Agenda

Bob Trebilcock has been writing about the supply chain space since 1984. In addition to serving as executive editor of Modern Materials Handling since 2009, he was the editorial director of Supply Chain Management Review from 2013 through 2022 and helped launch the NextGen Supply Chain Conference in 2019.

Brian is the founder and CEO of Peerless Media. He has 30 years of experience in B2B publishing; 27 of which are in the logistics, supply chain and materials handling markets. Brian’s vision when launching Peerless was to create a unique media company for the new digital era in publishing, offering both the traditional print and online B2B products, while adopting new digital services such as market intelligence, SEO enhancement, behavioral targeting and content engagement. His goal is for Peerless to become a full-service media partner to their clients.

Daniel Schwartz joined Medline in 2007 and is currently Vice President of Engineering – Operations.

Schwartz was integral in building and continues to drive Medline’s high-performing operations engineering function. He leads a growing team of 50 engineers in the U.S. and India responsible for designing, optimizing and implementing cutting-edge processes and technology for distribution operations and transportation functions across Medline’s global network.

In 2014, Schwartz co-developed the layout and custom functionality – and led implementation — of the first AutoStore in the U.S. at Medline’s flagship distribution center. This goods-to-person install revolutionized less-than-case fulfillment by improving the speed, accuracy and delivery of essential medical supplies to the continuum of healthcare.

Medline’s enterprise-wide adoption of automation and other digital technology under Schwartz’ leadership has transformed its business – inspiring a surge in automation applications throughout the healthcare distribution industry.

Schwartz leads the field engineering and process engineering teams, supports large customer startups, partners with inbound and outbound transportation teams, and procures and deploys warehouse capital equipment like MHE, conveyors, and racking. His team also supports Medline’s agile information services function by serving as subject matter experts of Medline’s warehouse management systems.

Partnering with other critical functions like real estate, Schwartz oversees complex project management efforts, ensuring optimal and efficient startups and installations of technologies in the many new, converted or upgraded Medline facilities.

Schwartz holds a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and, an M.S. in Engineering Management from Northwestern University. He started his career in healthcare distribution with Cardinal Health prior to joining Medline.

Kate Slattery joined Medline in 2008 and is currently the Vice President of Real Estate, Design, Construction and Corporate Facilities.

Slattery is responsible for Medline’s more than 40 million square-foot global real estate portfolio, for which she manages the planning, transactions and strategic solutions related to the healthcare company’s asset footprint. In addition, she drives LEED Certification across the Medline real estate network in support of Medline’s ESG focus.

Slattery oversees Medline’s building design and construction projects. She introduced and spearheaded the development of the model Medline distribution center — an industry-recognized, Class A, distribution design dedicated to serving the healthcare industry’s continuum of care and enhancing the workplace across Medline’s network. The working environment, throughput, operational efficiency and scale of Medline distribution centers now differentiate the organization and are significant value-adds to Medline’s healthcare partners and employees alike.

In collaboration with Medline leaders of supply chain, operations and engineering, Slattery also advises the company’s strategic partners looking to build resilient, future-ready distribution networks, including consolidated service centers. Additionally, Slattery plays a leadership role in the workplace and amenities structure for Medline’s Northfield, Ill. headquarters and surrounding campuses that house more than 5,000 of its 35,000+ employees.

Slattery began her career after college with a technical foundation, managing construction projects in commercial general contracting prior to joining Medline.

Charan is a senior executive with extensive experience in supply chain management, analytics, and operational insights. Currently serving as the Sr Director of Analytics & Operational Insights at Gopuff, Charan is responsible for driving data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency across the organization.

Before joining Gopuff, Charan spent six years leading Amazon’s last mile supply chain, where he oversaw complex logistics operations and optimized delivery networks to enhance customer experience. He is widely recognized for his expertise in supply chain management, logistics, and transportation, and has led several strategic initiatives to drive operational efficiency and cost savings.

Charan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain from Cal State University, Northridge and a Masters in Global Supply Chain from USC. He is passionate about technology and innovation and is always on the lookout for new ways to drive efficiency and improve business outcomes. Charan is also a mentor and advisor to several startups in the logistics and supply chain industry.

