Many of today's supply chain pros are more than just leaders within their space; they're innovators, decision makers, pioneers of change and growth. They've spent the last year (and more) creating safer, more efficient supply chains. And the words used to describe many of this year's winners range from passionate visionaries and influential mentors to strategic decision-makers and collaborative leaders.
They are the true pioneers of change, growth and efficiency.
NEW THIS YEAR: This year's Pros to Know award was broken down into four distinct categories:
- Top Procurement Pros -- Recognizes professionals in the procurement space.
- Top Shippers -- Recognizes professionals in the transportation space, including freight, trucking, rail, air cargo, ship/ports, etc.
- Rising Stars -- Recognizes young or newer professionals (39 and under) whose achievements, hard work and vision have shaped the supply chain network.
- Lifetime Achievement -- Honors company leaders who’ve made outstanding contributions to the supply chain space. Must have at least 10 years’ documented experience in supply chain and logistics.
Each category consists of a bevvy of winners who continue to go above and beyond to overcome challenges, advance supply chain management and make the impossible, possible.
Recipients of this year’s award will be profiled in Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s special edition print issue, which will be distributed at MODEX 2024. Head to booth # A9404.
WHAT'S ALSO NEW THIS YEAR, we now have four overall winners, one for each category, whose application and their journey stood out above the rest.
Let's first meet the four overall winners:
Chris Bahr
EVP & CIO, TA Services
TOP SHIPPER
Chris Bahr
EVP & CIO, TA Services
https://www.taservices.com
Chris Bahr is TA Services’ go-to authority for executing growth strategy, and has been a major strategic force behind many of TA’s growth initiatives. He is adept in operations, pricing, data analysis, sales, risk management, and integrating culture and systems for TA’s M&A activities. In 2023, Bahr was VP of brokerage operations for TA Services, before being promoted to his current position of EVP and CIO in June 2023. When TA Services acquired KPI Logistics, Bahr was instrumental in expediting and streamlining the process of integrating KPI into the TA Services’ network and organization. As part of his efforts, he transitioned KPI's previous operations systems to TA's McLeod TMS. Bahr began his career as a traffic coordinator at Transfreight in 2006, where he quickly climbed to project support and logistics coordinator. Then in 2008, he became a freight consultant, then progressed to a national account manager for a collective six years at Access America Transport. From 2014-2017, he served as senior sales representative at Coyote Logistics before joining the TA Services team in 2017.
But what separates him from others is his passion and understanding for data. Thanks to measuring and monitoring data, Bahr aims to help TA Services reach $1 billion in revenue by 2025 through creating efficient and innovative systems and processes. Using enhanced tools and reporting will provide greater pricing performance visibility and more stringent carrier vetting protocols. Plus, it gives TA’s brokers more visibility with centralized, highly customizable, and easily digestible reports and metrics.
What's ahead? Bahr would also like to revamp TA's carrier vetting process and with a new carrier onboarding platform, streamline communications between desk level operators and the carrier services team, helping to mitigate risk, avoid potential shipping delays and "work smarter, not harder."
CLICK HERE to read our exclusive interview.
Joseph DiClemente
Senior Director, IT Purchasing, Vendor Portfolio Management, Internal Process & Strategy, Canoo Technologies
TOP PROCUREMENT PRO
Joseph DiClemente
Senior Director, IT Purchasing, Vendor Portfolio Management, Internal Process & Strategy, Canoo Technologies
https://www.canoo.com/
Over the past 12 months, Joseph DiClemente has played a pivotal role in steering Canoo's IT landscape and operational efficiency. Serving as senior director of IT purchasing, vendor portfolio management, internal process and strategy, tasked with cultivating a positive influence within the automotive industry, shaping a collaborative and uplifting culture internally with stakeholders, promoting leadership and empathy throughout the company and educating and raising awareness about the benefits of electric vehicles. He previously served as VP of sales and quality assurance at RPM, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the firm's strategy, fostering the growth of sales representatives, and ensuring quality assurance across the organization. Prior to RPM, he held diverse positions at General Motors, where he managed contracts exceeding $324 million.
But what separates DiClemente from the others is his ability to save the company and its customers money.
For example, DiClemente has executed over 350 contracts, resulting in $225 million in savings, a significant accomplishment given the yearly spend of $350 million. He also reduced vendor count from 150 to 85 by championing internal MVP discussions and applying lean principles. This strategic move led to a substantial yearly spend reduction from $350 million to $125 million, showcasing effective cost management and streamlined operations. He also revitalized the IT organization through transformative and lean initiatives, achieving 100% improvement in meeting deadline commitments within just 4 months, and established and led a Process Improvement Steering Committee comprising 12 members, resulting in $1 million return on investment. This initiative demonstrated fiscal responsibility and laid the groundwork for continuous improvement, with 87-plus projects currently in the pipeline and the company eventually obtaining ISO 9001:2015 certification.
What's ahead for DiClemente? He's aiming to achieve cost savings of $3 million in the IT budget, implement effective vendor payment management strategies, develop and deploy an automated renewal tracker for IT contracts to reduce manual efforts and support the launch of special projects and Q1 manufacturing.
CLICK HERE to read our exclusive interview.
Casey Smock
Southeast VP, XPO
RISING STAR
Casey Smock
Southeast VP, XPO
www.xpo.com
As a new VP of the Southeast region at XPO, Casey Smock has spearheaded transformative initiatives to elevate his region to new heights within the company. Rising from humble beginnings as a dockworker at FedEx at the age of 21, Smock climbed the ranks, transitioning from a supervisor of operations to becoming a manager of a service center all before the age of 26. Since joining XPO in 2020 as a service center manager, Smock has continued to rise through the ranks quickly to become senior district director in 2021 and his current role in mid-2023.
