Speaker's Bios

Evelyn De Palma
Procurement Director
Defense Information Systems Agency Department of Defense

Evelyn M. DePalma is the Director for Procurement and Logistics (PL), Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), where she provides executive leadership and strategic guidance for the procurement of net-centric technology solutions and the integration of logistics support for those solutions. Mrs. DePalma is dual hatted as the Chief of the DISA Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO). She is also the Head of Contracting Activities (HCA) and Agency Source Selection Authority (SSA).

She is responsible for developing procurement strategies and policies, and for directing contracting operations at DISA Headquarters and six field offices located in Illinois, Hawaii, Alaska, Germany, Bahrain, and the National Capital Region.

Mrs. DePalma ensures that integrated logistics support is provided throughout the life cycle of DISA’s major programs and services, to include Global Information Grid (GIG) Bandwidth Expansion, NetCentric Enterprise Services, and Defense Messaging, among others.

She graduated magna cum laude in 1975 from Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. In 1984, she earned a Masters Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California, specializing in Information Systems.

She began her professional career in 1975 as a computer programmer with the Operations Center at the Defense Communications Agency (DCA), now DISA. In 1978, she joined the DCA Office of the Comptroller where she supported automated data processing policy and management, manpower, and management analysis.

In December 1991, DePalma joined the Center for Information Management at DISA. She managed the Department of Defense (DoD) Software Process Improvement Program, improving the quality of software developed by more than 35 organizations. In 1994, she assumed responsibilities of all software systems engineering improvement efforts for DISA.

Betsy Miller
Corporate Director, Sourcing and Procurement Corporate Contracts, Pricing and Supply Chain
Northrop Grumman Corporation

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.

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.

Jason P. Trevison
Sr. Technical Buyer & BMW Procurement Systems
BMW Manufacturing Co.

Jason P. Trevison is a Sr. Technical Buyer and the process owner of BMW Procurement Systems at BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC, Spartanburg, SC, the automaker’s only U.S. plant. The plant manufactures the X5 Sports Activity Vehicle, Z4 Roadster and Z4 Coupe. The plant spends more than $500 million annually on indirect materials and services.

BMW Procurement Systems, developed through cross-functional continuous improvement, is an integration of ERP streamlined processes (series of add-on enhancements) and BMW best practices which automates many of the tactical purchasing activities for capital investments and other operating supplies and services, including MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Operations). E-procurement SRM and SCM tools, such as PO Confirmation, Auto Expeditor and Storeroom MRP, allow the Technical Purchasing Team to spend more time on strategic sourcing and supply management activities.

Brent E. Edmisten
Supply Chain Solutions Manager
Arrow Electronics

Brent E. Edmisten is a Business Process Improvement and Supply Chain Management professional with 16 years of industry leadership experience in Program Management, New Product Development, Purchasing, Materials, Strategic Sourcing, Manufacturing Strategy, and Supply Chain Management.

He led the on-site assessment and final selection process in which Cessna Aircraft was awarded the 2003 Purchasing Medal of Excellence in Supply Chain Management. Brent leads all of the Strategic Sourcing processes for all Direct Material Commodities and the Manufacturing Strategy for Cessna Aircraft Company. He also owns the ISC Strategic Planning and Globalization for the Integrated Supply Chain Strategy at Cessna Aircraft Company. Brent is a graduate of Friends University with an Executive MBA. He and his wife Debbie live in Wichita, Kansas and have one daughter and one son.

Ron Schnur
Vice President - Strategic Sourcing
Coors Brewing Company

Ron joined Coors in 2003 and is responsible for procurement and supplier management activities for Brewing Materials, Packaging Materials, Corporate Sourcing Services and Supplier Diversity. This responsibility encompasses an annual spend of $2.0 billion and a global staff of 75 supply management professionals.

Prior to joining Coors, Ron was a Vice President - Supplier Resource Management at Eaton Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio. In that role, Ron was responsible for global procurement and supplier management supporting over 60 manufacturing locations worldwide with an annual spend budget of $1.7 billion.  During his 19 year supply chain career, Ron has also held leadership positions at Dana Corporation and Chrysler Corporation.  He is an experienced professional with an extensive background in 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, and a Board member of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  He is also a member of the Conference Board Procurement Council and a member of the Manufacturers Alliance Purchasing Council. Ron is also the executive sponsor of Coors’ LAGER Employee Resource Group.

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 live in Evergreen, CO.

John D "Jack" Cleminshaw
Director of Global Quality Systems-Procurement
Whirpool Corporation

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.

John Ferguson
Ph.D.,Vice Prsesident and CIO
Optical Cable Corporation

Dr. Ferguson has a progressive career in business process automation and software implementation. Primary market emphasis is in manufacturing, distribution, and financial software implementations, business process enhancements, and client retention. Accountability to his clients is demonstrated through industry-specific recommendations, integrity, and problem solving.

