2016 Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain

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For the second consecutive year, Food Logistics has recognized those individuals whose hard work, vision and leadership in shaping the global food supply chain. The March 2016 Food Logistics recognizes the outstanding men and women of the supply chain for the continued efforts in making the world’s global food supply better for everyone.

This year’s response to the Champions award was outstanding  as readers nominated so many industry professionals who exemplify these traits that the number of individuals honored nearly doubled over last year.

The Champions List highlights the achievements of those individuals who go above and beyond their expected duties to ensure the vitality and professionalism of the food supply chain. This list focuses significant attention globally on the food supply chain by drawing widespread media attention.

The champions represent different industry segments. The champions are individuals who spearhead partnerships among growers, packers, processors, retailers and logistics providers. They exemplify the best traits of leadership. Food Logistics invites readers to congratulate the champions. 

 

Company LogoChris Anatra, President, NECS, Inc.

With his positive attitude, guidance and leadership, Chris Anatra sets the bar high for his team in meeting the unique needs of foodservice distributors. He first became involved with the food supply chain more than 25 years ago when he began writing software for foodservice distributors. His journey began with writing code in a make-shift office above his parents garage, while learning and working for a full-line food distributor.

In 1990 his company, NECS, Inc. was officially formed. Anatra’s software, originally written in DOS, later became known as "entrée" for Windows-based computers. Currently almost 1,500 foodservice distributors across the U.S. and Canada depend on "entrée" to keep their operations running at peak efficiency. NECS, Inc. currently employs a team of 25 creative programmers and technical support staff.

His positive energy and commitment to his employees and customers have earned Anatra and his staff consistent recognition in the Food Logistics Magazines 100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list for the past six years.

Company LogoRon Atapattu, President & Founder, Overseas Cargo, Inc. (ShipOCI)

Ron Atapattu has created one of South Florida’s leading third-party (3PL) logistics providers that is at the forefront of supply chain management by offering customers the total logistics solution. His engineering background and early exposure to computers paved the way for the development of proprietary software, Rapid Link and eRapidbuy, which gives customers the unique ability to be hands on with their own supply chain management.

Todd Baggett, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, RedLine Solutions

Todd Baggett founded RedLine Solutions 18 years ago with a mission to help automate manual processes in the produce industry, a goal that was expanded to help companies meet traceability requirements after the inception of the Produce Traceability Initiative. He is currently the Co-Chair of the PTI Technology Working group and is a member of the PTI Leadership Council.

Company LogoBrandon Bandlow, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, TTS Logistics

Brandon Bandlow has been involved with logistics on both the military and civilian side with experience in heavy haul, flatbed, hazmat and refrigerated materials. Since starting with TTS Logistics, his vision of transparency and open communication has delivered a measurable ROI to clients and has resulted in 150 percent growth of the company in 2015. Bandlow is a veteran of the Iraq war and Afghanistan and was Honorably Discharged after 13 years of faithful service to his country.

Fred Baumann, Group Vice President, Global Manufacturing Industry Strategy, JDA Software

Fred Baumann leads JDA’s Flowcasting business initiative, which enables retailers, distributors and manufacturers to optimally manage the flow and production of inventory through the end-to-end supply chain based on sell through demand. He co-authored “The Ultimate Retail Supply Chain Machine: Connecting the Consumer to the Factory” with the VICS CPFR® Committee Advisory Team (now a part of GS1), to ultimately bring his vision to life.

Company LogoJoey Benadretti, President, SYSPRO USA

As president of SYSPRO USA, Joey Benadretti has concentrated on building an in-depth organization and sales channel to meet the growing needs of both the company’s expanding reseller channel and the SYSPRO user base. Benadretti is highly regarded in ERP circles for his marketing capabilities, strategic initiatives and thought leadership for which he has received numerous industry honors and sits on the advisory boards of key industry and association publications and organizations.

Company LogoDavid Benjamin, President & Chief Executive Officer, Locus Traxx Worldwide

David Benjamin is a seasoned entrepreneur with several successful startups and turn around engagements to his credit. His management and technology experience over the last 35 years has proven his ability to develop unique value propositions for markets worldwide. Benjamin led the Locus Traxx Worldwide’s global expansion of the first M2M product line focused on real-time monitoring of perishable and high-value products as they transit the world.