But, it's his focus on growth, optimization and strategy that separates him from the others. For the past 12 months, Smock has taken on increasing responsibilities in the Southeast region, ensuring XPO had the capacity to better serve the area, especially after a major player exited the market. He oversaw operations in 12 service centers, and by the end of 2023, had expanded his oversight to 20 service centers across three states. In doing so, he deployed staff to struggling facilities, assigned metrics/KPIs to owners to drive improvements, and communicated clear messages to ensure consistent service and support across each service center. Simultaneously, he oversaw three size adjustments of service centers and successfully managed changes in employees, tonnage, and shipment count without any disruption to the operations. What's more is, he approached XPO's COO about reweighing hazmat shipments for enhanced accuracy in billing, regulatory compliance, and safer transportation. Just one week after Smock's proposal, the company announced the adoption of this idea. This strategic move has empowered XPO to handle hazmat shipments with heightened efficiency. Smock also has focused on realigning the company’s operating districts amid consolidation. For instance, XPO consolidated 23 operating districts to 15 districts, combining his region with Orlando, Fla.’s region. Initially, the newly combined regions were expecting a significant financial loss, however, under Smock's guidance, these regions continue to drive outstanding operational performance with sustainable growth, reaching $1 million in financial targets to close 2023. Smock also demonstrates an equal commitment to fostering employee engagement and ensuring the well-being of all staff, from service centers managers to part-time dockworkers. Over the past year, his region has achieved record-high response rates and positive scores in employee engagement surveys. And, each year, Smock supports the Safety Drive for a Cure event in Atlanta, and brings together XPO teams to run a Truck Driving Championship-style competition that raises funds for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
In 2024, Smock's growth plan entails supporting the opening of a new 60-door service center in Lakeland, Fla., finding ways to encourage his team to excel at their roles and be better leaders and continue to stay connected to his workforce, from dock to door.
CLICK HERE to read our exclusive interview.
Matt Rendall
CEO & Co-Founder, OTTO Motors by Rockwell Automation
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Matt Rendall
CEO & Co-Founder, OTTO Motors by Rockwell Automation
https://ottomotors.com
In 2009, Matt Rendall and three of his university friends built robots in a basement with just $200 in their pockets. This eventually led to the creation of OTTO Motors, which, in 2023, was acquired by Rockwell Automation, allowing Rendall to supercharge his vision for OTTO Motors and provide the company with a long-term home where the company will hold a meaningful role in shaping the future of the industry. This achievement would not have been possible without many other initiatives from the past 12 months. In 2023, under Rendall's leadership, OTTO Motors launched two new automated mobile robots (AMRs) to the market, and unveiled the OTTO Certified Dealer Network to provide high-quality service and support locally throughout North America.
But it's Rendall's determination to help people solve problems with autonomous technology and his passion for mobile robots that separates him from the others. Rendall has spent his entire career cultivating an extensive understanding through continuous learning and working companies to educate them on implementing AMRs into their operations at different paces. As part of Rockwell Automation, his goal for 2024 is to help customers unlock the full potential of their facilities with an end-to-end autonomous production logistics solution.
Rendall doesn't take “no” for an answer. His journey over the past 15 years has been filled with new industries, new products and new hurdles, but within just a decade and a half, his leadership took OTTO Motors from a group of friends building robots in a basement to the autonomous material handling solution of today.
CLICK HERE to watch our video interview, recorded LIVE at MODEX.
CLICK HERE to view the full list of winners.
Below are a couple of additional standouts (in alpha order by company name).
Hannah Kain
President & CEO, ALOM
Hannah Kain
President & CEO, ALOM
https://alom.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
When CEO Hannah Kain founded ALOM in 1997, the company initially served the software duplication and distribution needs of Silicon Valley high-tech firms. Today, ALOM can fulfill orders to 85% of U.S. zip codes in 48 hours or less by ground delivery and is looking to expand further in the region. In preparation to meet future business growth, work is currently underway to build and outfit a new 169,000-square-foot facility at a soon-to-be-announced California location. Kain also continues to advocate and invest in operational and technology measures that will enable ALOM to achieve 80% carbon neutrality by 2030 and 100% neutrality by 2033. Kain also led teams to optimize ALOM physical location service levels, establishing a larger new facility in a lower cost area to consolidate capacity from two smaller facilities in a higher cost area. Also under Kain’s leadership, ALOM has experienced record annual revenue growth averaging 23% over the past 5 years. Goals are in place for 2024 to continue nearsourcing the ALOM supply base to move 5-10% more of its supply base to within 100 miles of less of an ALOM production and fulfillment facility. ALOM reduced its greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 by 37% over the previous year, and in 2024, Kain plans to push teams to meet or exceed the 37% goal.
Rich Watson
Director of Supply Base, ALOM
Rich Watson
Director of Supply Base, ALOM
https://alom.com
Category: Top Procurement Pros
Rich Watson started his professional career going back and forth between being a print buyer/broker and print sales representative for several Bay Area print and packaging companies during the 90s and 2000s. Watson joined ALOM in 2012 specifically to establish and manage a worldwide network of specialty printers to support ALOM customers. His expertise and leadership in sourcing, negotiating, collaborating and onboarding new suppliers resulted in a promotion to his current role as director of supply base management. Present day, he sources high volumes of specialty materials to serve ALOM customer programs in the medical, utility/energy, technology and automotive industries, and spearheads ALOM’s procurement sustainability program, resulting in new recycling and reuse initiatives, material sustainability requirements on all purchasing contracts, supplier sustainability compliance and commitment audits. Watson also spearheaded a supplier nearsourcing initiative, where 80% of all ALOM suppliers are now located within 100 miles of an ALOM production and fulfillment center, contributing to a 37% companywide CO2 emission reduction in 2023. Watson is a champion of ensuring all suppliers are paid on-time and in-full; of small to medium-sized diverse or minority- owned suppliers; of extending customers’ supplier diversity spend into the Tier 2 and Tier 3 level; and of protecting human rights. He also plans to refine and implement a new and improved vendor management system at ALOM that integrates with supplier order intake and management systems to track order production and delivery status.
