And, and I could tell a story about, uh, representing the U S at the Bulgarian Naval birthday, but it’s a long story. So we won’t do that, but sometime offline, I’d love to share it with you because it, it told a lot about America. And maybe if I may, I’ll, I’ll give you the short version. Sure. The end of this three-day birthday celebration was admirals, uh, from all around the Mediterranean at a, at a lunch.

Casey Coane (10:03):

And the head of the luncheon was what we would call our secretary of defense. And after this luncheon, uh, he went around the room and thanked all the animals in their wives who were there. I was the junior guy in the room. And so I was the last one he got to to Frank and I was watching how this show was going. And he had walked up to everybody and offer them a hand and said, thank you so much for being here. When he got to me the last one, he grabbed me by both shoulders and said, I so hope you are not disappointed. Now I was the nobody in the room, right, as a two-star Admiral, but he was worried that I might’ve been disappointed in the whole celebration because I, to him was the United States of America. And that’s a story I love to tell because it says a lot about what we are to the rest of the world.

Scott Luton (10:58):

I sure am glad he took a minute to share that story because we have an immense responsibility globally. And that speaks volumes in that, in that anecdote. And then the other thing I picked up from what you’ve shared is the power of dialogue. There’s no shortage of disagreements and differences in countries around the world, but if you sit down and really intentionally lean in with a, uh, an intention to form these bridges and, and find some common ground and find some, some common understanding and appreciate that common ground, so you can move in tackle and make progress in some of the areas where we may disagree. And that’s a lot of what I heard in, in, in some of your other experiences there. So thanks so much for sharing that experience earlier, you touched on some incredible people that you had a chance to serve with, and those global adventures that you you’ve been on. Let’s touch on that. What are some of the names and individuals that come to mind, whether they worked for you, whether, whether you worked alongside them or folks that you may have served in the, uh, you know, the rank and file, who are some names that come to mind?

Casey Coane (12:00):

Boy, there’s so many, it’s hard to, you know, it’s hard to pick a couple out. And, uh, there’s a long time friend of mine, uh, named Dave Ewing, who retired as a captain in the Navy reserve. And he was my commanding officer when I first got to that squad. And I told you about a new Orleans and he had such an interest in the troops. I hadn’t come to that realization, how important the junior folks in our squadron really were to the effort I sh I should have known better earlier, but perhaps I didn’t. But Dave taught me that he taught me how important it was to care about the people, uh, that you were working with. Not just the problems you’re trying to solve or the people you were answering to upstairs, but the people that were on the deck plates really making things happen.

Casey Coane (12:48):

And, and I think I learned that lesson from Dave, and I’ve never forgotten that if you, whether it’s in the military or any place else, if you want to find out how to solve the problem, ask the guy on the floor, ask in our Navy, the guys on the deck plates that know what’s really going on. And I think they’ve taught me that. So that was really special. I was several four-star animals that were just, uh, you know, were really terrific. Uh, when I was at six fleet, I worked for a fellow named Steve Abbott was a three-star then retired as a four-star. But what I would add is that there were two or three of these animals that I was fortunate enough to work for. All of them had, and this may sound funny. All of them had great ladies as their wives. They had wives that also cared about the troops. Uh, and anytime there was a social activity or an opportunity for that to be seen, it was seen, you could tell how genuinely these very, you know, the top of the Navy, there are only 12, four stars at a time in the Navy. And I’m talking about folks that overlapped a bit, but I’m talking about three of them. I got to work for. Um, they just all had a wonderful spouses and together they were a team that represented this country extremely well and took care of our kids.

Scott Luton (14:12):

Look, it was a, it was a team effort. And absolutely, I bet if we interviewed them, uh, the animals in this session that they’d probably tell us they couldn’t do it without their, their spouses. And

Casey Coane (14:23):

I wouldn’t tell you the same about mine. I bet she made a lot of trips with me and, uh, and did an awful lot, uh, to, to help out with the troops yep.