Under Benjamin's leadership, Locus Traxx Worldwide has transformed from a small startup company into an international business with locations in North America, South America, Asia and Europe. His business acumen, paired with his dedication to improving the supply chain, has earned Locus Traxx a reputation as a leader in real-time temperature, location and security monitoring for perishable and high-value shipments.

Ed Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Topper International

Ed Brown, often referred to as the “Father of Fork Free Delivery Carts,” has helped develop a variety of industrial carts and systems for multiple applications that are used with tuggers and automated guided vehicles that have advanced the way material is delivered to the line. He holds several patents relating to ergonomics and safety, and his advancements have improved the conditions, quality and throughput of material handling systems in the supply chain.

Company LogoRobert F. Byrne, Chief Executive Officer, Terra Technology

Robert F. Byrne is a visionary in creating sustainable supply chains and enabling companies to serve more people with fewer raw materials. He provides commentary in conference presentations, writes articles and gives interviews. Most recently, he was cited in The Wall Street Journal as an expert on network complexity, item proliferation and the cost to industry.

The Terra Technology Forecasting Benchmark Study that Byrne initiated is considered the industry reference for demand planning performance for analysts.

Byrne works with academic organizations on research to improve forecast excellence. He is on the board of directors of the University of Tennessee’s top-rated supply chain management program and established a scholarship at Texas A&M University to foster the next generation of supply chain leaders. He also recently teamed up with ESCP Europe Business School to offer a conference on the new frontiers of collaborative innovation in supply chain.

David E. Cantu, Sales Director, Marten Transport

David Cantu is active in the produce, meat and poultry transportation and logistics sector with Marten Transport where he serves the South Texas and Mexico territories. His knowledge of his field allows growers and packers to take advantage of the opportunities to develop business between Mexico and the U.S., and approach the border in an efficient way by considering intermodal capabilities.

Company LogoCarla Carver, Vice President of Planning & Execution, Post Consumer Brands

Carla Carver is responsible for the planning and execution of trade programs, as well as the integrated S&OP process, manufacturing and distribution network optimization, logistics, warehousing and customer service at Post Consumer Brands. She previously held the position of company controller, so she brings a keen sense of value and where resources should be focused. This lean mentality was crucial in the merger between Malt-O-Meal and Post.

Company LogoTim Cortes, Vice President of Hydrogen Energy Systems, Plug Power

Under Tim Cortes’ leadership, Plug Power has developed hydrogen fueling infrastructure options which enable customers with as few as 20 trucks to adopt the productivity-enhancing power solution. Plug Power installed this scaled solution at customer sites across North America.

Cortes joined Plug Power Inc. as vice president of hydrogen energy systems in January of 2015. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the GenFuel business, including interactions with customers, partners and suppliers critical to increasing Plug Power’s growing market share within the hydrogen fuel industry.

Prior to joining Plug Power, Cortes served as chief technology officer and vice president of engineering at Smiths Power. In these positions, he was responsible for research and development, as well as solutions for global applications. During his tenure at Smiths Power, he led product line expansion that resulted in a doubling of revenue growth in less than six years.

Cortes holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University. Additionally, he holds several patents covering power system architecture.

Arthur Dardoumbas, National Solutions Manager, Toll Group – Customised Solutions

Arthur Dardoumbas led the Toll Group's implementation and use of its advanced slotting optimization tool, OptiSlot DC™, to address the complexities of slotting in distribution centers. With a focus on constant and consistent improvement, and by looking at operations through the “customer lens,” Dardoumbas was able to improve efficiencies, reduce product damage, boost worker safety, and raise client satisfaction levels during the successful implementation of OptiSlot within Toll’s first food and beverage distribution center.

Company LogoAnn Drake, Chief Executive Officer, DSC Logistics

Ann Drake has guided DSC Logistics to become one of the leading supply chain management firms in the U.S. Under Drake’s leadership DSC Logistics grew on both coasts, providing nationwide service to customers.

Early on, she worked to consolidate 22 warehousing companies into one entity--with one name and identity: DSC Logistics. The new identity symbolized DSC’s company-wide emphasis on integrated logistics services, consistency across the network and operations, and technology. Since then, Drake has worked to support the growing complexities in the supply chain environment, guiding the company in developing supply chain visibility tools, establishing a Supply Chain Solutions team to lead the development of creative solutions to help customers achieve business goals, developing a standard setting labor management program, expanding its value-added services capabilities, and adding a new dimension to the role of strategic supply chain partner by working as a Lead Logistics Partner (LLP).