Ann Marie Jonkman
Senior Director, Global Industry Strategies, Blue Yonder
Ann Marie Jonkman
Senior Director, Global Industry Strategies, Blue Yonder
www.blueyonder.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Ann Marie Jonkman maintains 20-plus years of experience leading teams in continuous improvement and consulting, as well as working with and for logistics service providers (LSPs) in distribution, e-commerce, transportation and shared services in the CPG and retail B2B/B2C operations. She currently serves as senior director, global industry strategies at Blue Yonder, where she counsels LSPs on industry-leading best practices and technology advancements to better position their business through technology, process and leadership. She also collaborates with Blue Yonder’s product development and innovation teams to align on addressing opportunities for customers. Most recently, Jonkman was an integral part of Blue Yonder’s acquisition of Doddle, in which Blue Yonder offers a more comprehensive reverse logistics suite designed to build more sustainable and profitable end-to-end supply chains for LSPs, carriers and retailers. As part of the acquisition team, Jonkman led the sales integration and go-to-market (GTM) efforts; worked closely with both companies to assess competitive intelligence and GTM’s strategies to propel growth; and was key in ensuring the Doddle sales team was welcomed into Blue Yonder. Most recently, Jonkman helped a growing global logistics client expand their portfolio to yard and labor tasking, which allowed the client to focus on educating LSPs on the benefits of connected solutions to streamline and modernize workflows, challenge processes, and gain labor efficiencies. She also added generative AI to her education focus, showing organizations how they can use this technology to organize for future growth. Over the past 19 months, Jonkman revamped Blue Yonder’s Dynamic Price Discovery solution to a complete microservice, ensuring Blue Yonder’s order management solution expanded beyond retailers to LSPs. Jonkman is a self-described chameleon, who has worked in several areas, from logistics and manufacturing to consulting, venture capital and now in software.
Bill Mrzlak
President, ChainSequence, Inc.
Bill Mrzlak
President, ChainSequence, Inc.
https://www.chainsequence.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Bill Mrzlak has been a leading professional working in the supply chain space for over 25 years, sharing his supply chain planning and sales and operations planning (S&OP) knowledge. As president and managing partner of ChainSequence, he has continued to evolve while increasing his firm’s global presence. More specifically, he has been driving the crusade to unite sound supply chain practices with goals-oriented S&OP programs as the most effective means to transforming a fragmented organization into a more centralized, agile and forward-looking 21st century enterprise. In 2023, Mrzlak deployed programs that embrace sound supply chain practices as foundational building blocks. One such project was with a large international $1 billion pharmaceutical company. An S&OP process was previously in place, but it only covered 60-70% of the total product portfolio. The remaining 30-40% of the portfolio had diverse characteristics that required a different way to look at longer range strategic planning relative to the S&OP horizon. Over the course of several months, Mrzlak developed a similar, but parallel S&OP process to account for the nuances of the remaining product portfolio. The result was a view of the complete product portfolio, providing a total top line plan to budget over the strategic S&OP horizon. Mrzlak's time-tested "people-process-technology" approach has resulted in meaningful improvements to the operations and efficiency of supply chain planning organizations in many different industries worldwide.
Frank Bozzo
VP & General Manager, CHEP Canada & Pallecon North America
Frank Bozzo
VP & General Manager, CHEP Canada & Pallecon North America
www.chep.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Frank Bozzo has served as VP and general manager, CHEP Canada & Pallecon North America, since February 2022, where he played a key role in improving Pallecon's gross profit and underlying profit in fiscal year 2023, as well as improving CHEP's NPS and on-time delivery scores. With more than 20 years of industry experience, part of what sets Bozzo apart from others is that he works tirelessly to uplift those around him and problem-solve for the supply chain industry. He champions industry-wide sustainability improvements, actively coaches and guides rising talent, is engaged with CHEP North America's mentorship programs and challenges his teams and colleagues to think innovatively and challenge the status quo. With the recent news of creating the CHEP Americas region by combining previously separate CHEP North America and CHEP Latin America, Bozzo will help create a U.S.-wide strategy to best support customers and retail partners for the CHEP Canada & Pallecon businesses. Over the last several years, since his appointment to GM of CHEP Canada in July 2020 and elevation to include CHEP Pallecon in February 2022, he’s established both businesses for success by driving customer experience and incorporating innovation at every level. This included helping lead a culture shift toward ensuring CHEP always provides a best-in-class customer experience.
