SUPPLYCHAINP.O.V.
How Football Drives My Leadership Philosophy I’m a lifelong football fan, and the sport shapes how I describe leadership to my team. I tell them my job is to be part coach, part cheerleader, and part fullback. The coach sets strategy and builds capability. The cheerleader keeps people motivated so momentum doesn’t stall. And the fullback clears the obstacles in front of the team, so everyone else has room to move the ball forward. That, ultimately, is what transformation means to me: building the right structure, staying close to the people doing the work, and clearing the way so they can succeed.
We recognized her contribution with a gift card, a small gesture that visibly moved her. These investments compound. We consolidated several warehouses into one and lifted on-time delivery to roughly 98%. Plant employees now lead facility tours for our leadership team themselves, a level of ownership that reflects genuine pride in what they’ve built. HOW I FOUND SUPPLY CHAIN My path here wasn’t planned. After graduating from Iowa State, I took a job at a startup, where my manager asked me to negotiate with vendors as we sourced equipment. I discovered I had an aptitude for it. Negotiation is competitive by nature, and competition has always motivated me. That experience led me into a commodity management program, and from there, a career in supply chain took shape.
directly into warehouse operations through disciplined use of space, tighter inventory flow, and structured picking and packing processes. We paired those changes with clear performance metrics, on the principle that what gets measured gets improved. INVESTING IN PEOPLE None of this works without the people executing it. On plant visits, I make it a point to sit down and listen to employees
directly, asking what’s working, what isn’t, and what would make their jobs easier. Acting on what I hear, even on small things, sends a clear signal that plant employees deserve the same standard of attention as everyone else in the company. We’ve also built structured channels for employee ideas. One team member proposed a change that improved both ergonomics and packaging efficiency. asi_halfpgIL_1026_final_• 9/24/26 10:50 AM Page 1
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