Company LogoDon Durm, Director, Strategic Customer Solutions, PLM Trailer Leasing

Don Durm, a recipient of last year’s Rock Star award, has become a champion of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and more specifically the Sanitary Transport of Food Act. With the upcoming rules coming into effect, he has worked hard to develop a format for the rules that the industry can understand. Together with colleagues, he has been on a traveling road show, presenting his guidance to prepare the industry to meet upcoming regulations.

Institutions such as Penn State’s College of Agriculture and Sciences have recognized his information and provided it for public consumption.

Durm has led PLM’s national salesforce in the development of an educational strategic initiative to help customers and vendors understand the regulatory requirements.

Durm is a member of the Global Cold Chain Alliance and was appointed on a task force for Refrigerated Transportation Best Practices Guide which is developing international best practices to give provide a universal guidance as it relates to regulatory compliance for FSMA.

Company LogoBob Elkins, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Dedicated Services, Schneider

Bob Elkins has served a major role in helping customers deliver goods more quickly, efficiently and safely than ever before, resulting in the growth of Schneider’s Dedicated Services business by 16.5 percent over the last two years. His team has developed customized solutions for retailers in everything from distribution center-to-store deliveries to home deliveries for Omni-channel grocers.

Joseph Greene, Former President, Distribution Management Systems, Inc.

Joseph Greene grew up in a family-owned foodservice distribution business and founded Distribution Management Systems to develop computer solutions for other food distributors. He is an industry pioneer and among the first to develop a non-punch card solution for food distribution and one of the first to develop a remote order management solution for food DSRs. He is semi-retired but still consults for various distributors as well as AFS Technologies where he served as President of the Foodservice Division and ERP Solutions Expert.

Company LogoAbtin Hamidi, Co-Founder & Vice President of Sales, Cargo Chief

Abtin Hamidi was a vice president at BAM worldwide and president of the Chicago office of XPO Logistics prior to founding Cargo Chief, a tech-enabled third party logistics provider that uses patented, proprietary aggregation and machine learning technology to find inefficiencies in the transportation process. Abtin has led the development of the technology that helps Fortune 100 food and beverage customers solve their shipping capacity problems.

Company LogoBrandon Henning, Industry Solutions Director, Sparta Systems, Inc.

Brandon Henning has been instrumental leading the team at Sparta responsible for developing solutions that help food and beverage manufacturers reduce the complexity of managing their suppliers and supplier network. His team developed a five-step methodology for implementing a streamlined supplier quality management program to enable companies to meet the new supplier and importer quality management rules and help to decipher and clarify the necessary steps to reach FSMA compliance.

Company LogoCharles G. Kiolbasa, Jr., Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Layer Saver

Charlie Kiolbasa is the inventor/founder of Layer Saver shipping frames, steel shipping frames that allow producers to safely double-stack product in their trucks/railcars/ocean containers. Last year, Layer Saver introduced a fold-down version that allows producers and shippers to accumulate up to 150 shipping frames before shipping them back, to further reduce the amount of trucks/railcars/ocean containers in circulation to help shippers and producers lower transportation costs and reach sustainability goals.

Company LogoKristy Knichel, President & Chief Executive Officer, Knichel Logistics

Kristy Knichel is a second-generation logistics executive who began her career as an intermodal dispatcher. Since becoming president in 2007, she has helped guide Knichel Logistics from $2 million to nearly $50 million in annual revenue and has been ranked on the Inc. 500 list of North America’s fastest-growing privately owned businesses for four straight years. Knichel is also a certified woman business owner and a mentor to other women in business.

Company LogoStephane Labillois, Vice President, Transport and Logistics, Leclerc Group

Stephane Labillois is the leader of logistics at Leclerc Group, a Canadian manufacturer of granola bars and cookies that has six production plants including three in the U.S. Using just a small six-person team, Labillois has led the implementation of a full transport management system, a full yard management system, and the automation of the loads preparation in the Quebec City distribution center all in the past year.