Brian Tupper
Director, Asset Control, CHEP USA
Brian Tupper
Director, Asset Control, CHEP USA
www.chep.com
Category: Rising Stars
As an advocate of the circular economy and CHEP’s share, repair and reuse model, Brian Tupper understands the impact lost pallets have on everyone—from manufacturers and retailers to the end consumer. That’s why Tupper, who serves as CHEP's director, asset control, has dedicated the past few years to ensuring empty pallets are promptly collected from non-contracted distributors by CHEP’s Low Volume Recovery (LVR) fleet, a program he's grown from a pilot with less than five people since 2019 to a nationwide collection engine. As a result of the team's rapid growth, the fleet doubled the total number of assets collected, from 2 million in 2022 to 4 million in 2023. This growth included the addition of two new specialized teams within the fleet: one focused on customer engagement and one that brought full truckload capabilities in-house to CHEP. Tupper set the strategy for each fleet and continues to oversee both fleets by combining best-in-class transportation with asset control strategies. He also expanded his team to increase collaboration with the Global Asset Productivity and Digital teams at Brambles (CHEP’s parent company), leveraging technology to deliver customer benefits such as an increased capacity to serve, improved on-time performance and agility to accommodate last-minute collections. Tupper has also championed safety for his teams, helping to reduce motor vehicle accidents and workplace injuries through the LVR fleet’s Transportation Safety & Compliance Team, a team he developed to address gaps in knowledge around the Department of Transportation (DOT) Compliance as well as Transportation and Material Handling Safety. In the next 12 months, Tupper is focused on continuing to grow the size, scope and performance of the LVR fleet by expanding the program’s customer base, increasing the use of digital tools, improving employee experience and leveraging electric vehicles to support sustainability targets. Finally, Tupper and his team developed a roadmap to help CHEP establish its target of equipping roughly 50% of all internal fleets with zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
Britain Pavlic
Director of Transportation Technology, enVista
Britain Pavlic
Director of Transportation Technology, enVista
https://www.envistacorp.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
With a professional tenure spanning three decades, Britain Pavlic, director of transportation technology at enVista, has excelled in various management roles, demonstrating expertise across diverse domains such as supply chain strategy, customer service, carrier sourcing, technology implementations, and solutions architecture and design. Notably, one of her pivotal roles was in shaping and executing a managed service strategy at MercuryGate International, where she served as director of 3PL implementations. Her strategic guidance contributed significantly to the team's achievement, culminating in $7 million out of the $10 million total in new business development that fiscal year. Another notable role as director of logistics for a large shipper was her integral involvement in developing a comprehensive inbound freight management program. Under her stewardship, this program catalyzed a substantial growth from 39% to 52% of company-managed freight within a span of two years. Moreover, it propelled a surge in freight allowance revenue, from $720K to $4.1 million annually. Additionally, Pavlic and her team implemented comprehensive carrier sourcing strategy enhancements, which resulted in a 15% increase in truck utilization, 30% reduction in negative freight spend, and a 20% decrease in overall freight volume. Over the past year, Pavlic and her enVista team have been pioneering the development of an online TMS training platform tailored uniquely to suit the needs of each organization.
Amber Salley
VP of Industry Solutions, GAINS
Amber Salley
VP of Industry Solutions, GAINS
www.gainsystems.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Over the last year, Amber Salley, VP of industry strategy at GAINS, has achieved several initiatives related to supply chain planning (SCP). For example, she created and led the Gartner supply chain plane hype cycle, a comprehensive guide for SCP technology leaders that has been instrumental in shaping long-term strategies for technology and organizational investments in supply chains. Her advocacy for modern supply chain management (SCM) approaches, specifically her emphasis on probabilistic planning, is a testament to her forward-thinking leadership and expertise in the field. Her expertise in advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, robotic process automation (RPA) and the Internet of Things (IoT) has allowed her to work with GAINS in deploying these technologies to achieve maximum benefits. Plus, her focus on the intersection of technology and SCP has helped companies understand the potential and limitations of various technologies and even encouraged businesses to reframe their SCP based on technological advancements and business needs. Salley also promotes a culture of continuous learning and development at GAINS, which involves staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends, technologies, and best practices. She's also strengthened collaboration within GAINS and external partners by leveraging partnerships, participating in industry consortia, and engaging in collaborative projects. Over the next year, Salley plans to develop and further promote the concept of decision-centric planning, enhance supply chain resiliency and agility Recognizing the volatility and complexity of the current global supply chain environment, Amber aims to work on strategies and solutions that enhance supply chain resiliency and agility, accelerate the digital transformation of SCP, continue contributing to research and thought leadership in SCM, and foster more networking and collaborative efforts among supply chain professionals.
Sender Shamiss
Co-Founder & CEO, goTRG
Sender Shamiss
Co-Founder & CEO, goTRG
www.gotrg.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Over the past 12 months, CEO and co-founder Sender Shamiss has led the growth and evolution of goTRG by expanding its suite of innovative services with the creation of two new offerings: ReturnPro (an end-to-end returns management platform tailored to empower third-party sellers and small to medium-sized businesses to solve their returns problems); and goWholesale (a wholesale marketplace built for refurbished, reconditioned, and overstock premium consumer goods). Shamiss initially started goTRG in 2008 with a focus on solving returns for the world's largest retailers and brands and has since innovated and evolved the business with a vision to make returns solutions accessible to everyone. Under his visionary leadership, goTRG recovered $5 billion of valued retail on behalf of its clients and saved 49.5 million pounds of waste from going into landfills through its refurbishing and recycling program — in just the past 12 months alone. Shamiss has spent his career building multiple e-commerce, supply chain, and SaaS companies. He has led strong teams, attracted top talent and is considered a leading expert in returns, returns management, returns software, and the reverse supply chain. In the next 12 months, Shamiss is focused on driving aggressive growth on the enterprise side with goTRG's flagship R1 platform. Simultaneously, over the next 24 months, he is committed to adding thousands of brands to the company's innovative ReturnPro solution.
Patricia J. Moser
Principal & Owner, i3 Advantage Inc.