Scott Luton (14:32):

Sidebar that might be just in general, as, as it’s been neat to see the last 10 years or five years in particular companies and corporate America and initiatives, organizations really double down to find ways of providing support and jobs and other resources to our veterans. But the point you’re making there think our listeners really need to, uh, to, to connect with is that the spouses behind the veterans that stand with them through the deployments and, and through all the, the, the challenges that the good days and the bad days, you know, we’ve got to really double down equally as well and make sure they’ve got what they need to. Right.

Casey Coane (15:07):

I hardly hardly endorsed that. You hear about it all the time via the TV, if you’re watching news and stuff about what military spouses and families, uh, you know, spouses now in the military back when I started that meant wives, it now means men as well as wives that have, you know, stay home and make the household run right. And get things done. But we ask an awful lot of them that, that, uh, doesn’t really get talked about enough.

Scott Luton (15:33):

Yeah. Great point there. I’m so glad you mentioned that before we talk about some accomplishments. I didn’t, we didn’t talk enough about your aviation experience in the, uh, while you’re actively serving the Navy before you were pulled up into the top ranks because you flew P threes, right?

Casey Coane (15:51):

[inaudible] flew them on active duty in the South Pacific Japan, South Korea, and all the way down in the South Pacific. And then, uh, my reserve squadron, as I mentioned, was in new Orleans and we deployed to the Mediterranean every year. So I flew a lot throughout the entire Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic.

Scott Luton (16:09):

So we undoubtedly have some aviation and through enthusiasts, but for folks that may not be familiar with the B3 airframe aircraft, explain real briefly what that, what that role is.

Casey Coane (16:19):

That’s okay. It’s, it’s a plane we’ve had since the late sixties in a number of different upgraded versions. And it is just now being phased out and replaced by the newer PA. It’s a four engine. It was a four engine land-based turboprop airplane. And the primary mission is to hunt submarines, which is really what we did throughout all the time that I flew that airplane until we got into the later stages. And they got involved in doing reconnaissance and surveillance over land, which is what I did in the Bosnia Kosovo timeframe. And then what the younger folks continued to do and Afghanistan flying Overland reconnaissance missions,

Scott Luton (16:58):

Airframe. And I believe here in the Atlanta area, I know we were both Metro Atlanta and some of the overhaul is taking place. I believe at a, at a manufacturing facility kind of up in your neck of the woods. I’m not sure if that was on the [inaudible] or the new P newer PAs. But what I do know is that that same plant has been produced in the C1 30, which is one of the longest, if not the longest running military air frames in history, if I’m not mistaken hurricanes,

Casey Coane (17:21):

They, uh, over the years, they bought some new wings for the P three. The airplane was, was really constructed out in California, but they had bought some new wings and those wings were, were built at, uh, Lockheed Martin in Marietta.

Scott Luton (17:35):

Yep. You’re spot on. I believe it’s been a couple of years since I’ve toured, but there was a P three or two in the, um, the massive manufacturing complex back in, uh, back then. All right. So as we wrap up this segment of the interview, uh, Adam Cohen, uh, want to get your thoughts on, you know, when you spend as much time serving all these special people, these special organizations through, you know, three plus decades, I’m sure, even though you don’t like talking about it, there’s a long list of accomplishments. What’s one or two that really come to mind that you’re most proud of.

