The 10 Most influential women in supply chain,2022 Vol 2 March2022_compressed.pdf

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VOL 03 | ISSUE 22 | 2021
The Most
10
Influential
Women
in Supply
Chain, 2022
Empowering
Inﬂuence
Sharpen your
Perceptions with
Women Leadership
Choose to Challenge
Women: The New
Trailblazers in
Supply Chain
Karen
OwenUnlocking the Potential of
Collaborative Strategic Sourcing
Vice President, Supply Management
and Customer Relations, OECM

Outlining
the
Framework
of SCM
he business world is continuously adopting new
Tstrategies aligning with more unique ways to
implement technologies in various domains, and
the Supply Chain industry is the one to stay ahead. With the
incorporation of women into management-level positions,
there comes a new perspective on effectively handling the
areas. I believe this year has a bright prospect in store for
women managing the supply chain administrative positions.
The introduction of naïve strategies and frameworks has
scaled up the level of competition, and women are not
afraid to try out these to bring out the best in their
respective companies.
Today, automation tops the lot as it has become an utmost
necessity. ERP software can be used to automate purchase
orders that reduce the runtime of the cycle and can also be
programmed to automatically place orders with vendors
when inventory levels drop below the desired level. The
essential part of any supply chain strategy is maintaining
quick inventory levels. Automating the process reduces
human error and frees up critical employee hours for other
important tasks.
Standardizing the process of SCM clears out a bunch of
inventory problems. Setting a standard level of work saves
time and money and ensures equal working conditions.
Standardizing the process to be automated allows for a
transparent system in the company. Parameters like
inventory count, unit allocation, and worker punches cannot
be manipulated if a foolproof method exists. Increasing
internal SCM transparency is vital to reducing unexplained
inventory and financial losses.
Modern software offers inventory features that provide real-
time supply and output levels visibility. Modern techniques
Editor’s Desk

include designs that enable flexibility that matches
business requirements and unique needs. The proper
supply chain depends on stellar vendor performance.
Vendor performances can be monitored through
robust techniques on ERP systems. Real-time
inventory also allows timely receiving and delivery
of orders which is a win-win situation. The
punctuality of women has a wide-scale implication
for the way supply chain systems of large companies
work, making the system smooth, flexible, and fast.
Insights Success voyage worldwide to find the new
generation of women leaders that are taking
progressive steps in the direction of positive impact
in its edition, “The 10 Most Influential Women in
Supply Chain 2022.”
While going through the remarkable journeys of
women leaders, have a quick rundown at articles
written by our in-house editorial team.
Hope you readers enjoy this edition and add some
value to your vast business acumen!
Raunak Mhetre
Raunak
raunak.mhetre@insightssuccess.com

Cover Story
Articles
Empowering
Inﬂuence
28
Sharpen your Perceptions with
Women Leadership
Choose to
Challenge
42
Women:
The New Trailblazers
in Supply Chain
Karen Owen
Unlocking the Potential of Collaborative
Strategic Sourcing

Contents
16
Claire Bretzke
Delivering Results-Driven
Multitudes of Marketing
24
48
Shimon Gowda
A Passionate Leader in the
Supply Chain Space
20
Jessica Burgess
Strengthening the Roots
in the Supply Chain Industry
30
34 Mariam Saad
44 Sarah Barnes-Humphrey
Leading with Perseverance and Giving
Voice to Supply Chain Community
38
Monique Alblas Exemplifying Resilient Leadership
Maximizing Proﬁtability
in Supply Chains
Maria Villablanca
Navigating the Complexities of Changing
Business Models in Supply Chain
Alma Arzate
Leading the Way and Helping
Others to Succeed
52 Wendy Herrick
An Excellent Example of
“Learn-it-All" Mindset

sales@insightssuccess.com
March, 2022
Editor-in-Chief
Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager
Marketing Manager
Technical Head
Technical Specialist Digital Marketing Manager
Research Analyst
Database Management Technology Consultant
Hitesh Dhamani
Managing Editor
Anish Miller
Executive Editor
Sharad Chitalkar
Assistant Editors
Jenny Fernandes
Kshitij S Peter Collins
John Matthew
Sales Executives
David, Martin, Rahul
Business Development Executives
Steve, Joe, Saurabh
Jacob Smile
Aditya Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive
Amol Wadekar Frank Adams
Circulation Manager
Robert Brown Stella Andrew David Stokes
Visualizer
David King
Associate Designer Co - Designer
Sonia
Shyam Sonawane
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Alma Arzate
Director, Global
Supply Chain Logistics
Apotex Inc. is a proudly Canadian, global pharmaceutical
company.
Apotex
apotex.com
Irasema Calvo
Sr. Supply Chain
Manager
Lucira Health's technology is transforming - reduce the spread
of infectious diseases by bringing accurate, easy-to-use self-
testing into the home.
Lucira Health
lucirahealth.com
Karen Owen,
Vice President
Supply Management
and Customer Relations
OECM is a trusted not-for-profit sourcing partner for Ontario’s
education sector, broader public sector, and other not-for-profit
organizations.
OECM
oecm.ca
Monique Alblas
VP, Consulting
GEP® delivers transformative supply chain solutions.
GEP
gep.com
Shimon Gowda
Manager, Supply
Chain Design Practice
For 20 years and counting, Chainalytics has been the leader in
data-driven supply chain transformations.
Chainalytics
chainalytics.com
Sarah B. Humphrey
Podcast Host
& Founder
Let's Talk
Supply Chain
letstalksupplychain.com
Tanja Dysli
Chief Supply
Chain Officer
IKEA offers well-designed, functional and affordable, high-
quality home furnishing, produced with care for people and the
environment.
IKEA
ikea.com
Wendy Herrick
Vice President Digital
Unilever portfolio ranges from nutritionally balanced foods to
indulgent ice creams, affordable soaps, luxurious shampoos and
everyday household care products.
Unilever
unilever.com
Mariam Saad
Director of
Procurement
TELUS
telus.com
TELUS, is building a better future for all Canadians by using
technology for good and giving back to our community.
Maria P. Villablanca
Co-Founder
and CEO
Future Insights Network
futureinsights.org
Future Insights Network is the next-generation community of
business leaders.
Let's Talk Supply Chain features the top of the industry, diverse
voices from within the community, new innovation and the
disrupters making waves.
Description
Company Name
Featured Person
UPPLY
HAIN
The 10 Most
Influential Women in

The 10 Most Inﬂuen al Women in Supply Chain, 2022
Karen Owen
Vice President, Supply Management
and Customer Rela ons
OECM

Karen Owen
Unlocking the Potential of Collaborative Strategic Sourcing
Be brave. Don't be afraid to look
at every possibility, challenge
the status quo and conﬁdently
share your opinions.

he intricacies in the ever-evolving supply chain
Tindustry keep growing; however, technological
advancements and ground-breaking strategies add
crucial value to tackle these problems. Leaders in the
supply chain understand how an innovative approach can
allow organizations to be more proactive and productive.
To upscale the workforce with effective strategies to drive
better performance and profitability, Karen Owen drove a
culture in the supply chain industry with her extensive
knowledge.
As the Vice President, Supply Management and
Customer Relations at OECM, Karen implements
inventive and effective business solutions elevating the
organization's profile. OECM is a trusted not-for-profit
collaborative strategic sourcing partner for 100% of
Ontario's school boards, colleges, universities, and a
growing number of broader public sector customers,
including hospitals, municipalities, and other not-for-profit
organizations.
We at Insights Success caught up with Karen in our
endeavor "The 10 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain
– 2022." We talked with her to understand how her award-
winning business innovation strategies created a highly
successful customer-focused organization.
Below are the highlights of the interview.
Brief our audience about your journey as a business
leader before your current position at OECM. What
challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you
are today?
Early in my public sector career, neither procurement nor
supply chain management was considered a strategic
function within the business of government. Women, in
particular, were typically in transactional roles, and few
opportunities for career advancement or professional
development existed. It was rare to see women in leadership
roles – it took serious work for women to pave their way as
industry leaders.
Fortunately, I worked with several successful women in
management who were excellent role models and mentors
to me, including Michelle DiEmanuele, who is now
Secretary of the Cabinet for the Government of Ontario.
Working with her and witnessing the power of her
confidence and influence – particularly in the area of
leadership and 'bravely going where few women had gone
before' – that set the bar for me. It helped me form my own
leadership style and recognize my potential.