Company LogoPaul Laman, Vice President, DMW&H

Paul Laman heads up the Wholesale Wine & Spirits Group at DMW&H and is well recognized in the wine & spirits industry as a leading industry analyst. Laman has helped automate more than 35 wine & spirits facilities and has been able to deliver significant value to customers by designing solutions that improve fulfillment rates, maximize space utilization, improve order accuracy, and minimize operational costs.

Company LogoChad Laucher, Key Account Manager, ODW Logistics, Inc.

Chad Laucher’s 3PL transportation career spans 18 years and includes transportation work experience in the automotive, retail and food sectors. In the automotive industry, Laucher helped manage 200 to 300 expedited ground loads per day for a major manufacturer. A focus on carrier compliance helped to improve on-time delivery from 94 to 98 percent helping to reduce line stoppage. In the retail sector, Laucher was part of a management team that supplied customers at more than 200 mall locations with weekly dock-to-store deliveries. Customers experienced 7 percent savings in freight cost by leveraging carrier rate reductions. His transportation experience in the food sector includes routing customer orders to significantly drive down the cost per pallet while maintaining on-time delivery.

Laucher led his team to help a food sector customer gain $315,000 in transportation savings in the first six months of working together. He achieved these savings by optimizing customers’ orders eliminating wasteful and inefficient order routing.

Gerald Lessard, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, West Liberty Foods

Gerald Lessard has spent his career building teams for success, most recently at West Liberty Foods where he has been instrumental in building the business from a few million dollar a year organization to over 1 billion per year.

James Lugg, President, J Lugg & Associates

Jim Lugg is recognized as a pioneer in the fresh produce industry for the development of food safety metrics and good agricultural practices, and holds noteworthy positions on the College of Natural Resources Advisory Board at the University California – Berkeley; and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University California - Davis. Today he continues to work as a consultant in various roles, but typically in an agriculture and research related field.

Company LogoMichael Lyle, President & Chief Executive Officer, InfinityQS International, Inc.

More than 25 years ago, Michael Lyle sat in a mobile home-turned-office fervently writing code with the goal of giving manufacturers a better way to leverage industrial statistics and SPC methodology and turn quality into a competitive advantage. The code he wrote is now InfinityQS’ enterprise quality management platform used by more than 2,500 global organizations, including 15 of the top 25 food and beverage manufacturers.

Scott Marr, President and Founder, Fleet Clean Systems, Inc.

Scott Marr began providing trailer washout services when he was 15 years old when a produce company gave him the opportunity to wash out their delivery trucks, which led him to founding full-service mobile fleet washing company Fleet Clean Systems. Marr developed Fleet Clean’s proprietary technology, an app that documents the process to fulfill the requirements of the new Food Safety Modernization Act.

Company LogoKristine Mauro, Vice President of North America Integrated Planning, Kellogg Company

Kristine Mauro leads all aspects of planning for Kellogg Company--including demand, supply, capacity and long range planning--as well as the Global Supply Transition for the company’s Pringles divestiture, which she helped integrate into the global supply chain following Kellogg’s purchase of the snack food company in 2012.

Mauro has led the charge to identify and anticipate global inconsistencies. She also helped create a supply chain center of excellence to allow continuous analysis design and improvement of the corporate supply chain. Mauro worked with Kellogg’s global partners to use LLamasoft to optimize and simulate the company’s supply chain end-to-end, helping Kellogg identify opportunities for “quick wins” and gain a competitive edge. Mauro’s training and coaching has helped team member’s expand their knowledge and expertise and bring their modeling in-house.

Mick McCormick, Vice President, Warehouse Solutions, Yale Materials Handling Corporation, part of Hyster-Yale Group

Mick McCormick has been integral to the development and launch of the Yale walkie pallet truck powered by lithium-ion technology, the first UL-recognized lithium-ion battery pack in the lift truck industry. The lithium-ion technology offered by Yale has great potential for food manufacturers and distributors who require a high degree of equipment availability and do not have the advantage of extended charging times or unscheduled repairs and maintenance.

Don McMillan, Senior Director, Marketing & Operations, Americas, EnerSys

As senior director, marketing and operations, for the Motive Power division of EnerSys, Don McMillan has been instrumental in launching the EnerSys Convert to Electric (C2E) program, which has resulted in the conversion of approximately 200 customer sites from internal combustion engine-powered lift truck fleets to electric. The EnerSys C2E program is the first and only one of its kind dedicated to helping lift truck fleets convert to battery power.

