Jeff Ashcroft
Jeff Ashcroft started his career at The Hudson's Bay Company in a part time role on the warehouse floor, rapidly rising to the most senior Logistics position. In the 1990s, he joined the Tibbett & Britten Group where he developed Wal-Mart Canada's 3PL national distribution and transportation network. In 1997, Strategic Logistics Partners was formed and Jeff continues to lead the Supply Chain Network Project an RFID and SCM industry initiative. Jeff’s most recent role was Vice President, Logistics/Supply Chain at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Canada), where he was also the PwC Canadian Retail Advisory Leader.

 

J.P. Brackman
J.P. Brackman has been with Procter & Gamble (P&G) for more than 28 years, 20 of those years working on Shelf Management & Retail Operations.  Before that he had nine years of sales experience.  Brackman was first involved in the Coca Cola/Andersen OOS study in 1996 and has been working on OOS ever since.  He has led several P&G projects on OOS and is currently working on the EPC OOS project.  In addition, he is leading efforts on improving retail presence of P&G brands globally.

Robert Celeste
Bob Celeste, Director, Healthcare, EPCglobal North America™, is responsible for driving the adoption of Electronic Product Code™/Radio Frequency Identification (EPC/RFID) technology in the pharmacy, biologics, medical/surgical, and hospital sectors. He brings the healthcare industry together to understand standards and provide guidance for local adoption of EPC/RFID. Prior to joining EPCglobal North America in 2004, Celeste worked with GS1 US™, leading a global group of 12 business modelers from six countries to support the GS1 system. He also facilitated and modeled the development of global data synchronization standards and drove development of the Global Standards Management Process (GSMP) requirement gathering process.

For more than 20 years Celeste was also a consultant to retail, pharmaceutical, chemical, telecommunications, banking, investment, aerospace, manufacturing, research lab and utility industries on business process modeling, and software development. At EPCglobal North America, Celeste served as Director of Action Groups from May 2004 to August 2006 and facilitator of the Software Action Group from May 2004 through May 2006. He still provides guidance to the Healthcare and Life Sciences Action Group, a team he led from July 2004 through August 2006.

Patrick Connaughton
Patrick Connaughton, senior analyst at Forrester Research, specializes in best practices for the design and implementation of supply chain software solutions. His research and advisory areas include enterprise and mobile asset management, transportation and warehouse management solutions, maintenance repair and operation (MRO), service parts management, global supply chain visibility, reverse logistics, supplier enablement, and performance management.

Prior to joining Forrester in 2006, Connaughton was with Manhattan Associates, where he led transportation management software product design and specialized in TMS, WMS, and yard management integration . He also oversaw trading partner management software implementations for the Asia Pacific services team. While at Manhattan, Connaughton helped define the object-oriented design methodology to support the rapid agile application offshore development model. Prior to Manhattan, he was a senior consultant at Accenture responsible for eCommerce design and implementation teams and primarily worked on government projects requiring top secret clearance, including the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Bob Costello
Bob Costello is the Chief Economist and Vice President for the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the national trade association for the trucking industry.  As Chief Economist, he manages all of ATA's collection, analysis and dissemination of trucking economic information.  This includes several monthly trucking economic indicators, motor carrier financial and operating data, an annual freight transportation forecast, driver wage studies, weekly diesel fuel price and economic reports, and a yearly trucking almanac. Costello also conducts economic analyses of proposed regulations and legislation affecting the trucking industry.

Costello is often cited in the news media — the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, CNBC, and National Public Radio — as an expert on trucking economics and has testified at Congressional hearings on trucking issues.  Prior to joining ATA, he was an economist with Joel Popkin & Company in Washington, DC, an economic consulting firm that specializes in the analysis of wages, inflation and economic trends.  He has a Master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Winona State University in Winona, MN.

Colin Haig

Colin Haig is an Industry Principal, at SAP®, the world’s leading provider of business software for more than 25 industries, including retail and consumer products.  For 20 years he has applied innovative, pragmatic management to emerging technologies in retail, telecom, and financial services.  Haig is a well-regarded domain expert for both retail trends and store strategy.  He joined SAP in 2005 when it acquired Triversity Inc., the leader in customer-centric retail solutions, where he was Vice President, Business Development.  During the more than five years at Triversity, he set product strategy and built global alliances. 