Throughout my career, I've been able to lead and contribute
to pioneering change initiatives, which laid the groundwork
for the innovative and leading-edge strategic sourcing,
supplier relationship management, and customer
relationship management solutions we offer through OECM
today. When I was asked to join OECM in 2009, I was less
interested in my own professional growth and more in my
passion for implementing transformative change that could
bring long-term value to the sector. It was an opportunity to
explore and establish ways to facilitate collaboration to
effectively leverage spend, and drive savings and supply
chain value for Ontario's broader public sector.
Today, OECM is a distinguished, highly trusted
collaborative sourcing partner for hundreds of customers.
I'm proud of what we've accomplished over the last 12
years, reaching $2 billion in accumulated collaborative
spend in 2020, creating relationships and seamless
partnerships with innovative and reputable supplier
partners, and generating savings for customers while
providing the best overall total value and quality of service.
As a woman in the supply chain industry, I'm especially
proud of the role I've played in helping OECM establish a
solid foundation of best practices, skills, and innovation that
enhances the value of collaborative sourcing.
I've always considered early challenges as opportunities
that guided me towards leadership – I wanted to see women
empowered to choose supply chain management as a career
path, to mentor and guide a new generation of female
entrepreneurs and demonstrate for them the value they
bring to the business. I'm proud that 53% of OECM's
workforce are women – with 24% directly working in
supply management.
Tell us something more about OECM, its mission, and
its vision.
OECM offers a comprehensive Marketplace of
collaboratively sourced and competitively priced products
and services from over 287 unique supplier partners in a
wide range of categories: facilities and operations, finance,
OECM conducts
procurement in a fair, open,
transparent and
competitive manner.
human resources, information technology, and marketing.
We also offer value-added services, such as advisory,
business analytics, and knowledge sharing. We deliver
service that is consistent, accessible, and responsive,
supporting our customer-centric service delivery model.
Solid relationships and seamless partnerships have
contributed greatly to OECM's growth and continued
success. In 2020, we managed over $500 million of
collective spending for 800 organizations across Ontario,
handling over 78 categories of products and services. While
our primary focus is on the province of Ontario, we
continue to explore strategic partnerships with like-minded
shared services organizations to expand our offering across
Canada.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the
public sector niche through your expertise in the
market?
I've spent a lifetime developing and implementing strategic
supply chain solutions and bringing innovation to strategic
sourcing for the broader public sector. As an active

participant with industry associations, including the
Canadian Public Procurement Council, Ontario Public
Buyers Association, and Supply Chain Canada, I've had
abundant opportunities to share my expertise and
experience. Whether speaking at conferences and events or
moderating panel discussions, I focus on Leadership in
Supply Chain, Innovation, and Collaboration and aim to
teach and inspire but especially empower women in this
field. In 2019, I was deeply humbled to be named to the
Supply Chain Management Association's first-ever list of
the 100 Influential Women in Canadian Supply Chain. This
was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the achievements of
women in the supply chain and showcase the future – with
women leading the way.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that
drives your organization.
OECM is driven by talented individuals with a shared
passion for achieving results through teamwork and
collaboration. Our people truly are at the root of our
success. We are proud to support a work culture that is anti-
racist, diverse, and inclusive – we embrace the strength that
comes from our diversity. Our varied experiences,
perspectives, and backgrounds make for a truly dynamic
and engaging workplace. Through the actions outlined in
our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion Statement and
our representative, staff-led Diversity and Inclusion
Committee, OECM promotes a welcoming environment
that is built on the tenets of collaboration, responsiveness,
integrity, innovation, and respect – the cornerstones of our
business.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in
almost every sector. How are you leveraging
technological advancements to make your solutions
resourceful?
Innovation, collaboration, and technology have become
critical drivers in establishing a secure supply chain and
driving operational effectiveness to support our customer
community. At OECM, we're fully embracing this
technological shift, focusing on data-driven analytics and
insights. We've invested in Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) technology, initiated a robust Supplier
Recognition Program (SRP), and are soon transitioning to
an enhanced and interactive website – to help us leverage
customer and supplier data related to usage, spend,
customer satisfaction, retention, behavioral trends, and
other insights. We're also exploring the "art of the possible"
when it comes to adopting new infrastructures for Artificial
At OECM, our people are at the
root of our success and our
strength is in our diversity.

Intelligence and Machine Learning. The notion of modeling
or predictive analysis is changing the face of customer
service, CRM, and Supplier Relationship Management
(SRM). OECM, as part of our continuous improvement
journey, is using customer and supplier segmentation to
better understand the needs of customers and strengths of
suppliers, leveraging technology to enrich insights and
personalization to predict what our customers "may need"
before they need it and then working proactively with
suppliers to respond.
If given a chance, what change would you like to bring
to the supply chain industry?
I believe that change is already well underway. The
economic disruption and shortages caused by the COVID-
19 crisis revealed significant vulnerabilities in the supply
chain and raised concerns around globalization.
Organizations need to take a step back – to review and
assess their supply chain requirements, areas for
improvement, customer demands, and supplier
relationships. The pandemic highlighted the importance of
supply chain management and the value that skilled supply
chain professionals bring to their organizations. In my
opinion, supporting professional development and career
advancement in the supply chain industry is the key to
longevity and success. Continuous investment in
professional development focused on innovation will ensure
organizations have access to skilled resources with robust
business intelligence (data and analytics), SRM, and CRM
knowledge. The future is bright for those most passionate
about strategic supply management, proficient in the
process but also strategy, innovation, and business
intelligence.
What, according to you, could be the next big change in
the public sector supply chain management industry?
How is OECM preparing to be a part of that change?
The public sector supply chain management industry has
transformed deeply over the last ten years. Customers want
improved supply chain flexibility, increased efficiency,
greater privacy and security, and innovative approaches to
help solve their complex problems. As well, organizations
are bringing supply chains into strategic planning
discussions earlier, which is a tremendous advantage that
adds value to the industry while also increasing the need for
agility and proven solutions.
The next big change I see, especially in sourcing for the
public sector, is more collaboration and consolidation.
While this is important at the product/service level, in terms
of increased buying power and leveraging the benefits of
category management, we're now seeing a more
coordinated and strategic approach to supply chain at the
organizational level – opening the door to diverse
partnerships – and collaboration across the public sector.
The Ontario government's recent introduction of their
Supply Ontario agency, a secure, centralized supply chain
that supports domestic production, collaboration with small
businesses and entrepreneurs, and partnerships that drive
innovation and greater value, is one example of the
changing landscape.
The bottom line for OECM, while keeping an eye on the
future of Supply Management, we've recognized the need to
continuously evolve – for our organization to be disruptive,
our teams to be able to gather and use data and analytics
effectively, to prioritize supplier and customer relationships,
to bring on resources with a variety of skill sets, and to
focus firmly on the power of collaboration and value of
strategic partnerships.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run,
and what are your future goals for OECM?
I'll continue to help guide OECM through the next phase of
our growth and in achieving our strategic goals for bringing
innovation and collaborative sourcing solutions to more
customers in the broader public sector. Personally, my focus
continues to be on mentoring and supporting the next
generation of supply chain management leaders, both
within OECM and across the industry.
What would be your advice to budding women
entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the business
sector?
My advice for women aspiring to make a mark in this
industry is two-fold. First, be brave. Don't be afraid to look
at every possibility, challenge the status quo and confidently
share your opinions. As women, we bring refreshing
concepts and innovative perspectives to this industry – let's
get those ideas out there. Second, understand and embrace
the power of networking. Build a system of support and be
equally supportive of your network of like-minded peers.
Take the time to learn from and also support others in their
own learning journeys. Never stop improving your skills
and increasing your knowledge bank. Listen and be open to
the exchange of ideas – you never know where the next
brilliant idea will come from!

