Our Contributors
LQ's mandate to provide "Ideas for Leadership in Logistics," is clearly evidenced this issue with articles written by professionals and logisticians from America and Canada who are leading and transforming business by creating new roadmaps and definitions for leadership in this exciting field.
JIM BUTTS, Vice President, Transportation of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., has been with the company since 1978, and joined the company's executive team in 2002. Mr. Butts is responsible for the relationships with several key customers in the retail, consumer products, paper, manufacturing and agriculture industries, aiding them in logistics and supply chain systems design, including the use of third party logistics services in supply chain planning and execution. He is also responsible for C.H. Robinson's Transportation Corporate Sales and Marketing activities.
DAVID J. CLOSS, Ph.D., LQ Executive Editor: Dr. Closs is the John H. McConnell Chaired Professor of the Eli Broad College of Business, Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Michigan State University. He has consulted with more than 100 of the world's Fortune 500 corporations regarding logistics strategies and systems. He is an active member of the Council of the Supply Chain Management Professionals.
JIM DAVIDSON, President, iWheels Dedicated Logistics, began his career in logistics at the Ford Motor Company in 1963 working in all aspects of logistics for 17 years. Mr. Davidson joined TNT in 1983 and held various management roles, including roles in operations, staff, administration and general management for a number of different divisions. He also served as the TNT board member representing North America at their European based board meetings. He has served on the executive of the Canadian General Motors Supplier Council as well as Executive Vice President of the ATA council of Logistics located in Alexandria, Virginia.
DOUGLAS DUNCAN is President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Freight Corp., a $3.6 billion leading U.S. provider of regional and national less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services based in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the founding CEO of FedEx Freight, and reports directly to FedEx Corp. Chairman, President & CEO Frederick W. Smith. In addition to the LTL companies, Mr. Duncan oversees strategic direction for FedEx Custom Critical, North America's largest time-specific, critical shipment carrier; and Caribbean Transportation Services, the leading provider of airfreight forwarding services between the United States and Puerto Rico. Before the formation of FedEx Freight, Mr. Duncan served for two years as president and CEO of Viking Freight (now FedEx Freight West), a FedEx operating company since 1998. With 30 years of transportation experience, Mr. Duncan's impressive industry track record includes various management positions in operations, sales and marketing with Caliber System and Roadway Express. He takes a leadership role in the industry, serving on the Executive Committee of the American Trucking Associations and as Chairman of the American Transportation Research Institute. A native of Virginia, Duncan graduated from Christopher Newport University, where he serves on the Board of Visitors. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Benchmark Electronics, Inc.
MARY HOLCOMB, Ph.D., has been Associate Professor of Logistics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, since 1993. Prior to her career in academia, Dr. Holcomb spent 18 years at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) where she conducted research for the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense. In addition to her transportation policy research work at ORNL, she has been involved with multiple logistics and supply chain consulting projects for companies such as Milliken & Company, Sony, CVS and Brunswick Boat Group. Her professional experience also includes work at General Motors and the former Burlington Northern Railroad.
BARTON JENNINGS, Ph.D., has been an Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, since 2004. Between 1992 and 2004, Dr. Jennings worked for the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Prior to that, he worked in the railroad industry for various Class I and shortline railroads. Dr. Jennings has numerous articles and presentations on intermodal transportation and related subjects.
JOHN LANGLEY JR., Ph.D., M.B.A. is Professor of Supply Chain Management and Director of Supply Chain Executive programs at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Langley is a former President of the Council of Logistics Management, and a recipient of the Council's Distinguished Service Award. In 2004 he was honored as one of the profession's top five logistics executives at the Richmond Events Logistics and Supply Chain Forum. He received his Ph.D. degree in Business Logistics from Penn State University. Dr. Langley has co-authored several books, including The Management of Business Logistics, a 7th edition textbook published in 2003. He also serves on the Boards of Directors of UTi Worldwide, Inc., Averitt Express, Inc. and Forward Air Corporation. He is also lead author of the annual study on the 3PL industry, the most recent of which is titled 2004 Ninth Annual Study of 3PL Service Providers: Views from the Customers.
ROBERT MARTICHENKO is President of LeanCor LLC. Headquartered in Florence, Kentucky. LeanCor delivers dedicated third party logistics services and training and education services to companies embracing Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. Mr. Martichenko is a student of Logistics, Lean and Six Sigma, has published in several industry journals and coauthored the book Lean Sigma Logistics, published by J.Ross Publishing. Mr. Martichenko holds a bachelor degree in Mathematics from the University of Windsor and an MBA in Finance from Baker College. Mr. Martichenko is involved with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the Lean Enterprise Institute, the Supply Chain Consortium at Saint Louis University and LQ magazine.
