2023 Women in Supply Chain Forum: Our Takeaways

Earlier this year, we were incredibly proud to announce that three members of the TA Services team were named recipients of the 2023 Women in Supply Chain Award presented by Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive. This award honors female supply chain leaders and executives whose accomplishments, mentorship, and examples set a foundation for women at all levels of a company’s supply chain network. Dani Etkin-Spigelman (Chief Revenue Officer of TA Services Canada, Produce), Lauren Mollencupp (Director of Warehousing Operations), and Nicole Kunis (Account Manager) were all honored for their dedication to improving supply chain logistics and for the impact of their work.

As part of receiving this award, each honoree was invited to attend the Food Logistics and Supply and Demand Chain Executive Women in Supply Chain Forum held in Atlanta, GA. This educational, networking event is focused on collaboration, sharing industry knowledge, and creating meaningful connections which is vital to any successful supply chain operation. We asked Nicole Kunis to share her experience at the forum.

For Nicole, the forum was full of impactful stories about leadership, diversity and inclusion, women in STEM, how to manage a remote workforce, and more.

“When I was first invited to attend the Women in Supply Chain Forum, I was unsure what to expect, and I had no idea I would get so much out of it. Sitting in a room with 200 women, most of whom are executives or higher, was empowering. The theme of this event was “Better Together: How Collaboration Promotes Women in Supply Chain,” and collaboration is precisely what this event gave each of us in attendance,” said Nicole.

Collaboration, Diversity & Inclusion

The keynote speaker, Katie Date, discussed the power of collaboration and how to become part of a ‘girl tribe.’ “We all have heard the saying there is strength in numbers, and she discussed examples of how mentors and mentees have helped her develop her career,” said Nicole. “We did a workshop discussing how we each have benefitted from sponsorship or mentorship and even from our mentees.” 

Another highlight was a session with Daisy Jiang and Christine Barnhart, both leaders at Nulogy. They spoke about how to champion diversity and inclusion in the supply chain. This discussion was more geared towards the leaders at the forum and focused on how to improve their company’s diversity and inclusion from the top.

Other speakers that stood out were Dr. Erez Agmoni (Global Head of Innovation, Logistics & Services – Maersk), Nicole Glenn (CEO & Founder – Candor Expedite), and Lisa Henshaw (Vice President of Human Resources – DAT Freight & Analytics). They also shared their thoughts on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at the highest level.  

Managing a Remote Workforce

Charlie Saffro, president and founder of CS Recruiting, then spoke about dealing with toxic employees in the workplace and managing remote workers. It was a remarkable story about how she built her company with all remote employees and promoted a positive culture even though staff members were unable to benefit from seeing each other regularly. As a leader, one of her tactics is a 15-minute meeting with each of her employees once a month to promote ongoing discussion. Open dialog is key to her.

Women in STEM

Attendees also heard from Gretchen Moore, executive director of Women in Manufacturing’s® Education Foundation (WiM), about how her company strives to promote education to young women in America interested in technology, engineering, science, and procurement. She discussed what companies can do to attract and retain top talent, particularly with women in STEM. 

Overall, the forum broadened Nicole’s mindset on how large the supply chain industry truly is and all the different roles each person plays to make the supply chain run smoothly. After hearing from so many talented women who have drastically changed the industry, she walked away feeling empowered and awed by many of the other women attending the event.

“I am very grateful I was provided the opportunity to attend,” shared Nicole, “and I’m thankful that I was able to meet so many women who I hope to make part of my girl tribe!”

Thanks to Nicole for sharing her takeaways from such an important industry event. We are incredibly proud of all three members of our team who were honored with the 2023 Women in Supply Chain Award award. 

At TA Services, we put people first and understand the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion within the supply chain. Learn more about our company and explore our open positions to join our team.