Prior to Triversity, Haig was at Visual Insights, a Lucent Technologies company, the pioneer in 3D data visualization solutions.  He held a variety of senior positions with companies such as Visible Decisions, later acquired by Visual Insights, RAD Group, and Unisys Canada.  Haig holds a B. Sc. and a M. Sc. from McMaster University and is a private pilot.  He is a member of the IEEE, RASC, and has served on the board of several charitable organizations.

Michael Hartman
Michael Hartman is a Director in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Retail & Consumer industry practice.  His 11 years of technology industry and consulting experience include transportation and warehouse management, international trade, demand and manufacturing planning, contract management, customer management, and supply chain security.  Hartman has invested his time with clients in the retail, consumer electronics, logistics, and the high technology industries.  In addition, he has extensive business process knowledge to support clients in supply chain integrity and compliance efforts by leveraging available and emerging technologies (i.e., RFID).

Since 2005, Hartman has been working with NACDS on the development of the Efficiency and Effectiveness Everyday (3E) study.  This study has generated the first installment of substantial findings on New Product Launches which was recently published by NACDS.

Mark Hillman
Mark Hillman brings a wealth of supply chain industry experience and experience in investor relations, analyst relations, and corporate marketing to his role as research director at AMR Research. He is a key member of the supply chain team and works on detailed research projects in several strategic supply chain topics. In particular, Hillman has led the development of the company's research into the area of supply chain risk management, and covers SCM technology markets including inventory optimization, supply chain network design, and service parts planning.

Hillman spent seven years at i2 Technologies, Inc. where, as an integral member of i2's Marketing Leadership team, he was involved in various strategic and innovative marketing projects. He also conducted research in key application categories like ERP, SCM, CRM, and other industry-specific applications at Forrester Research, Inc.

Hillman has served as a guest lecturer on SCM Competitive Landscape at Howard University's Graduate School of Business and has been interviewed on CNBC and Forbes.com video network. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from Tufts University.

Joe Hornberger
Joe Hornberger is Director of the Supply Chain Transformation Group for Manhattan Associates.  He is responsible for aligning customers supply chain initiatives and expectations with Manhattan Associates’ software solutions and services.  Hornberger also develops and delivers market strategies for Manhattan Associates in the Aerospace, Automotive, Life Sciences, Chemical, Industrial Manufacturing, Distribution, and Hi-Tech industries.  Prior to Manhattan Associates, he held senior management positions at SeeBeyond and i2 Technologies.  Hornberger’s business background includes derivatives trading as a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, and with Merrill Lynch, and he has a B.A in Finance and Banking from the University of Arkansas.

Dr. Robert M. Kimmel
Dr. Robert M. Kimmel is Associate Professor and Department Chair of Packaging Science and Director of the Center for Flexible Packaging at Clemson University.  Bob holds the Doctor of Science degree in Materials Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  During thirty years with Hoechst Celanese Corporation, he had position responsibilities almost equally split among New Business Development, Sales and Marketing, and Research and Development.  He joined the Clemson faculty in late 1999 to expand teaching, research and service in plastics packaging. He was appointed Department Chair in late 2006. At Clemson, he developed the core undergraduate courses in Applications of Polymers in Packaging and Converting for Flexible Packaging and co-teaches the Packaging Science capstone course, Package Design and Development, and graduate courses in Flexible Packaging and Semi-rigid Packaging.

Outside of Clemson, Bob is President of Reedy River Associates, a consulting group serving the business and technical needs of the plastics and packaging industries with an active practice in patent and trademark litigation.

Randy Lewis
J. Randolph Lewis (Randy Lewis) is Senior Vice President, Logistics, for Walgreen Co., the nationwide drugstore chain headquartered in Deerfield, Ill. He oversees all of Walgreens distribution facilities across the country. Lewis joined Walgreens in 1992 as Divisional Vice President – Logistics & Planning. He was formerly a partner with Ernst & Young, Chicago, and had served as a consultant to the Walgreens SIMS (Strategic Inventory Management System) project since 1987. Lewis is also a member of the Board of Directors of Wendy’s and of Tim Hortons International.