Life is uncertain, and the only constants are growth
and challenges. If one perceives the problems as
opportunities to improve, growth is inevitable.
Similarly, when it comes to the supply chain industry,
challenges prove themselves to be a great way to grow
professionally. Overcoming these challenges every day with
the support of a diverse team of 140 supply chain
professionals is Alma Arzate.
Alma is the Director of Global Supply Chain Logistics at
Apotex. Driven by her goal to deliver transformational
results, her global experience has been built over two
decades across the supply chain and operations. Her
background and expertise are multi-faceted. However, her
passion lies in bringing order from chaos, whether it be
through people development, systems implementations, or
processes improvements, leveraging all of her ﬁrst-hand
experiences gained from the Automotive, Electronics,
Medical Devices, CPG, and Pharma industries.
In an interview conducted with Insights Success, Alma
sheds light on her professional journey to become an
inspirational leader how she constantly aims to make a
positive impact in the lives of others.
Leading the Way and Helping Others to Succeed
Alma Arzate
Alma Arzate
Director, Global
Supply Chain Logistics
Apotex Inc.
March 2022 | 16 | insightssuccess.com

Below are the highlights of the interview:
leader until your current position at Apotex. What
challenges have you overcome to reach where you are
today?
I am originally from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Juárez is the sister city of El Paso, Texas, United States.
Together with the surrounding areas, these two cities form
the second largest binational metropolitan area on the
Mexico-U.S. border, with a combined population of over
2.2 million people. There is a thriving maquiladora industry,
with over 300 multinational companies operating in my
hometown, so this is where I started my career. Supply
Chain was never highlighted as a possible career pathway
while I was attending the Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad
Juarez, where I completed my B.B.A., or the Universidad
Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, where I completed my M.B.A.
When I learned that there was a vacancy as a Buyer,
Indirect Procurement in the same company I was working
for, I decided to apply. This was a couple of years after
graduation. I only had Finance experience, but the hiring
manager decided to take a chance on me. I really enjoyed
the fast pace, how I had to be resourceful to help resolve
many challenges, and being able to make tangible
contributions to support the business. Once I came over to
the supply chain side, I never left.
There have been many challenges that I have had to
overcome; just to name a few: the supply chain has been
and still is a male-dominated field. I have been the only
woman in the room more times than I can count. I have also
been put in new positions where there was no one else
before me, and I had to find my own way, sometimes even
having to write my own job description! Then, as I chose to
restart my career in Canada 14 years ago, this required a lot
of perseverance to achieve a successful integration into a
new country, culture, and workplace expectations. The lack
of female role models has also been a challenge throughout
my career, but luckily, I have had a lot of kind and
supportive male role models and sponsors that have helped
me get to where I am today.
Supply Chain Industry.
For many years, I have been focusing on whatever time I
can spare to lift others. Despite my sometimes hectic
professional and personal life, I am passionate about
actively supporting multiple initiatives related to supply
chain, education, women, and immigrant advancement. My
hope is that whoever attends these events will learn from
my journey and the many obstacles I have had to overcome
to find my voice and be recognized as a leader, and through
ongoing dialogue, they will also be inspired to find ways to
continue to persevere, achieve their own dreams, and
become the best version of themselves.
I am an enthusiastic supporter of the co-op program at
Apotex Inc., where so far, more than 15 students from many
Universities have greatly benefited by acquiring relevant
supply chain experience. I aim to crush barriers for women
wherever I go and try to inspire female supply chain
professionals to reach forward and accomplish their dreams.
On immigrant-related initiatives, I have been a keynote
speaker for many organizations, supporting Canadian
newcomers to ease their integration into the Canadian work
environment and even hiring many of them.
I would like for my mark in the supply chain industry to be
helping others to succeed. This is an extremely rewarding
way for me to give back to the profession, as I am helping
pave the way for future leaders that will eventually rise to
prominent positions within our companies.
Apotex’s culture is guided by our core values of
Collaboration, Courage, Perseverance, and Passion. They
inform how we work and how we connect internally and
externally with our customers, partners, and other
stakeholders. We have an incredible team of bright,
passionate, and committed individuals who are proudly
dedicated to our mission of bringing a growing array of
high-quality, affordable medicines to healthcare systems in
115 countries around the globe.
“The best way to
predict the future is
to create it.”
– Peter Drucker

We invest in continuous learning and development to
support employees in expanding their capabilities and
reaching their career aspirations. Our leadership team is
fully committed to fostering and encouraging an
environment for learning and development. This is
complemented by robust training to ensure our employees
have the latest industry knowledge and expertise to
continue to excel in their roles. Connecting with our
internal talent is key to ensuring our organization’s
sustainable growth. We prioritize and consider Apotex
employees for all available career opportunities across the
organization to support their career development and drive
business success.
Working at Apotex also means working for a company that
recognizes the obligations that come with success. That is
why we are proud to provide signiﬁcant support to a variety
of charitable organizations and community groups in
Canada and around the world and to invest in the
universities where many of our employees earned their
degrees.
and what are your future goals for Apotex?
I can see myself continuing to expand my responsibilities,
leading multiple teams, giving each and every one of my
team members the opportunities, resources, and time
required to lead initiatives that will take them above and
beyond the comfort zone and will help drive advancement
and innovation in how we do things. I see every single
person in my team as having the potential to be a leader,
regardless of title, time in the organization, or if they have
direct reports or not.
As leaders, being credible, trustworthy, respectful, and
empathetic naturally leads us to make better connections
with our teams. Everything starts by having meaningful
conversations. We know that when employees feel valued,
empowered, and connected to their work and the
organization, there is an overall boost in their engagement. I
try to be as involved and available as possible, as this
allows me to provide the support that my team needs. My
job is to lead the way, role-model a mindset of growth and
continuous improvement, and continue to encourage my
team to achieve ambitious goals and deliver signiﬁcant
results for Apotex.

Claire Bretzke
Vice President of Global Marketing
Ruby Has Fulﬁllment

When it comes to marketing in any business, it is
considered the most central communication
element. If carried out with proper strategic
perspective and operational role, marketing can boost
business to the peak. Implementing such effective
methodologies is Claire Bretzke.
As the Vice President of Global Marketing at Ruby Has
Fulfillment, Claire has nurtured a collaborative culture to
utilize various marketing aspects to inform and integrate
with suppliers on every level.
Insights Success caught up with Claire in its search to find
“Most Influential Women in Supply Chain, 2021”. We
talked with her to gain in-depth knowledge about extensive
expertise spread across multiple aspects of marketing.
leader until your current position at Ruby Has
Fulfillment. What challenges have you overcome to
reach where you are today?
I worked for several different ecommerce startups in
marketing and design roles before joining the Ruby Has
Delivering Results-Driven Multitudes of Marketing
Claire
Bretzke
Using our expertise to
host webinars, develop
helpful content, get news
coverage, and build
partnerships with other
leading companies in
the industry, has helped
us grow at an
astonishing rate over the
last few years.

team and these startups weren’t always successful. It takes a
lot of insight, courage, persistence, and a certain amount of
luck to grow a business, especially through multiple
recessions and a pandemic. I am here because of my
experience in ecommerce, but also because of the people I
met along the way who believed in me and helped me
become the person I am today.
Tell us something more about your company and its
mission and vision.
Ruby Has Fulfillment is the vision of its founder, Rafael
Zakinov. He started the business with one warehouse in
New York, and we’re now expanding internationally. But as
we grow, we’re working hard not to lose what makes us
unique, which is our collaborative approach to working
with our ecommerce brands and giving them what they
need to grow.
Logistics & Supply Chain niche through your expertise
in the market.
I would say I’ve made a difference by using the marketing
channels I have to reach new clients in unconventional
ways. Logistics and supply chain companies have been
around for centuries, but they haven’t always put a lot of
thought into their brand. We’ve established Ruby Has as a
thought leader in the industry by creating content that
potential clients want to watch, read, and click on. Using
our expertise to host webinars, develop helpful content, get
news coverage and build partnerships with other leading
companies in the industry has helped us grow at an
astonishing rate over the last few years.
I mentioned the collaborative approach that Ruby Has
Fulfillment has taken in working with our clients, and I
think that shows the type of organization we are. It’s not our
way or the highway; it’s identifying solutions in ways that
make the most sense for your business. We are all in this to
help our clients grow.
resourceful?
Ruby Has is committed to investing in technology, robotics,
and automation as long as it makes sense for our clients. If
it isn’t going to help our clients grow, we don’t do it. It’s as
simple as that. It makes my job as marketing VP easier to
be able to say that Ruby Has is a technological leader and
that we are committed to investing in technology.
in the Inventory Storage & Management industry?
I would like to see Inventory Storage & Management
companies put more of an emphasis on listening to their
clients, engaging with them, and encouraging them to
engage with their end customers to learn from them. In an
effort to streamline pick and pack services, there has been a
one-size-fits-all approach in the past, but rising ecommerce
brands didn’t get where they are by acting like everyone
else. We can learn as much from them as they learn from us.
the Supply Chain industry? How is your company
preparing to be a part of that change?
The way I see it, Ruby Has, and other fulfillment companies
like ours are making it easy for brands to open new sales
channels, so they’re no longer dependent on one channel,
whether that’s brick and mortar stores, wholesale, Amazon,
other retail marketplaces or direct-to-consumer. I don’t
know what the next big thing will be, but I’m sure Ruby
Has will be one of the first to bring it to our clients.
and what are your future goals for Ruby Has
Fulfillment?
I love helping brands grow. My goal for Ruby Has is to
continue to grow its presence as a global brand that is
known for caring for our clients and making ecommerce
fulfillment easier. That goes for U.S. companies selling
overseas, as well as overseas brands hoping to break into
the U.S. market.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs
who aspire to venture into the Supply Chain sector?
I would say there is plenty of room for new ideas and new
people in this industry. It is rapidly growing, and there will
always be a need for moving things around. The methods
may change but that’s what makes it exciting.

