Position
Senior Director, Operations & LLP Effectiveness
When did you join the company?
June 2004 in Huntersville, North Carolina, as a SCIL Management Trainee
Explain your background prior to your current role.
I graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 2002 with a BS in Supply Chain Management, Logistics and Intermodal Transportation, a commission in the US Naval Reserves, and a USCG 3rd Mates License to navigate merchant vessels. My career has been an adventure of learning and growing with each new role. I learned operations management in our Huntersville, NC, operations, assisted several start-ups and ran our Jackson, TN, location for a couple of years. Then I relocated back to North Carolina to work with a major customer in various roles – integrating and starting up the account, leading the operations support teams and managing the Rural Hall and Kernersville, NC, central distribution centers.
Describe your current role. What do you do?
As Senior Director of Operations, my primary role is to ensure we are meeting our customer’s goals by balancing service, cost and speed to market, while also driving financial performance for CJ Logistics. I am responsible for the success of our central distribution centers that we operate directly, managing the relationship and operations of our network partners across the country –operating both as regional distribution centers and crossdockson our behalf. I also support our customer onsite with a team in their corporate headquarters as the interface between many different departments within their organization and ours.
What do you like most about your role?
I enjoy the amount of collaboration this role has within many different areas of our customer’s business, and how we truly have a seat at the table to help solve the daily obstacles or longer-term challenges they encounter. I am blessed with an incredible team of people who take pride in what they navigate each day, and who go to great lengths to deliver true value to our customer and their customers.
What project/experience/accomplishment are you proudest of? Why?
I am most proud of our heavy involvement in supporting the acquisition of one longtime CJ Logistics customer by another, coupled with the spinoff of specific brands to a new CJ Logistics customer. Due to the size of the deal, the team did not have a defined start-up date (due to requiring approval of the FTC); with less than 10 days notice we had a conversion weekend at approximately 20 locations across the country and started shipping 30% more volume the very next day.
I had the opportunity to create an hour-by-hour plan that would meet the requirements of the weekend conversion for all parties involved in the acquisition and spinoff. It was nothing short of amazing to witness the team effort with the inventory that needed to be completed prior to the start of product movement, coupled with the number of loads that needed to travel in both directions along a 40-mile stretch of road, in such a short period of time.
What have you gained from working at CJ Logistics America?
CJ Logistics has provided opportunities throughout my career for growth in both overall knowledge of our industry and in my own professional development. I have gained confidence in leading our teams and our customers through significant business change or industry challenges, which has only been possible through collaboration and the relationships that have been built along the way – with employees in the warehouses, our transportation team and those in our corporate office.
How is working at CJ Logistics America more than a job?
A job is a place where you go for a number of hours to complete a series of tasks. Working at CJ Logistics drives me to a personal connection with the outcomes. We are constantly faced with new challenges to solve. What we do each day impacts products going on shelves and getting into the hands of the consumer. Specifically, these last two years through Covid-19 have really tested our ability to utilize a depth of knowledge and experience to craft new solutions that eliminate disruption in the supply chain.
