Speaker's Bios

Ronald Schnur
Procurement & Supplier Management
Sears Holdings Management Corp VP

Ron joined Sears Holdings in November 2007 and is responsible for procurement and supplier management activities for the enterprise. This responsibility encompasses an annual spend of $14 billion and a global staff of 120 procurement and supply management professionals.

Prior to joining Sears Holdings, Ron was Vice President – Strategic Sourcing for Coors Brewing Company in Golden, CO.  Ron was responsible for all procurement and supplier management activities encompassing Raw Materials, Packaging, Corporate Services and Supplier Diversity with an annual spend budget of $2.2 billion.  During his 20 year supply chain career, Ron has also held supply leadership positions at Eaton Corporation, Dana Corporation and Chrysler Corporation.  He is an experienced professional with an extensive background in strategic sourcing, global sourcing, eProcurement, lean manufacturing, supplier development and people development.

Ron earned his MBA from Penn State University and his Bachelor's degree from Indiana University - Bloomington. Ron is a Board member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council as well as its Corporate Plus Committee.  He is also a member of the Conference Board Procurement Council, Purchasing Roundtable, and the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Purchasing Council.

Ron is a member of the Penn State University MBA Advisory Board as well as a curriculum advisor for Penn State’s Supply Chain Management program.  He is the 2006 recipient of the Robert Pashek award from Penn State University for contributions made to enhancing the Logistics and Supply Chain Management profession.

Ron and his wife Becky have two sons and enjoy various family sporting activities.

Wolf Bartel
Manager, Business Process & Talent Development, Sourcing Operations
3M

Wolf Bartel has a B.A.Sc. from the University of Waterloo, Ontario in Systems Design Engineering, is a Certified Management Accountant and is a Certified Practitioner in Inventory Management at the fellow level (an APICS designation).

Wolf started at 3M Canada, London, Ontario after graduation (1979) in Industrial Engineering, advancing to I.E. Supervisor, then Manufacturing Engineering Supervisor.  Major projects included the implementation of MRPII and JIT work cells.  Upon completing his CMA (1987), Wolf transferred to Manufacturing Accounting as an Accountant for London Adhesives, Maintenance and the Morden, Manitoba plant which made pipe coatings and health care products.  He transferred to Logistics (1989) as Supervisor, Logistics Planning & Procedures with responsibility for Information Technology business requirements, procedural support and management reporting.  In 1991, Wolf became Purchasing Supervisor with responsibility for all raw materials, packaging supplies, maintenance, engineering and administrative materials and services for 10 focused factories and corporate facilities.  Wolf was a key team member in implementing a new purchasing/payables system.

Wolf transferred to 3M headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1997 as Procurement Manager for Metals and Risk Management.  This portfolio included exchange-traded commodities, managing commodity hedge programs, and coordinating commodity forecasts.  Wolf became a Black Belt for Sourcing Operations in 2002.  Projects included improving the identification of sourcing synergies for target acquisitions; sourcing integration of acquisitions, freight audit and payment processes, and outsourcing source of supply selection.

In 2004, Wolf became the Manager for the Paper, Fiber and Packaging commodity team.  He also filled the role of Business Sourcing Manager for the Office Supplies Division.  In 2007, Wolf took on the dual position within Sourcing Operations of Talent Development Manager and Business Process Manager for supplier management.

Wolf's professional involvements include Past President of the Canadian Society for Industrial Engineering, International Area Vice President for the Institute of Industrial Engineers and a member of their Board of Trustees (1992).  He has held volunteer positions with Junior Achievement and at his local church.

Thomas S. Hahn
VP Supply Chain Mgmt & Logistics
Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership

Thomas S. Hahn serves as vice president of supply chain management for Freudenberg-NOK G.P., the Americas unit of the global Freudenberg and NOK Group Companies. In this role, he is responsible for leading supplier relationships and driving improvements throughout Freudenberg-NOK’s supply chain, including global strategic sourcing, purchasing and logistics.

Most recently, Hahn was employed at Pactiv Corp., a specialty packaging company in Chicago, where he served as director of strategic materials. In this position, he delivered significant cost savings through strategic sourcing, negotiation, competitive bidding, online auctions and product redesign.

Prior to that, he was a senior manager at A.T. Kearney, Inc., where he analyzed practices, identified development needs and recommended an implementation strategy to embed the latest technologies and best practices into the core procurement and sourcing processes.

From 1993 to 2000, Hahn held several positions of increasing responsibility at Procter & Gamble Co. During this time, he spent two years in Kobe, Japan launching a new program for the company and working extensively with the research and development functions to optimize costs in the design phase of the product development cycle.

Bob Price
Director Global Supply Chain Management
Kimball International

Bio coming soon...

