According to LinkedIn only 21% of women in sales make it to VP, and only 23% of all CXOs are women. Close(Her) is committed to changing that by building a community of women in sales that will prepare them for leadership opportunities.
Kara Brown with SmithBrown Marketing
Jordan Arogeti with Sales Loft
Annie Smith with Cushman and Wakefield
Leah Mastrototoro with LMN Consulting
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Anthony Flynn is the newly appointed Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc. (The 100), one of the city’s most influential African-American organizations focuses on leadership development, educational support, economic empowerment, and health and wellness.
As a successful leader in the business world with numerous Fortune 100 giants (e.g. Kraft Foods, RJ Reynolds and 3M) and a pioneering executive in numerous, multi-million-dollar non-profit ventures, Flynn has a proven track record for converting ideas and theories to actionable achievements.
He is the founder of The Gifted Education Foundation which produces marketplace leaders from low-income communities across America. In its first three years of existence, the organization supported just over 100 students earning more than $18 million in scholarship.
Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn and follow The 100 on Facebook and Twitter.
Dr. Stacy Mobley, a licensed Naturopathic doctor, has guided over 15,000 patients to revitalized health.
She founded Wellness for the Ambitious, a wellness company specializing in stress, mood and energy mastery, to help busy professionals and entrepreneurs accomplish their personal and professional goals, without burnout.
Connect with Dr. Mobley on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Christopher Seabrook is the host of Trusted Advisor Radio and serves as a Financial Representative at Country Financial. He prides himself on working hard to provide the best possible service to his clients. Being able to help people is a central part of his life, and is happy to be of service to his clients and community.
Christopher also enjoys meeting new people and building one-on-one relationships. Open and honest discussions are an easy way for him to connect with clients and ultimately help them secure their financial security goals.
The work of Women in Technology has an incredible impact.
Since 1992, Women in Technology has had a mission dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in Georgia’s technology community. Through the WIT COMMUNITY, WIT also educates and encourages girls and young women to pursue careers in STEAM.
In her new role as leader of the 25-year-old non-profit, Penny Collins will provide strategic direction to fulfill the vision of WIT and further WIT’s impact in the community. Collins joins WIT from First Data Corporation, where she served as Chief Technology Control Officer, Global Lead for Disaster Recovery Application Development, and Head of Global Cyber Security and Controls PMO.
In addition to leading the company’s technology compliance and controls, she was also the global leader for First Data’s Women’s Leadership Council, and a solid champion for the organization’s support of WIT as a strategic partner.
Prior to First Data, Collins spent time as a business owner and entrepreneur, was Chief Process and Usability Officer for British Telecom (BT), and has spent her career leading global technology teams. She was awarded Women in Payments’ award for Education in 2019 and is an active member of the Atlanta non-profit community.
Connect with Penny on LinkedIn.
Patti Dismukes is the Board of Directors and Executive at Hunter International. A seasoned business leader with a rich mix of technical, business development, operational and P&L management. Experienced in launching start-ups, growing existing business and developing service offerings and practices to expand revenue streams. Experienced in assessing needs, solving problems and developing creative solutions.
Connect with Patti on LinkedIn.
Keaira Turner is a determined and inspiring young woman who has an interest in helping up and coming brands. Keaira graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Bachelors in Communications Studies. She is currently pursuing her Masters degree at Webster University in Media Communication.
In undergrad, Keaira was able to work at her university’s (UAB) in house PR team and learned about corporate branding and structure. Under the tutelage of Milan Mobley (UManagement LLC) and the PR Alliance, she has worked with numerous clients within the entertainment industry.
Keaira has secured various press opportunities and new branding ideas for clients. Keaira is ready to take the over the PR world and decided to begin her own business in 2018.
Dr. Beau Beard is a Chiropractic Physician at The FARM: Functional Athletic Rehabilitation & Movement in Birmingham, which he founded with his wife in 2014. He has been featured in national publications, served as team chiropractor for local universities, taught classes across the U.S. and has also been a speaker on the TEDx Birmingham stage.
Dr. Beard sits on the board of numerous non-profit organizations geared towards improving human health and fostering conservation efforts. In his spare time enjoys hunting, trail running and really any outdoor adventure.