Stephanie oversees the Operations Excellence & Collaborative Innovation Group for Global Ecommerce at Pitney Bowes, Inc to accelerate the modernization and expansion of our network and support operational excellence and long-term growth. Prior roles include leading the Operations Practices and Innovation Group, the Automation and Systems Innovation Group, as Director of Operations for Fulfillment Services and as lead for the Industrial Engineering group for fulfillment services.
Previously, she consulted for West Monroe Partners, serving as an SME in operations and engineering strategies and creating operational assessments to provide unique solutions to customers. Stephanie also started her career at UPS, rotating through various roles during her tenure in hub, package, and transportation.

Tony Gariety is the Vice President of Distribution Operations at Carhartt, a clothing manufacturing company that “Builds Clothes to Protect Hardworking People”. With over 30 years of professional experience that includes Omni Channel Business Development, DC Network & Building Design, and numerous roles in Operations Management & Execution.

He graduated from The Georgia Tech Institute of Technology with a degree in Industrial Management and was a member of the 1991 Division 1 National Football Champions. In his spare time Tony enjoys woodworking, fishing, and hunting.

Senior Director, Global Supply Network Operations
Andrew Byer has 37 years experience in Supply Network Operations at P&G. He has worked in multiple business units and regions, including 12 years based in Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore.)

He currently is P&G’s Global Supply Network Operations capability leader, with responsibility to develop mastery, drive adoption, ensure governance and lead innovation in work process and tools/systems across COE’s spanning planning, logistics, innovation, and customer / supplier collaboration. He is also the P&G Know How leader for the Supply Network Operations in P&G’s Alliance with helping provide EY’s clients with access to P&G’s supply chain expertise, practices and experience.

Previous assignments included shelf-to-cash, transportation and warehousing for P&G’s northeast US businesses. He led major acquisition integrations into P&G’s Beauty and Health supply chains. He led large-scale business process transformation and IT projects, including launching Vendor Managed Inventory with major US retailers and implementing MRPII/SAP ERP across Asia. He led supply chain business and supply planning across P&G’s Global Beauty and Health businesses, including overseeing contract manufacturers and supply chain design studies. He was also supply chain leader for P&G’s North America Hair Care business.

Andrew is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, is married, and has four children.

Craig is currently a Principal leading EY’s global Manufacturing Transformation solutions. He has 24 years of experience across operations, engineering, continuous improvement, and digital transformation from a combination of industry and consulting roles. Craig enables clients across sectors to successfully transform through the adoption of technology and new ways of working by empowering the workforce on the journey to zero loss. As the leader of the EY and P&G alliance he leads a team focused on innovating methods and tools to create more effective, efficient, and sustainable transformations.

Kevin Kuntz is the Sr. Vice President, Logistics & Operations at Gap Inc., leading global logistics operations for all of Gap Inc.’s Customer Experience Centers, as well as its Customer Contact Centers. With a heavy focus on accelerating automation and transformation, Kevin oversees global processing, fulfillment, and distribution across the company’s entire omnichannel network.

During his 35 years with Gap Inc., Kevin has executed end-to-end start-up operations to launch, expand and transform distribution centers internationally, including consulting on location and architectural design, onboarding and implementing automation capabilities, artificial intelligence and machine learning software, and driving efficiencies for materials handling and inventory management.

Kevin began his career at Gap Inc. at 17 years old as a seasonal merchandise handler at one of the company’s distribution centers. Since then, Kevin has held multiple roles of steadily increasing responsibility and scope within Gap Inc.’s logistics and transportation divisions.

Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Thomas More University, and he resides in Gallatin, TN, home of one of Gap Inc.’s largest Customer Experience Centers in North America.

Piyush Bhargava is head of global SIOP at Carrier Global Corporation. He is responsible for leading a global organization of supply chain planning professionals responsible Carrier’s SIOP commitments. and enable decision-making for materials, inventory, and capacity requirements. Prior to Carrier, Piyush has held various senior executive roles at Dell Technologies, General Motors, and Siemens. Piyush serves on various boards aligned with his interest in STEM education as well as sustainability and circularity,

Sean Barbour joined Macy’s in January of 2020 as Vice President of Strategy and Product Flow where he is helping lead a major transformation in Macy’s supply chain. In his current role Sean has responsibility for supply chain strategy and operations, network design, data science and analytics, reverse logistics, customer delivery, international and domestic transportation, logistics, Macy’s Backstage distribution, and Bloomingdale’s fulfillment. Since joining Macy’s Sean has focused on establishing a long-term supply chain strategy, advancing Macy’s analytics and technology capabilities, developing best in class talent, and optimizing Macy’s fulfillment and distribution network speed and flexibility.

