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.
CHRIS BADGER, Vice-President, Customer Development & Operations, Vancouver Port Authority (VPA): Mr. Badger oversees business development, marine operations, security, shore operations and trade development for the Vancouver Port Authority. He brings years of marine experience along with in-depth knowledge of port operations and related businesses to his current position. A native of England, Chris holds a Master Mariner Certificate (FG). He also holds a Bachelor of General Studies from Simon Fraser University and is a graduate of SFU's Executive Management Development Program. Mr. Badger spent 14 years at sea before joining the Vancouver Port Authority in 1988 as Assistant Harbour Master. He then spent four years with the Port of Nanaimo as Director, Operations and Harbour Master. Later, Chris returned to the Port of Vancouver as Deputy Harbour Master and then Harbour Master. In 2001, he joined the VPA's executive team. He is a member of the Company of Master Mariners of Canada and is on the Board of Directors of the International Sailors' Society of Canada, the Chamber of Shipping of B.C. and the 2008 ITU, Vancouver competition.
DAVID 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 Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
MICHAEL CORMIER, Vice President Business Development and Customer Relations, Halifax Port Authority: Mr. Cormier joined the Halifax Port Authority in January 2006, assuming overall responsibility for marketing and business development. Prior to joining the Halifax Port Authority, Mr. Cormier worked with the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority as the Chief Executive Officer. Previous to that he held the position of Harbour Master and Senior Manager, Marine Operations at the Port of Vancouver. He has also worked with Terminal Systems Inc. in Vancouver and Cerescorp Company in Halifax. In addition to a Master's degree in Business Administration, Mr. Cormier holds a Certificate of Competency as a Master Mariner.
JOHN CUTLER, General Counsel of NASSTRAC, has over 30 years experience as a transportation lawyer representing shippers of freight. He is a principal with the Washington, D.C., law firm McCarthy, Sweeney & Harkaway, P.C.
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. Mr. Duncan 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.
DAN FRENCH is a graduate student in the MBA Program at the Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University. Prior to returning to business school, Mr. French was a Manager with Accenture.
BILL GRAVES, a former governor of Kansas, is President and CEO of the American Trucking Associations in Alexandria, Virginia.
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, the 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. And 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.
ED KEARNS, President of Kearns Transportation Services: Mr. Kearns's areas of expertise encompass operational planning, marketing and sales of intermodal trucking, railway and marine freight services. In addition, his areas of specialization include promotion, market development and sales for Canadian ports, as well as warehousing, distribution and processing. Prior to his consulting practice Mr. Kearns was the Senior Vice President of Fraser Wharves Ltd. He has also held senior level positions at "K" Line Canada Ltd. and Kerr Steamships Canada. His tenure includes management positions at Crossland Containers Limited and the Saint John Port Development Commission. Mr. Kearns is a member of The Transportation Club of Toronto.
BRIAN MCDONALD, Executive Vice President of Montship, Inc. began his career in shipping with Robert Reford Inc. in 1983. He joined Montship in 1989 as Sales Manager, and has held various management positions since then, both in Vancouver and Toronto. Mr. McDonald was the founding president of the Toronto Steamship Association and is a Director of the Shipping Federation of Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from Queen's University.
CHRIS NOREK, Ph.D., has 15 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 independent consulting experience. 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.
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 and 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).
DOMINIC TADDEO, President and CEO, Montreal Port Authority: A native of Montreal, Mr. Taddeo holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance and Economics) from Loyola College. He spent his early career at Thorne Riddell as Internal Auditor and at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Ltd. as Internal Auditor and, later, Chief Accountant. Mr. Taddeo began his career in the shipping industry in 1971 when he joined McLean Kennedy Inc., steamship agents, brokers and terminal operators, where he held the positions of Assistant Treasurer and Controller. In 1974, Mr. Taddeo joined the Montreal Port Authority as Director of Finance. He subsequently held the positions of Director of Finance and Administration and Director of Operations before his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer in March 1984. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Association of the Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA), a position he also held in 1982-1983, when the organization was known as the Canadian Port and Harbour Association (CPHA). Mr. Taddeo is an active member of various committees of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), which he joined in 1975, and served as Chairman of the Board of AAPA in 1989-1990. In 1998, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Laurentian Bank of Canada (where he served until March 2007), and was a member of the bank's Audit Committee and also Chairman of the Audit Committee from November 2002 to October 2005.
AL ZORNER, Founding Partner, Chain Connectors: Mr. Zorner spent the majority of his professional career with the chemical giant, Union Carbide. He left in 1994 to become the Director of Technology/CIO at Foxwoods Resort Casino, a business that has evolved into the largest casino in the western world and is publicly-acknowledged for its technical innovation. He then elected to experiment in the services delivery sector and assumed the role of Technical Executive/CTO for the IBM Interactive Media Group, which became the incubator and the premier e-business center within the IBM umbrella. In early 2000, Al joined Enterpulse, an eCommerce services firm, as the Vice-President/ CTO with sole responsibility for the delivery of B2B commerce, supply chain and content management solutions. In his 25-year career with Union Carbide, Mr. Zorner played a key role in the design, development and operation of the nationwide computer-based order-entry and processing system for the logistical network of six regional offices, 45 manufacturing sites and over 2,000 vehicles.