Patricia J. Moser
Principal & Owner, i3 Advantage Inc.
www.i3advantage.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Patricia Moser has continued to do in the last 12 months what she has done for the last three decades, and that is working with companies to help demonstrate the possible. Currently serving as principal and owner of i3 Advantage, Inc., she has worked with a large municipality to provide a roadmap to transformation, by focusing on the organizational construct, how to create a dynamic governance structure, how to use technology to streamline processes and reduce cycle time, which metrics support the advancement of the lean agenda, how training of clients and vendors is the cornerstone of an effective/efficient supply chain and how a marketing plan focused on enhancing the brand image of procurement ensures added value. She is often called on by mid-career women in supply chain to provide advice on how to advance their careers and how to navigate political issues within their organization. Moser started in supply chain long before it was called supply chain (when it was referred to as materials management). She started in marketing as a management trainee for a vaccine manufacturer, before moving over to production planning and inventory control. From there, she moved into various roles in supply chain and in diverse industries, including international development, infrastructure, information technology, telecommunications, government, banking, distribution, NGOs and healthcare. In 2015, Moser joined the United Nations as a CPO for a large agency, which meant upending her personal life and moving overseas. There, she spearheaded moving the agency from a paper-based procurement function to one of procurement excellence. Looking ahead, Moser will continue consulting with clients, with a particular focus on sustainability and transformation.
CLICK HERE to watch our exclusive video interview.
Raj Mahalingam
Supply Chain Data Scientist, Intel Corporation
Raj Mahalingam
Supply Chain Data Scientist, Intel Corporation
https://www.intel.com
Category: Rising Stars
Raj Mahalingam serves as supply chain data scientist at Intel Corporation, where he developed an automated, sophisticated system that provides real-time tracking and allocation. This solution delivered efficiency improvement of 416 hours annually for the procurement team and avoided an estimated $300,000 in operating costs. Previous to his role at Intel, he worked at Cardinal Health, where, in 2022, he developed a drug supply disruption optimization project that leverages historical data and machine learning to forecast product restocking times. Mahalingam also pioneered the supply disruption tool for predictive holdouts, which automates the process of identifying alternative pharmaceuticals during supply disruptions, and played a pivotal role in transitioning Cardinal Health’s supply chain operations' technological infrastructure to a cloud computing environment. Mahalingam also mentors individuals within the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) and INFORMS, and contributes to Columbus, Ohio’s, Community Information Exchange, where he dedicates time to initiatives aimed at addressing supply chain challenges. Mahalingam also completed courses on blockchain, financial risk modeling, design thinking for innovation and Lean six sigma yellow belt for process improvement and operational excellence.
Sarah Barnes-Humphrey
Founder, Let's Talk Supply Chain
Sarah Barnes-Humphrey
Founder, Let's Talk Supply Chain
www.letstalksupplychain.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Sarah Barnes-Humphrey serves as founder of Let's Talk Supply Chain podcast and developed Blended Pledge, a non-profit designed to give grants to cover travel expenses so that 3-4 under-represented voices in the supply chain could travel to a conference to speak. The Blended Pledge initiative gives a platform and opportunity for supply chain leaders to feel seen and heard and connect with one another on hard topics. The application-based grant program has created an affordable membership community with exclusive content that includes best practices from some of the biggest supply chain leaders and provides life changing/career-changing opportunities to learn, network, mentor, move careers forward and bring the supply chain community together. In fact, Blended Pledge partnered with the Women in Supply Chain Forum, hosted by Supply & Demand Chain Executive, to fully cover travel expenses to two attendees (and Women in Supply Chain winners). The need to help others stems from Barnes-Humphrey's journey, when in 2017, she lost everything pertaining to her original podcast program. So, she taught herself graphic design, social media and website design, and in 2018, rebranded to Let's Talk Supply Chain. In January 2018, she launched her Women in Supply Chain series, and continues to advocate for women and diversity in the supply chain.
CLICK HERE to watch our exclusive video interview.
David Miller
Senior Director, The Marino Group
David Miller
Senior Director, The Marino Group
www.mrs-cmc.com
Category: Rising Stars
David Miller, senior director for The Marino Group, has accomplished great tasks over the past 12 months, including working with his team to open new state-of-the-art depots in Houston, Texas, and Mobile, Ala.; championing and implementing The Marino Group's home-grown Terminal Operating System; and developing 24Safety, a safety and risk management program that works toward keeping employees, partners, customers and vendors safe in the workplace. He currently serves as the youngest board member for the West Gulf Maritime Association and is the youngest senior director for The Marino Group. His goals for 2024 and beyond entail achieving zero lost time accidents, expanding operations nationwide and recruiting, coaching and retaining young talent. Miller was also named a recipient of Food Logistics' 2024 Rock Stars of the Supply Chain award.
CLICK HERE to watch our exclusive video interview.
Nick Banich
Chief Revenue Officer, Miebach Consulting
Nick Banich
Chief Revenue Officer, Miebach Consulting
https://www.miebach.com/us/en
Category: Rising Stars
Nick Banich, chief revenue officer for Miebach Consulting, plays a pivotal role in sponsoring and supporting a number of client transformation engagements, including guiding a specialty retailer through the re-design of its distribution network and assessing its facility automation feasibility to better align with forecasted growth and expansion of the business. Internally, Banich was instrumental in supporting the expansion of Miebach’s parental leave policy expansion in the United States and Canada to include benefits for both primary and non-primary caregivers. He also led the team in new branding strategy as well as the upcoming launch of Miebach’s sub brand, Miebach Digital, to support the needs of clients looking to harness the power of data to unlock supply chain potential. In the next 12 months, Banich plans to introduce Miebach’s solution capabilities for the airport and baggage handling systems industry to the North American market, enhancing airports’ safety and security while enabling more streamlined service for travelers. When he joined the Miebach Group almost 9 years ago, he was the youngest partner ever nominated in the company’s history.
CLICK HERE to watch our exclusive video interview.
