Bio

Jack Buffington is the Program Director/Professor for the Supply Chain Management program at the University of Denver, and the Director of the Supply Chain and Sustainability practices for First Key Consulting, a global consulting firm in the brewing industry. Prior, Jack held various leadership roles in manufacturing and supply chain for MolsonCoors. Jack received a Ph.D. in Supply Chain Management from Lulea University of Technology in Lulea, Sweden, and a Post-Doc at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. Jack has published over twenty peer-reviewed journal articles and seven non-fiction business books, winning various awards. His next book releases are “Reinventing Supply Chain: A 21st Century Covenant for America” (Georgetown University Press, April 2023), and “21st Century Sustainability: Economic Growth and a Green Planet by 2050” (Rowman & Littlefield, April, 2024).

Bio

Jerry Ceja Jr. is a Program Manager at the Transportation & Supply Chain Institute at the University of Denver. His primary responsibility is ensuring student and faculty success through onboarding, course management, residency planning and other critical tasks for the Institute. Jerry has been a part of the College of Professional Studies for eight years and works primarily with the Executive Master’s program within the Institute.

Jerry has a wide array of knowledge, experience, and skills that he brings to the classroom and often teaches student success and enrichment courses for the College of Professional Studies at the University of Denver.

Education

Jerry Ceja Jr. has a B.A in Sociology from Eastern Washington University and an M.S in Environmental Policy & Management from the University of Denver. He is also a licensed Unmanned Aircraft Pilot license with the FAA and a real estate broker license with the state of Colorado.

Bio

Scott Fedor is an experienced supply chain expert with over 30 years of leadership in complicated and varied manufacturing and distribution environments. He is currently the Senior Director of Continuous Improvement & Business Process Excellence for the Animal Nutrition and Health enterprise at Cargill, where he leads a team focused on business process lifecycle and improvement projects, as well as change management and business transformation for their SAP S/4HANA deployments across more than 200 locations in 40 countries.

Education

Scott earned his Bachelor of Science in Logistics from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and both a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and Masters of Science (MS) in Global Supply Chain from Indiana University. He also has a Command and Staff Diploma from the U.S. Naval War College. Scott is currently a student in Gonzaga University’s Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies.

Professional Background

Before his current position at Cargill, Scott’s prior roles included Digital Transformation Leader for Supply Chain with Baker Hughes, where he led the development and adoption of supply chain artificial intelligence applications with partner C3.ai. He has also held executive logistics leadership positions at GE Oil & Gas, Eaton, Johns Manville, and Anchor Hocking Glass and US Silica. Scott is also a retired U.S. Navy Captain, having spent 31 years shifting between active and reserve roles, including seven different commanding officer tours.

Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) with multiple Lean Six Sigma certifications, Scott is expert at process improvement across all facets of the supply chain. A 2003 graduate of NCCJ’s LeadDIVERSITY program, Scott has been awarded for his volunteer work with the Boy Scouts of America. He has also been recognized for his work with veterans through the General Electric Veteran’s Network, Baker Hughes’ Veteran Employee Resource Group, and was a founding member of the Advisory Board for NextOp, a veteran-focused non-profit.

Helping Students Be Successful

In a world where it takes the continuous alignment of people, process, and technology for supply chains to be effective, Scott loves to pay it forward by developing the supply chain leaders of tomorrow. He brings his knowledge of leading-edge processes and techniques in both supply chain digital transformation and process improvement to his students, providing real-life illustration and hands-on examples and case studies. He is readily available via email and virtual office hours to answer questions, provide guidance and coaching, and help students master the challenges of today’s rapidly evolving supply chain.

Bio

Hanno Holm, president of Pretzilla LLC, is an experienced operations and logistics manager.

Hanno was born in Germany and has since lived in many countries before finding a new home in Colorado more than 15 years ago. He studied Manufacturing Engineering in Cambridge, UK, and focused on Operations Management in his early career. Combining passion with profession, he became Quality manager of Brookes & Gatehouse, a small company that makes sailboat instruments for racing yachts, for example the America’s Cup. Subsequently, Hanno became part owner of a technical parts supplier to the automotive industry, learning in-depth about entrepreneurial management as well as Supply Chain leadership.

Hanno joined the food & beverage industry in 2003, where he has held international positions in management since. He came to Colorado in 2008 to start up a joint venture between WhiteWave Foods and a European group and stayed to work in the Boulder organic food industry. As Chief Operations Officer of Atkins Nutritionals, he helped to take the company global and then onto the NASDAQ stock exchange as The Simply Good Foods Company. Lately, as president of Pretzilla, he oversaw the national expansion of America’s favorite Pretzel Bun. Currently, Hanno is focusing on giving back, managing investments in the natural food sector, managing the family businesses, coaching, mentoring and teaching at DU.

Education

Hanno earned his B.Eng, M.A., and M.Eng from Cambridge University (UK), and his MBA at Cranfield University (UK).

Bio

John Waller leverages his extensive experience in supply chain management, transportation and logistics with Big Box companies like United Parcel Service, PepsiCo, and CommonSpirit Health to educate and inspire future leaders. With a career spanning several decades, he is renowned for his ability to re-engineer programs and processes, leading to significant improvements in profit, operational efficiency, and service quality.

Education

John earned his Doctorate in Management from Colorado Technical University, where he also completed his MBA with an emphasis on International Business. He holds a B.S. in Business with a focus on Finance and Marketing from Regis University. Additionally, John is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt and has completed the Supply Chain Executive Training program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professional Background

John currently serves as the System Director of Supply Chain Distribution at CommonSpirit Health (CSH), managing the distribution of medical supplies across 139 facilities in the U.S. His achievements include developing international distribution channels and a Total Cost of Ownership model. Prior to this, John was the Director of Logistics, Distribution, and Transportation at Pepsi Beverages Company, where he led initiatives that significantly improved cost efficiency, service levels, and safety metrics. He also held various managerial roles at United Parcel Service (UPS), where he implemented strategies that enhanced customer service and operational efficiency.

Motivation for Teaching

John’s motivation for teaching stems from his passion for mentoring and developing future leaders. He aims to provide students with practical insights and real-world applications of supply chain management principles. John is dedicated to fostering a collaborative learning environment that encourages critical thinking and innovation, preparing students to excel in their professional careers.