Previously Sean worked for Walgreens Boots Alliance for 16 years where most recently he led US supply chain development. In his role as US development lead Sean focused on disruptive supply chain technologies and partnerships capable of delivering superior customer and patient outcomes. Prior to heading up development Sean was responsible for global transportation and logistics after numerous leadership roles in supply chain and store operations. Sean currently serves as an advisory board member for the Transportation Center on Telemobility at Northwestern University and the Global Supply Chain Management Advisory Board at Rider University.

Jay Koganti has more than 22 years of experience building and transforming complex Global Supply Chains as a source of strategic and competitive advantage for enterprises. Jay’s Professional expertise includes developing global supply chain strategies and Global SC Operating models. Extensive Enterprise Transformations from strategy to Operationalization. Enterprise Value creation by Breakthrough Process innovations, solving complex Supply Chain problems by leveraging the new breed of Digital Technologies by nurturing the partnerships and Technology incubation. Operational experience in Global Supply Chain Planning, Distribution, Integrated Business Planning, Supply Chain Analytics & Intelligence, and Execution for fortune 100 companies.

Jay has a unique vision of improving Operational efficiencies of Global Supply Chains by building next-generation sustainability and social equity practices at its core. Jay is a Thought leader and Keynote speaker for numerous Global Supply Chain leadership gatherings and a leading voice of advocacy for Digital Transformation and Process Innovation in the Global Supply Chain community. Jay has a BS in Metallurgical Engineering and graduated from Harvard Business School in General Management (GMP), APICS & SAP SCM Certifications, and completed Value Chain Transformation Program at Wharton.

Arun is a Partner in Kearney’s Strategic Operations Practice. He has twenty years of C-suite, Board & senior management consulting experience across Americas, Europe, and Asia. His experience covers manufacturers, distributors and retailers in multiple industries including Consumer Packaged Goods, Retail, and Process Industries.

Arun’s advisory work focuses on maximizing enterprise value of global businesses through step changes in organic and M&A-led P&L performance. He is known for expertise in Large-scale Transformations, M&A, Operating Model Design, Route-to-market Strategy, End-to-End Supply Chain Improvement, Zero-based Budgeting, Design for Value & Sustainability, and Digital Business Enablement. He routinely publishes and speaks on bleeding-edge operations-related topics on Ivey Business Journal, SCMR, Food & Beverage Magazine, Supply & Demand Chain Executive, Wine & Spirits Daily, APICS, CSCMP, IndustryWeek, and other media outlets.

Arun holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, an MEM in Operations and MS in Transportation Engineering from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, and a BTech in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

André Zdanow is the Executive Director of both FirstBuild and the Small Appliances division of GE Appliances. Prior to GE Appliances, Zdanow served as the Vice President of eCommerce at Gemaire Distributors, a division of Watsco and one of the world’s largest independent distributors of heating, air conditioning, refrigeration equipment, parts and supplies. Before that, he served as the Director at Watsco Ventures, where he oversaw the evaluation of all hardware and Internet of Things investments and distribution opportunities. He has additionally held senior positions at Mophie, StadiumRed Group, and the invention company Quirky, where he was also an early investor in the companies. Zdanow began his career as an entrepreneur operating his own bagel shop, and today is a father of two, the co-executive sponsor of the LouNet Affinity Group, and serves on the Board of Directors for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana.

Abhinav is Partner & Managing Director and leads Digital Operations practice at AlixPartners. He has more than 20 years of experience delivering large scale digitally-enabled business transformation for clients in consumer products industry. His experience includes designing and delivering digital programs with a budget of $500 million. He is a pioneer in applying agile principles and digital technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, machine learning, IIoT, augmented reality and digital twin) to improve client’s operations and deliver over $1 billion bottom line impact. Abhinav is a regular contributor to digital publications such as CIO Insight, Information Management and Supply Chain Management Review. He has MBA from McCombs School of Business, Austin, TX and masters in computer science from a leading engineering school in India.

Sudeep is an accomplished strategy, operation, and transaction leader with more than 22+ years of consulting experience specializing in supply chain, global trade, supply chain, org design, customer and product profitability, turnaround, restructuring, divestiture, and M&A. Prior to joining AlixPartners, he was a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young (EY) in Transaction Advisory Services and focused on diligence, synergy, sourcing, supply chain, working capital, cost improvement and S&OP.

Prior to EY, Sudeep was a principal at Manhattan Associates and worked in supply chain optimization, planning, inventory, logistics, distribution, and fulfillment. Sudeep is a firm expert in global trade, has published several white papers, has delivered keynotes at conferences, and developed a big data digital platform GTO.