Casey Coane (18:05):

First off, I guess I’m extremely proud that I qualified to be a Naval aviator. That’s still a relatively small group. When you think about all the folks in our society that have preceded us, the fact that I qualified to land airplanes on an aircraft carrier, even though my primary plane, wasn’t a tactical jet. I’m very, very proud of that. Uh, I look back and I told my kids that of all the things I’ve done, probably just doing that. And then as you suggested, most of the things I’m proud of are the compliments of the people that I worked with. Uh, and because your air force I’ll relate this. When I was in Saudi Arabia for those months, I was the deputy commander of the joint task force enforcing the no fly rules over Iraq at that time. So most of that flying was done by the air force, uh, some by the Navy, but we did a lot of that flying at night, which, which meant that the young maintainers were spending 115 degree days outside fixing airplanes and working on them. And on those, those kids just worked tirelessly to make those planes fly for those guys that had to go do the mission. And, uh, so when you look back on what people like that did that you were working with, those are the things that I’m happy to tell people about. Cause that’s what made me proud to be part of that kind of an organization.

Scott Luton (19:21):

Wow. You know, oftentimes whether it’s it’s in private industry like supply chain or in our, in our military, the maintainers don’t get enough. Credit were loud. I was proud of my time being a part of knuckle busters gathering says we celebrated the maintainer. And during that specific campaign, you mentioned no fly zones in the middle East on bet. There were some sixteens from saw air force base that played a role during your time.

Casey Coane (19:46):

Absolutely. Shaw was a big part of that organization, sending those guys over

Scott Luton (19:50):

That’s right. We’re really proud of both the pilots and certainly maintainers and all the folks that are kind of behind the scenes and making sure the mission takes place and happens. And I appreciate your earlier point. It is a very select group to be able to fly in general for a military, but also to be able to land and take off on those moving airfields that are known as aircraft carriers. It’s amazing feat. So yeah,

Casey Coane (20:13):

I’ll add one other piece to that. And that is not only did I get to do that, but I was very fortunate to spend that two years on an aircraft carrier and qualified, uh, to fight the ship, essentially, that qualified to be an officer of the deck on the bridge and, uh, and drive that ship. There is something special about standing out to sea on a Navy man of war.

Scott Luton (20:36):

Talk about being able to project force in a way that few in history I’ve ever had been able the opportunity to do so. I really admire that. And we’re gonna have to bring you back cause I’d love to dive deeper into that. I’m fascinated with so many aspects of a, of Nate carrier task force and what happens and, and the sailings. And, uh, so we’ll, we’ll, we’ll do that, but we’re gonna wrap up this interview really on this next on really the center plate aspect really admire what you’re doing after you have retired and stepped away from active duty with the us Navy. This report was, was shared with our team here, veteran voices, breaking point child, malnutrition imperils America’s national security. I got the executive summary. I bet there’s a ton of research behind it that went into it. I see that the Walmart foundation played a generous role in helping make it happen. That’s really neat to see, but if you could just to set the table a bit, what prompted the research?

Casey Coane (21:26):

Well, mission readiness has been around for almost 11 years. This November it’ll be 11 years. Uh, now we’re over 750, uh, retired admirals and generals that really focus energies on getting others, such as Congress to focus on our nation’s youth. So that’s, that’s the Genesis of what we all are involved in doing in this particular case. Our nation’s youth, uh, about 71%, 73% here in Georgia of the 17 to 24 year old population is ineligible to join the military. They’re ineligible either because they don’t have the academic skills. Uh, and a lot of them that’s the case, or they have a criminal record, or, and this is an increasing percentage about 31% of those 17 to 24 year olds are too obese to make the military fitness requirement. And while the other we’re making headway on those other two reasons, people can’t join the military.

Casey Coane (22:28):

Uh, we’re losing ground on this one. Uh, America is becoming more obese and before we get into, you know, why admirals and generals care, I want to stress that it’s, it’s not just a matter of who can we recruit to be in our military, but admirals and generals have been around a long enough to understand that national security is more than just having a Navy and an air force and an army national security is a lot of things about the country. And one of those is a healthy society. Our medical costs drain a lot of energy out of our society. As recently as 2016, I believe it was 42, uh, 2018 42.4% of American adults are considered obese. That’s a huge staggering number. And while again, we’re concerned with the ability of our military to meet its recruiting requirements. Uh, I heard a doctor just the other day yesterday, as a matter of fact, speaking about, uh COVID and being asked, well, what about Sweden?

