Frank Bozzo, VP and general manager, CHEP Canada & Pallecon North America, was named one of the Lifetime Achievement award winners for this year’s Pros to Know award, presented by Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
We talk exclusively with Bozzo about his journey, his goals and what it took to improve the Canadian organization during his 20-year tenure in the business.
Supply & Demand Chain Executive: Let’s first talk about you. Tell me a little bit about yourself and your journey to get to this current stage in your career?
Frank Bozzo: My personal and professional journey has been fueled by my desire to become the best version of myself. That drive to reach my full potential has shaped me into the professional I am today. And on that journey, I’ve noticed that I grow the most when I step out of my comfort zone.
But I haven’t gotten to where I am alone. I’m grateful and fortunate to have my wife and two daughters who support me through this journey – including the uncomfortable – time and time again. Thanks to the support of my family, and various mentors and colleagues along the way, I’ve pushed through obstacles with dedication and passion, and there’s no question that they are my biggest drivers.
When I think of one of the times I embraced ambiguity, one specific time comes to mind. A director role became vacant due to an internal transfer, so I took the opportunity to assume those responsibilities to hold dual leadership positions for over a year. While it certainly wasn’t easy, my perseverance proved that I could successfully expand my scope and was a catalyst to earning higher-level positions at CHEP, while learning about new areas of the business.
Since I’ve grown by stepping out of my comfort zone, I intentionally try to help others to do the same. One way I encourage others to unlock their full potential is by participating in and championing CHEP’s mentorship programs. Two of the recent programs include “Future Leaders of CHEP” Inspire and the NA2025 programs, where I coach and develop rising talent. I also look for opportunities to promote employee engagement and wellness, having hosted a wellness workshop for my teams that has since inspired me to continue these types of programs.
Overall, I truly care about the people I work with, from my colleagues and team members to our customers and the greater communities that we serve. Fostering strong relationships and supporting one another is essential to our collective growth and innovation.
By working together, I know there is a bright future in the supply chain space, and I look forward to the continued learning and innovation ahead.
Supply & Demand Chain Executive: One of the things outlined in your nomination is how you’ve steadily and strategically worked to improve the Canadian organization during your 20-year tenure in the business. Walk us through what you’ve done.
Bozzo: At the center of all my achievements is a growth mindset. That means I’m constantly challenging the norm and thinking of how I can be my best self, or how I can make the situation the best it can be. As part of my career plan, that includes envisioning what’s on the horizon and how I can work toward it.
In 2022, I added Pallecon North America to my responsibilities while still overseeing CHEP Canada. I knew it would be one of my greatest challenges because Pallecon needed a new path. With my fresh perspective, I re-evaluated how the Pallecon organization was operating at that time and rebuilt it with a business model that would be successful and sustainable. And I’m proud to say it worked. Not only did we achieve financial growth, but what also emerged from this transformative approach was a passionate culture. Employee surveys demonstrated high engagement and satisfaction levels, despite teams going through change and ambiguity. The entire team who supported the vision stepped outside of their comfort zones to achieve our goals, and together we continue to achieve historic performance.
In every role during my career, utilizing clear communication and supporting change through structured programs and processes drove notable improvements. One aspect of this transparency includes engaging in open and honest dialogue, which allows for uncomfortable conversations, when needed, to bring the business forward and overcome obstacles. Along the way, I’ve also strived to do my best to lead by example and model accountability, innovative thinking and execution.
My leadership efforts across both CHEP Canada and Pallecon North America have heavily focused on the customer and how we can be their strategic supply chain partner. Aligning with CHEP’s mission to put the customer at the heart of everything we do, I’ve focused on fostering a customer-centric culture across my teams that is rooted in understanding our customers’ challenges and collaborating on best-in-class solutions. I urge my teams to think innovatively and to challenge the status quo to improve efficiency, resiliency and sustainability for our customers and the supply network. Again, our growth mindset is essential to success and we’re always hungry for how we can improve and deliver even more value.