Sudeep holds an executive certification from Harvard Business School, an MBA from Emory University, and a bachelor’s in engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (India).

Sudeep has published number of articles, white papers and thought leaderships in supply chain planning, procurement and sourcing, manufacturing/value chain, inventory optimization, logistics & distribution, and fulfillment.

Steven Keith Platt is a data science expert with a diverse background in academia and industry. With a strong focus on AI solution design, development, testing, and governance, Steven excels in translating objectives and managing data science teams. Currently serving as the Director of Analytics and Lecturer of AI and Statistics at Loyola University, he brings a wealth of experience from his previous role as Research Director at the Retail Analytics Council and Lecturer of AI at Northwestern University.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Steven is the founder of the Platt Retail Institute, an international analytics consulting firm that caters to renowned clients such as Kroger and McDonald’s. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated exceptional leadership abilities by founding the AI Business Consortium at Loyola University and the Retail Analytics Council at Northwestern University. These initiatives secured funding for groundbreaking research and organized influential industry/academic conferences.

Steven’s current activities reflect his dedication to advancing the field of AI and data science. His recent publication, “Adopting a dynamic AI price optimization model to impact customer engagement,” in the Journal of AI, Robotics & Workplace Automation, highlights his expertise. He is actively involved in various research projects, including exploring the intersection of law and AI, optimizing shipping containers for cost reduction for an online retailer, and assisting financial institutions with AI deployment through a dedicated task force.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Steven holds a B.S.B.A. in Finance and Marketing, JD and LLM from Boston University. During his time at Boston University, Steven served as Articles Editor for the University’s Journal of Tax Law.

Steven’s expertise has garnered recognition from various publications and media outlets such as Bloomberg, Business Week, CNN Business, and the Wall Street Journal. He has been quoted extensively on topics related to AI, analytics, and retail, and has appeared as a guest analyst on notable news programs including the CBS Evening News and Early Show, as well as ABC World News.

Vice President Supply Chain
Adjunct Professor Supply Chain Management, Elmhurst College
Author: H.O.P.E. Handbook – A Guide for Disability Hiring
Co-Founder: Teachability LLC

Tim Engstrom is Head of Supply Chain & Logistics for LA-CO Industries based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Engstrom is responsible for all production planning, fulfillment, transportation, inventory planning, compliance, customer service, and LEAN operations.

Additionally, Engstrom has been an adjunct professor at Elmhurst College’s Supply Chain Management master’s program since 2005. Each year, in addition to teaching classes, Engstrom mentors a group of graduate students in implementing a capstone project that analyzes and implements solutions to supply chain challenges for local businesses. It is here that the idea of creating a handbook for disability hiring was born looking to solve staffing challenges as well as support a business’s social responsibility program.

Expanding on the work from the H.O.P.E. Handbook, Engstrom co-founded Teachability LLC creating a means of linking candidates with disabilities with companies looking to start a disability hiring program.

Prior to joining LA-CO in October 2016, Engstrom served as Group Vice President of US distribution for Walgreens from 2012 to 2016. Before then he was Senior Director of operations for Lawson Products in Chicago, Ill. from 2010 to 2012 and Director of operations for OfficeMax in Itasca, Ill., where he also held other positions.

Engstrom received his master’s in supply chain management from Elmhurst College in 2003 and his bachelor’s in transportation & physical distribution from Western Illinois University in 1993.

Bob Trebilcock has been writing about the supply chain space since 1984. In addition to serving as executive editor of Modern Materials Handling since 2009, he was the editorial director of Supply Chain Management Review from 2013 through 2022 and helped launch the NextGen Supply Chain Conference in 2019.

Simon Rakosi is a co-founder and COO of Butterfly.ai, an employee feedback platform that empowers frontline managers to boost engagement and happiness within their teams. With the company’s founding team, Simon’s started Butterfly.ai to give a voice to the often-overlooked frontline workforce. Together they developed a solution that provides managers with actionable insights and engagement tools that help decrease turnover, increase productivity and reduce safety incidents.

David Isaacson is Vice President of Product Marketing at ETQ, where he develops market strategies and product positioning for the company’s cloud-based quality management solutions.

A global go-to-market executive with expertise in supply chain transformation, automation, robotics and AI, Heather has experience advising global F500 companies on how to drive agility and re-invent their supply chain operations with technology while delivering exceptional service to their customers and value to their shareholders.

