Transform Talks: The Supply Chain Transformation Podcast

On this episode of Transform Talks, Eric Greenwald, General Counsel at Finite State, joins host Maria Villablanca.    Eric brings an extensive background, with 20 years serving as a lawyer and working his way up with the U.S. Federal Government; from chief counsel at Capitol Hill to national security council at the White House. He also served as senior director for Cybersecurity and as special assistant to President Obama.   With this wealth of experience, Eric shares intriguing perspectives on cybersecurity. He agrees that the question is more of a business risk issue than an IT issue. It's only in recent times that businesses are widely accepting this view. If IT systems fail, entire companies could go offline. This greater liability brings attention and also policy change.   Eric sheds light on the most pressing policy changes likely to occur in the near term. He also recalls several instances in the past, where companies dodged the lack of regulation while knowingly committing 'toxic torts.'    With supply chain, Eric believes that the most significant risks relate to software and hardware. Many people are still unaware of the vulnerabilities that could impact their business. Listen to the episode to hear more of Eric's expertise. 

On this episode of Transform Talks, Noel Kinder, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nike, joins host Maria Villablanca.    Noel says he has the most fun job at Nike. He oversees sustainability across the enterprise.    Noel breaks down his role, with 13 specific targets that Nike has set to meet on sustainability. How does it all come together with a company at the scale of Nike? Noel points out that the most significant advantages Nike has are speed and scale. One of the biggest benefits Noel cites is the amount of employee passion for sustainability. This spurs the engine of creative innovation, additionally sparked by bold, science based sustainability metrics.   Every primary function and its respective leadership are aware of the sustainability metrics. Moreover, department heads are aware of the metrics that they have an impact on. Noel credits this to a superior level of accountability from a performance management standpoint.    Noel details specific changes Nike has made to reduce its carbon footprint. He also tells how collaboration has been key in solving sustainability challenges.  Resources: Nike Impact ReportSpace Hippie Design VideoAdditional Sustainability Reading on Nike NewsNike’s CEO John Donahoe on Sustainability as a company priority

On this episode of Transform Talks, Stephanie Benedetto, Founder and CEO at Queen of Raw joins host Maria Villablanca. From a family background with over 100 years in fashion and textiles, Stephanie saw the beauty and perils of the industry at an early age. Converting from a Wall Street lawyer, she founded Queen of Raw in 2018, turning pollution into profit.  Stephanie emphasizes the strong likelihood of not only saving but also making money through sustainability. Too often, companies get hung up on the notion that being sustainable means costing money. At Queen of Raw, the software and tools ease circularity. Plus, it offers quantitative analysis to understand where the waste comes from and how to minimize it going forward. As passionate about fashion as sustainability, Stephanie advocates blockchain technology. Imagine future supply chains where everything is on-demand, more local, personal, digital, and connected to the end consumer. Imagine QR codes on consumable goods that show the history of production; the water used, toxins created, carbon emissions, and the dollars saved. Listen to the episode now to learn more from Stephanie and hear more sustainability and fashion tech opportunities.  Resources: Queen of Raw Stephanie Benedetto contact info: +1 (646) 583-0076 stephanie@queenofraw.com Enterprise Software

On this episode of Transform Talks, Thomas Udesen, Co-Founder and Ambassador of The Sustainable Procurement Pledge and Chief Procurement Officer at Bayer, joins host Maria Villablanca.  Thomas and Maria discuss sustainability surrounding procurement and supply chain. Thomas makes the point that sustainability concerns begin with acknowledging past faults. People in power need to embrace vulnerability and curiosity and accept that the road ahead may not be as abundant as in the last few decades. The Sustainable Procurement Pledge was founded to address sustainability as a group of industry peers instead of as an individual company. Thomas says the pledge is about incentivizing companies to take action toward sustainability.  Of course, profits and associated costs of the supply chain are at the forefront. Thomas points out it's a process of unlearning with the openness to relearn.  Both being Gen Xers, Thomas and Maria challenge their generation and highlight that their age range has a unique opportunity to shift this mindset and impact change.  Thomas delves into some of the most significant hurdles toward rethinking sustainability. Listen to the episode now to learn more.

On this episode of Transform Talks, Sid Guha, Senior Director at Tada Cognitive Solutions, joins host Maria Villablanca.  Sid has 17 years of transformative experience in supply chain. He shares a plethora of knowledge on digital transformation and critical factors to consider in implementation.  One is synchronizing customer expectations of solving a problem with the actual business use case. Then, it’s about understanding the economic value of that change.  When dealing with multi-year transformation projects, Sid emphasizes the necessity of breaking them down into smaller chunks. Clarify what the two-week business case is, and only move forward once that’s been successfully implemented. If there’s a hiccup in the change, no problem—dealing with the smaller scale of change makes it easier to revert back to how things were before and to try again.  Sid gives insights into the recipe for an optimal digital transformation. Consider the process, the data, the partners, all coming together. How will people interact with it, and how will they make decisions? Sid and Maria delve into supply chain control towers and their function in digital transformation. Sid also highlights other tips to maneuver and respond successfully during project implementation. 

