At the 2021 edition of the North American Finance Executive Summit  series held November 1-3 in Scottsdale, AZ, we spoke with Lester Zelada, an Enterprise Account Executive with High Radius, about how AI is freeing Finance executives from the drudgery of data processing and analysis while enabling them to identify challenges and opportunities faster than ever before.

--

HighRadius is a Fintech enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company that leverages Artificial Intelligence-based Autonomous Systems to help companies automate Accounts Receivable and Treasury processes. The HighRadius® Integrated Receivables platform reduces cycle times in your order-to-cash process through automation of receivables and payments processes across credit, electronic billing and payment processing, cash application, deductions, and collections. HighRadius® Treasury Management Applications help teams achieve touch-less cash management and accurate cash forecasting. HighRadius enables teams to leverage machine learning to predict future outcomes and automate routine labor-intensive tasks. To learn more, please visit www.highradius.com.

--

At the 2021 edition of the North American Finance Executive Summit  series held November 1-3 in Scottsdale, AZ, we spoke with Wolfgang Koester, Chief Evangelist for Kyriba, about how what organizations ask and expect of the Finance leaders is changing, and how Finance professionals are responding to these new roles and responsibilities both with new tools and technologies to enhance their capabilities, and also with reinventing how Finance fits into the business as a whole. It was a fantastic and wide-ranging conversation that included both a recent report done by Kyriba, and also input from a themed lunch-and-learn roundtable discussion hosted by Wolfgang with a number of CFOs just before the interview began.

--

Wolfgang Koester is the Chief Evangelist at Kyriba, and former CEO and co-founder of FiREapps. He has more than 30 years of extensive experience in currency markets and working with global Fortune 1,000 companies and government entities.

Prior to FiREapps, he served as President of GFTA Trendanalysen Inc., a quantitative currency management company. Koester has been named as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance” by Treasury & Risk magazine and is regularly included in Global Finance’s annual “Who’s Who in Foreign Exchange.” He is a regular commentator on CNN, CNBC, Fox Business and Bloomberg as well as a frequent speaker at industry and academic events. His work has appeared in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Treasury & Risk and AFP Exchange among other industry publications. Koester earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University and a Master’s degree in International Management from Thunderbird – The Garvin School of International Management. He is a board member of ACI International, The Financial Markets Association and is a former member of the editorial board of the AFP Risk Newsletter.

--

Kyriba is the global leader in cloud treasury and finance solutions, delivering mission-critical capabilities for cash and risk management, payments and working capital solutions.

More than 2,000 clients worldwide rely on Kyriba to get 100% cash visibility, better manage FX losses, reduce fraud and make better, faster decisions through improved insight and intelligence.

www.kyriba.com

At the 2021 edition of the North American Food Safety & Quality series held September 28th and 29th in Chicago we spoke with George Gansner, NSF International's Sr. Director CTTS, on the power of leveraging a global knowledge base to stay ahead of the curve on the challenges and opportunities the food industry faces today, and in the future.

--

George joined NSF International in May 2017 to lead global business development of NSF’s Food Division. He then led NSF’s broader global business development team including Food, Water, Health Sciences, International Strategic Registrations (ISO), and Labs Divisions as acting Vice President while sitting on NSF’s Senior Leadership Team and various internal boards. Entering the food safety industry in 2009, George successfully brought the IFS family of standards to the Americas and has actively participated in GFSI Technical Working Groups, and other industry associations. George is married with four children and is a very big sports fan – especially soccer where he spent 19 years as an assistant referee in Major League Soccer and 13 years as a FIFA International Assistant Referee.

--

NSF International protects and improves global human health. Manufacturers, regulators and consumers look to us to facilitate the development of public health standards and provide certifications that help protect food, water, consumer products and the environment.

Since 1944 and the dawn of modern foodservice operations, NSF International has been innovating to protect human health. Our pioneering spirit has come full circle from developing the first national food equipment standards to creating solutions to help businesses adapt and thrive during these challenging and uncertain times. By meeting disruption with disruptive solutions, we can help you push ahead and achieve your food safety goals across the global supply chain.

www.nsf.org

At the 2021 edition of the North American Food Safety & Quality series held September 28th and 29th in Chicago we spoke with Joe Heinzelmann, Director of Business Development with NEOGEN about the digital transformation sweeping the Food Industry, and what that means for Food Safety, Food Quality, and Food Compliance.

--

Joe Heinzelmann
Director of Business Development
NEOGEN

Joe Heinzelmann began his career in nanotechnology. He has held various sales and marketing positions in the nanotechnology space until he joined Neogen in 2011. He’s been in food safety for over a decade, and at Neogen he’s held a variety of commercial roles. Currently Joe leads our business development activities for digital services, including Neogen Analytics and blockchain. His undergraduate degree is from Albion College, and has an MBA from Northwood University.