Her passion for innovative technologies and strong collaboration skills inspires senior executives in Retail, Grocery, Pharmaceutical, CPG, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing to think differently about how they can leverage automation, robotics and artificial intelligence to make smarter decisions, increase throughput, address challenging labor markets and enhance customer experience. The ability to translate complex technical solutions to real-world business problems has made Heather a trusted advisor and partner to her network of clients, partners, and colleagues.

Sankalp Arora is the CEO & Co-Founder of Gather AI. With 14 years of experience, Sankalp developed safety and sensor planning for the world’s first safe autonomous helicopter, funded by DARPA, a project that won the Howard Hughes award, AUVSI Xcellence award and was nominated for the Collier Trophy. He is a recipient of the Qualcomm Innovation fellowship and Swartz Innovation fellowship and has a PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon.

Satish has extensive experience and expertise in developing advanced analytics solutions and systems to meet ever changing supply chain needs. He has over 10 years of experience in end-to-end global supply chain network design, facilities design, transportation optimization, supply chain sustainability and systems development. Satish has over 5 years of using machine learning and artificial intelligence to optimize supply chain operations.

Bob Trebilcock has been writing about the supply chain space since 1984. In addition to serving as executive editor of Modern Materials Handling since 2009, he was the editorial director of Supply Chain Management Review from 2013 through 2022 and helped launch the NextGen Supply Chain Conference in 2019.

Brian is the founder and CEO of Peerless Media. He has 30 years of experience in B2B publishing; 27 of which are in the logistics, supply chain and materials handling markets. Brian’s vision when launching Peerless was to create a unique media company for the new digital era in publishing, offering both the traditional print and online B2B products, while adopting new digital services such as market intelligence, SEO enhancement, behavioral targeting and content engagement. His goal is for Peerless to become a full-service media partner to their clients.

Josh Lipman is a VP of Supply Chain Planning at Ferrara Candy Company. He is responsible for supply planning, demand planning, material planning and an integrated seasonal operations team. Before Ferrara, Josh worked at Boston Consulting Group as a consultant working in Food and Beverage and Energy. He grew up in Iowa and lives in Chicago with his wife Elana and children Ezra and Naomi. His favorite candy is Watermelon Laffy Taffy Stretchy Tangy.

Keba Mbaye is a Senior Director of International Expansion with 15 years of experience in global organization working alongside executive teams. Keba specializes in business processes improvements, risks assessment and strategy. He unlocks business improvement opportunities leveraging his problem solving, business knowledge, and program management skills to define achievable milestones towards strategic goals. In Ferrara, Keba led the simplification of the SKU portfolio by two-thirds in 1.5 years impacting positively all lines of the P&L and allowing his organization to be the US leader in the sugar candy category.

Keba has a master’s degree in computer science from ESIEE Engineering Paris and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In his free time, Keba likes to ride his motorcycle, spend time with his wife and two daughters, and travel. Keba has been based in Chicago since 2020 after leaving in Senegal his home country; France, and Luxembourg.

Scott is currently the Vice President of Global Distribution and Planning, at Kimberly-Clark Corporation. In this role, Scott and his team are accountable for Planning, S&OP, Customer-facing Logistics, Physical Logistics Operating Excellence, On-Time In-Full and North American Transport. His team delivers our products to our consumers efficiently and effectively, every day, every time, and everywhere.

Prior to this role, Scott was the General Manager of Kimberly-Clark’s Eastern Grocery team in North America. Scott’s accountabilities included driving over $650MM in revenue through a highly engaged team that included Ahold, Wakefern, HEB, Publix, Delhaize and BiLo Holdings. During his 30+ years at Kimberly-Clark, Scott has held ever increasing areas of accountability and leadership including: Director of Supply Chain Strategy; Director of Consumer Planning; Director of Distribution Operations; Director of Transportation Procurement and Analysis; Director of Transportation Operations; and Regional Logistics Leader in Chester, PA, where he led all logistics operations at the largest tissue site in the Kimberly-Clark network.

Scott and his wife Pam live in Knoxville, TN and have 2 children – Henry and George. They enjoy soccer, running, spending time outdoors and traveling to new cities.

Ashley’s career has been defined by a relentless drive for collaboration, innovation, and an insatiable curiosity in the realms of design, business, and technology. These passions have propelled her to successfully establish and cultivate three supply chain companies. With a focus on sustainable practices, Ashley’s unwavering vision is to revolutionize supply chains, ensuring every step from product creation to delivery is both environmentally conscious and socially responsible. Her dedication extends beyond business objectives as she strives to foster a supportive and inclusive company culture.

