Nick Gaganiaras is the Executive Managing Director, Supply Chain Consulting at Colliers International where he brings an extensive background designing, implementing, and operating supply chains for automotive, high tech, healthcare, and consumer goods organizations, in addition to extensive experience in the point-to-point courier market and mission critical service parts fulfillment operations. Prior to joining Colliers, Nick’s previous experience included stints as Director of Supply Chain Solutions for Versacold, Director of Warehousing at 3PL Links, and several leadership roles with SCI Group.

Jay Taylor is a Canadian outdoor products executive with over 25 years of experience across the supply chain. Jay is a long-time MEC member. As CEO/COO was responsible for global P&L, sales, operations, and sourcing for this outdoor enthusiast footwear business. At Hoka One One BV / CV he was Global Brand President/COO running the worldwide P&L, sales, operations, product development of this high-performance hiking and running footwear brand. He was President and an owner of Soze, which is a Canadian outdoor goods distributor. Jay was President and an owner of SnowCovers Sports where he started his career running two retail locations in Vancouver and Whistler. At Quicksilver Jay was an advisor to the Global Brand President. He worked to develop turnaround strategy for Rossignol, Dynastar, Look, Lange, Karma and Risport brands while reporting to the Quicksilver executive team. Jay graduated from the University of British Colombia, Vancouver, BC with a degree in Human Kinetics, specializing in biomechanics and human performance

Liza Amlani is the Principal at Retail Strategy Group; a consulting practice which helps companies in the retail space dramatically improve profitability. Liza has over 20 years of retail insider experience and industry knowledge in Merchandising, Buying, Product Development and Retail Operations. In her career, Liza has worked with familiar brands including Ralph Lauren, Club Monaco, Nike, Walmart, and several others. Her experience encompasses brick and mortar, e-commerce and omni-channel in the areas of product creation, merchandising and product development. In shifting to consulting, she played an integral role in Accenture’s Retail Strategy group, where she was responsible for consulting with fashion brands and retailers, providing insight on relevant topics such as speed to market and future retail operating models, supporting several major business transformations across product creation, speed to market and materials management. She is a respected voice on topics such as responsible/sustainable retail, “The Future of Retail” and has led conversations on pertinent issues related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  

Ryan Ernst is a Partner in Deloitte’s Supply Chain offering and leader of the Planning & Fulfillment practice in Canada. Ryan is the national sub-sector leader for Cargo and Goods Movement in Transportation for Canada, driving the sale and delivery of complex supply-chain transformations. His work focuses on combining leading business strategy and processes with advanced technology to create operations that are flexible, scalable, and collaborative. Over the years, Ryan has worked closely with major rail, port and trucking companies, both inside and outside of Canada, supporting these clients through their strategy and transformation targets. 

Kim Baudry is a Market Development Director at Dematic, one of the world’s leading suppliers of logistics automation solutions, systems and service. She provides strategic global support to the sales, marketing, engineering and executive management teams and assists them in their efforts to effectively address the rapidly changing needs of customers in key vertical markets such as, retail, apparel, food and beverage, 3PL and eCommerce.   Kim has worked in the logistics industry for 21 years with a focus on sales, business development and management.  She has been a featured speaker at the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), and Australia’s SMART Conference. Her industry affiliations include NRF (National Retail Federation) and NACDS (National Association of Chain Drug Stores). 

Chris is currently the Chief Logistics Officer and holds a seat on the Boards of Directors at GoFor.  Chris brings more than twenty years of experience in supply chain operations across a number of industries. He has a successful track record of creating and delivering innovative solutions to win, retain and grow many Global Fortune 500 companies.  Chris is a futuristic and strategic ‘big picture’ thinker who is passionate about the pragmatic operational approaches needed to deliver commercially viable solutions that work in today’s increasingly complex business situations.  His strong communication skills, combined with change management leadership, work to achieve organizational alignment and the realization of value.  Corporate background includes Vice President, Customer Solutions & Operational Excellence with Metro Supply Chain Group and Sr. Director, Solution Designs with DHL Americans.  Prior to his work in logistics Chris held various leadership positions within Loblaw and Hudson's Bay Company focused on Store Operations & Retail Business Process Improvement.  As a Professional Industrial Engineer, he has worked throughout the supply chain to deliver cost saving and improved customer service.  Chris has lead numerous large teams through selling, design and implementation, ranging from highly automated solution to entire end-to-end network strategies. 