Matthias Manegold
Associate Director Global Strategic Sourcing
Procter & Gamble

Matthias graduated in 1991 as Master of Science from University Kassel in Mechanical Engineering.

He has joined Procter & Gamble in November 1991 and has held several positions in Technical Engineering, Program Management and Purchases.
In his position as Associate Director Global Strategic Purchases, Matthias is responsible for global corporate sourcing of Pulp and Airlaid at Procter & Gamble. In this responsibility, he is in charge of a total spend of ca. $1.5 Billion U.S./annum.

In addition to these responsibilities, he is also heading up the Central Purchases organization for P&G’s Feminine Care business in Europe, Middle East and Africa. (“EMEA”)

Matthias lives in Switzerland/Geneva since early 2000, when Procter & Gamble has transitioned its EMEA headquarters to Switzerland, together with his wife and two daughters.

Tony Barone
Director Global Logistics Policy
Pfizer

Bio coming soon...

Carlo Aversa
VP Procurement
Alcan

Bio coming soon...

Greg Yonko
Sr. VP Purchasing and Branded Product Management
McKesson

Greg Yonko is Senior Vice President for Purchasing U.S. Pharmaceutical, with responsibility for all purchasing, supply chain related activities, and customer service level support for McKesson’s U.S. Pharmaceutical business that generates over $76 billion in annual revenue. He also has responsibility for Branded Rx product management, the National Buying Center and trade relations. He had previous responsibility for the company’s One Stop Generics program as well as the companies Rx Pak operations in Memphis.

Prior to that Greg held positions of progressive responsibility for the U.S. Pharmaceutical group as vice president of Supply Chain Initiatives, vice president Finance, Director financial planning and analysis as well as other key financial positions within McKesson at the field, regional and corporate level.

Recently Greg led an industry leading initiative changing the old economic model over to a new contemporary fee for service model with pharmaceutical manufacturers. Greg has over 29 years of industry knowledge and experience at McKesson. He has served on numerous committees addressing supply chain strategies and is recognized as a leader in the wholesale industry.

John D “Jack” Cleminshaw
Director of Global Systems - Procurement
Whirlpool

John D “Jack” Cleminshaw has been 21 years with Whirlpool Corporation and has held a series of ever-increasing responsibilities in Technology, International Operations and Procurement and Supplier Quality.  He is currently working of developing systems and tools to improve internal and external quality for Whirlpools customers with a special focus on Supplier Quality.

Scott Champion
Director of Corporate Purchasing
American Safety Razor Company

Scott Champion is the Corporate Director of Purchasing for American Safety Razor Company, the leading global supplier of private label wet shaving razors and blades along with branded industrial and medical cutting implements.  Scott's responsibilities encompass Strategic and Tactical Procurement, Global Sourcing, and Supplier Management.

Prior to joining ASR, Scott was the Leader of the Strategic Sourcing CoE and World Class Procurement for Siemens PTD USA.  While working for Siemens, Scott also was a faculty member for Materials Management, Business Finance, and Operations Management and the collegiate level. 

With 17 years experience in Supply Management, Scott earned his B.S. Degree in Economics, Business, and Sociology from Pfeiffer College and his Graduate Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply in the United Kingdom.

Tom Murray
Manager
Environmental Protection Agency

Bio coming soon...

Tom Adams
Operations Director PSG Supply Chain
HP

Bio coming soon...

Vivek Kamran
Global Program Manager Cargo & Sensor Systems
Goodrich

Bio coming soon...

Mark Newton
Environmental Policy Manager
Dell

Mark Newton serves as the Environmental Policy Manager for Dell’s Corporate Sustainability team. In this role, he is responsible for policy development, stakeholder engagements and corporate accountability on environmental issues, including material use, energy efficiency, product recycling and climate strategy.

Mr. Newton joined Dell in 2003 as Manager of Dell Worldwide Environmental Affairs. Under his leadership, Dell integrated global environmental design requirements into the business as part of its ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility. His team established robust compliance assurance processes, published award-winning annual sustainability reports, introduced stakeholder concerns into the business and led policy and process development activities.

Prior to joining Dell, Mr. Newton led product-focused environmental technology programs at Motorola and Apple. He received a Doctorate in Chemistry in 1993 from the University of Texas at Dallas.

H. Darrall Loggins
Group Manager - Strategic Sourcing
Coors Brewing Company

23 Years Procurement / Strategic Sourcing Experience

• Accountable for $700M in annual indirect spend
• Responsible for developing Strategic Sourcing initiatives at Coors
• Development of Strategic Sourcing methodologies employed to drive cost savings and supply management for US Division
• Department delivered over $12M in cost savings initiative for the US division in the past two years
• Developed Coors Procurement Strategy Council

Graduate of the University of Tennessee
Certified Purchasing Manager

Betsy Miller
Corporate Director Sourcing and Procurement
Northrop Grumman Corp.