When Ashley isn’t immersed in pioneering ideas, she enjoys testing recipes, networking with fellow founders, and spending time outdoors hiking, skiing, and biking with friends and family.

Distinguished Fellow at The University of Tennessee; CEO of Thrive and Advance LLC
Alan Amling is a TED speaker and supply chain thought leader. Alan helped drive innovation over a 27-year career with UPS and is currently a Distinguished Fellow at The University of Tennessee, CEO of advisory firm Thrive and Advance LLC, and on the Executive Advisory Board for the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute. He researches, invests, advises, and speaks on innovation in logistics and how all firms can recognize and thrive in disruption. His first book, Organizational Velocity, was released in March 2022.

Alan holds a Ph.D. in Management from Kennesaw State University, an MBA from Indiana University, and a BA in Business and Psychology from Lewis & Clark College.

Rosemary Coates is the Founder and Executive Director of the Reshoring Institute, a 501c3 nonprofit and non-partisan organization focused on expanding U.S. manufacturing. She is also the President of Blue Silk Consulting, a supply-chain management consulting firm.

Ms. Coates has been a management consultant for 25+ years, helping over 80 global supply chain clients worldwide. She is an Amazon.com best-selling author with five Supply Chain Management books, including Reshoring Guidebook, and 42 Rules for Sourcing and Manufacturing in China, and Legal Blacksmith – How to Avoid and Defend Supply Chain Disputes. She also works as an Expert Witness on legal cases involving global supply chain disputes.

Rosemary serves on the Board of Directors at the University of San Diego Supply Chain Management Institute and teaches Global Supply Chain Strategy at UC Berkeley. She earned an MBA from the University of San Diego and a Bachelor of Science in Business Logistics from Arizona State University.

Tom is Managing Director of Blue Tiger International (bluetigerintl.com), an international business consultancy advising on supply chain management, trade compliance, purchasing, trade and disruption management, global business and logistics. Tom was former CEO of American River International in NY and Apex Global Logistics Supply Chain Operation in LA. Tom has over 35 years’ experience in assisting companies all over the world manage their import and export operations. He is a member of the NY District Export Council and serves on the board of directors of the National Association of District Export Councils (NADEC). Tom is also the Director of the National Institute of World Trade (niwt.org), a 30-year-old educational and training organization, based in NY. Both Blue Tiger International and the National Institute of World Trade are strategic partners of the Department of Commerce.

Tom has authored over 20 books on global trade and is finalizing a nine-book series titled “The Global Warrior … Advancing on the Necessary Skill Sets to Compete Effectively in Global Trade.”

Executive Vice President, Corporate Development
Peter Bolstorff oversees ASCM corporate impact programs that include transformation, talent development, sustainability, and community driven public health. Peter, the author of Supply Chain Excellence: A Handbook for Dramatic Improvement Using the SCOR Model, brings over 25 years of experience in supply chain and operations management to the position. He joined ASCM as the Executive Director to lead the APICS, Supply Chain Council merger. Prior to joining ASCM, Bolstorff was the founding principal of SCE Limited, a consulting firm focused on providing supply chain program management and SCOR-based education to supply chain executives and their global teams. Bolstorff also held supply chain and operations management leadership roles at 3M and Imation and has been a lifelong volunteer within the SCOR community. He received his master’s degree in industrial education from the University of Minnesota and Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, education, and psychology from St. Olaf College.

As the director of strategic engagement, warehouse solutions, North America, Andy provides Vanderlande’s retail customers – including many of the world’s best-known brands – with the innovative, scalable systems, intelligent software and reliable services needed to optimize distribution and fulfillment operations. Drawing on his extensive experience in materials handling and e-commerce, he ensures that each retail customer is equipped and positioned for success in a dynamically changing business environment.

Andy brings significant senior executive-level experience to his role with a track record of success providing solutions that optimize distribution and fulfillment operations, including everything from decanting operations to workstation design, automated storage and retrieval, goods-to-person picking and “last mile” deliveries. Prior to joining Vanderlande, he served as a vice president at TGW, where he led business development operations and focused on systems integration, e-commerce and materials handling systems for the retail industry. Lockhart has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Kings College at the University of London.

Brian Reinhart, MBA, MEng, has nearly 15 years of experience designing and implementing solutions for global logistics, supply chain, warehouse, and storage customers. With a background in mechanical engineering, he began his professional career as an Application Engineer in the power generation industry before shifting to industrial automation.