Casey Coane (23:30):

And an interesting comment he made back was, well, you know, the sweetest population is a lot healthier than we are. They’re more outdoors, they’re not obese, and that has helped them not have the kind of death rates that other places have had. So it’s, it’s a bigger issue than just what us we admirals and generals like to talk about. But, uh, to get to the nut of your question, COVID the pandemic itself has really exacerbated or brought more to light, both the issue of childhood nutrition. So we can kind of go down that road a little bit, but if you imagine real quickly that you’ve got X number of our population, which is tens in 2017, it was about 13%, if I’m right, but anyway, 11 million children depend on free or reduced school lunch programs. Now consider what we’ve done with school since the summer has ended. A lot of those children aren’t getting the meals they would normally have gotten because they haven’t returned to the classroom. And that’s really brought up a number of things that we could talk about along that line, that a it’s a serious issue for you

Scott Luton (24:44):

First off. I really appreciate your holistic view at looking at national security, because it’s not about the aircraft and your inventory, or it’s not only about the aircraft and the vehicles and the active duty manpower. It goes far beyond that. And I really appreciate how you, you speak to that. And also I think what I admire is we can act in the interest of, of securing our national security and do a lot of other good things that isn’t necessarily about projecting force. It’s about making families healthier and, and making the healthier a number of different ways. So let’s talk about some of the key findings that this particular research, uh, shared, uh, show us more,

Casey Coane (25:22):

Uh, again, you can imagine what has happened with kids that aren’t getting back in school. Uh, we have always had a summer meals program, but of all the children that qualify for a free and reduced lunches at school, only 14% of them participate in the summer meals program, which is why, you know, being in Atlanta, you know, that there are different food banks and things that do things because of that in the summer. But what the pandemic has done is really exacerbated that and show how difficult that is for all those children that kind of get fed during the year that aren’t being fed now. And one of the reason is, uh, those organizations that do the feeding, meaning the school summer meals program, they use what are called congregate sites. So typically it’s the school cafeteria, right? And there is very little done to allow parents and children that can’t easily transport to get those meals.

Casey Coane (26:24):

Uh, so that is one of the findings of this that’s that has really shown that because of the pandemic we’re seeing even more need for rules to be a little more free as to what the schools can do, what the meal providers can do under law to get meals to kids that can’t get to them themselves. And, you know, we can jump down the road, but, uh, that’s what we’re asking Congress to do is to look at all of these programs that started back in 1946, when, uh, general Hershey testified to Congress that during world war two 40%, 41%, uh, potential recruits were turned away from malnutrition, which back then was kind of, they were too thin, too, not nourished well enough now we’re seeing the opposite effect, but the effect is the same. They’re not healthy

Scott Luton (27:13):

Comment. And let’s, if there’s any other key findings before we get to some of the corrective actions that the group is advocating for, we’ve had a fascinating entrepreneur own its own supply chain. Now that talked to, she was with the organization, she founded called gooder, G O O D R. We’re going to get you all connected. She, one of the great things she shared during her interview with us is that starvation or those going out without is not a supply issue. It’s a logistics issue to your point that these sites were folks that are in need, are used to going and getting fed and receiving these, these resources during something like the pandemic, the logistics behind the operational behind all that changes dramatically and the challenges changed. So I really appreciate what you shared there, and really if we can put our best and brightest amongst us leaders amongst us to figure out, okay, we got lots of supply ton of supply, and unfortunately, a plenty of, a lot of folks in need. How do we fix those logistics in terms of those that go without, and then the other half of the coin that you’re speaking to is on the obesity side. And perhaps I’m not sure what your take is if it’s better access to dietary programs or better health care, or maybe a combination of all that, what’s your take on those that maybe have access to food, but they’re not getting a lot of other exercise or, or dietary guidelines around it.

