Thank you, Noel Hacegaba, for that kind introduction.
Executive Director Vyas, colleagues and old friends, what a pleasure to be able to be with you today.
I’m honored to receive the Women’s Leadership in Supply Chain award, with great appreciation to the distinguished USC Marshall Center for Global Supply Chain Management and to Mediterranean Shipping Company (thank you, Stephanie Hughes!)
I’m flattered you believe that my work and career have demonstrated leadership worthy of this award and that my service has forged a path for succeeding generations of women to follow.
One of the most important responsibilities of an executive is to identify talent and professional potential among junior employees (women and men!) in an organization.
I am proud of the achievements of the many capable and determined women that I have identified, mentored, or coached.
These accomplished women have proven successes in the fields of international transportation, logistics, trade, law, government, the military, and now, the global supply chain “space.”
I’ve been fortunate in my career to have had many opportunities to lead significant change, but the Federal Maritime Commission Supply Chain Innovation Teams is one of the most exciting initiatives I’ve developed.
This is because of the great potential for the Innovation Teams approach to identify and resolve supply chain operational problems and eliminate bottlenecks in our international freight delivery system.
That approach involves small teams of industry leaders representing major supply chain actors, challenged to “step out of their enterprise silos” and focus on the global supply chain as a “system.”
As you know, technological capabilities to increase supply chain visibility are exploding.
The Southern California ports are currently engaged in a partnership with General Electric to take a technological supply chain visibility “leap” and elevate the performance of our global freight delivery system.
We are watching this project with interest, because this visibility concept, called the “National Seaport Information Portal,” was the recommendation of the first phase of the FMC Innovation Teams project.
Greater visibility in the global freight delivery system means that we will no longer be “flying blind,” we’ll just be “flying!”
I am grateful for the good fortune that steered me into transportation, ocean shipping, and international trade.
I look forward to the challenges ahead, and to continuing my work with industry leaders who are committed to boosting the economic competitiveness of the American global supply chain.
And again, thank you for this award.
From Left to Right: Commissioner Rebecca Dye, FMC, Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Managing Director Port of Long Beach, Nick Vyas, Executive Director Center for Global Supply Chain Management
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