Reinhart’s operational solutions have addressed and solved problems including, but not limited to, labor cost reduction, space utilization, ergonomics, and efficiencies for autonomous case-handing and mobile robots, automatically guided vehicle robots, conveyance and sortation, high-volume item sortation, automated storage and retrieval systems, warehouse management systems, and more. Recognized as an industry expert in warehousing operations, software, and automation applications, he has partnered with and managed accounts across the full spectrum of customers, from start-up organizations to Fortune 50 companies.

Reinhart’s leadership and cross-collaboration have resulted in the design and implementation of 300+ automation projects, including 50+ good-to-person systems. As a creative problem solver that puts his customers and team members first, his prioritization of transparency and ethics ensures sustained commitments to all encounters within the organization and industry.

As vice president of Warehouse Operations for Cardinal Health at-Home Solutions, Jamie runs day-to-day operations for the entire network of warehouses that service the business. He is also leading the business’ multi-year strategy to expand its capacity in support of business growth.

He most recently served as vice president, Operations, Specialty Pharmaceutical Distribution for Cardinal Health. In his 12 years with Cardinal Health, he’s held roles in increased responsibilities across corporate operations and OpEx, including leading Kinray’s operations in New York City. Prior to Cardinal Health, he worked in various functions for The SYGMA Network a division of Sysco Foods and was an engineer for Praxair, Inc.

Jamie has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from The Ohio State University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Ohio Dominican University. He lives in Pickerington, Ohio, with his wife of 19 years, Kristy. In his free time, he enjoys grilling, attending live music concerts and cruising on his motorcycle across the country, weather permitting.

Sean Barbour joined Macy’s in January of 2020 as Vice President of Strategy and Product Flow where he is helping lead a major transformation in Macy’s supply chain. In his current role Sean has responsibility for supply chain strategy and operations, network design, data science and analytics, reverse logistics, customer delivery, international and domestic transportation, logistics, Macy’s Backstage distribution, and Bloomingdale’s fulfillment. Since joining Macy’s Sean has focused on establishing a long-term supply chain strategy, advancing Macy’s analytics and technology capabilities, developing best in class talent, and optimizing Macy’s fulfillment and distribution network speed and flexibility.

Previously Sean worked for Walgreens Boots Alliance for 16 years where most recently he led US supply chain development. In his role as US development lead Sean focused on disruptive supply chain technologies and partnerships capable of delivering superior customer and patient outcomes. Prior to heading up development Sean was responsible for global transportation and logistics after numerous leadership roles in supply chain and store operations. Sean currently serves as an advisory board member for the Transportation Center on Telemobility at Northwestern University and the Global Supply Chain Management Advisory Board at Rider University.

Yujie Su is an experienced operation, container shipping and logistic leader with 10 years industry experience in logistics, maritime asset management, contract negotiation and digital innovation which she utilized to develop complex solutions and drive value for customers.

Currently her role is the Head of Product Innovation at Maersk Global Innovation Center, leading a series of initiatives including integrated solution (ocean + landside), end to end visibility and traceability, predictive data & analytics to optimize distributions &supply chains and climate-neutral solutions.

Yujie Su has lived and worked in three countries, is highly adaptable to cross-cultural environments. She holds a Bachelor’s in Industrial Design and a Master’s in Innovation and Business.

Jean-Michel dos Remedios is a consultant, former VP of Procurement and Co-Manufacturing at Bel Brands USA, a leader of branded snacks. He transformed procurement organizations to become a true business partner. He developed high performing teams, continuously seeks innovation on products, ways of working or tools to improve efficiency in a sustainable way to make a bigger impact to the business.

Passionate by Strategic Sourcing, he is also the co-creator and teacher of the Strategic Sourcing program at UIC (University of Illinois in Chicago).

Previously he was part of the global SAP project as a Business Process Owner for procurement and lead processes and organization changes in 12 countries.

With a diverse background on Mechanics, Packaging, Marketing and B2B, Jean-Michel transformed organizations to bring added value in the full scope of spend.

Born in Lyon (FR) with a Portuguese background, 3 nationalities (FR, PT, USA), he is married with 2 kids, a boy and a girl, he also has passion for tennis, music, cooking and traveling.