Casey Coane (28:29):

Sure. Well, and that’s, that’s a very good question because one of the things that may be counterintuitive to people is that obesity is also a sign of malnutrition for a number of reasons. But if you think about it easily, cheap foods are fatty foods. It’s easy to get French fries. They don’t cost a lot, right? Fresh fruits and vegetables is a different thing. So families that tend to struggle with what we, uh, we call food insecurity. And let me digress for a second to say food insecurity is, uh, is, is the new buzzword, if you will, about these kinds of things, but what does that mean to a child? Food insecurity means that as a child, I don’t know when my next meal is actually going to happen. And I don’t know from where it will come. I mean that that’s a terrible place to be if you’re a child. So that’s, the food insecurity is a big piece of this, but because of that families that are struggling financially, and now we see more of that because of COVID forced layoffs and so forth, they tend to need now to stretch their dollar. And one of the ways to stretch the dollar is buy cheaper, more fatty, easy to get food and less fresh fruits and vegetables. So that’s where that part fits in that we see on a danger of increasing obesity.

Scott Luton (29:54):

I appreciate you clarifying. I was probably making too simple minded of an argument because you’re right. I appreciate how you’re rolling.

Casey Coane (30:02):

Let me give you an example for one of the remedies to that. So we have the, uh, supplemental nutrition assistance program, which more commonly would be called food stamps. There’s an incentive built into that program that incentivizes families to buy fruits and vegetables. If they buy more fruits and vegetables, they get more money added to their account. But what we’re going to see now, or what we think we’re seeing with the pandemic is they got less other money from other places. So they’re trying to stretch that dollar and therefore they tend to not take advantage of that, but to buy the cheaper food that stretches their overall budget. So that’s an issue that needs to be addressed. And we can talk more about the specifics, but the bottom line for us as an organization is we need Congress to revisit all of these programs, that snap program. I just mentioned the supplemental nutrition for women, infants and children called WIC and the school lunch program and see where we can strengthen those programs, where we can loosen up some of the regulations that deal with those logistics, the distribution of food, where we can work with suppliers because supply places like school cafeterias, that logistics train is also stressed by the pandemic. So those are things we’re asking Congress to look at and see where we can make some real improvements. Yes,

Scott Luton (31:22):

I think we’ve all acknowledged. One of the big challenges we’ve had in 2020 from a food supply chain standpoint, one of them is you’ve got a commercial supply chain and then you’ve got the consumer supply chain for food. And when one breaks down, it’s very difficult to divert the packaging we see and how one’s built here for the other. And that’s factored into the, some of the suppliers she’s we have had. So, um, I’m hoping as a, as a practitioner in supply chain that we can address some of those things. So that inevitably when we have another huge unforeseen challenge, historical challenge that we’ve had in 2020, that we can, we can make some of that crossover easier, or at least more effective.

Casey Coane (32:00):

I think you made a great point, uh, just to digress for a second, that I have some friends here in town they’re involved in supply chain work, and the average person doesn’t understand necessarily why when you used to be producing a 50 pound bag for a restaurant, and now you need a four pound bag for a grocery store, more than you needed the restaurant bag. It’s not easy to shift all that management of the production of all those materials, the assembly line, the chains that do that work don’t easily go from a 50 pound bag to a four pound bag. It can’t be done. You’ve got to completely change your infrastructure.

Scott Luton (32:37):

Yep. Completely agree, sir. So you’ve mentioned a couple of thing of the corrective actions that you’re at your you and the mission readiness leadership or advocating. What else, what else can we do beyond clamoring for congressional action to make some of these policies more flexible for folks that are in the situation and need a more flexible means to address their food and security challenges?

