It's always a whirlwind in November and that's, in part, thanks to the annual Women in Supply Chain Forum. This year the event brought together over 200 industry leaders, innovators and trailblazers to celebrate the theme "Shattering Glass Ceilings." The event created a space for women to share their stories, insights and strategies for breaking through barriers and advancing leadership in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
The forum kicked off with an inspiring keynote speech from Jennifer Kobus, SVP, supply chain planning and operations for Ulta Beauty, who shared insights on advocacy, for yourself and for others, and the impact to come from having people in your corner and speak up for others too. Even in small ways, Kobus explained, utilizing a moment to call out people for good work rewards all— even when they aren't in the room.
Daisy Jiang, senior director of marketing strategy & communications at Nulogy, joined Mayya Makarem, senior enterprise account executive at Nulogy, and Sultana Naimi, head of growth marketing at Nulogy, for a fireside chat discussing work-life balance, the differences in gender roles in a male centered area and why making yourself heard is so important.
Olivia Hu, head of autonomous trucking for Uber Freight, discussed the future of autonomous trucking towards fuel efficiency, sustainability and safety; plus, she gave some insights into her career journey and advocated for supporting the newest generations of supply chain professionals.
Together, Melissa O'Keefe, director of product management at myQ Enterprise, and Sara Silver, VP of operations at Cheney Brothers Inc., touched on the emergence of technology in logistics that is now tackling manual processes to improve visibility, and leading to better collaboration and communication overall.
And if you saw me teary eyed during Sandhya Pillay, customer VP at Coca-Cola Company, session: no, you didn't. Pillay described the powerful importance of psychological safety and it's 4 pillars: inclusion safety, learner safety, contribution safety and challenger safety. In an analogy, Pillay recounted how birds don't fear that the branches they land on might break because of the strength of their wings— empowering everyone, male and female, to hone their skills, trust their judgement and use a clear-headed approach in all that you do.
The last fireside chat with Charzetta Bridgemon, technical project manager at SnapFulfil, and Cheree Brewer, account manager at SnapFulfil, highlighted the unique backgrounds of individuals working in supply chain and how diversity and experience can bring new perspectives to the workplace.
There were cheers, tears and tons of notebooks filled with takeaways from each wonderful speaker. I'm certain that every attendee met some new friends and colleagues that they will continue to have relationships with for years to come.
We even had students attend from various universities and programs. Speaking to two of them, Rachel Wells and Monique Baril, from the University of New Hampshire Paul College, they explained how critical the forum has been in their professional development, gaining firsthand knowledge and seeing women in roles that they would like to be in one day.
"The forum has given us industry insight and wisdom, including the chance to learn about self-advocacy from so many perspectives," said Wells.
As the industry continues to evolve, events like the Women in Supply Chain Forum play a critical role in empowering women to step into new spaces and reshape the future of the industry. The theme, “Shattering Glass Ceilings,” is a celebration of progress and a reminder that there is still work to be done.