Lewis is a graduate of the University of Texas, where he earned his B.A.A. in accounting in 1971, his B.A. in economics in 1974, and his M.B.A. in 1975. He is an Eagle Scout and has been a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru and a dance instructor for Arthur Murray.

Ron Link
Ron Link is Vice President of Logistics for CVS/pharmacy.  CVS is America’s #1 pharmacy with over 6200 stores in 44 states and the District of Columbia.  Ron started his career with CVS/pharmacy in 1994 as the Director of Operations for our Lumberton, New Jersey Distribution Center.  Since 1997, Ron has lead Logistics Integration Teams which were responsible for the integration of 11 acquired distribution centers into the existing CVS network. 

In 1999, Ron was promoted to his current role of Vice President of Logistics.  Ron is responsible for the development of Logistics and DC Operations strategies and driving industry leading service performance and profitability.  He oversees four regional DC operations consisting of 14 distribution centers.  Also, Ron is responsible for Transportation, Corporate Logistics Planning, Network Implementation and Strategy; Network Engineering-Process and Methods and Supply Chain Strategy.

Prior to joining CVS/pharmacy, Ron was employed by Wakefern Food Corporation in Elizabeth, New Jersey for 11 years in various operations and management positions.

Ron is a graduate of Edinboro State University and has a degree in Business and Economics. 

Mary Lou McCleese
Mary Lou McCleese is Regional Director of Customer Logistics with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in their Consumer Products Division. She has 12 years experience in distribution, planning and logistics with the last eight years focused on customer logistics strategy and execution in both U.S. and international markets. McCleese has worked on key J&J initiatives like, CPFR, Data Synchronization and RFID. Prior to J&J she worked for a division of American Airlines in sales, revenue management and distribution.

McCleese earned an MBA in Strategic Management from Christian Brother University in 1998.

Joe McKinney
Joe McKinney is the Vice-President, Business Development, GlobalTrak® at System Planning Corporation in Washington, DC. GlobalTrak® provides Real-Time In-Transit Visibility, Condition Monitoring, and Security without additional readers. The information is reported and published as events occur and on a set schedule.

As the Vice-President of Business Development for the WorldWide Retail Exchange (now Agentrics). Previously a Partner with CSC Consulting, his clients included a successful B2B services firm, as well as retailers and consumer goods suppliers. He initially developed his operational insights at Target Stores, where he was responsible for driving several innovative supply chain management changes for the corporation. As a Director for the former Revco D.S. (now CVS), he created the first Inventory Management Team in the Chain Drug Industry. 

Dan McNichol
Dan McNichol is a number-one best-selling author and nationally recognized expert on the U.S. Interstate Highway System and the author of many books on highway construction. In 2005, McNichol traveled with the History Channel’s production crew as an on-air historian for a program based on his book The Roads That Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System.  Upon completion of the book, McNichol had purchased a 1951 Hudson on eBay and traveled across 24,000 miles of America’s interstate system and “blue highways” in what was dubbed by the media “The Great American Road Trip.”

McNichol has also written for The New York Times and been featured in USA Today as well as on ABC World News Tonight, The Jim Lehrer News Hour, CNN, and numerous National Public Radio broadcasts. In 2003, the American Society of Civil Engineers Boston Chapter recognized McNichol as the journalist of the year. He recently consulted for National Geographic and the BBC on a production about Boston’s Big Dig civil engineering project. McNichol’s latest book, Paving the Way, is a history of paved roads.  This summer he and his 1951 Hudson joined the U.S. Army and each of the 50 state highway departments in a cross-country convoy celebrating the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower’s Interstate System.

Kevin N. Nicholson
Kevin N. Nicholson is Vice President of Pharmacy Regulatory Affairs for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS).   At NACDS, his main responsibilities include pharmacy practice and operations issues.  He provides technical review and analysis of state and federal regulatory and legislative issues impacting pharmacy practice. 

He has over fifteen years experience in the pharmacy industry, including six years as a practicing community pharmacist.  His other experience includes product management with NDC Health, and corporate compliance with WebMD Corporation.

Don Rombach
Don Rombach is Vice President of GENCO’s Damage Research Team.  Rombach joined GENCO as operational supervisor after earning his B.S. in Business Administration from Robert Morris University.  He was promoted to Director of Business Development and Marketing at GENCO’s corporate headquarters.  Expanding his experience within the logistics industry, Rombach went on to serve as Director of Business Development for GENCO’s Value Added Services team with a focus on consumer goods manufacturers.
 