Ms. Miller is the Corporate Director in the Corporate Office Contracts, Pricing and Supply Chain organization. She currently reports to the Corporate Vice President: Contracts, Pricing and Supply Chain. In this role, Betsy is responsible for overall sourcing strategy and contracting for the corporation. She works closely with the company's eight operating sectors to develop and implement company-wide procurement strategies and key processes.

Prior to transferring to the corporate office in August 2005, Miller spent 26 years in the Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems sector located in Baltimore, Maryland.  She held a number of executive positions in all functions of Supply Chain Management during her tenure.

Miller currently chairs the NGC Procurement Strategy Council and participates in numerous industry associations including the Supplier Management Executive Council for Aerospace Industries Association, the Conference Board Purchasing and Supply Leadership Council and the Procurement Strategy Council Executive Board.

Mary Ellen Mika
Manager Environmental & Diversity Supply Chain Management
Steelcase

Mary Ellen Mika is Manager of Environmental and Supplier Diversity initiatives within the Steelcase Supply Chain department. She leads the Green Suppliers Network program for Steelcase, assists with materials chemistry and life cycle analysis efforts, supports supplier diversity initiatives, and is responsible for energy purchases for Steelcase North America.

Prior to her role in Supply Chain, Mary Ellen worked as an environmental professional, serving on the board of the Air & Waste Management Association and as Chair of the Michigan Manufacturers Association, Air Quality Subcommittee.

Robert Belshaw
Sr. VP
GE Commercial Finance Trade Distribution Services

Senior Vice President of Trade Distribution Services (TDS) – GE Commercial Financial Services. Trade Distribution Services is a global business focused on optimising working capital in global supply chains. TDS will own the inventory within a supply chain, taking cost out of the supply chain, by freeing up working capital and reducing operating expenses.

Bob has recently joined GE, having spent the last 8 years with INSIGHT a leading supply chain design software and services firm, where Bob most recently was the Chief Operating Officer. Bob has been recognized by DC Velocity magazine wining Rainmaker 2004 recognition and as a 2004 Providers Pro to Know by Supply & Demand Chain magazine. Bob has been an often-quoted speaker on supply chain issues, including global sourcing and global supply chain design.

Mr. Belshaw is a graduate of Lehigh University. He received his BS Industrial Engineering Degree in 1982 and has taken additional coursework at the University of Pennsylvania.

Shahriar Shaghafi
VP Global Supply Chain & Materials Operation
Novellus

Highly regarded, a dynamic leader with the vision, expertise, and proven record to influence bottom-line performance of global materials and supply-chain operations of billion-dollar corporations.

Excel in change management, relationship building, and process improvements to build profits of multi-site and multi-culture operations.Shahriar has a track recordof succssefully outsourcing Fortune 500 companies' manufacturing assemblies to low cost regions. He has over 25 years experience in different industries such as defense, automotive,semiconductor andone of the world's largest subcontract manufacturing with foot prints in low cost regions.

Neil L. Schloss
Procurement Manager Couche-Tard
Circle K

As Procurement Manager for Alimentation Couche-Tard a $13 Billion Retail Convenience Store organization consisting of more than 5000 stores with 40,000 employees supports most Strategic Requirements.  Commodity examples range from T-Shirt bags, cups etc. to Walk-In Coolers for refrigerated bulk beverage product and all support services – IT, Finance, HR functions.  Neil has been with Circle K over 7 years under 4 owners. (Tosco / Phillips Petroleum / ConocoPhillips / Couche-Tard).

With more than 30 years Supply Chain experience, Neil has had extensive experience in manufacturing with organizations like Carrier Air Conditioning, Black & Decker and other world class sourcing organization.

Dante Marzetta
Sr. VP Technical Operations and Purchasing
Continental Airlines

Dante Marzetta is senior vice president of technical operations and purchasing for Continental Airlines, Inc., a position he was named to in August 2004. In this role, Marzetta is responsible for the airline’s purchasing decisions as well as technical operations worldwide.

Prior to this position, Marzetta was senior vice president – airport services. Earlier in his career, Marzetta was Continental’s staff vice president – Cleveland, where he oversaw the operation of the Company’s third-largest hub with more than 3,300 employees and 200 daily departures. 

Marzetta took over the helm at Cleveland in November 1999. Marzetta joined Continental in 1994 as director of Aircraft Appearance. He was promoted to senior director of heavy check base maintenance in April 1997. 

Prior to joining Continental, Marzetta was a director of Information Processing at the Defense Information Systems Agency in Virginia. He also served as the assistant deputy director of the Joint Tactical Command, Control, and Communications Agency.