Casey Coane (33:03):

Well, you know, I spoke to the big congressional piece because we are involved every day with Washington, but a lot of these things are much more local, a lot of the rules and regulations that affect the logistics for getting food out to, to children in need are much more locally driven. So I suspect that, you know, I would answer your question by saying, parents need to get involved. People need to understand that there are things that, that could be done to improve the ease of serving the disadvantaged communities or, and a lot of that’s rural. You know, I think, I think in my own mind, I tend to think of disadvantage and I think of inner city troubles. Uh, but it’s not just inner city children. It’s rural children that are out there where there isn’t a whole lot of infrastructure. And we certainly have a lot of that here in Georgia.

Casey Coane (33:51):

Uh, that’s where some of the true food needs are, it is out there where that, that those you and I, that live here in the metropolitan area don’t necessarily think about. So there’s a lot that parents could do. I think that that civic community organizations could do to just become more aware of, uh, of the food insecurities that are in existence and work to help loosen up some of those regulations or help with the logistics itself, the transportation, uh, to make those things work. I mean, if, if you’re a school principal today, you got an awful lot on your plate, you could use some help probably

Scott Luton (34:26):

Only imagine. And we got to hug on those educators and the administrators that are dealing with these historically unforeseen, at least in modern American life situations that you’re dealing and trying to make the best decisions and accommodate for all the needs that the kids from different walks of life have. All right. So you’ve already mentioned a couple of times, you’ve suggested a couple different ways folks can get involved. Anything else I want to make sure we don’t leave anything off the table. How else can you, would you share with our listeners that they can get involved in this critical initiative?

Casey Coane (34:55):

Well, I suppose I, one of the things I would offer is you can contact, you know, mission readiness. You can, uh, I want to make sure I get it right. So I’m not going to read you something off of my memory. I’m going to look it up for you, but I’m with you, but, uh, you know, cause you and I both, we hit an email that we always hit and that’s not necessarily the right place, but mission readiness can be reached@teamatmissionreadiness.org. And on that site, you can find a lot of ways to get involved with what it is we do in mission readiness as part of a larger umbrella organization, which is the council for strong America. And that is strong america.org. So there, there are places that people could weigh in. You would find their ways, uh, things we haven’t discussed that you might want to take up with your local Congressman, your state representative. Uh, so I think that’s a site to go and look at there’s there is a lot of research, so I’m happy to be here speaking to you as, as do the other 750 admirals and generals, but there’s a big research team behind all this. I mean, well educated PhD folks that spend their life looking at child development and what we can do. So there’s plenty of resource available online, outstanding. Data-driven, uh, I love the hallways, all hallways.

Scott Luton (36:12):

Absolutely. So on that note and we’ll make sure Adam or Coleen that we try to make it one click for our listeners to hear what you’re sharing and then find it in the show notes and connect with these groups. So we’ll try our best to do that, you know, beyond all that. I really appreciate your time here today. I loved your back. You taking the time to walk us through your journey throughout your military service. And then of course what you’re doing now. And it just reminds me one of the last shows we published here was with a former enlisted sailor, lower net Vestal. And one of the things he really left with us is that how veterans have a storied tradition of once they take the uniform off per se, and either separate or retire. So oftentimes they continue their service in other ways. And that’s exactly what you and, and all the other members of mission readiness that you’ve mentioned are doing. And you continue to grit, debt of gratitude we have. And I, and on behalf of our listeners and our community here at veteran voices and supply chain, now we really, really appreciate your continued active leadership.

Casey Coane (37:18):

Well, I appreciate that, but let’s not, let’s not leave you out of that because Scott, you’re still doing the same thing, worrying about taking care of the people that need taken care of. And so we appreciate that.

Scott Luton (37:30):

Um, we look forward to having you back. We’d love to get an update as we see new, hopefully better numbers and, and some of the corrective actions start to take root. Uh, we’ve been talking with rear Admiral, Casey Cohen, us Navy retired, also a member of mission readiness, a pleasure to sit down and chat with you, sir,

Casey Coane (37:45):

Happy to chat with you. Anytime Scott, you know, sailors always have lots of sea stories.