Maureen Sullivan
Managing Director, Global Head of Supply Chain Finance, MUFG
Maureen Sullivan
Managing Director, Global Head of Supply Chain Finance, MUFG
https://www.mufgamericas.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Maureen Sullivan was appointed global head of supply chain finance and co-head of working capital solutions at MUFG in 2023, maintaining full P&L responsibility for the Supply Chain Finance (SCF) practice and leading a direct and indirect team of more than 150 subject matter experts who provide corporate clients with products that optimize working capital and provide early payment options for their suppliers. During Sullivan's tenure, the MUFG SCF franchise has experienced threefold growth, delivering value-added solutions to hundreds of clients. During the past year, Sullivan led the expansion of MUFG’s SCF business to cover clients also based in Europe, and launched SCF to Asian-based clients with new transactions booked in MUFG’s Singapore regional hub. She also played a critical role in the completion of the sale of Union Bank to U.S. Bancorp by leading the transfer of the Trade Payables Services technology platform from Union Bank to MUFG. She also developed a sustainability component within SCF structures, with an S&P-accredited SCF program called Transition SCF Financing, which allows the client to select suppliers who can provide sustainable improvements as they transition to a greener business model. Over a career spanning more than 30 years and positions with MUFG, HSBC, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Citi, Sullivan has held senior roles while providing trade and SCF to banking clients, including buyers, suppliers, and distributors who often pledge inventory for asset-based finance.
Jagan Reddy
Managing Partner, Netlogistik
Jagan Reddy
Managing Partner, Netlogistik
http://www.netlogistik.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Jagan Reddy, managing partner of Netlogistik, has been in the supply chain industry since 1995, working tightly with customers to understand their issues and challenges, then creating solutions to help meet these issues today and in the future. Reddy has led Netlogistik to implement solutions from Blue Yonder, SAP, Honeywell and others, and has helped the company streamline its integration offerings between the WMS and partnering with warehouse automation providers. This past year, Reddy led his team to penetrate the U.S. marketplace by adding 100 employees to the U.S. marketing team and almost doubling revenue from last year. Reddy maintains 20-plus years' experience in strategy, transformation and P&L management in enterprise software businesses ranging from a $30 million SaaS provider to a $1 billion supply chain/retail software company. His core competencies include strategic vision and planning, strategy management, go-to-market strategy and planning, product strategy and development, product marketing, SaaS and platform business models, global business development, M&A due diligence/integrations and global account management. This next year, he will pursue a PhD in business, and aims to teach a business curriculum that involves digitization, business, and supply chain and how these technologies impact the market.
Jason Tham
Co-Founder & CEO, Nulogy
Jason Tham
Co-Founder & CEO, Nulogy
www.nulogy.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Jason Tham, co-founder and CEO of Nulogy, has sat in the seats of many of his customers, having worked in manufacturing, packaging and contract manufacturing. He is not just an executive sitting behind a desk; he can empathize with customers. His biggest accomplishments have been launching new products for Nulogy and creating what he calls the company’s Moonshot, an innovation pipeline of products, particularly for collaboration between the myriad of trading partners within a supply chain network. Under Tham’s leadership, Nulogy established key partnerships with other industry software leaders, which has enabled a robust ecosystem that empowers customers to leverage best-of-breed solutions to their unique supply chain challenges. He also helped launch Nulogy’s Supplier Collaboration Solution, which enables network orchestration by providing shared transparency into the deep transactional data of the supply ecosystem. Other key achievements include leading a $20 million CAD funding raise for Nulogy. Under his stewardship, Nulogy has grown its presence in Europe in recent years, won many new customers in emerging markets, and experienced tremendous growth in under-served regions that may also be at earlier stages of maturity in digital transformation. Additionally, Tham was instrumental in hiring more senior women executives in the company as well as members of the board; helped establish an education fund for all employees where they can apply funds toward learning opportunities; helps support tech entrepreneurs through programs focused on capital, talent, technology, and customers; and works with local colleges to create partnership programs that provide students with opportunities to recruit and help create career paths for many of the students.
Hugo Fuentes
CEO, The Owl Solutions
Hugo Fuentes
CEO, The Owl Solutions
https://www.theowlsolutions.com/
Category: Top Procurement Pros
Hugo Fuentes maintains 25 year' experience in supply chain across North and South America. Prior to founding The Owl Solutions, he served as VP of global planning and procurement for Factors Group of Companies, where his insight into the inefficiencies plaguing supply chain operations began to crystallize. In 2018, Fuentes established The Owl Solutions, and as CEO, emphasizes the importance of transforming data into meaningful insights and insights into tangible corrective actions. Over the past five years, The Owl team, under Fuentes' leadership, has assisted mid-sized manufacturers in enhancing their supply chain performance, including one instance that resulted in a +10 basis points improvement in on-time-in-full metrics, and another that resulted in a 90% reduction in time spent on low-value-added activities for clients. By evaluating existing processes, he identifies what works and what doesn't, and then implements solutions to provide clear insights into the supply chain, fostering ongoing monthly support for performance reviews with customers. In the upcoming 12 months, Fuentes aims to empower mid-sized manufacturers, revolutionize procurement practices, streamline and simplify day-to-day tasks, integrate innovative technologies, and implement tools that help make jobs easier.
Jenny Perlitch
Founder & President, Perlitch Transport (formerly known as FutureTrans)
Jenny Perlitch
Founder & President, Perlitch Transport (formerly known as FutureTrans)
https://perlitchtransport.com
Category: Top Shippers
Over the past year, Jenny Perlitch has spearheaded several impactful changes within Perlitch Transport (formerly known as FutureTrans). Under Perlitch's leadership as founder and president, the company secured SmartWay Certification, navigated its first CTPAT audit, expanded office space by 30% to foster a more collaborative and productive environment, and expanded capabilities to better serve clients, resulting in fleet and assets surpassing 50% growth and expanding the company's client list by 30% in 2023. Additionally, she established a dedicated marketing department and implemented over 30 new tools and systems to optimize operational efficiency; streamlined shipment booking processes; integrated smart maps and tools for calculating pay and mileage, and introduced a system to track maintenance needs systematically. Most notably, she designed proprietary TMS that optimizes routes, enables transparency between ports, and reduces excess mileage of fleets. In the next 12 months, her primary focus is to continue enhancing Perlitch Transport's proprietary TMS to maximize efficiency, user-friendliness and sustainability. She also aims to eliminate extraneous manual processes and data fragmentation through superior design and integration that seamlessly connects ports, vehicles, and warehouses.