On this episode of Transform Talks, Sheri Hinish, Global Sustainability Services Lead at IBM, and Justin Goldston, Professor and Coordinator of Project and Supply Chain Management at Penn State University, joins host Maria Villablanca.  Justin, Sheri, and Maria discuss the overwhelming amount of emerging technology. Between NFTs, ESG, blockchain, AI, and more, it's easy to lose track of where the real opportunity lies.  Justin points out that no one has to listen to anyone else. It's a matter of figuring out priorities as an individual or organization. Then pursue education in the most relevant and valuable fields.  Sheri complements this by remembering what gets her out of bed every morning. This is much more important than whatever problems or information overload keeps you up at night.  Sheri encourages practical applications of value-based leadership and identifying self-authenticity.  Justin delves into the metaverse, DAO, and its utilization in the education and business sectors.  Listen to the episode now to learn more. References: Cryptovoxels

On this episode of Transform Talks, Randy Bradley, Associate Professor of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management,  University of Tennessee, Knoxville, joins host Maria Villablanca.  Randy begins by discussing Intelligent Assistants (IA) versus Artificial Intelligence (AI). A solution, tool, model, or algorithm will make decisions rather than augment the talent. He believes thinking about it in this manner will help understand the utilization of the technology.  Randy has decades of experience in supply chain and IT research and strategy. The advice he gives on rethinking the way technology is invested in and deployed can make all the difference for businesses. It's a business need, not a technological need. He breaks down how more focus should be placed on improving the workforce experience. Decisions with the greatest impact may be made at the C-suite level, but they're infrequent. So, decisions affecting operations on the ground level happen all the time. Listen to the episode now to learn more timely technological advice from Randy.   References: AlixPartners Survey

On this episode of Transform Talks, James "Sandy" Winnefeld, Joint Chief of Staff with the US Navy, joins host Maria Villablanca.  Sandy has served in the US Navy for 43 years. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1978 with honors in Aerospace Engineering.  He served as an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School, also known as TOPGUN, and has served in several tours abroad, including the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War.  In this episode, Maria and Sandy dive into the details of the current situation in Ukraine and Putin's goals in the region. Sandy takes us back into what led up to the recent events. He also details the corner that Russia is backing itself into. Sandy shares the effects that rippled across supply chains in Europe and the globe. He also gives his take on pillars of successful leadership and how these qualities can stand out in times of crisis.  Other concerns resonating from the war in Ukraine are discussed, from cyberattacks and cyber defense to looming apprehensions over China and Taiwan. Sandy also gives insight into staying positive above all the negativity in the world. 

On this episode of Transform Talks, Danny Lopez, CEO at Glasswall, joins host Maria Villablanca.  Glasswall, an award-winning cybersecurity firm, offers protection against file-based threats.  Danny shares insights into the changing dynamic of the security landscape. With Covid, there was a rapid acceleration to digital and operating on the cloud. With this transition, the field and dynamic of cyber risk have evolved. Currently, there are threats present with the war in Ukraine. Danny dives into his recommendations for emergency preparedness, shedding light on business continuity. How many areas of the supply chain are at risk for a company? To ensure maximum preparation, secure and protect as many threat vectors as possible. The reality is you can only fight tech with tech. So, acknowledge that companies will be relying on cyber solutions to minimize risk. Then take this concept and apply it to employee education. Encourage employees to speak out on email abnormalities; too often, malicious emails go unannounced when they could have been stopped and contained before a catastrophe.  Listen in to the full episode to learn more. 

Supply chain leaders are tasked with embodying a new standard of leadership to attain their goals in a world that's in a constant state of flux. As consumers, shareholders and regulatory bodies demand more from organizations, organizations are demanding more from their supply chains, putting tremendous pressure on leaders to accelerate transformation. In this episode, Maria Villablanca is joined by Sarah Sheppard (Managing Director) and Erika Biggadike (Principle Consultant and Commercial Director) from Sequoia to explore the three traits today's supply chain leader must embody to prosper at a time where business continuity is at constant risk from a myriad of disruptions.    About the speakers Both Sarah Sheppard and Erika Biggadike have been involved in leading and delivering complex supply chain projects that span the 4 areas of Sequoia's capability building: structure, processes, tools, and people. They have implemented inventory solutions globally and have been involved in training numerous supply chain professionals. They bring numerically assisted thinking to bear on the complex trade-offs that exist within supply chains and ensure clients are empowered through understanding. Sarah’s passion is to embed the skills that enable supply chain professionals to make a real difference to their business, focussing on both technical, data-driven supply chain solutions and the interpersonal skills needed to ensure that a supply chain team are able to deliver on one of their fundamental roles – that of effective cross-functional communication. Erika has undertaken operational roles for major clients and used those experiences to feed both designing and delivering effective, relevant training and ensuring Sequoia’s solutions are practical and address real-life supply chain problems.