Dr. Ferguson’s experience with automated software systems began in 1983, when Ferguson Associates was formed. The software consulting practice provides clients with a portfolio of proven solutions supported by local training, expert implementation management, and custom development services. The practice grew steadily to three offices (Chesapeake, Richmond, and Washington, DC)

In late 1990’s, Dr. Ferguson directed the refinement of Great Plains’ channel systems and strategy, extending the distribution channel capabilities globally. He also managed Great Plains’ brand extension to its Partner/Reseller channel to ensure consistency and continuity.  A key initiative undertaken by Dr. Ferguson was to develop the e-business strategy for the organization relative to channel distribution and lead management. to promote growth objectives.

In 2006, Dr. Ferguson closed his consulting practice and accepted the position of Chief Information Officer at Optical Cable Corporation (Nasdaq GM: OCCF).  Optical Cable Corporation is the second largest manufacturer of fiber optic cables for the enterprise market in North America, selling its products worldwide in over 70 countries with tens of thousands of end-users. Uses for Optical Cable's products address most short- to moderate-distance fiber optic communication applications, with products being used for commercial and campus installations to customized products for specialty applications and harsh environments, and almost everything in between.

Scott Paull
Chief procurement officer
KLA-Tencor Corporation

Scott Paull is chief procurement officer of KLA-Tencor Corporation, the leading manufacturer of process control equipment for the semiconductor industry. After graduating from M.I.T. in materials science and engineering in 1982, Scott joined IBM as a product engineer in IBM's semiconductor and semiconductor packaging division.

Over the course of nearly twenty years with IBM, he held a variety of engineering, management, and executive positions in its semiconductor, personal computer, printer, and corporate units, including an overseas assignment in Asia for about four years where he oversaw manufacturing, logistics, and procurement for IBM's Asia Pacific personal computer business. Scott joined KLA-Tencor in San Jose, California near the end of 2001,driving a transformation of KLA-Tencor's supply chain. KLA-Tencor was proud to receive anaward for Innovation and Leadership in Supply Management from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) in May 2006. Scotthas also held roles at KLA-Tencor in operations, business development, and product management.

Shahriar Shagafi
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.

Christopher Sollitto
Supply Chain Solutions Manager
Arrow Electronics

Mr. Sollitto is a Supply Chain Solutions Manager for Arrow Electronics, one of the world’s largest global distributors of electronic components.

He has considerable experience designing and implementing state of the art service models delivering international supply chain solutions.

Mr. Sollitto is an Instructor for the University of California, and has been a featured speaker for organizations such as the American Electronics Association and the Electronics Supply Chain Association.

Mr. Sollitto holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree from California State University.

Jim Witten
Sr. Logis Manager
Qualcomm

Coming soon...

John LaPorta
C.P.M. Procurement
IBM

Mr. LaPorta has a broad background in supply chain management, procurement, strategic sourcing, change management and business transformation.

He has over 22 years experience in the Procurement & Supply Chain Field; with a depth of understanding in all aspects of purchasing management and operations. Has practical experience in both direct and indirect procurement in the manufacturing industry as well as both the public and service sectors.

Sanat Davé
Director of WW Procurement
Coherent

Coming soon...

Dean Devine
General Manager
Direct Materials Timken

Dean currently serves as General Manager - Purchasing, responsible for the strategic sourcing and procurement of direct materials required by the company’s Automotive and Industrial bearing businesses.
The Timken Company keeps the world turning, with innovative ways to make customers' products run smoother, faster and more efficiently; providing them with highly engineered bearings, alloy steels, related products and services. The company operates in 27 countries, with annual sales of $5.2 billion (2005).

In his 25 years with The Timken Company, Dean has held a variety of positions in the areas of engineering, manufacturing and supply chain.  Over the last 8 years, he has helped lead the company through significant growth in the amount and type of material purchased, including substantial growth in global sourcing.

Mr. Devine has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration.

John Visaya -
Director of Procurement Systems
McKesson

Coming soon...

Art Laszlo
Director Startegic Sourcing
Brunswick Corporation

Art Laszlo is currently the Director, Startegic Sourcing for Brunswick Corporation.

Brunswick Corporation is the world leader in pleasure boats, marine engines, fitness equipment, bowling equipment and billiards tables.

He is responsible for the development of raw material purchasing and hedging strategies as well eSourcing for all Brunswick operations. He joined Brunswick Corporation in June 2004 as a Corporate Commodity Leader.

Mr. Laszlo was the Regional Commercial Manager for Mars Incorporated from 2000 - 2003.