Franklin Jones serves as CEO of B-Line Urban Delivery in Portland, Ore. B-Line offers a consolidated warehousing and last-mile logistics model that streamlines how local food producers and national suppliers get their products into urban markets. B-Line uses electric-assist freight tricycles that reduce congestion and pollution while providing a unique platform for out-of-home advertising. 

B-Line draws on Franklin’s combined interests in cycling, community, and sustainability. He earned a degree in history and environmental studies from Bowdoin College before working in transportation planning. Franklin taught English in Japan, traveled by bicycle around the globe, then continued his career as an educator at the Menlo School in California. To shift from teaching about pressing environmental and social problems to addressing them directly, Franklin founded B-Line in 2009. Recognized as a champion of the B-Corp movement, Franklin’s vision is to utilize the power of business to enhance a community’s well-being enabling them to become more livable and sustainable. 

Sam Starr is a Vancouver, BC based consultant on a mission to advance sustainable transportation and supply chains across North America. He brings over a decade of experience in global and service logistics, and final mile delivery, including work for FedEx, Newgisitics, Flash Global, Axon, and US Pack Logistics. As a graduate of the Master of Engineering Leadership program in Urban Systems at the University of British Columbia, Sam is passionate about sustainable cities and mobility solutions.  Sam currently works for Corporate Courier Logistics in Vancouver, creating efficiencies and sustainability across their regional network. With a personal passion for cycling, Sam’s work experiences and interests have led him to pivot his career towards advancing sustainable transport and cargo cycles for urban logistics.

Bryan Hebor is the Regional Engineering Manager for Canada at Bastian Solutions, a Toyota Advanced Logistics company. Bryan has worked with a wide range of clients to develop and deliver customized industrial automation solutions. He has worked in engineering and project management roles and as manager of Bastian Solutions’ Canadian operations, has overseen exponential growth in the past few years, supporting more and more Canadian businesses leverage new technologies to help them grow and adapt to the ever changing marketplace. As a systems integrator, Bastian Solutions seeks out leading technologies in both material handling equipment and information systems coupled with proven operational strategies. Our experts combine the powers of scalable material handling systems, innovative software and custom automation engineering for complete, unique solutions. Our goal is to use these tools to help companies, across a broad spectrum of industry segments, become leaders in their industries.

Fergal Glynn is Vice President of Marketing at 6 River Systems, Inc. (6RS) where he is responsible for demand generation and branding. Before 6 River Systems, Fergal was a member of the leadership teams at Docurated (acquired by Quark Software), Veracode (acquired by CA), and BlueNote Networks (acquired by Aspect Software). Earlier in his career, Fergal was a C++ programmer at Fidelity Investments and Oracle.

John Ripple is co-founder of Esoteric Staffing, a veteran of the automated material handling industry, and industry advisor for robotics startups. He has led the startup of two robotics companies, building each to $20+ million revenue. His career spans the complete range: administration, sales, concept and design, project management, and after sales support. Ripple writes about the warehouse automation industry online.

Dr. Alauddin Ahmed comes with 25 years of experience in practical operations and consulting practices in USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. Passionate about organizational development, continuous improvement through customer-centric cross functional alignment of purpose, people and process. Strong track record of delivering results in complex environment with examples of 25% cost reduction in global supply chain, 15% savings in Operations and Maintenance, 30% reduction in lead time, and 30% hidden capacity. He provides leadership in bringing in cultural change while taking on a journey of innovation and digital transformation, and invariably identifies and develops new champions. 
 
He worked with Unilever, TATA, Accenture, and for past 8 years has been working as the principal at ValueInfinity, working closely with customers leadership teams in USA and Canada. He has been instrumental in creating and sustaining innovation platform in Supply Chain and Operations in multiple industries encompassing digital transformation, AI, predictive analytics and robotics. 