Margaret O’Brien, with Zentripy Global Insurance, is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and a registered Health Insurance Counselor (HIC) with over 25 years’ experience in the insurance market. Margaret approaches each client interaction as an opportunity to educate her clients on all aspects of the insurance market. She stays with her clients to ensure that they know they have an advocate when a claims occurs. Her primary insurance focus is in the individual, small group, and Medicare markets.
Connect with Margaret on LinkedIn.
Corey Rieck is the President and Founder of The Long Term Care Planning Group, a firm that specializes in delivering Long Term Care education and coverage to companies, high net worth individuals and large organizations. Since 2001, Corey has devoted his career to Long Term Care as a result of multiple personal experiences.
A neutral provider of Long Term Care Solutions since 2001, Corey brings a unique and comprehensive consultative perspective to this issue. Since 2003, part of his commitment to the Long Term Care Industry includes his having trained over 3,500 advisors from San Francisco to Wall Street on how to properly position Long Term Care to clients through the CLTC organization. Additionally, he has authored dozens of published industry articles on Long Term Care and has assisted many of the nation’s leading LTC carriers on operational and educational matters.
Silvia Garcia is the Founder and CEO of Happiest Places to Work. She writes and does consulting about using happiness as a force to live to the highest, fullest and truest expression of ourselves in our life and at work. She helps create corporate cultures, products and brands that result in better economic outputs and higher happiness for employees, customers and communities. She measures each ingredient of happiness at work the first science-based index valid for all cultures.
As International Director of The Happiness Institute for Coca-Cola she was highly acclaimed for applying the latest knowledge on happiness to employees, strategy and brands alike; creating communication campaigns that spoke both to the heart and the mind. She proved the impact of increasing employees happiness on the business results, and created new brands and products that gained immediate consumer love. Her speeches have been told to change “lives and companies” .
Silvia is one of the top worldwide leaders on happiness and, as such, she is annually invited by United Nations to discuss the estate of happiness in the world. She is a foresighted and humorous storyteller who enjoys simplifying big, complex ideas to make them actionable for a wide range of audiences. She is known for her keynotes that she had given in the 5 continents. She is described by clients from sectors like banking, consumer products, the sharing economy, media and various universities and business schools as a “standout favorite for audiences”, with a “rare and visionary intellect.”
Brian Peters is regional executive and head of the Southeast for Citizens Bank. He was hired in December 2016 to lead the expansion of the $160 billion asset Rhode Island-based super-regional bank’s commercial banking operations in the Southeast. He has nearly 30 years of banking experience and, before joining Citizens, was a managing director at SunTrust, where he served as Head of National Corporate Banking, leading a geographic expansion that included the opening of seven new offices.
He has a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from Indiana University. He is based in Atlanta, where he has served clients and the community since 1991.
John Priore is the co-founder of Priority and served as Chief Executive Officer of Priority from August 2005 until assuming the role of Vice Chairman of the Board in December of 2018. He has over twenty-five years of experience in the payments industry. Prior to founding Priority, he was the Executive Vice President of Financial Systems at Ingenico, and also served in a variety of positions at other firms, including NOVA, First Data and American Express.
He is a member of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), a legacy member of the Alpharetta Technology Commission and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Electronic Transactions Association. His commitment to the industry has helped propel Priority to be a leader in payments technology. John Priore is the brother of Thomas Priore, Priority’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman.
April Stammel is Vice President of Newport US RE. She excels in leading business development, marketing, creative strategy and event management for start-ups, non-profits and growing organizations.
Holly Stewart is a franchisee with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK in Atlanta, GA.
Supply Chain Now Radio, Episode 69
“Supply Chain Innovation, Orchestration & Autonomy”
Abir Thakurta serves as Vice President/Supply Chain for Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc, where he is responsible for all things – supply chain at Havertys – strategy, planning, execution, orchestration and innovation. He is a supply chain enthusiast particularly known for championing effective digital transformational strategies to help drive profitable company operations while managing business risk.