Thomas Moore
CEO & Founder, ProvisionAI
Thomas Moore
CEO & Founder, ProvisionAi
http://www.provisionai.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Tom Moore is CEO and founder of ProvisionAi and Transportation Warehouse Optimization, which ProvisionAi just acquired. He also founded AutoScheduler.AI, which is now run by his son, Keith Moore (who was also named a winner of this year's Pros to Know award). Moore maintains over 40 years of experience in the supply chain industry, having started working in supply chain through his start in operations research. In the past year, he’s focused on helping the Top 25 companies in the CPG markets recognize savings in their supply chain processes. Prior to founding his businesses, he ran warehouses, truck fleets and production and supply planning. In the last year, he ramped up the implementation of LevelLoad, a next-generation transportation scheduling tool that fixes replenishment by bridging the gap between supply planning and execution. Working with a team, he developed the original optimization algorithms for AutoScheduler.AI, ProvisionAi, and Transportation Warehouse Optimization to help businesses make data-driven decisions that lead to more efficient and cost-effective supply chain operations. His goal is to remove 188,000 trucks off the road in 2024 by deploying more Auto02 load-building systems and transportation planning systems.
Anya Skomorokhova
Co-Founder & COO, PorterLogic
Anya Skomorokhova
Co-Founder & COO, PorterLogic
https://www.porterlogic.com
Category: Rising Stars
Anya Skomorokhova is co-founder and COO of PorterLogic, tasked with go-to-market strategy and execution, business development, finance and operations, and boosting PorterLogic’s profile and brand awareness. Since joining PorterLogic last summer, she has been driving all go-to-market and commercialization efforts, which include business development, finance, and operations. In 2023, she built a $3 million direct sales pipeline and sourced $1 million of additional partner opportunities within a year, resulting in PorterLogic growing revenue by 300%, doubling the size of its partner ecosystem, and doubling the size of the team. Also in 2023, Skomorokhova worked to help PorterLogic create the most impactful low-code supply chain solutions possible, all while making an impact as a woman in the supply chain. Going into 2024, Skomorokhova plans to continue growing the PorterLogic customer base, expanding the customer pipeline and brand awareness and giving supply chain teams the systems they need to maintain their competitive advantage.
Jonathan Porter
CEO & Founder, PorterLogic
Jonathan Porter
CEO & Founder, PorterLogic
https://www.porterlogic.com
Category: Rising Stars
Jonathan Porter is the founder and CEO of PorterLogic, leading the team through a year of growth. In the past year, he's guided a team that’s grown revenue by 300%, doubled the size of its partner ecosystem, and quadrupled the size of the team. He also built engineering and customer success teams and continues to spearhead both product development and customer implementation projects, including launching PorterLogic’s largest-to-date customer. After graduating with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2015, where he was also a Denning Technology and Management scholar, he started his career working with supply chain and business intelligence software at Manhattan Associates, before working at startups and boutique consulting firms. After years of seeing how companies need more flexible and modern software to streamline their operations and costs, Porter built the low-code application platform that in November 2020, became PorterLogic. Going into 2024, Porter plans to continue growing the PorterLogic team, especially on the engineering team, as well as supporting current customers and developing the PorterLogic platform to equip more supply chain teams with software that helps connect the procurement, warehousing and demand planning functionality.
Bindiya Vakil
CEO & Co-Founder, Resilinc
Bindiya Vakil
CEO & Co-Founder, Resilinc
www.resilinc.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
For the past 19 years, Bindiya Vakil, CEO and co-founder of Resilinc, has focused her efforts on analyzing and enhancing supply chain risk management. Nearly 13 years ago, she founded Resilinc with the goal of fortifying global supply chains, emphasizing resilience, sustainability, transparency, and security. She's a supporter and longstanding collaborator of SEMI, assuming a pivotal role as a strategic partner within the newly established Industry Advisory Council (IAC) in early 2023, championing the cause of fostering an adaptable and resilient global electronics supply chain. Throughout the year, Vakil devoted considerable time to traversing diverse cities and nations, sharing her wealth of expertise and thought leadership with various government leaders. She's also lent her insights to collaborative forums uniting semiconductor industry stalwarts, government officials and automotive industry leaders, fostering discussions aimed at catalyzing regionalization and fortifying supply chain resilience. Vakil has also offered her expertise on several national broadcasts, including CNBC and Bloomberg; orchestrated a substantial funding round from Vista Equity Partners in May 2023; and committed a significant amount of time driving supply chain initiatives and fostering collaboration between Resilinc and government/defense agencies, healthcare systems, and critical infrastructure. Vakil boasts an extensive 23-year career focused on the supply chain industry, and was named Supply & Demand Chain Executive's first overall Women in Supply Chain winner. Over the next 12 months, her primary objective revolves around advancing AI's capacity to enhance supply chain resilience and will continue to advocate for the multifaceted advantages of a robust supply chain risk management program.
Vee Srithayakumar
Product Manager, Tecsys
Vee Srithayakumar
Product Manager, Tecsys
https://www.tecsys.com
Category: Rising Stars
Vee Srithayakumar's tenure as a product manager at Tecsys has been marked by significant contributions to the evolution of warehouse management systems (WMS), leveraging his deep understanding of warehouse operations. His hands-on experience in managing multiple warehousing environments has positioned him to develop user-centric solutions that address real-world challenges in the supply chain. One of Srithayakumar's most noteworthy achievements in the past 12 months has been the development and release of an automated wave planning solution to enable warehouse users to allocate resources more strategically. This innovation has streamlined operations, allowing planners to focus on more complex, exception-based tasks. Srithayakumar also introduced a flexible replenishment feature, which allows for customizable prioritization and enables supply chain entities to rapidly respond to rush orders. One of his key strategies involves direct on-site engagement with users, where he can provide informed recommendations, and fostering a culture where listening is a priority.