I’m honored to have had the opportunity and trust from my peers and colleagues to lead these efforts, ultimately enabling significant growth in my business areas. And, I’m grateful for the teams that contribute to our success every day—I know our incredibly talented and passionate people are the key to achieving our ambitious goals.
Supply & Demand Chain Executive: There’s so much going on in the supply chain space. What have you and your company done to help customers improve visibility and optimization?
Bozzo: It is true that the supply chain space has experienced a lot of challenges and changes in the past several years. Like other companies, CHEP has done its best to serve customers despite evolving market conditions and fluctuating consumer demand, and we’ve leaned into collaboration and partnership to drive success.
Fortunately, CHEP’s unmatched network density and end-to-end supply chain visibility allow us to identify shared challenges and areas of overlap between organizations to enable strategic partnerships. One example of how CHEP serves as a conduit of collaboration is through our Zero Waste World program, which brings together leading manufacturers and retailers to eliminate waste, eradicate empty miles and cut out supply chain inefficiencies. Another is through transportation collaboration, which helped our North American customers eliminate 3.5 million empty miles from their networks—equivalent to 10-plus million pounds of CO2—during our 2023 fiscal year.
Many times, partnership opportunities are discovered and leveraged through industry relationships. Personally, I’m heavily involved with Food Health and Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP), the premier association for supply chain leaders in Canada, and I’ve helped identify and bridge connections through this network. Industry involvement is also valuable for understanding the latest challenges and exploring emerging solutions in the space, which is why many CHEP leaders actively participate in supply chain events and associations.
Of course, customer feedback has been instrumental in improving CHEP’s solutions and services as well, and it continues to be a driving force for decision-making at CHEP.
Right now, CHEP is collaborating to build the supply chain of the future. We’re field-testing data-driven solutions and our smart assets to anticipate demand fluctuations, improve forecasting and reduce waste across supply networks globally. And, with the industry-wide growth of automation, I’m also impressed by our engineering teams and how they are supporting our customers’ automation journeys to optimize their automated systems to increase throughout and reduce line downtime.
We’ll continue challenging ourselves to deliver innovative solutions that improve supply network visibility and optimization for our customers in the years ahead.
Supply & Demand Chain Executive: If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you tell him?
Bozzo: One piece of advice I would give my younger self is to expand my resources by connecting with people outside of my immediate network or area of expertise. I’ve realized that unexpected resources can add significant value to your career, and I could have leveraged that more as a young professional.
For example, some of the most enlightening or inspiring conversations I’ve had were with individuals outside of my sector— through understanding their unique challenges and successes, I’d often walk away with a fresh perspective that was surprisingly applicable to my area of work. Other times, we’d discover that we faced similar challenges, despite being in different lines of business.
Similarly, I’d encourage my younger self to seek opportunities to learn from all levels, whether it’s those younger and newer to the field than you, peers or the leaders you aspire to be.
Supply & Demand Chain Executive: What would you want to tell your future self?
Bozzo: I’d remind myself that it’s through our support system that we are able to step outside of our comfort zones, and I want to be that source of encouragement for those around me to broaden their horizons.
Encouraging my teams and colleagues to continuously grow and take on new challenges makes celebrating the wins that much more rewarding, too. By honoring our accomplishments together, we create the energy and incentive to keep progressing and cultivate a powerful sense of gratitude.
At the end of the day, I believe that both our wins and our failures are learning opportunities that propel us forward, and we just need the courage and support from those around us to try our best. Then, we can admire our growth and reflect on how far we’ve come.
Supply & Demand Chain Executive: You’ve been named one of our Lifetime Achievement winners from this year’s Pros to Know award. What advice do you have for others who’ve been in the industry for quite some time and even for those up-and-comers in the supply chain?
Bozzo: My advice to other supply chain professionals is to go after your goals with passion, purpose and integrity. Align your values with the values and goals of your organization to drive meaningful and lasting change. When you marry passion with intention, the opportunities to learn, grow and innovate are limitless. And if we all consistently give our best effort every day, then slowly but surely, we will positively impact our businesses, communities and the world around us.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the 2024 Pros to Know winners.