Rick Mello, President, Northern Refrigerated Transportation

What started as a family operation hauling milk cans and tankers from small dairies to the creamery, has grown into a 200+ truck operation serving six western states as Northern Refrigerated Transportation under Rick Mello. Mello has kept Northern Refrigerated on the cutting edge of technology by converting the fleet of over 300 trailers with the latest advanced logistics technology.

Company LogoBrian Miller, Vice President of Services, Intesource, a PROACTIS Company

Brian Miller brings more than 23 years of food and beverage industry experience to the Intesource team. Miller is in charge of all consulting services including business discovery services, business value assessment and the execution of all best practices methodologies. As a trusted and in-demand sourcing advisor in the grocery, retail and restaurant markets, Miller advises top brands, including Wegmans, Rite Aid, SpartanNash and Arby’s Supply Chain Cooperative.

Miller works with procurement teams to give them the tools and resources they need to foster innovation, boost efficiency and drive bottom-line growth. His team helps clients address complex categories, define product specifications, determine which categories to take to auction and which suppliers to invite to bid. Under Miller’s direction, Intesource has built a base of more than 30,000 suppliers in the grocery, restaurant and retail markets. He provides customers with a customized approach that facilitates faster transformation and helps teams get results that fit their organization’s specific needs.

Rick Milligan, Director, Supply Chain Solutions, Inmar

Rick Milligan has spent his entire career in product packaging and supply chain optimization, facilitating major supply-chain improvements for some of the world's largest brands and food product manufacturers. Milligan is a member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals and serves as Inmar’s representative to Food Management Institute (FMI) Industry Collaboration Council.

Company LogoHolly Mockus, Product Manager, Alchemy Systems

Holly Mockus helps Alchemy Systems create world-class workforce development solutions for large, complex operations within the food industry. Mockus has held positions in food safety, quality assurance, sanitation and plant regulatory affairs. She has authored several chapters related to the importance of record keeping and documentation in the food industry.

Mockus was honored as the 2013 recipient of the Safe Quality Food Institute's Outstanding Achievement Award and is passionate about the importance of training in the food industry including the cultivation of successful safety cultures. She most recently helped Alchemy develop a full course suite related to warehousing, and was instrumental in developing a partnership with ITI Protread to offer food companies a solution for fleet vehicle operator training.

Company LogoFrank Morgiewicz, Chief Executive Officer, ArrowStream, Inc.

With 2015 being his first full year as CEO, Frank Morgiewicz has successfully led the transformation of ArrowStream from a strictly managed freight organization to a technology software leader in the restaurant and foodservice distribution industries. His vision and forward thinking are best demonstrated with ArrowStream’s patented, cutting-edge SaaS solution (Crossbow), a solution unique to the foodservice industry and utilized by some of the largest food distributors in the U.S. to increase inbound logistics profitability.

Company LogoKen Mullen, Senior Managing Partner, Supply Chain Solutions, enVista

Ken Mullen has helped hundreds of companies across a variety of industries understand and address complex supply chain challenges, from source to consumption using his project management success and expertise in designing and deploying supply chain execution and planning systems. Mullen writes a blog called “Mullen Over the Supply Chain” and is considered a trusted and respected resource in the supply chain.

Company LogoDr. Kakha Nadiradze, President, Association for Farmers Rights Defense (AFRD)

Kakha Nadiradze currently serves as the country of Georgia’s Representative and National Coordinator Southern Caucasus Countries of the Coalition for Sustained Excellence in Food and Health Protection and has been appointed as Task Force Member of the Global Genome Biodiversity Network. Nadiradze has held key roles in the Parliament of Georgia, and works on pre- and post-harvest loss prevention innovative methodologies and technologies.

Company LogoLee Neal, Director of Transportation Services, M&W Distribution

Lee Neal started the Walmart Multi-Vendor Consolidation Program out of M & W Distribution’s Atlanta facility in 2015, which has allowed M & W to become an approved pool provider for Walmart. Neal was also instrumental in developing a shipping schedule for the company’s facilities to enable the warehouses to better utilize their labor and maximize the cube on the consolidation program.