Marzetta served in the U.S. Navy from 1967 to 1993.

Marzetta has a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s degree in computer systems management from the Naval Postgraduate School and a master’s degree in international relations and strategic studies from the Naval War College.

Phillip R. Lockhart
Purchasing Manager Manufacturing Operations
Baxter

Bio coming soon...

Patrick Bliss
Purchasing Director
Apollo Group

Bio coming soon...

Obie Ford
Purchasing Director
Coburns

Bio coming soon...

Stephanie Conover
Corporate Director, Systems and Processes Corporate Contracts, Pricing and Supply Chain
Northrop Grumman Corporation

Ms. Conover is a Corporate Director in the Corporate Office Contracts, Pricing and Supply Chain organization. She currently reports to the Corporate Vice President, Contracts, Pricing and Supply Chain. In this role, Stephanie is responsible for overall technology strategy and system infusion in the contracts and supply chain business processes. Additionally, she manages the six-sigma projects and overall budget for the Corporate Contracts, Pricing and Supply Chain organization, and integrated training curriculum for those organizations across the company’s eight operating sectors.

Prior to transferring to the corporate office in May 2006, Stephanie spent 7 years in the Northrop Grumman Newport News sector located in Newport News, Virginia.  She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from The College of William and Mary. She is currently pursuing an Executive Certificate from MIT in Technology, Operations, and Value Chain Management focusing on supply chain strategy, product design, product management, and operations within the complexities of extended enterprises.

Paulo L. Moretti
Global Purchasing Director
The Dow Chemical Company

Bio coming soon...

Sharon Seaman
Director of Sourcing & Professional Service
Harrah’s Entertainment

Bio coming soon...

Raymond McGuire
President
Ray McGuire Consulting Group

Ray McGuire currently provides advice, direction, and project management in a consultancy capacity to high fashion importers and international forwarders, successfully implementing international logistics, regulatory and vendor compliance, and US domestic cross-dock and pick & pack fulfillment and distribution solutions.

Ray’s most recent full-time assignment was Vice President of International Services for Kellwood New England, a division of Kellwood Company and a $2.6 billion marketer of apparel and consumer soft goods. Brands and private label products include Phat Farm®, Baby Phat®, Sag Harbor®, Koret, My Michelle®, Briggs New York®, and producing Calvin Klein®, XOXO®, Gerber®, Liz Claiborne® Dresses and Suits, IZOD®, and others under licensing agreements.

As in his engagement with Kellwood, Mr. McGuire successfully managed international and domestic logistics, as well as agent and vendor product, and safety and social compliance, for Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Incorporated, and The Sharper Image. At Jefferson Smurfit Group (now Smurfit-Stone Corp), he also held positions in the Transportation, Quality and Safety areas.

In these roles, Ray’s main responsibilities included identifying, developing and executing the international and domestic logistics, inventory management, transportation, vendor and all governmental compliance success criteria (customs, C-TPAT, FDA, F&W, FCC, etc) for the import and export supply chains.

Experience of 16 years in Europe and 14 years in the United States has provided Mr. McGuire with extensive knowledge of international and domestic logistics, the ability and expertise to successfully implement more efficient distribution systems, and customs, security, and vendor compliance programs, while returning “hard-dollar” savings.

While in Europe, Ray co-founded and was the managing director of a successful international express transportation, warehousing, and forwarding company. He also held various positions at other international forwarding companies.

In addition to these “work” responsibilities, Mr. McGuire’s professional interest lie in advancing and furthering his own skill and knowledgebase in order to contribute his experience and knowhow by attending, participating in, and speaking at industry specific conferences including: Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Trans-Pacific Maritime Conferences, and regularly contributing to industry publications including the Journal of Commerce.

Mickey North Rizza
Research Director
AMR Research

Mickey North Rizza brings 22 years of global sourcing and supply chain management experience to her role as a research director in the procurement and sourcing practice at AMR Research. Mickey is a key member of the supply chain team and works to communicate effective procurement and sourcing strategies to AMR Research’s clients.

Prior to joining AMR Research, Mickey worked at Moduslink Corporation, where she held the positions of vice president of global supply base management and director of procurement and sourcing. At Moduslink, she was responsible for implementing strategic sourcing programs, driving strategic positioning of materials in Europe and the Americas, and introducing new procurement technology.

Mickey also worked as a materials manager at M/A-Com, Inc., a division of Tyco International. While at M/A-Com, Mickey developed and implemented strategic plans and integrated roadmaps to accompany a supply chain model. In addition, she introduced a pilot manufacturing resource management system.

During her career, Mickey worked as a purchasing manager at Advanced Techcom, Inc., Innova Corporation, and Motorola.

Mickey is a member of the Institute for Supply Management.

Mickey earned a BA in material logistic management from Michigan State University.