In 2002, he was promoted to Vice President of GENCO’s Damage Research Team and given responsibility for developing GENCO’s Unsaleables Management business, directing the partnership with Damage Research, Inc., and positioning the unit for growth and full acquisition by GENCO by 2005.  Rombach’s deep understanding of the logistics market business made him the natural candidate to drive the Damage Research integration. 

Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr., is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in a record-tying 27 seasons.  Ryan still holds many major-league pitching records, some by such wide margins over previous marks that they will likely stand for many years.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, in his first year of eligibility with 98.79% of the vote, just six votes short of a unanimous election.  That year he ranked 41st on The Sporting News’ list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
Ryan, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, threw pitches that were regularly recorded in the 100-mph range, even past the age of 40.  

Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, and his 5,714 career strikeouts rank first in baseball history.  Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962—walking over 50% more men than any other pitcher in Major League history.  He is also the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher, and is tied with Bob Feller for the most one-hitters, with 12.

Ryan's current business interests include ownership of two minor league teams—the Corpus Christi Hooks and the Round Rock Express.  Both teams are affiliates of the Houston Astros, for whom Ryan also serves as a Special Assistant to the General Manager.

James J. Seber
James J. Seber is President & CEO of Seber Logistics Consulting, Inc. (SLC). For more than 20 years, Seber has been involved with supply chain, manufacturing, and operations management.  Because of his blend of hands-on industry, functional, and consulting expertise, Seber has developed a reputation for his pragmatic approach to resolving issues.  While in industry, he held supply chain management positions with companies including Revlon, Polaroid, and American Hospital Supply.  Over the past decade, Seber has assisted hundreds of companies in a broad base of industries improve the effectiveness of their operations.  During his prior years with Accenture/Andersen Consulting and A.T. Kearney, Seber led landmark industry surveys in logistics information systems, organization integration, and productivity.

Troy Shively
Troy Shively is the Director of Supply Chain Initiatives at the Rite Aid Corporation.  As Director of Supply Chain, Shively’s responsibilities have included managing corporate strategies, leading distribution network realignments, developing and evaluating business decision applications, managing the new item launch program, facilitating key supplier collaboration, leading Rite Aid’s involvement in industry organizations, optimizing internal cross functional relationships, and engineering the supplier scorecard/compliance program.

Shively has spent 16 years in mass retail, which includes store management, category management, logistics and supply chain.  Prior to Rite Aid, Shively partnered with consultants and played a leadership role in developing the Kmart Corporation’s first supply chain department.  He has a B.A. degree in Sociology with a concentration in Business Administration from Shippensburg University.  He also has provided strategic guidance with the University of Michigan and Clemson University to advance supply chain research and initiatives.

Toxic Audio
Created by Jeremy James, Shalisa James, Michelle Mailhot-Valines, Rene Ruiz, Paul Sperrazza and John Valines III, Toxic Audio features the varied talents of five unique world-class vocalists who use no instruments there than the human voice to create complex sonic textures, rhythmic drumbeats, thumping bass lines and searing guitar-like solos. The interactive show combines tight harmonies, improv comedy, vocal sound effects and unique visuals. Toxic Audio has been described as "a musical experience unlike any other."

Their repertoire is an eclectic mix of almost every musical style including contemporary pop songs, timeless classics, jazz-scat, hip-hop, country and vocally orchestrated original compositions. In their live shows, music lovers can expect to hear Toxic Audio’s unique take on songs such as Route 66, Put the Lime In the Coconut, Autumn Leaves, a "thrilling" Michael Jackson medley, A Little Less Conversation, Stand By Me, Turn the Beat Around and even the Muppet’s familiar Ma Na Ma Na tune. A vocal "tribute" to the Sound Guy (John Valines, husband of the soprano-voiced Michelle Mailhot-Valines) is well deserved, as that "guy" plays an integral part in enhancing the work done by the singers. There is also some clever audience participation involving, in separate numbers, a record player, a TV remote
control and lyric cue cards. The participants are willing "victims" and everyone has a good time.