Tom Pauls is the owner and Managing Director of SCL Search Consultants Ltd., a recruitment firm focused exclusively in supply chain and logistics.  He completed his CCLP designation through CITT in 2008 and is heavily involved in the logistics community, currently Chair for the CITT Toronto Area Council.

As Vice President, Supply Chain, Jon Ratnasamy oversees all aspects of supply chain planning, buying, logistics and distribution at Wolseley Canada. Prior to joining Wolseley, Jon was a Senior Consultant with Deloitte where he served clients in the public and private sectors, primarily focused on supply chain strategy, logistics and sourcing. A passionate, results-oriented business leader, Jon has a track record of delivering transformative supply chain and business results.

As Vice President of Intermodal, Dan is responsible for all Sales and Marketing components of CN’s International, Domestic, Supply Chain Sales (Regional), CN Worldwide, and CN’s Asia Marketing Teams. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Consumer Product Supply Chain, Dan’s  rimary role is to enable CN’s customers to win in their markets and help create CN’s next generation of Railroaders.

Prior to this role, Dan was responsible for the full scope of the Sales and Marketing areas of CN’s International book of business including managing all relationships with Ocean Carriers and Port Stakeholders on the three coasts that CN serves. Before that, he was the Director of Marketing, Intermodal International, accountable for all aspects of pricing, strategy, new product development, & contract analysis for CN’s entire Intermodal International business.

Dan has also held leadership positions in Sales at CN including Director of Sales in International and Director of Strategic Sales in Domestic Intermodal. he joined CN in April, 1999 as a Domestic Intermodal Account Manager based in Toronto ON.

Dan takes great pride in his knowledge and experience in rail operations and has taken full advantage of CN’s Management operations training programs. During his 20 years at CN, he has qualified as both a Rail Conductor and an Intermodal Crane Operator. Dan is a Graduate of Brock University in St. Catherines Ontario and currently lives in Stoney Creek ON with his wife and two
children.

Andy Herriott joined PSA Halifax early in 2013 as Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for Sales, Marketing and Business Development. The role is focused on the development of PSA Halifax’s value proposition for ocean carriers globally and for beneficial cargo owners in North America – the goal is to bring new business to the terminal and to engage the PSA Halifax team in recognizing and delivering on the needs of current and future customers.  Previously based in the United Kingdom, Andy worked across Europe and the Indian sub-Continent in Business Development, Operations and latterly Commercial, enjoying key client management responsibility for European and Asian customers, with commercial development responsibilities across UK and Mediterranean business units. Andy has built on a Maritime degree with executive training from Ivey Business School and Harvard Business School. 

Tabare Dominguez has over twenty years in key roles within the liner shipping, ports and logistics industries. He joined DP World in 2006 to head the commercial development at the port of Tilbury, England. In 2008 took part in DP World’s Global Organisation Leadership Development (GOLD) programme, where he experienced operations at several DP World terminals around the world including Dubai, Tarragona, Sydney and Hong Kong.  In 2009 he was appointed Port Commercial Manager of DP World London Gateway, one of the world’s most technologically advanced container ports and Europe’s largest logistics park.  Tabare joined DP World Canada in 2016 as Commercial Director with commercial responsibility for Vancouver, Nanaimo and Prince Rupert. Tabare holds an MBA from Vlerick Business School in Belgium and a Master’s degree in Container Terminal Management from Middlesex University in England. 

Chris Ng is responsible for GCT Canada’s commercial activities, securing contractual relationships, and mutually beneficial sales strategies to generate volume via new markets for container traffic through their marine terminals in Vancouver, BC and New York, New Jersey. With over 20 years of experience in marine operations and supply chain logistics in global trades, he oversees 85% of Vancouver’s terminal capacity (includes Deltaport, Canada’s largest marine terminal) - representing 70% of Port of Vancouver’s market share in container traffic.   Chris joined GCT Canada in 1999 and held various positions in terminal operations before transitioning to his commercial capacity. In 2013, Chris was appointed Vice President, Marketing and Sales.  He has developed a trust-based network and established cross-functional alignment between customers and terminal operations in growing the Vancouver Gateway. Chris received his Bachelor of Business Administration and Economics from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.