Company LogoGraham Newland, Chief Customer Officer, International Business Systems (IBS)

Known as a pioneer and leading innovator in the supply chain, Graham Newland is the first-ever Chief Customer Officer at IBS, overseeing all customer service functions, including professional services, managed cloud services and support, and IT – all previously split across distinct departments. Newland’s expertise is widely recognized and has been a regular guest lecturer and presenter on business programs at Oxford University for 17 years.

Company LogoDoug Niemeyer, General Manager, TEKLYNX Americas, TEKLYNX International SAS

Doug Niemeyer is a sales and marketing executive with more than 18 years of proven success in technology and consulting services. He possesses a deep understanding of the solutions and industries he serves and leverages that knowledge to solve business problems and deliver impactful customer value within the global food supply chain and beyond.

As the head of TEKLYNX Americas’ business, Niemeyer has increased company net profit margin by selling higher-end, value-added services and expanding TEKLYNX’ portfolio of service offerings directly through employee development and strategic partnerships. Under Niemeyer’s leadership, TEKLYNX has become a global leader in barcode labeling software and a provider of solutions designed to help businesses increase efficiency and streamline operations while minimizing costs and mitigating risk due to manual process errors.

Company LogoJason Overbey, Chief Operating Officer, FW Warehousing

Jason Overbay oversees the management of over one million square feet of AIB certified food-grade warehouse space for a wide range of food customers, supporting everything from plant support on a just-in-time basis to finished goods fulfillment. Overbay specializes in helping customers transition from a regional mom and pop to a scaled food supplier serving the full range of B2C, local distribution, and larger scale B2B big box retail.

Company LogoHeather Powell, Director, Customer Focus Team & Project Manager, SafeSourcing, Inc.

Heather Powell leads the SafeSourcing, Inc., team that implements process improvement in the selection and vetting of suppliers in procurement to ensure a complete chain of ownership from ground to plate in food industry procurement. An out-of-box thinker, Powell has been steadily promoted in her four years working with logistics and a supply chain focus.

Company LogoDerek Rickard, Distribution Systems Sales Manager, Cimcorp, formerly RMT Robotics

Since being named to the 2015 Champions list, Derek Rickard has continued to use his more than 17 years of experience in the industry to shepherd clients through the process of implementing automated, robotic picking systems for food and beverage manufacturers and distributors. Rickard has worked on some of the warehouse industry’s first fully automated robotic picking systems in North America, with some of the largest ones exceeding 1 million cases per week picked by robots.

Company LogoSteve Sager, President & Chief Executive Officer, ExtenData

As the president and CEO of ExtenData since its founding in 2002, Steve Sager strives to generate collaboration and innovation using an interpersonal style that creates a casual yet focused work environment. With more than 20 years of experience in the mobile computing and mobile printing industries, Sager guides the development of ExtenData’s software MobileConductor.

He provides vision and leadership for the food supply chain through face-to-face interaction with food distributors and suppliers as well as strategic partnerships with other industry solution providers. Sager enables his team to develop leading-edge technology and empowers his customers to improve delivery or distribution operations with One Device in the Cab – the newest evolution of MobileConductor.

Sager holds a degree in finance from Arizona State University and enjoys cycling and music.

Adriana Sanchez, Sustainability Director, Sea Delight LLC, and President, Sea Delight Ocean Fund

As the Sustainability Director for Sea Delight, SL, and the President of the Sea Delight Ocean Fund, Inc., Sánchez is responsible for coordinating development efforts for Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) and Better Fishing Practices Initiatives (BFPIs) in Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica. Sanchez also produces her new "Women in Seafood" to highlight and promote females in the seafood industry.

Samarth Sarthi, Chief Executive Officer, SCA Technologies

Samarth Sarthi is the president and founder of SCA Technologies, where he has led the effort to produce SCA’s cloud-based software solution that offers a unique farm-to-fork, cross-functional approach that enables foodservice companies to strengthen their partnership with suppliers and franchisees, build scalability in performance, improve margins and boost market share. SCA customers include McDonald’s, Yum! Brands, Church’s Chicken and many other leading restaurant chains.