Vice President, Strategic Sourcing & Procurement, CPO
Karoline Dygas is Nordstrom’s Vice President and CPO leading Strategic Sourcing and Procurement for all non-merchandise spend. She joined Nordstrom in April 2019 and is responsible for leading a holistic strategic sourcing transformation to provide a new procurement service delivery model that will positively impact the customer experience and company financial performance.

Prior to joining Nordstrom, she was Starbucks Corp Vice President leading Global Sourcing, Store Development and Siren Retail Supply Chains.   She was part of Starbucks Global Supply Chain leadership team and was accountable for sourcing of all capital and commercial equipment, FFE, R&M and QA services, as well as leading the global end-to-end supply chains for Store Development and Siren Retail (Starbucks Roastery & Reserve and Princi brands).

Before joining Starbucks, Karoline was the Senior Director Strategic Sourcing at Walgreens based in Deerfield, Illinois where she was responsible for $1.5B annual spend across multiple categories supporting Store Development, Energy & Environmental Sustainability, and Marketing.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University and later completed her dual MBA from both Purdue University and ESCP-EAP European School of Management in Paris, France.

She lives in Issaquah, WA with her husband Josh, two children Morgan (14) and Max (12), and their Samoyed-Husky rescue dog named Yeti.

Executive Director – Manufacturing Quality
Alison Seward has business-wide responsibility for all aspects of quality costs, both internally and externally for all GE Appliances manufacturing sites and Mabe affiliates. By owning the strategy and execution for quality, she leads the team to ensure that GE Appliances meets and exceeds owners’ expectations for quality, delivering a world class ownership experience.

Previous roles from her 20-year career with GE Appliances include leadership positions in Product Cost & Design Quality, Cost-Out Execution, New Products Execution and Design Manager as well as Program Senior Director for an $80M investment in Dishwasher that launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Alison began her career in 2001 as a co-op in Supply Chain and is an Operations Management Leadership Program graduate with experience in Material Control, Plant Operations, Supplier Quality and Manufacturing Quality.

Alison lives in Louisville, KY with her husband and two young daughters, where they are active in their local church. She is focused on wellness with frequent yoga and ballet classes and has an affinity for plant-based meals. Alison holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Louisville.

Brian Harmon, VP of Procurement at SDI, is a dynamic supply chain leader with over two decades of experience, known for driving growth and overcoming intricate supply chain challenges. In his role at SDI, he’s been instrumental in fostering an interconnected supply ecosystem, improving service for clients, and establishing strategic alliances. Prior to SDI, Brian made significant contributions at CRC Industries and Dorman Products, where he managed diverse aspects of supply chain operations. A Virginia Tech alumnus, Brian possesses an in-depth understanding of supply chain, production, and operations management. His presentation at NextGen 2023 promises invaluable insights into the transformation of procurement through cooperative models and digital solutions.

Jeff Haushalter is a partner at Chicago Consulting, a management consulting firm specializing in optimizing and improving supply chains. Over the last twenty years, Jeff has led cost reduction, process, and service improvements for Fortune 1000 clients.

His experience spans the entire supply chain— plant and warehouse networks, transportation optimization, procurement, warehouse operations, inventory deployment, and optimal packaging. Jeff has written in leading supply chain magazines and has been featured on podcasts, radio, and TV.

Jeff has a degree in Economics and Computer Science from Northwestern University and a MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management from MITx. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Rasool Muttalib is a seasoned data technologist with over two decades of experience in enterprise business applications of full-stack data science, including Engineering, Intelligence / Analytics, AI/ML, Monetization, GenAI, and More.

As the Director of Global Data Strategy and Products at Dematic, he is entrusted with leading the design and execution of Dematic’s global data strategy and core products. Rasool also leads initiatives in enterprise data transformation, data monetization, GenAI applications, and integrated data functions, harnessing the power of Google Cloud, VertexAI, and Azure to enhance integrated supply chain systems and applications.

Bob Trebilcock has been writing about the supply chain space since 1984. In addition to serving as executive editor of Modern Materials Handling since 2009, he was the editorial director of Supply Chain Management Review from 2013 through 2022 and helped launch the NextGen Supply Chain Conference in 2019.

Brian is the founder and CEO of Peerless Media. He has 30 years of experience in B2B publishing; 27 of which are in the logistics, supply chain and materials handling markets. Brian’s vision when launching Peerless was to create a unique media company for the new digital era in publishing, offering both the traditional print and online B2B products, while adopting new digital services such as market intelligence, SEO enhancement, behavioral targeting and content engagement. His goal is for Peerless to become a full-service media partner to their clients.