CHRIS NOREK, Ph.D., has fifteen years of experience in supply chain and logistics related consulting across several industries including retail, consumer products, industrial products, services and Internet business fulfillment. He has consulted for both CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation - formerly Cleveland Consulting Associates) and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) and also has extensive consulting experience as an independent consultant. He spent three years as a professor of logistics and transportation, two years on the faculty of the University of Tennessee and one year on the faculty of Auburn University. In addition, he has worked for Kimberly-Clark Corporation as an area planner, Apple Computer as a worldwide materials planning analyst and Office Depot as an internal logistics consultant. His independent consulting engagements included work for amazon.com, Aramark Uniform Services, The Sports Authority and Accenture/ Andersen Consulting. Dr. Norek has his B.S. in Business Logistics from Pennsylvania State University, an M.B.A. with a concentration in logistics and transportation from the University of Tennessee and an M.A.B.A. and Ph.D. in logistics and transportation from The Ohio State University. Through his industry and academic experience, Dr. Norek has amassed considerable contacts and visibility in the field. He has been quoted in several journals in the discipline as well as general business publications like Business 2.0 magazine. He has published in Supply Chain Management Review, the Journal of Business Logistics, International Journal of Logistics Management and Strategic Supply Chain Alignment (a leading international logistics text). He is also a frequent presenter at industry conferences including the Council of Logistics Management (CLM), Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) and the National Retail Federation (NRF). He is also a recurring invited speaker to supply chain executive development programs at the University of Tennessee, University of North Florida, University of Louisville and ITRAN ( a professional group headed by the Georgia Freight Bureau). He is also a member of CommerceNet's Evolving Supply Initiative's advisory board.
GAIL RUTKOWSKI is Director of Operations with AIMS Logistics and is a veteran of more than 25 years in the transportation industry. She has experienced both sides of the industry, from shipper to carrier, from small shipments to truckloads, from domestic to international. Her experience runs the gamut from private fleet management with Quaker Oats and Belden Wire and Cable, to truckload sales with C. H. Robinson, to transportation management with Thomas & Betts. Ms. Rutkowski is a member of NASSTRAC and is currently President of the organization. She was selected NASSTRAC Member of the Year in 2003 and 2005. She is also a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
NICHOLAS SEIERSEN, B.Sc.(Hons.), M.B.A., P.Log, LQ Executive Editor, is a Senior Manager with KPMG, based in Toronto, Ontario. He specializes in supply chain consulting, with particular attention to strategic sourcing and supply chain planning & operations. Mr. Seiersen is the Canadian Service Line lead for Operations Cost Management at KPMG. Mr. Seiersen holds a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Biochemistry and an M.B.A. in Industrial Management. He teaches executive development courses at top universities in Europe and North America. He is the past President of the Toronto Roundtable of the Council of Logistics Management, (now CSCMP).
MICHAEL SNEDDEN is currently an Engagement Manager within Customer Solution Centre which is part of the Global IBM Integrated Supply Chain. As an Engagement Manager, Michael provides integration & configuration solutions to clients. Prior to his role as an Engagement Manager, Michael worked within the global logistics organization in a number of roles but most recently the Traffic Operations Manager for IBM Canada. In his role as Traffic Operations Manager, Michael worked with third party suppliers on continuous process improvements, cost reduction and building partnerships. Mr. Snedden obtained his P.Log through the Canadian Logistics Institute in 1999 and has continued his focus on improving IBM's presence in the external logistics community.
BOB STOFFEL is the Senior Vice president for the Supply Chain Group, UPS. Mr. Stoffel directs the non-package companies of UPS. These include UPS Supply Chain Solutions, the logistics and global freight subsidiary; UPS Capital corporation, the company's financial arm; UPS Consulting and UPS Mail Innovations;- all of which were created to help customers synchronize the three flows of global commerce. Stoffel also is a member of the UPS Management Committee, which oversees the day-to-day management of the company. Mr. Stoffel joined UPS in 1975 as a part-time loader while earning a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Illinois, Chicago. During his UPS career, Mr. Stoffel has held a number of senior management positions. He has served as both Operations Manager and Industrial Engineering Manager in five different UPS operating districts and regions. Mr. Stoffel also has worked in UPS's corporate research and development and marketing functions, where he was responsible for a new product development and a major UPS acquisition. He previously held the positions of Vice President of UPS's Quality function and UPS transportation Process Manager. He also served as Senior Vice President and COO of the UPS Logistics Group's Service Parts Logistics, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of world-class service parts and reverse logistics solutions. Prior to his current position, Mr. Stoffel was president of UPS Supply Chain Solutions, the largest of the four business units that comprise the Supply Chain Group. He oversaw the integration of 16 acquired companies that were added in recent years to UPS Supply Chain Solutions and then led the unit to profitability.
TIFFANY WLAZLOWSKI is the Director of Public Affairs and Deputy Press Secretary for the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Tiffany has practiced professional business writing for more than 10 years, including reporting for such publications as Investment News and The Daily Record in Baltimore. Prior to her current position, Ms. Wlazlowski was a senior business reporter for a trucking newspaper, where she earned a national editorial award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.