Company LogoJon Shaw, Director, Sustainability & Communications, Carrier Transicold & Refrigerated Systems

Jon Shaw has positioned himself as a leader in Carrier’s efforts to extend the global food supply by seeing the higher connection between sustainable cold chain practices and feeding a growing population. He has designed research and global events, including Carrier’s World Cold Chain Summit to Reduce Food Waste, to broaden the dialogue on the future of food. These summits held in London in 2014 and Singapore in 2015 convened nearly 200 worldwide experts in the discussion and supporting research to transform the way food is safely and sustainably transported, preserved and distributed.

Shaw also oversaw a research study by the University of Nottingham, U.K., to measure the impact of reducing food loss in the global cold chain.

His inspiration to lead the food waste reduction effort stems from his experience over the past two decades of participating in the development and growth of the green building movement.

Jeff Silver, Chief Executive Officer, Coyote Logistics

Under Jeff Silver’s leadership, Chicago-based Coyote Logistics became a UPS subsidiary in 2015 and continues to be one of the  fastest-growing third-party logistics providers in North America. Coyote’s full-scale Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) system is used by many food and beverage shippers for visibility and network planning. He also serves on the board of the Northwestern University Transportation Center (NUTC) and the MIT School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council.

Sean Smith, Supply Chain Director, Agropur

Sean Smith leads the end–to-end supply chain for the ingredients manufacturing business unit at Agropur, a $6.5 billion Canadian dairy cooperative. He for Agropur’s. Smith’s was also instrumental in the implementation of a Truckload Transportation Management System and outsourcing to a 3rd-party of our freight invoice, audit and payment processes to provide 15 percent savings to the company.

Company LogoChase Sowden, Supply Chain Architect, Barcoding, Inc.

Since joining Barcoding, Chase Sowden has helped launch Supply Chain Architecture by Barcoding, a dedicated practice for the identification, formulation, and management of perfect order fulfillment processes. Sowden is a frequent industry speaker and author, a Six Sigma Black Belt and also possesses a PMP certification and is an Agile Scrum Master.

Wendy Stuart, Co-Founder, Wide Net Project

Wendy Stuart is a co-founder of the Wide Net Project, a nonprofit organization that uses the marketplace to serve as a driving force in propelling the environmental and hunger-relief movements forward. Stuart has a proven track record for creating programs that advance the distribution of local food, food access, local economic development, and creating synergies between the various links of the supply chain to further both the good food movement and ecosystem management.

Company LogoBill Tomasi, Senior Vice President of Product Management, International Business Systems (IBS)

Bill Tomasi started out his career developing and installing customized supply chain solutions and then went on to design one of the most widely recognized and longest-running standard solutions in the industry. Tomasi is recognized as a thought leader by virtue by peers and is considered a knowledge provider in the industry.

Company LogoDave Williams, Director of Software and Solutions Delivery, Westfalia Technologies, Inc.

As the director of software and solutions delivery for Westfalia Technologies, Inc., Dave Williams is at the forefront of delivering software solutions and application support that enable food manufacturers and distributors to automate warehouse operations. Williams was instrumental in the launch of Westfalia’s new warehouse execution system, Savanna.NET, recently which combines a tightly integrated warehouse management system and warehouse control system into a single application.

Jeff Wismans, National Director of Transportation, United Natural Foods

Working through the ranks, Jeff Wismans entered the industry as a route driver and now is responsible for the fleet operations of over 2000 assets and corresponding support infrastructure encompassing distribution centers, fuel islands and national maintenance contracts for United Natural Foods. Wismans was an early adopter of the Cooltrax real time cold chain technology to interpret fleet performance on each KPI to enhance cold chain integrity across all of UNFI’s multi-temp trailer fleet.

Company LogoNelly Yunta, Vice President, Customized Brokers, a Crowley Company

In addition to her duties for Crowley and Customized Brokers, Yunta serves on the board of directors for Florida Perishables Trade Coalition, a non-profit that works to increase perishables trade through the state’s air and seaports.

The coalition’s key initiative has thus far been successful, thanks to the introduction of the cold treatment project. This project encourages the USDA to allow direct importation and distribution of South American perishables that require cold treatment through Florida ports – something that up until now has been prohibited by federal law because of the possible introduction of injurious pests, like fruit flies, and disease to an area whose economy depends in part on local agriculture.

Last year, Yunta was invited to make a presentation at the University of Flores in Argentina to discuss how to bring fruits and vegetables into the US. This is another example of how she works to organize seminars for customers, locally and abroad, to bring awareness of rules and regulations and help them understand the process.

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