Jessica Burgess
Director of Business Development
Ruby Has Fulﬁllment

oordinating overall logistics with an intent to
Cminimize cost and maximize the efficiency of the
supply chain, Jessica Burgess redefines the way of
thinking about sales, business development, and revenue
growth. As the Director of Business Development at Ruby
Has Fulfilment, she empowers her team to become the best
they can be and drives to create a positive culture grounded
in a companywide vision of success.
Insights Success caught up with Jessica in its search to find
“Most Influential Women in Supply Chain, 2021”. We got
into a conversation with her to understand how she utilizes
consultative and solution-based selling while delivering and
sustaining revenue and profit gains within multiple markets.
leader until your current position at Ruby Has
Fulfillment. What challenges have you overcome to
reach where you are today?
I began in this industry nearly a decade ago and worked my
way up from a representative to the Director of Business
Development. One of the biggest hurdles throughout this
journey occurred several years ago. I had to step out of my
comfort zone and move myself and my 2-year-old son 8
hours away from our friends and family. Balancing
motherhood, a career, and personal life is never an easy
task, but doing it without any support is something else
entirely. During this trying year, I truly learned what I was
capable of (and gained an incredible appreciation for my
mother).
mission and vision.
At Ruby Has, our mission is to be true partners to our
clients. To deliver an unparalleled service to brands as they
scale and to maintain real relationships with our clients. No
brand is a number to us, everyone has a name, and we excel
because of those relationships. Our vision is to maintain
these best practices while we continue to grow and expand
both domestically and internationally.
in the market.
Logistics and supply chain is very similar to any other
business field in that it is male-dominated. Simply being a
woman leader in this space is impactful, but I would say my
biggest impact has been on those who have, or currently do,
Jessica
Burgess Strengthening the Roots
in the Supply Chain Industry
We are constantly
adding new
technology and new
partners to stay
ahead of the needs
of our clients.

report to me. The experience and knowledge that I gained
on my way up the proverbial ladder have proven to be
critical to my ability to lead and mold a successful team.
My ultimate professional goal is not tied to numbers or
quotas but rather to cultivate a happy, motivated team of
experts who are equipped to go out and kill it every day.
Ruby Has is a company that values its employees. I strive to
place a similar emphasis on a healthy culture amongst my
team. We reward hard work and a job well done, and we
also correct and mentor with empathy and compassion.
People first is the motto of Ruby Has and it applies to both
our clients and our staff.
resourceful?
Cutting-edge technology is a requirement for any
fulfillment company that expects to be reliable at scale. Our
combination of automation, robotics, and actual boots on
the ground is key to our success. The technology behind our
strategic robotics systems allows us to get orders picked
and packed at a rate that no team of workers could
accomplish; however, those workers allow us to offer more
flexibility than most companies our size. We have
orchestrated the perfect balance and have entire teams
responsible for staying current on the next advancement in
the space.
I would like to see increased education for entrepreneurs
who are just getting started. So frequently, we see brands
that have grown quickly but whose packaging and labeling
haven’t grown along with their business. Nearly all
fulfillment companies that are technologically advanced
require barcodes, but brands are often caught off guard
when they hear this. Even medium to enterprise-size
companies delay making this transition until it is too late.
Barcode everything and plan your packaging accordingly
from the beginning. That is the message I would like to get
to anyone even considering going into the ecommerce space
because it will greatly impact their inventory management
capabilities.
I think online shopping and direct-to-consumer sales are
both here to stay, so the next big changes will be
improvements in transportation, both globally and
domestically, that ease some of the problems we’ve seen
and increase shipping capacity. There will always be
something changing; it’s the nature of the business. Ruby
Has is here to help facilitate change and growth for our
clients.
and what are your future goals for Ruby Has
Fulfillment?
I am positive that Ruby Has Fulfillment will continue to
evolve along with the ecommerce industry. We are
constantly adding new technology and new partners to stay
ahead of the needs of our clients. I envision myself being
right here, assisting in that growth by bringing new clients
through the door and growing a team of professionals who
are motivated to do the same.
Do it! Even if you have to start at the bottom and work your
way up, you should dive in headfirst. This is an industry
that is growing at an unbelievable rate, and it isn’t going
anywhere. Imagine if you could have gotten into the auto
industry early on or the cell phone industry back when they
were the size of handbags! Every year, more and more
people buy more and more of their items online, and there
has never been a better chance to get in on the excitement.

nnovation has brought people closer. It has improved
Ivarious ways businesses operate and, more specifically,
how products, information, work, and funds flow
throughout the supply chain. Leading in the supply chain
industry is an arduous task as it constantly faces new
challenges through several internal and external factors.
Although, there are several burning issues to be resolved
with efficient and effective solutions. Leaders, especially
women, are experts at managing customer expectations,
suppliers, maintaining quality and sustainability, access to
data, and risk mitigation. Even in difficult times like the
Pandemic, these women leaders efficiently contributed and
led from the forefront. The question arises of how the
supply chain is led under women's leadership. Let us dive in
deep through this article.
Combination of Charm and Courage
Today, there is much talk about the companies led by
women, and the supply chain is no exemption to it. This
shift of women into fields like supply chain gives the
industry new ideas to take the field forward. It is also
because of their solid technological background, through
which they have been able to take charge of the supply
chain companies. This change in the supply chain industry
brings positivity and more energy among the team
members. That's the influence of women in the supply
chain, or in the overall professional workplace for that
matter.
Their key strength is to create bonding with the clients,
team members, and the organization's internal management.
They make sure everyone feels included and create growth
opportunities for everyone. Due to their performance, we
could proudly say that today no industry is male-dominated;
women in business have climbed the ladder of challenges
making it to success. And, if there has to be a synonym for
'hard work,' it would be 'women' because women have
adapted to the supply chain with their hard work and
dedication.
Living the Dream
Women have proved that no job is impossible; all you want
is support from your team and, of course, from the family
members. And, this is where work-life balance comes into
the picture for them; whether it is the personal or
professional life, women are handling their roles and
responsibilities perfectly. Ideally, if I would think to
manage such a tight work-life balance, it would be a
disaster for me, so we got to appreciate how women handle
things with their best efforts.
The Big Picture here is that we are entering the digital
transformation era, and women in business and supply
chain are just another example of it. Looking at their
journey, we understand that it takes a lot of courage,
dedication, and patience to become the leader in the supply
chain. It is so because you are involved in endless business
meetings, decisions, handling inventory, and multiple things
simultaneously. So, businesswomen have risen and
established as perfect leaders to take all the work carefully
related to the supply chain.
Shift of Greatness
Over the last few years, we have seen this trend of women
entering all the industries, and this change is good. With
their experience and knowledge today, their presence is
enough to take the companies up and above. You only learn
in the leadership process because risks, challenges, and
success go on till the very end of the leadership journey. So,
businesswomen understand that they have to create as many
opportunities as possible to come into this field.
Leadership is quite a journey indeed; never giving up and
staying motivated is the key here. Learn from your mistakes
and make the world yours. We are all surrounded by the
miraculous leadership of women, and we are very much
excited about what they bring to us.
Empowering Influence

Sharpen your
Perceptions with

Maria Villablanca
Co-Founder & CEO
Future Insights
Network

he intricacies in the supply chain are increasing
Twith each passing day; even though technological
advancement and data bring additional value to the
process, the skill gap keeps expanding. Organizations need
diverse talent to manage the supply chain to push
performance and profitability further. Having insights and
information about the supply chain can provide
organizations a refreshing perspective which is what Maria
Villablanca delivers with her venture Future Insights
Network.
As the Co-founder and CEO, as well as the host of a
successful podcast, Maria creates a workplace culture that
inspires and motivates. She is an effective, energetic, and
visionary leader who believes that “good enough” is never
good enough. With her leadership at the forefront, Future
Insights Network is driving manufacturing and supply chain
innovation through; thought leadership, virtual workshops,
live, collaborative events.
Insights Success caught up with Maria in our endeavor to
find “Most influential Women in Supply Chain, 2021”. We
talked with her to have a deep understanding of how she is
driving a transformational change by connecting supply
chain leaders.
leader until your current position at Future Insights
Network. What challenges you had to overcome to reach
where you are today?
I have had a long trajectory spanning multiple continents,
languages, industries, and roles over my nearly 30-year
career. This path has allowed me to embrace change,
diversity, transformation and has provided me with an
opportunity to develop agility and adaptability. My greatest
teachers throughout my career have been my failures, and I
am very grateful for them.
Navigating the Complexities
of Changing Business
Models in Supply Chain
Maria
Villablanca
Our purpose is to inspire and
enable transformational change
in the world’s leading companies.

