READERPROFILE
as told to Karen Kroll
Start Me Up
RESPONSIBILITIES: Identify short- and long-term priorities and goals and support the executional teams as they translate the financial model into action. EXPERIENCE: President and chief operating ocer, investor, and board member, Fernish; board member, Radiant Logistics; chief operating ocer, Dolly, Inc.; vice president, operations, logistics, fulfillment and supply chain, zulily; leadership and managerial positions with Amazon.com and with Dell Computer Corporation. EDUCATION: MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management; S.M., transportation and supply chain, MIT; MSE and BSE, industrial engineering and operations research, University of Michigan. KRISTIN TOTH is president and chief operating officer with Fernish, which offers furniture and home décor through rent, rent-to-own, and buy options.
E arly in my career I was lucky to experiences. At Dell, for example, I worked on a massive reimagining of our manufacturing and logistics processes. To understand them, I went on the plant oor and physically walked the processes, while also observing the virtual, software-driven process. I’d see that if we got rid of one step, we still had to gure out how to get certain information to the right person at the right time. have several formative and amazing I pulled together about eight software teams and two hardware teams. Initially, I didn’t know the difference between, for instance, a router and a switch. I had to facilitate very humble conversations and ask, ‘How does this look to you? Does this seem like I have it? What am I missing?’ That experience showed me I could learn and have an impact, even in
ambiguous or scary situations. It allowed me to see I could provide real value by marrying the worlds of supply chain, logistics, operations, and technology. A WELL ROUNDED EDUCATION I grew up thinking cross-functionally. I was interested in theater and music, and I also liked math, science, and writing. That’s how I ended up at the University of Michigan. It’s an amazing school with a lot of colleges that are top in their elds. I applied to the College of Engineering. During my freshman
year, they were recruiting for a program to build operational leaders. I didn’t think I wanted to be in operations, but I would get to take classes in engineering, business, foreign language, and culture, so I’d have an incredibly well-rounded education. I fell into the operations world, and really love it. In any company that’s growing quickly, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by growth. You have to establish processes that are repeatable and predictable, so you don’t have to think about every action. With these processes in place, you can focus on where innovation will
In any company that’s growing quickly, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by growth. You have to establish processes that are repeatable and predictable, so you don’t have to think about every action.
16 Inbound Logistics • May 2023
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