--

At NEOGEN, we partner with our customers to protect and enhance the world’s level of food and animal safety. By offering a diverse suite of solutions for the food, beverage, animal protein, and agriculture industries, NEOGEN empowers our customers to safeguard their brands and create better products. (NASDAQ: NEOG).

www.neogen.com

At the 2021 edition of the North American Food Safety & Quality series held September 28th and 29th in Chicago we spoke with Laura Dunn Nelson, VP Food Safety and Global Alliances with Intertek Alchemy, about today's workforce and labor trends, and how the Food Industry needs to adjust some of its training, mentoring, and knowledge retention programs to respond to those trends.

--

Laura Dunn Nelson
VP Food Safety and Global Alliances
Intertek Alchemy

Bringing to her role of Vice President of Food Safety and Global Alliances for Intertek Alchemy, Laura Dunn Nelson has 30 years of experience implementing food safety and quality control programs, advancing food safety cultures for processing, packaging, foodservice and retail operations. Laura has worked with global retailers and manufacturers in the implementation of their GFSI certification programs. Prior to joining Alchemy, Laura managed Sillliker’s South Region food testing laboratories, implemented ISO certifications and trained new food safety auditors. Ms. Nelson has years of “hands-on” experience in testing food products for the presence of pathogens, toxins, and spoilage organisms and has assisted food companies in the successful implementation of good manufacturing practices (GMP), quality assurance, and HACCP programs.

Intertek Alchemy

Only Intertek Alchemy provides a complete training, reinforcement, and compliance solution that assures your manufacturing workforce has the right knowledge and confidence to perform their job correctly and efficiently. Alchemy partners with companies of all sizes to consistently engage their workforces, effectively building a strong culture of safety and quality.

More than 1.5 million workers at over 15,000 locations use Intertek Alchemy’s integrated programs to reduce workplace injuries and drive operational efficiencies that optimize your bottom line. Alchemy offers award-winning courseware, flexible delivery methods, audit-ready reporting, innovative on-the-floor technology, consulting, customization services, and more…all built specifically for manufacturing environments and personnel.

Intertek Alchemy powers your workforce to do great things.

www.intertekalchemy.com

At the 2021 edition of the North American Food Safety & Quality series held September 28th and 29th in Chicago we spoke with Vanessa Grondin, OPTEL Group's VP, Global Strategy – CPG Division, about an upcoming traceability law, and what Food Safety and Food Quality professionals need to do to prepare their capabilities and processes to stay ahead of the regulatory curve.

--

Vanessa Grondin is VP Global sales and strategy, CPG at Optel Group, a global leader in end-to-end traceability. She holds an engineer with an Executive MBA. With ten years experience in the food industry in different managing roles, Vanessa brings market knowledge to fast forward the business growth in the end-to-end traceability and supply chain space. Highly ambitious, she’s passionate about leadership in business to create impactful sustainable change. Women leadership, cleantech and food security are areas where Vanessa is highly engaged.

--

Founded in 1989, OPTEL GROUP is a leading global provider of supply chain traceability systems and a Certified B Corporation, making it part of a global movement of companies dedicated to using the power of business to do good in the world.

Thanks to its recognized expertise and innovative technologies, OPTEL is the only company with the ability to offer true end-to-end traceability, providing granular data at every step of the supply chain — from raw materials to the consumer and beyond.

Namely, OPTEL and its solutions cater to key industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, ensuring product safety and quality, while helping prevent counterfeiting. The company has also developed consumer-engagement technologies, with the aim of extending supply chain transparency to the consumer and creating direct links between brands and their customers.

OPTEL’s goal is to use its technologies to build a sustainable world through the Intelligent Supply Chain® (ISC). Dedicated to solving problems rather than creating them, OPTEL develops and deploys ISC solutions to help companies gain greater transparency and efficiency in their supply chains, and to empower consumers to adopt sustainable and responsible purchasing habits.

From its headquarters in Québec City, Canada, and facilities in the United States, Ireland, Brazil and India, OPTEL’s traceability experts support large-scale deployments of ISC software and hardware solutions to bring global industries into the digital age — a crucial step toward smarter supply chains.

www.optelgroup.com

At the 2021 edition of the North American Food Safety & Quality series held September 28th and 29th in Chicago we spoke with Terry Boboige & Paul Damaren of Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety, Inc. about some of the current trends in the Food Safety industry, and what the future holds.

