Visionary Award Keynote: Supply Chain as a Growth Engine
Speaker: Colin Yankee, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Tractor Supply
Moderator: Brian Straight, Editor-in-Chief, Supply Chain Management Review
Supply chains are no longer measured solely by efficiency and cost. Increasingly, they are expected to drive growth, improve customer experience, and create competitive advantage. In this Visionary Keynote fireside chat, Colin Yankee, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Tractor Supply Company, will share how the organization is building a supply chain designed not only to support the business, but to help shape its future.
Attendees will hear lessons learned from Tractor Supply’s growth journey, including investments in network expansion, fulfillment capabilities, operational scalability, and last-mile delivery. The discussion will explore how supply chain leaders can align strategy, technology, and execution to create lasting business value.
Speakers
-
Colin W. YankeeChief Supply Chain OfficerTractor Supply CompanyColin Yankee has more than 25 years of leadership and operations experience across the consumer goods and retail industries. He currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Tractor Supply Company, a Fortune 300 retailer with more than $16 billion in annual revenue. In this role, Colin leads end-to-end supply chain operations including merchandise planning, inventory management, logistics, distribution centers, fulfillment, enterprise continuous improvement, and analytics. He is responsible for supporting more than 2,500 retail locations and digital fulfillment operations.
Colin is recognized as a change agent who drives operational excellence and enterprise transformation by integrating people, process, and technology. At Tractor Supply, he stabilized the supply chain during rapid store growth, scaled operations to support revenue growth from $6.2 billion to over $16 billion, and executed a digital fulfillment strategy that grew e-commerce sales from $100 million to >$1 billion. Colin has also partnered with the board of directors to reduce enterprise risk, increase controls, diversify global sourcing, and is a key architect of the company strategy.
Previously, Colin served as Vice President of Logistics at Neiman Marcus Group, where he led fulfillment transformation. He began his corporate career at Target Corporation, holding multiple leadership roles in distribution operations, domestic transportation, and supply chain systems and strategy. His work included leading optimization programs during the 2008 recession and overseeing network design for new markets. Colin started his career as an officer in the United States Army, serving in reconnaissance and leadership roles. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and inducted into the Order of St. George for contributions to the Armored Cavalry during the Global War on Terror.
Colin holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University. He also earned a Certificate in Business Excellence from Columbia University with concentrations in corporate governance, financial valuation, and strategy. He has served on the Federal Maritime Commission’s National Shipper Advisory Committee, the White House Supply Chain Disruption Task Force, and the supply chain leader councils of both the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