In his prior life, Abir has consulted with various retailers on global supply chain strategies and implemented performance improvement programs worldwide leveraging technology, solutions and services. Abir has an Masters in Supply Chain Management from New Jersey Institute of Technology and has completed a Management Program from the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech. Learn more about Havertys here: https://www.havertys.com/
Ben Harris is Director of Supply Chain Ecosystem Expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Ben comes to the Metro Atlanta Chamber after serving as Senior Manager, Market Development for Manhattan Associates. There, Ben was responsible for developing Manhattan’s sales pipeline and overall Americas supply chain marketing strategy. Ben oversaw market positioning, messaging and campaign execution to build awareness and drive new pipeline growth.
Prior to joining Manhattan, Ben spent four years with the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Center of Innovation for Logistics where he played a key role in establishing the Center as a go-to industry resource for information, support, partnership building, and investment development. Additionally, he became a key SME for all logistics and supply chain-focused projects. Ben began his career at Page International, Inc. where he drove continuous improvement in complex global supply chain operations for a wide variety of businesses and Fortune 500 companies.
An APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Ben holds an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration (EMBA) and bachelor’s degree in International Business (BBA) from the Terry College at the University of Georgia. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn and learn more about the Metro Atlanta Chamber here: www.metroatlantachamber.com
Chris Barnes is a professional education instructor for the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) Certificate courses. Barnes holds a B.S., Industrial Engineering and Economics Minor, from Bradley University, an MBA in Industrial Psychology with Honors from the University of West Florida. He is a certified APICS instructor and holds CPIM-F, CLTD-F and CSCP-F designations.
He served on the international Board of Trustees for the Institute of Industrial Engineers, is Past President of WERC Atlanta, and is currently involved with APICS Atlanta. He is a certified adult education trainer and has presented to/trained over 1900 people. He served on the editorial advisory board for Warehouse Management & Control Systems Deck Reference and authored the book “WMS: Phase 1: Assessment & Selection” a WERC Publication. He is also the author and lead facilitator of “Quarters in the Couch: Low Hanging Fruit ideas to Improve Warehouse Performance.”
When not teaching, Barnes is a supply chain advocate and visionary with HighJump and frequent blogger at www.apicscltdcoach.com. In 2016, Barnes partnered with Supply Chain Now Radio (SCNR) as executive producer and key contributor. SCNR is a social networking community organizing and sharing supply chain thought leadership through seminars, webinars, blogs and podcasts. Barnes has over 27 years of experience developing and managing multiple client, engineering consulting, strategic planning and operational improvement projects in supply chain management. Connect with Chris on LinkedIn and reach out to him via email.
Scott W. Luton is the founder of Supply Chain Now Radio and also serves as Managing Partner for TalentStream. He has worked extensively in the end-to-end Supply Chain industry for more than 15 years, appearing in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Dice and Quality Progress Magazine.
Scott currently serves as Executive Vice President of APICS Atlanta, was recently named a 2019 Pro to Know in Supply Chain by Supply & Demand Executive. He served on the 2018 Georgia Logistics Summit Executive Committee and currently serves as Chair of the 2019 Atlanta Supply Chain Awards Planning Committee. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and holds the APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) credential.
As a Veteran of the United States Air Force, Scott also volunteers on the Business Pillar for VETLANTA, and maintains active membership in the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance & CSCMP Atlanta Roundtable. Connect with Scott Luton on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter at @ScottWLuton. Learn more about TalentStream, a leading recruiting & staffing firm that helps companies find top talent in the Engineering, Manufacturing and Supply Chain space, by visiting their website here: www.talentstreamstaffing.com
Upcoming Events & Resources Mentioned in this Episode
Forbes article on Havertys’ Supply Chain Success: click here
APICS Atlanta CSCP and CLTD Boot Camps at Georgia Tech: click here
Veteran Scholarship Opportunity for SCM Certifications: click here
2019 Atlanta Supply Chain Awards: https://youtu.be/z8QCs8lgyMM?t=1
eCommerce Operations Summit: https://www.operationssummit.com/
MRO Americas: https://mroamericas.aviationweek.com/en/home.html
AME Atlanta 2019 Lean Summit: https://www.ame.org/ame-atlanta-2019-lean-summit
Transparency 2019: https://www.freightwaves.com/transparency19
EFT 3PL & Supply Chain Summit: click here
Gartner Supply Chain Leadership Conference in Phoenix: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/supply-chain-us