Before 2000, Mr. Laszlo was with General Motors Corporation from 1995-2000 where he worked in the areas of Finance, Manufacturing, and Procurement.

Frans C. Barends
C.P.M. Director Procurement and Auxiliary Services
Dartmouth College

Frans Barends took over the Dir of Procurement at Dartmouth College in February of 2006. He has a lifetime C.P.M. certification and is a West Point Graduate with an engineering degree.

After leaving the service and 1992, he has had leadership and change management responsibilities in Logistics, Production, Procurement and collective Supply Chain functions. His industry experience includes Food Manufacturing, Energy and Utilities, Large Commercial Construction and recently Higher Education. Among various systems experiences are PeopleSoft and Oracle ERP implementations. Additionally, he was a key player in the Energy and Utility sectors earlier focus on eSystems 1999-2002.

After arriving at Dartmouth College, Frans Barends has been involved in developing and driving a plan shifting the supply focus from tactical to strategic. He began a program to begin consolidation and integration the separate college supply processes toward a Supply Chain operation. A proposal was developed with in the first 90 days to implement Oracle iProcurement, iSupplier and iSourcing in conjunction with SciQuest Spend Director, Order Manager and Settlement Manager. The proposal was approved in May and agreements concluded thereafter.The Dartmouth eProcurement initiative was added to and exiting Oracle GL implementation. Both will go live 1 July 2007.

Richard Roberts
Manager, Transportation Support Services
Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.

Richard Roberts is Transportation Support Services Manager for Chevron-Phillips Chemical Company, responsible for overseeing the company’s import and export compliance, transportation cost planning and budgeting, and freight payables and auditing functions.  Mr. Roberts has served in this capacity since 2000 when Phillips Petroleum Company and Chevron Corporation combined its worldwide chemical operations to form Chevron-Phillips Chemical Company.  Chevron Phillips Chemical Company produces chemical products essential to the fabrication of more than 70,000 consumer and industrial goods.  

Prior to the formation of the joint venture Mr. Roberts served as Regional Transportation Manager for Phillips Petroleum Company in Borger, Texas where he had responsibility for the management of the logistics and supply chain resources for their western U.S. refining, marketing, and chemical distribution systems.

Mr. Roberts holds an Accounting degree from Oklahoma State University and over the past 29 years  has held a variety of finance and accounting positions including Chief Financial Officer of  Provesta Corporation, a biotech subsidiary of Phillips Petroleum Company.

Steve Fisher
Global Logistics Manager
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates

Steven Fisher currently holds the position of Global Logistics Manager at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, Ltd..  Mr. Fisher has over 20 years of diverse supply chain and international business management experience.  He has held extensive import and export  management positions in the freight forwarding industry.  In addition, Mr. Fisher has held managerial and director level positions with broad oversight in transportation, inventory control, warehousing, and international operations in manufacturing, service and internet start-up companies.   Mr. Fisher received a Bachelor's Degree in Natural Resource Economics from U.C. Berkeley and a Master or Business Administration degree, specializing in international business, from the University of Southern California

Andrew K. Reese
Editor
Supply & Demand Chain Executive

Andrew K. Reese is Editor of Supply & Demand Chain Executive (Cygnus Business Media), a leading business magazine providing original intelligence and decision-making information for senior corporate executives and other supply chain management professionals as they enable their companies' supply chains for competitive advantage. Reese joined the magazine in May 2000, and he is responsible for development and oversight of editorial content and production for the magazine.

Reese has more than 15 years experience in research and writing. His prior experience includes time as a consultant in Moscow, Russia, working with leading Western technology and consumer-products companies entering the post-Soviet market. Previously, he worked as a writer and editor at Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organizations.

In addition to Supply & Demand Chain Executive, Reese's articles have appeared in Purchasing Today (now Inside Supply Management), the Journal of Supply Management, Fabricating Equipment News, Plant Safety & Maintenance, Private Air, Tycoon and elsewhere. His translations of Russian articles have appeared in the Nation magazine, the Law in Eastern Europe series (Institute of East European Law and Russian Studies), Russian Conservation News and elsewhere.

Reese holds a B.A. in journalism from Arizona State University and an M.A. in Soviet Studies from Harvard University. He resides in the Phoenix area.

Jeremy Brofford
Sourcing Solutions Manager
MFG.com

Jeremy’s sourcing and procurement career spans 10 years.  He is currently responsible for assisting buy-side clients maximize their experience with the MFG-SP sourcing solution.  Prior to joining MFG.com, he spent 5 years as a Sourcing & Procurement Consultant at Prosero, where he designed and delivered customized Strategic Sourcing and Business Process Outsourcing Solutions to several Global 2000 organizations.   Jeremy also holds a B.S. in Purchasing & Procurement from Miami University and an MBA from Capital University.