Corinna Hoag
Senior Product Line Manager, Tecsys
Corinna Hoag
Senior Product Line Manager, Tecsys
https://tecsys.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Corinna Hoag has been a positive influence in the supply chain and logistics sector for over 30 years, primarily through her role as a senior product line manager for Tecsys. In this capacity, she actively communicates with supply chain users and leaders to extract valuable insights about their challenges and experiences with their supply chain tech stack. Using this information, she then crafts a visionary end-to-end roadmap for product development, focusing on creating solutions that address these market needs. Hoag’s responsibility is to ensure that the interplay and handoff of supply chain responsibilities across different stakeholders is both seamless and efficient. Over the past year, Hoag collaborated with Workday to integrate a cutting-edge supply chain management solution for the healthcare sector, offering tailor-made, enterprise-wide visibility specifically designed for healthcare settings. Hoag’s technical and accounting expertise helpled ensure that the integrated system was user-friendly and financially sustainable. Her focus revolves around ensuring consistency across applications and facilitating seamless data transfer, particularly in scenarios where cross-docking adds on layers of complexity. She is also involved in pioneering work for Consolidated Pharmacy Service Centers by providing global visibility and traceability of every pharmaceutical within a health system.
Sandon "Sandy" Kane
Procurement Manager, TradeTrans Corporation
Sandon "Sandy" Kane
Procurement Manager, TradeTrans Corporation
www.tradetranscorp.com
Category: Top Procurement Pros
Sandon "Sandy" Kane plays a critical role in ensuring that TradeTrans sources goods and services efficiently, cost-effectively, and in accordance with customers' forecasts and strategic goals. Serving as procurement manager, Kane implemented cost-saving strategies through negotiations, bulk purchasing, strategic sourcing, and vendor management; secured favorable terms and conditions for customers spanning the Middle East to Latin and South America; and worked with the company's internal warehouse management to identify opportunities for cost reduction without compromising quality and white glove service. Kane also built and maintained strong relationships with TradeTrans major suppliers, which included enhancing partnerships, assessing supplier performance, and ensuring vendors adhere to contractual agreements. He's also been instrumental in implementing efficient procurement processes and workflows, serving as the project lead for enhancing TradeTrans' operating system to streamline procedures and implement best practices to optimize the procurement cycle and reduce lead times. Additionally, Kane integrated sustainable and socially responsible practices into the procurement process whenever possible by working with SmartWay transit partners, procuring energy-efficient materials and packaging for international shipping, and procuring items that can be recycled when possible.
Nick Yetsko
VP, Midwest Region, XPO
Nick Yetsko
VP, Midwest Region, XPO
www.xpo.com
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Nick Yetsko was promoted to regional VP at the beginning of 2023, tasked with turning around three under-performing service centers in the Rocky Mountain region. In just under a year, under his leadership, all three service centers saw holistic improvements, spanning quality, service, operational KPIs, and overall profitability. A standout accomplishment came when one of the centers earned recognition as the No. 1 Class 1 service center. Yetsko also played a vital role in navigating and optimizing XPO's organizational landscape over the past year. During this period, he instituted personnel changes that bolstered trust among specific customer groups. He also established mutually beneficial relationships with other companies, customers, and DOT entities, and through external mentorship programs, promoted over 45 of his reports. Over the next 12 months, Yetsko will focus on transforming frontline supervisors into adept leaders and fostering growth through customer-centric approaches and enhancing market share.
Erin Goheen
VP, Technology, XPO
Erin Goheen
VP, Technology, XPO
www.xpo.com
Category: Rising Stars
Over the past 12 months, Erin Goheen, VP, technology for XPO, has spearheaded multiple transformative projects within the pricing, linehaul, and operations sectors for the data science team. Collaborating with data engineering, she’s helped develop workflows to store the output of data science models, subsequently utilized by the business intelligence team to craft insightful dashboards. One noteworthy initiative introduced by Goheen is Dynamic Pricing, a system that dynamically adjusts shipment pricing based on real-time demand and supply dynamics. This flexibility allows customers to benefit from favorable pricing aligned with market conditions. Her strategic approach enables the fine-tuning of data science models to adapt to varying business and market conditions. Also under her guidance, XPO’s tech team developed a framework for calculating freight left behind at every site, identifying potential sites where capacity is being hit and potential reasons for that freight being left behind. Goheen and her team are committed to the widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across various facets of the business, with a specific focus on enhancing operations, sales, pricing, billing, and overall customer experience. Her vision for the next 12 months is laser-focused on the critical pillars of operations and pricing.
Kevin Flynn
VP, National Sales, XPO
Kevin Flynn
VP, National Sales, XPO
www.xpo.com
Category: Top Shippers
Over the past 12 months, Kevin Flynn, VP, national sales for XPO, transitioned to create and oversee the company’s business development team in the national channel, working cross-functionally with internal business partners to build out a team that would secure the national level customers needed to continue to fuel XPO’s long-term growth. Flynn plays a major role in many of the company’s annual renegotiations with key customers, looking for new solutions that benefit both parties. He is a true “student of the industry,” advocating for a sales culture that puts the customer front and center in all internal conversations. He has also been instrumental in adopting new ways of selling, including new technologies. His top goal for 2024 is to develop current talent and mentor people looking to enter leadership ranks.
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