1) to drive more diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
and bring more people with different backgrounds to the
industry but also
2) drive sustainable change. The pandemic has fast-tracked
digital transformation. It would be great to see us develop
new and more sustainable business models too.
The next big change will be around digital transformation
technologies and sustainability. Both will have an impact on
how we define the supply chain and how businesses
operate. Every single role in Supply Chain will change. I
hope for the better. Our role in this new world is to continue
to bring stories of positive change to the industry.
and what are your future goals for Future Insights
Network?
In the long run, I hope to continue growing the business, the
community, and the network to include a wider group of
Supply Chain executives from the moment they start their
careers in this industry until the moment they retire. I hope
to continue bringing them content, connections, and a place
where they can dialogue and debate the latest trends and
issues.
Do it! There has never been a more exciting time to join the
industry. I believe Supply Chain professionals can change
the world!
mission and vision.
The Future Insights Network exists to provide our network
of over 80,000 senior supply chain leaders with content,
connections, and a community to help them solve their
burning questions. Today, more than ever, this is important
in helping to build agile, resilient, and sustainable supply
chains.
in the market.
We try to bring stories and case studies with clear and
actionable advice to the industry. There is too much hype,
noise, and buzz out there, and we hope that we can deliver
some clarity amidst the complexity and disruption of today.
We do this via the Transform Talks with Maria Villablanca
podcast and our events.
We strive to create a culture of agility, flexibility, learning,
and diversity. As a woman-led, woman-owned business, we
aim to give voices to underrepresented groups in our
industry and further the values of diversity, equity, and
inclusion. Equally, I think it’s important to ensure we create
a culture where all our team feels comfortable in bringing
new ideas to the table.
resourceful?
The pandemic meant shifting our business from one where
we delivered physical events to a purely digital offering.
This meant learning new skills and implementing new
technology, including AI, into our business. Without it, we
would not have been able to weather the last 18 months
successfully. Not only has this technology allowed us to
grow during the pandemic, with almost triple-digit revenue
and community growth, but we have been able to widen our
nets to grow into new markets that were previously
unavailable in their physical form.
Ideally, I would want to see two changes,

Mariam Saad
Director of IT, Technology Services,
Professional Services Procurement
TELUS

Mariam
Saad
Maximizing Profitability
in Supply Chains
The transition in the supply chain industry is near. To
realize this change, it’s essential to understand the
end-to-end supply base mapping and focus on
sustainable efforts. Implementing several aspects in the
workplace will align with the massive shift caused by the
pandemic concerning global consumer mindsets towards
environmental issues. Preparing for this change is Mariam
Saad, a multi-lingual leader with 20 years of highly skilled
experience in procurement, operations, and sales, across
multiple global and national organizations in
telecommunications, mining, and information technology.
As the Director of IT, Technology Services, and
Professional Services Procurement for TELUS, Mariam
leads towards an extensive transformational initiative as the
company seeks to grow and mature its capabilities. She is
recognized for effectively leading and managing concurrent
initiatives while consistently achieving strong results.
TELUS is building a better future for all Canadians by
using its technology for good and giving back to its
communities. Its social purpose is at the heart of everything
it does as a world-leading technology company, and TELUS
continues to set itself apart to make the future friendly
together.
The Initiation
Mariam graduated with an International Business
Commerce Degree from Concordia University in Montreal,
with a Minor Degree in Marketing. Following the Degree
from Concordia, she then pursued a 1.5-year Leadership
Certificate at the Executive McGill MBA Program.
Having worked across multiple industries, including
Information Technologies, Natural Resources, and
Telecommunication, she developed extensive experience in
IT sales and procurement operations. Throughout her
career, she focused on revenue generation, cost savings,
delivery, and value creation. She took the opportunity to
utilize the experience and expertise with each successive
role to sharpen her focus on value generation.
Throughout Mariam's career, she faced numerous diversity
and inclusiveness challenges. In her early sales career, she
was the only woman amongst a team of 10 men. As a result,
she constantly felt that she had to work twice as hard to
prove herself.
Moreover, she faced additional adversity coming from an
immigrant ethnic background, which she had to overcome
throughout her journey. She says, "Whether working in IT
or the mining industry, there were very few women, and
almost none existed as you moved up the ladder. “Mariam
expresses that support for women was incredibly lacking
during the first few years of her career. There were no
forums where women could connect, receive support or
share experiences. She had many female colleagues that
constantly reached out to her to share their challenges.
Instead of seeing this as an obstacle, she thought about
taking charge and making a difference. To that end, Mariam
co-founded the first women network at her previous
company and opened the first chapter in Montreal. Mariam
received an overwhelming response, and people worldwide
became involved asking to join the Montreal chapter. As a
result, she negotiated a budget to launch 10 other local
chapters worldwide. Today, Mariam enjoys mentoring
young women and new immigrants to help them integrate
into or succeed in their workplace.
When you're with TELUS, you're part
of a network of giving.

The Impactful Expertise
Mariam expressed that sharing and collaboration are
integral parts of learning and growth. At TELUS, she strives
for continuous improvement and value creation, ensuring
that she is constantly learning and educating herself, her
team, and the business on the latest technologies. She is
also sought after to speak at events such as Supply Chain
Digital or round tables with Procurement Leaders, Supplier
Diversity events, or within IT Summits to discuss the latest
issues and trends in the IT and Digital space.
She surrounds herself with a great network of colleagues,
and team members, enabling learning and professional
growth; she believes that giving back to her team, TELUS,
network, and suppliers is a privilege and a responsibility to
give back what others have done for her.
Most recently, Mariam had the opportunity to speak at
many events sharing her thought-leadership about the
effects of the pandemic and its role in accelerating digital
transformation and about Cloud transformation, evolving
strategy between private, public, single, and multi-cloud
vendors. Mariam is proud to be a thoughtful contributor to
these critical discussions.
Value-Driven Methodology
Mariam states that TELUS has key pillars from a cultural
evolution focused on innovation, growth, change,
teamwork, and risk. TELUS drives a collaborative work
environment that fosters growth and development in
individual and team culture and innovative perspectives.
This environment encourages team members to look for
new opportunities while approaching risk-taking with an
opportunistic and experimental mindset. Everyday
innovation is focused on nurturing the mindset, behaviours,
and environment required to inspire the courage to drive
innovation to a cultural standard across all levels and value
chains at TELUS.
Innovative Technological Solutions
With respect to leveraging technology to drive business
objectives, Mariam highlted that TELUS is committed to
making the future friendly by connecting Canadians
through technological solutions that create value within
communities and connecting with technology partners to
advance the digital transformation journey.
Agriculture: TELUS is on a mission to tackle some of the
most significant social challenges of the generation using
technology for good and empowering growth in agriculture
and feeding the world by connecting the underserved rural
world with communication capabilities. TELUS fosters the
exchange of digitized information to help all parties operate
more efficiently. Connected solutions for farm management,
optimized profitability, increased efficiency, and insights.
Healthcare: TELUS is streamlining health records and
data, building powerful digital healthcare tools for
hospitals, doctors, pharmacists, and more, to help support
healthcare providers. TELUS heavily invests in virtual care
to access all Canadians to receive quality care anytime and
anywhere. TELUS has invested over $2.5Billion in
healthcare in the last decades; it has $12Million Canadians
covered by TELUS Health Benefit management solutions.
Partnerships: TELUS's ecosystem of partners is crucial to
Mariam. The company has built strategic partnerships,
allowing it to build some of the world's fastest, highest
quality networks to lead in the Healthcare Technology and
Customer First approach.
Over the Horizon
Mariam loves her work and envisions herself constantly
learning and growing in her space, helping shape and
change the supply chain industry to advance it and solve
real problems. She is proud to assist "feeding the world" by
improving TELUS' food quality and safety by leveraging
technological innovation and human compassion. She is
excited to be a part of the healthcare initiative that will
impact the world positively. She sees herself mentoring
supply chain professionals, fostering a diversity and
inclusiveness culture, and soon leading a procurement or
supply chain organization.
Bequeathing Budding Entrepreneurs
Mariam advises up-and-coming entrepreneurs to prepare
themselves for a wonderful ride. She says, "You are going
to witness some of the greatest evolution in this space. We
are entering the fourth industrial revolution that will
challenge current ways of working and the need for some of
the most pressing issues in the world. It is where
entrepreneurs can use their experience and expertise to
witness or drive some of the greatest changes in the supply
chain space seen in several decades.”