--

Terry Boboige, President, Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety, Inc.

Paul Damaren, SVP, Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety, Inc.

Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety, Inc. (PJRFSI) is a Global Assurance Certification Body who provides audit, training and risk management services to virtually every industry. PJRFSI services clients around the world managing risk within their organization and that of their supply chain. We are a fully accredited body, offering services for globally recognized accredited 3rd party standards such as GFSI & ISO as well as 2nd party programs including GMP, GDP, Cannabis, Organic and Global Gap to name a few. We also offer customer specific audit programs to mitigate risk within your supply chain such as food safety, quality and brand protection. With over 11,000 clients globally across 50 countries, we are well suited to meet your needs.

pjrfsi.com

At the 2021 edition of the North American Supply Chain Executive Summit  series held September 14th and 15th in Chicago we spoke with Ed Elsbury of Reveal USA on how supply chain executives can get the most out of SAP to leverage their data and improve their organization's performance, especially in turbulent times.

--

Ed Elsbury
Associate Partner
Reveal USA

As supply chain experts we use vast experience and proven methods educating and empowering organizations to use powerful capabilities already built in SAP. We help organizations harness SAP to improve service levels, increase profitability, optimize inventory, and drive operational efficiencies. Ultimately, enabling supply chains to utilize their SAP platform for digital innovation and industry leadership.

The result; no spreadsheets, only organizations running world-class supply chains delivering improved performance. Typical outcomes include service level increases of 20%, improved operating costs by 10%, reduced working capital tied up in inventory by 15% and increased data integrity.

revealvalue.com

At the 2021 edition of the North American Supply Chain Executive Summit  series held September 14th and 15th in Chicago we spoke with Jaymie Forrest, President & CEO at Activ Technologies, on how a new generation of tools are transforming the way supply chain executives do business.

--

Jaymie Forrest
President & CEO at Activ Technologies, Inc.

A seasoned supply chain and logistics technology executive, Jaymie Forrest leads Activ Technologies’ mission to help companies and their trading partners accomplish digital transformation for their supply chains. Companies connect, visualize, and automate to synchronize forecasts, production, order and inventory management as well as distribution capabilities in real-time.

With over 25 years building supply chain technology companies and guiding supply chain operations, Jaymie specializes in supply chain design and optimization, supply chain operations and management, inventory planning and management, transportation strategy and planning, routing and scheduling, supply chain management technologies, and logistics information systems. Her experience crosses a variety of industries, applications, and technology platforms. Exclusive experiences include: development of the Coca-Cola bottlers logistics infrastructure in 35 countries; design and implementation of the first automated cross-border treatment facility for imported produce; largest field service automation system, multimodal global strategic freight optimization system; co-founder of The Logistics Council for The Republic of Panama; and founder of Logistics Innovation Research Centers in Singapore, China, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama to name a few while serving as Managing Director of Georgia Tech Supply Chain and Logistics Institute.

--

Activ Technologies provides a cloud-based multi-enterprise platform, ActiVate®, that digitally transforms supply chain processes to help companies coordinate, optimize, and manage their end-to-end supply chains effectively and in real-time. The digital transformation assists companies and their trading partners in synchronizing production, forecasts, order and inventory management, distribution capabilities, as well as logistics in real-time for improved operational effectiveness and better customer service.

The platform provides manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or 3rd logistics providers and their customers a real-time view of orders, inventory, and shipments consolidated from a variety of ERPs, order management, warehouse, or transportation systems. Visit ActivTech.com to learn more.

activtech.com

At the 2021 edition of the North American Supply Chain Executive Summit  series held September 14th and 15th in Chicago we spoke with Chris Custhaw, Director, Commercial & Product Strategy for TMC, a division of C.H. Robinson, about how real-time visibility technologies have helped supply chain leaders keep things moving during the global pandemic, and how the last 18 months really have demonstrated these tools are now 'must-have' assets for a supply chain organization to function.

--

Chris Cutshaw
Director, Commercial & Product Strategy
TMC, a division of C.H. Robinson

C.H. Robinson | TMC
C.H. Robinson offers a full-suite of global logistics services, expertise, and technology to provide solutions to your supply chain challenges. Through our managed services division, TMC, we offer a single, global TMS platform, Navisphere, that combines industry expertise with technology to help shippers gain efficiencies while retaining control of carrier relationships. Proactively avoid costly supply chain disruptions on a global scale with our real time visibility platform, Navisphere® Vision. Leveraging predictive analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), you gain an information advantage through visibility to your entire supply chain in one platform. Make smarter decisions and ensure products reach their destination and customers on time.

mytmc.com