Scott Luton (37:50):

Thanks so much, and we’ll have you back soon. Thank you to our audience. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this conversation as much as I have as an honored sit down with Adam [inaudible] and learn a lot more about his journey, all of his service, including the mission he’s on. Now on behalf of the entire team here at veteran voices, we invite you to find us and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from. Find us two on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. And are you a veteran with a special story to tell, Hey, reach out to us and let us know this is Scott Luton wishing all of our listeners, nothing but the best do good give forward and be the change that’s needed. And on that note, we’ll see you next time here on veteran voices, you

Speaker 2 (38:48):

[inaudible].

Featured Guests

Rear Admiral Casey W. Coane served as a Navy pilot and senior officer for thirty-four years. He now serves as a member of Mission: Readiness since 2010 and is currently a Board Member on the Council for a Strong America.

Read the recent report “Breaking Point: Child Malnutrition Imperils America’s National Security” https://www.strongnation.org/articles/1335-breaking-point

To get involved in this important initiative, contact the Mission: Readiness team for more information: team@missionreadiness.org

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

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Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

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Mary Kate Love

VP, Marketing

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

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

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Joshua Miranda

Marketing Specialist

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

Donna Krache

Director of Communications and Executive Producer

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

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Vicki White

Controller

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

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Ben Harris

Host

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

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Page Siplon

Host, The Freight Insider

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

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Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

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Katherine Hintz

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

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

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Kim Winter

Host, Supply Chain Now

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

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

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

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Adrian Purtill

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Adrian Purtill serves as Business Development Manager at Vector Global Logistics, where he consults with importers and exporters in various industries to match their specific shipping requirements with the most effective supply chain solutions. Vector Global Logistics is an asset-free, multi-modal logistics company that provides exceptional sea freight, air freight, truck, rail, general logistic services and consulting for our clients. Our highly trained and professional team is committed to providing creative and effective solutions, always exceeding our customer’s expectations and fostering long-term relationships. With more than 20+ years of experience in both strategy consulting and logistics, Vector Global Logistics is your best choice to proactively minimize costs while having an exceptional service level.

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Kevin Brown

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Jose Miguel Irarrazaval

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Nick Roemer

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Allison Giddens

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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

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Billy Taylor

Host of Dial P for Procurement

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

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

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

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

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Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

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

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Chantel King

Social Media Manager

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

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

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

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Trisha Cordes

Administrative Assistant

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

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Clay Phillips

Business Development Manager

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

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Amanda Luton

Vice President, Production

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

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Constantine Limberakis

Host

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

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Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

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

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Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

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

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Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

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

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

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Kevin L. Jackson

Host of Digital Transformers

Kevin L. Jackson is a globally recognized Thought Leader, Industry Influencer and Founder/Author of the award winning “Cloud Musings” blog.  He has also been recognized as a “Top 5G Influencer” (Onalytica 2019, Radar 2020), a “Top 50 Global Digital Transformation Thought Leader” (Thinkers 360 2019) and provides strategic consulting and integrated social media services to AT&T, Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson and other leading companies. Mr. Jackson’s commercial experience includes Vice President J.P. Morgan Chase, Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. He has served on teams that have supported digital transformation projects for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Intelligence Community.  Kevin’s formal education includes a MS Computer Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School; MA National Security & Strategic Studies from Naval War College; and a BS Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. Internationally recognizable firms that have sponsored articles authored by him include CiscoMicrosoft, Citrix and IBM.  Books include “Click to Transform” (Leaders Press, 2020), “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” (Packt, 2018), and “Practical Cloud Security: A Cross Industry View” (Taylor & Francis, 2016). He also delivers online training through Tulane UniversityO’Reilly MediaLinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems EngineeringCarrier Onboard Delivery Logistics and carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control. While active, he also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

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Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

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

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

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

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Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

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

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

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Greg White

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

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

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

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

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

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

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