Monique Alblas
Vice President of Consul ng
The 10 Most Inﬂuential Women in Supply Chain, 2022

Monique Alblas
Exemplifying Resilient Leadership
he supply chain is a traditionally male-dominated
Tfield. Therefore, being a leader in the supply chain
field is not as easy as it sounds for women. It takes
courage, zeal to learn, and resilience to be in this field and
make a difference. Today, many brave and resilient women
leaders have entered this space, are making notable
contributions, and are setting inspirational standards for
other women. One such inspirational leader in the supply
chain industry is Monique Alblas, the Vice President of
Consulting at GEP Worldwide.
Let’s shed some light on her journey as a business leader.
Gaining Learning Experiences and Being Best at
Consulting
After graduating, Monique joined a small company for
which she was asked to set up a separate IT contingent
labor company. Being an entrepreneur at such a young age
was a tremendous learning experience for her, covering all
aspects of a business in which, of course, she also made
more than her fair share of mistakes that she had to
overcome.
After that, Monique joined a global high tech firm with
responsibility for a triple-digit spend portfolio of profes-
sional services companies. During this time, she worked
with C-suite executives in a male-dominated engineering
environment and learned to stand her ground. Working with
a wide variety of consultants and seeing the difference they
could make in relatively short periods made her realize that
being a consultant would fit her like a glove. She notes,
“Being a consultant means you always have to bring your
A-game. You’re hired to achieve meaningful results. It’s
never easy, but I love it.”
Supply chains have also seen a lot of unprecedented
challenges over the past years, and Monique joined GEP
Worldwide, just as when the world was dealing with the
pandemic. One of the major areas of concern, especially in
the first few months of the crisis, was the overdependence
on China and the inability to procure materials from there
and several other parts of Asia. Many enterprises were
forced to look for an alternative, and likely more expensive
suppliers and solutions.
At GEP, Monique supported several clients with make-or-
buy decisions to prevent big losses. She led a team that
looked into setting up local and regional production for
some of the materials that they could not get via the regular
supply chains because of logistical issues caused by
COVID-19, as well as collaborations with other third
parties to bundle their buying power.
Collaborating and Negotiating With Suppliers
Monique believes that procurement can no longer just focus
on volumes and driving down costs to help achieve the
company’s larger objectives. Procurement and supply chain
leaders need to look for innovative solutions to play a
strategic role in achieving company goals. Leaders need to
genuinely collaborate with their ecosystem — with their
suppliers and suppliers’ suppliers and evolve from a
transactional vendor-style relationship.
GEP Worldwide is a
leading provider of supply
chain and procurement
software, consulting and
managed services to
Global 2000 enterprises
worldwide.

She says, “To develop an informed perspective on what's
going on in the market, and to understand what's possible,
it’s paramount that procurement and supply chain leaders
collaborate with suppliers and other organizations. This
means stepping outside our comfort zones and boundaries
of negotiating prices, quantities and lead times to also
focus, and assist, suppliers with tracking their environmen-
tal impact, cutting waste, sustainability, innovating
activities, adopting new digital platforms to share data
more easily and gain greater visibility across the entire,
multi-step, global supply chain.”
Driving Great Value to Customers and Stakeholders
Globally
Founded 22 years ago, GEP is a leading provider of supply
chain and procurement software, consulting, and managed
services to Global 2000 enterprises worldwide. Its mission
is to integrate strategy, software, and managed services so
its clients can transform and optimize their supply chains
and drive greater value to customers and stakeholders.
With more than 5,000 employees across 24 locations in
Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, GEP is continuing
to grow by double digits as global companies are accelerat-
ing their investment in remaking their supply chains.
Giving Back to Society
Talking about the values and culture of GEP, Monique
mentions that it is a privately held, minority, and women-
owned business, where giving back is an integral part of its
purpose and its DNA.
GEP was founded on six core values, including delighting
customers, excellence, and caring. By caring, it means
caring for each other as colleagues, for the communities
where they live, and for the environment. Monique asserts,
“Caring is integral to our culture because it connects our
thousands of employees across every office with a common
purpose to improve people’s lives.”
Besides, it won Best Places to Work in nearly every other
country it operates. Its approach combines a top-down
corporate-led program and enables employees to create
activities for their communities. It identified four specific
social areas for its employees to help address: empowering
women; enabling basic education for children; alleviating
hunger; and sustainability initiatives to cut its environmen-
tal impact. Each year, GEP Worldwide spends between 5%
to 10% of its annual profit through direct contributions and
matching employees’ initiatives.
Last year, GEP’s employees spent more than 20,000 hours
undertaking local activities to support women’s develop-
ment, address hunger, and provide children with access to
basic education.
Building Resilient and Sustainable Supply Chains
Monique opines that GEP’s future is bright. It is an exciting
time for the company because supply chains and procure-
ment are now a boardroom- and investor-level issue.
Companies are accelerating the transformation to build
resilient, agile and sustainable supply chains.
Today, companies need redundancy and resilience, as well
as speed and cost efficiency, to better manage supply
disruptions, inflation, scarcity, and cyberattacks. Companies
are also shifting from measuring to cutting the environmen-
tal impact of their entire complex supply chains. Further-
more, procurement is now strategic and essential to get
costs in line with inflation running more than 7%.
GEP invests heavily in product development, led by ML/AI
for advanced data analytics in everything, from real-time
demand forecasting — enabling clients to react quickly and
be demand-led — to identifying savings and determining
what components and services “should cost” to evaluating
the performance of suppliers. GEP continues to roll out
control towers to identify potential disruptions and issue
resolution.
Playing a Pivotal Role in Supporting Companies
In conclusion, Monique expresses, “This is an exciting and
important time to be consulting for companies about their
global supply chain, and GEP, as a global leader, is ideally
positioned. Disruptions in logistics and drastic changes in
consumer expectations have sparked an unprecedented
focus on supply chain management for C-suite executives.
We are now seeing the shift from logistics and supply chain
primarily being a back-office function to a boardroom
priority. It is only the start as supply chains will continue to
grow in complexity. The future survival for organizations
now depends on effectively managing the 5Vs of supply
chain success: visibility, volatility, velocity, vulnerability
and viability. GEP is growing very rapidly, and I’m excited
to be playing a pivotal role in supporting companies
reimaging their supply chains and adopt new technologies
to become more cost-effective, resilient and sustainable.
”

:The New TRAILBLAZERS
in SUPPLY CHAIN
:
The 2021 International Women’s Day theme is
“Choose to Challenge.” Challenging for bringing
change in the world by being aware of the
opportunities to create a gender-balanced society in all the
sectors. The supply chain industry has been traditionally
male-dominated, and it is challenging for women,
especially in leadership positions. But trailblazing women
leaders are revolutionary in their approach and choose to
take up the challenge of being in the supply chain industry
and impacting the industry with their courage, passion,
guts, and leadership skills.
Women are fearless and believe in their potential, setting
exemplary standards for other women leaders and setting
the standards for future generations. It takes a lot of
knowledge, awareness, bravery, and ability to deal with
complex challenges in the supply chain industry to be a
trailblazing women leader. Therefore, becoming a
trailblazing women leader in the supply chain industry is a
laudable feat. Such women leaders become an inspirational
example for other women leaders and future generations.
Women leaders are making their presence count and are
ready to take on the challenge and proving themselves that
they can work productively to make a difference with their
skills and abilities. Due to the value women bring to the
table, many companies also include women in leadership
positions to make better and inclusive decisions.
Trailblazing women leaders play a vital role in ensuring
diversity, equality, and inclusion in the supply chain
industry and are more judicious in ensuring good
overall operations and productivity from all the
employees.
Women leaders doing good in the supply chain industry
naturally significantly impact other women leaders, and it is
more inspiring for them to follow such leaders. The women
leaders in the supply chain industry should be open to
changes in the industry. They should be ready to change
themselves with the transformative shifts by innovating
various tactics making sound judgments with pre-existing
solid knowledge.
Trailblazing women leaders in the supply chain industry
prepare themselves well enough to handle the challenges in
the supply chain industry and make the best situational
decisions. They should resolve the difficulties with fortitude
and work hard with all their team members. They should
learn from their seniors and pass on what they have learned
to others. No two days are the same in the supply chain
industry.
Those women who want to enter the supply chain industry
should be adaptable and flexible with the continuously
changing dynamics in the supply chain industry. They
should have the great approach of learning and grasping
things quickly, all the constant changes happening in the
industry, and accordingly developing the ability to handle
all the situations with diligence and making their best
contribution by becoming a trailblazing leader in the
industry. They should be strategic and have a lot of
firefighting ability every day to make the greatest impact in
the industry and prove themselves as illustrious leaders in
the supply chain industry.
Choose to Challenge

Sarah Barnes-Humphrey
CEO
Let’s Talk Supply Chain (LTSC)
Sarah
Sarah
Sarah
Barnes-Humphrey
Barnes-Humphrey
Barnes-Humphrey
Leading with Perseverance and Giving Voice
to Supply Chain Community

S
ince the start of the pandemic, the supply chain
industry has been facing issues such as an onslaught
of shortages, disruptions, and delays. But competent
leaders in this industry are continuing to navigate
challenges in the supply chain industry by using their
knowledge and experience. Female leaders in the supply
chain industry continue to emerge and make an impact in
the industry with good momentum and adopting best
practices. By building robust supply chains and reforming
the supply chain sector, women leaders in this sector are
fueling innovation in this industry. They are creating a
brighter path for the success of the supply chain
community. It is important for the supply chain community
to communicate their message to a larger audience about
their services. Through Let’s Talk Supply Chain, Sarah
Barnes-Humphrey is building a platform that gives a voice
to the supply chain community, sees the visual impact of
diversity and inclusion, and ﬁnally creates safe spaces for
everyone to feel heard.
Sarah has spent the past 20 years in the logistics and supply
chain industry learning everything she can. Perseverance
led Sarah to become one of the top women leaders in the
Supply Chain Industry. She doesn’t believe in giving up.
She runs “Let’s Talk Supply Chain (LTSC),” and it is the
hottest supply chain podcast on the market. She is obsessed
with the supply chain and believes that “Collaboration is
the future of business”, and we can all win together.
Introducing Stories of Women in Supply Chain
In its Let’s Talk Supply Chain Women in Supply Chain
series, LTSC introduces the female leaders who are
dominating the supply chain now and unleashing better,
smarter outcomes. LTSC shares the obstacles these woman
leaders have conquered, giant leaps of faith, and the
beginnings that ultimately brought them where they are
today, leading businesses across the global supply chain.
Focusing on the Work that Needs to Be Done
Sarah worked for the family business for 20 years, took
courses online while she got hands-on experience in
logistics working in operations, sales and then ultimately
ended her career there as Director of Sales and Marketing.
Being the oldest, she overcame jealousy from employees
because she was the “Boss’ daughter”, she had trust issues
as everyone she met had an agenda or wanted something
from her as the “Boss’ daughter”. The ultimate challenge
came from the day her father closed the doors of the
business. She felt for all company’s employees and
customers. She felt so much loss, including the fact that she
wanted to run the company one day, ever since she was 16,
and that day was the worst day of her life.
Sarah had already started the podcast and had clients
counting on her, so every day thereafter, she just kept
everything going. She learned social media, graphics
design, website design, and editing and woke up every day
by focusing on the work that needed to be done.
Communicating Value Proposition of Supply Chain
Brands
LTSC features brands within that sector of the supply chain
on the podcast, and now it is lending its platform for brands
to have their own shows with a built-in audience. Sarah
believes that it is very important for brands in the supply
chain sector to tell their story and really communicate their
value proposition for those they can help. Supply chain
professionals know what is out there, and LTSC brings that
to the market.
Being a certiﬁed Women-Owned Supply Chain community
facilitator, LTSC values diverse perspectives. Being open-
minded, leaning in to understand, always learning, and
trusting each other to want what needs to be done for
everyone’s success is how it drives the organization forward
and stays innovative.
We use tech whenever
and wherever it makes
sense, always looking
for new ways that we
can support the brands
in our industry to tell the
best story and give the
best information to our
audience and our
listeners.

Being Focused on Diversity, Inclusion, and
Collaboration
LTSC’s Non-Profit – The Blended Pledge is working hard
to see the visual impact on stages in audiences at industry
conferences and in digital content, so it is very focused on
Diversity and Inclusion. Through its second podcast, called
the Blended Podcast, it brings 5 people from different walks
of life together to talk openly and authentically about
various DEI topics. LTSC is also focused on Collaboration
being the future of business, bringing the players in the
industry together to bring more transparency, visibility, and
cohesive chain.
Being Part of Change by Building Learning Platform
Sarah states that organizations will be looking at where they
want to have risks in their supply chain in the future. They
will base their future strategies on competing on supply
chains against their competitors, not just product marketing.
LTSC is preparing to be part of that change by building the
platform for voices to be heard so they all can learn from
each other's mistakes, challenges, and successes. Sarah
envisions building more, creating more, and being change
agents in the industry.
Staying Motivated, Flexible, and Pursuing Goals
Sarah advises budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture
into the Supply Chain Industry to buckle up because she
says that it is quite the ride. She suggests them to choose
something that they really enjoy because she believes that
success in this industry doesn’t happen overnight, and they
need to overcome doubts, unwanted advice, naysayers etc.
She advises them to believe and love what they are doing
that will keep them motivated.
Sarah herself has started and stopped many ventures from
getting where she is today. She suggests budding
entrepreneurs, “Stay motivated, don’t quit, take small steps
toward your goal every single day and stay flexible/open
minded.”

Shimon Gowda
Manager,
Supply Chain Design+
Chainalytics and
Founder
Supply Chain Unified
The 10 Most Inﬂuential Women in Supply Chain - 2022

Shimon Gowda
A Passionate Leader in the Supply Chain Space
For the last few years, the supply chain industry has
witnessed women taking up leadership positions and
thriving in their roles. Women have steadily
advanced within the logistics and supply chain sector with
their passion, talent, and knowledge. Today, many women
are playing a significant role in shaping the future of the
industry.
One such woman is Shimon Gowda, Manager, Supply
Chain Design at Chainalytics and the Founder of Supply
Chain Unified, a networking platform for like-minded
people and peers who are in the first decade of their career
and are exploring what their true ‘mojo’ is.
Let us unveil her journey as a business leader.
An Invaluable Learning Journey
As Shimon looks back and ponders her journey up until
now, she sees and realizes how every experience has been
invaluable learning and steppingstone. The current situation
is also a learning experience and a window of opportunity
of what she hopes to achieve, contribute, and give back to
society and continue inspiring the way she has been
inspired.
She expresses, “A career in supply chain was not by
accident for me. As it is rightly said, family is the first
school of every individual. Many of our career aspirations
are strongly influenced by the envi-ronment in which we are
brought up. My father, a doctor and a son of a farmer
balanced his pro-fession well and took care of our
agricultural land perfectly. As a kid, I would keenly observe
the processes involved in running our estate. My initial
brush with Supply Chain Process was when I saw how the
milk from the cows was stored and diligently transported to
the dairy for pasteuriza-tion, where it undergoes various
processes before it is sent out to stores for sale. I was
always inspired and awed by this mechanical yet very
efficient chain of supply. This inspired me to develop a
penchant towards Supply chain and the various processes
governing them.”
Having a bachelor's and a master's degree specialized in
Supply chain exposed Shimon to the essentials of supply
chain almost 9 years ago. She has come to realize that
optimization of the supply chain is a cyclic process. The
principle of Lean Six Sigma that states, "there is always
scope for improvement and potential to reduce costs", fuels
Shimon’s eternal passion in this field.
Besides, Shimon’s educational background and professional
exposure have taught her to have a keen eye for
optimization of process, labour, infrastructure, and
distribution network including all nodes of supply and
demand to increase the three "R's": Revenue, ROI and
Relationship building.
Adversities Along
Like numerous other immigrants who leave behind their
hometown and move to a completely different land to see a
better future for themselves, Shimon is yet another aspirant
who traveled to the United States; first time abroad to
pursue her higher education. This was her very first
challenge.
Shimon met wonderful new people from different cultures,
saw the world from a different perspective, and became
more appreciative and grateful for her own culture and

upbringing while respecting others and learning every day.
She asserts, “Life is not easy being an immigrant on a visa
and an aspirant who was particular in having a career of
her choice. When you are on a visa, your time and clock is
always ticking and there is a constant urge to accept any
opportunity that comes your way to stay afloat. I think that
was one of the major challenges to me. The zeal and thirst
to fight and wait for a career opportunity that you are
passionate about. I cannot underplay the impact of a
perfect combination of hard work and luck, that has bought
me down the path.”
The second challenge for her was being a woman in a
man’s world! She puts. “No matter how progressive the
times are, I cannot emphasize the number of times I have
been the only woman on the table. Having and choosing a
career in supply chain also more often means you are inside
a warehouse, factory and amongst trucks observing and
auditing to perform root cause analysis of issues. It is not
always a very glamourous profession. I have been fortunate
enough to have worked with wonderful set of colleagues
and cultures where gender equality is of the utmost
importance and have felt indifferent despite being the only
female in the room.”
Thirdly, one of the greatest adversity or challenge Shimon
most recently faced was when she had to make a very tough
decision to leave the United States, as she did not get
‘lucky’ in the lottery-based work visa. But she believes that
borders cannot stop you if one really wants to make an
impact. She notes, “I feel more confident now because most
companies are now global and the physical presence or
location of a person cannot stop you from solving a
problem, work in collaboration across na-tions and truly
make an impact on what you are passionate about.”
Shimon owes her current success and position to all the
mentorship and guidance from some amazing people she
has met. She says, “The essence of being in consulting is,
every project feels like a new learning phase. There are
numerous business nuances that you learn and are
constantly awed by.”
Imparting Wisdom
Talking about the next big change in the supply chain
industry, Shimon believes that there should be the
acceptance and adaptation of more companies and supply
chain professionals to keep a broader mind and attitude
towards learning, accepting, and implementing AI/ML tech-
nology and algorithms. She marks, “This is to simplify and
automate monotonous jobs and not to take away any jobs.
Human intervention will still be required in our industry at
large. But by automating several tasks, we can now focus
on innovation, empowering mental well-be-ing of workforce
and all value to our everyday task without having to feel
mechanical or redundant in our tasks.”
Encouraging Companies to Leverage Data
We asked Shimon if given a chance, what change she would
like to bring to the supply chain industry, to which she said,
“I would encourage more small and mid-sized companies
to educate themselves to understand how using data and
seeking help from supply chain professionals can truly add
to the bottom line and optimize their process. Secondly,
increase awareness about the advantages of collaboration,
not just within the organization but with all your partners
across the organization involving suppliers, freight
partners, 3PL and warehouse partners, retailers as well as
customers.”
I hope to continue
learning and constantly
thrive towards making a
positive impact.
“ “

Wendy Herrick
VP, Customer Excellence
for North America
Unilever

Wendy Herrick
An Excellent Example of "Learn-it-All" Mindset
he trait of substantial business leaders is that they
Tare enthusiastic about learning, growing, and
enhancing their skills and abilities in all situations.
They always have a learning mindset, and they transform
challenges into opportunities with their positive attitude.
Such attitude helps them make a significant difference in
the business they are leading. Wendy Herrick is one such
business leader who is always eager to learn, grow and is
substantially contributing to the supply chain industry.
Wendy was recently appointed as the VP of Customer
Excellence for North America at Unilever after having 3
successful years as Head of Digital Supply Chain. Wendy
has had many life-changing opportunities at Unilever, all of
which have played a role in shaping the leader she is today.
These opportunities have influenced how she looks at
challenges and obstacles. She sees challenges as beautiful
opportunities in disguise. She says, "The best way to master
your head (thoughts) and your heart (emotions) is through
challenging situations that enable you to learn, grow and
strengthen your leadership acumen.”
Let's have a look at her exhilarating journey as a leader.
Having a 'Learn it All' Mindset
Wendy had several jobs in high school and college,
which were all consumer-facing, so the learning
started very early on. She was taught that the
customer is always right and learned that being a
manager/leader of people was a hard job but also
most rewarding. Wendy's journey as a business leader
started right out of college at Unilever International in
Bristol, England. Since then, she has had the
opportunity to work in both finance and supply chain
roles and live in many different countries across the
globe. She believes in evolving from having a 'know
it all' mindset to 'learn it all' mindset.
Making the World a Better Place for Future
Generations
As one of the world's largest consumer goods companies,
Unilever is driven by its purpose to make sustainable
living commonplace, with an ambition to be the global
leader in sustainable business, showing that our purpose-
led, future-fit business model delivers superior
performance.. This is engrained in Unilever's culture and
expressed through its 400 brands that touch the lives of
over 2.5 billion consumers every day.
Unilever aims to be a force for good – for people and the
planet – and invites others to join it in making the world
a better place for future generations to come. In its
Climate Transition Action Plan it has outlined how it will
achieve its commitment to zero emissions from its
operations by 2030. Additionally, via its Climate
Promise, it has invited suppliers to demonstrate their
shared values and commitment to reducing their
greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint as Unilever works to
achieve its stretching goal of net-zero emissions across
its value chain by 2039.
Leading with Self-awareness
Wendy has lived and worked in many countries across the
globe and taken on many stretching leadership roles. This
has taught her the importance of being self-aware and
motivating, inspiring, and leading the company's most
valuable asset – its people. She believes this continuous
learning and development of self, coupled with a servant
leadership style, has enabled her to make an impact across
the business.
The 10 Most influential women in supply chain, 2022

Being a Purpose-Driven Company
Wendy proudly mentions that Unilever's values of
integrity, respect, responsibility, and pioneering are the
simplest statement of who they all are at Unilever. These
shared values live in everything Unilever does.
As Wendy mentioned earlier, Unilever is a purpose-
driven company. Purpose starts at the top with Alan Jope
and permeates throughout the organization. Every
employee has a personal purpose statement that guides
them on their work/life journey. Wendy's purpose "to
inspire people to live, love, laugh and leave a legacy" has
guided her throughout her career.
Making Sustainable Living Commonplace
Unilever's supply chain is at the heart of the business of
making sustainable living commonplace, which fits well
with Wendy's personal purpose. Imagine being a part of
this headline "Unilever changes the negative trajectory
of our climate crisis - The world is safe for generations
to come." That's a legacy Wendy wants to be part of !
Responding to Consumer Demands Sustainably and
Cost-Effectively
Wendy has experienced first hand how in today's world
consumers have become accustomed to receiving any
desired good within a few days, or even hours. Supply
chains are having to reinvent themselves. Unilever is
working towards "making today what it sold yesterday",
in order to be able to respond to customer and consumer
demands in the most sustainable and cost-effective way.
The disruption the global pandemic brought confirmed
Unilever's belief that agility is critical. Mark Engel,
Unilever's Chief Supply Chain officer, has driven
strategies where "Agility trumps forecasting''.
Unilever has also had to make some key investments to
enable end to end synchronization through digital
transformation programs. Through its Digital Twins, it
drives cognitive automation, leading to smarter, faster
decisions. And of course, the company must invest in its
most important asset, its people, by upskilling its talent and
building digital fluency across the organization.
Unilever is consistently improving its Supply Chain
agility to build capacity intelligently in its eco-system
and focus on changing consumer needs and channel
shifts. Finally, Unilever must ensure it nurtures an eco-
system of partners so that it innovates and builds resilient
solutions to win in the marketplace and achieve its vision
of making sustainable living commonplace.
Most Succinct Advice to Aspirant Entrepreneurs in
Supply Chain
In conclusion, Wendy imparts some excellent pieces of
advice to emerging entrepreneurs:
· Supply Chain sits at the heart of the business – the place
to be
· Approach everything you do with Passion and Purpose.
· Understand the shadow you cast—Self Awareness.
· Embrace Diversity and Value Inclusion.
· Seize Opportunities that help you achieve your life's
ambitions.
- Above all, always hold true to your Core Values.
“Unilever aims to
be a force for good
– for people and
the planet – and
invite others to
join it in making
the world a better
place for future
generations to
come.”

The 10 Most influential women in supply chain,2022 Vol 2 March2022_compressed.pdf

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