The SELF23 Steering Committee helps make decisions concerning the Forum in order to make sure that attendees get the most out of their time. The Steering Committee consists of five professionals in the field who are very knowledgeable, passionate and dedicated to distribution, logistics and supply chain among many other things.
Rick DiMaio | Vice President, Distribution | Office Depot, Inc.
Office Depot, Inc. is a leading global provider of products, services, and solutions through 2,200 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs, and award-winning e-commerce sites. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $17 billion, employs over 60,000 associates, and serves consumers and businesses in 57 countries around the world. DiMaio is responsible for leading the warehousing, distribution, Lean and Field Industrial Engineering operations for Office Depot’s North American division.
Prior to joining Office Depot, DiMaio served as Vice President, Logistics Operations for Sears Holdings Corporation and President of Sears Logistics Services, Inc. A supply chain veteran of over 20 years, DiMaio has served in multiple leadership roles within supply chain including the areas of home delivery, wearing apparel logistics, online fulfillment, hard lines distribution, network design and supply chain strategy.
DiMaio earned both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois.
Gough Grubbs | SVP Distribution/Logistics | Stage Stores
Gough joined Stage Stores in 1996, following 23 yrs in Distribution with Foley’s (May Company) and Sanger Harris (Federated Dept Stores). His primary focus has been development of Internal Leadership Talent and External Business Relationships to support the fast-growing chain. Growing from both acquisitions and organic store openings, Stage has grown from 235 stores in 13 states in 1996 to over 850 stores covering 40 states; adding Distribution Centers in South Hill, VA and Jeffersonville, OH to the original DC in Jacksonville, TX. 2011 marked the first full year of Ecommerce business, beginning a dramatic change to what was a flow-through Distribution Center. Future expansion plans continue to target growth via new store openings, potential acquisitions, and growing the Ecommerce business.
Gough is a frequent speaker on Leadership at Material Handling & Supply Chain Forums, Vendor Compliance Federation, and the National Leadership Development Conference, has written articles on Distribution & Logistics for trade magazines DC Velocity, Supply Chain World, Integrated Solutions, and Transportation & Logistics and serves on the Advisory Board for 2 Leadership Development and Material Handling Conferences.
Gough holds a BA in Business Mgt from the University of Texas at Arlington.
William B. Thayer | Co-founder | CEO | COO | CIO | CLO
Bill is a senior operations executive and consultant with over 25 years of experience in the department store, specialty, and off-price retail verticals. Bill is a tested veteran in the development and management of teams in merchandising, store operations, planning, logistics, e-commerce, and technology pyramids. In these varied rolls, Bill has developed and utilized technology to transform and optimize retail operations, logistics, and e-commerce.
Bill’s domain expertise and skills in operations, e-commerce, technology, and logistics continue to support companies like the Arteria Network, Macy’s, Century 21, Barneys New York, Cargomatic, and the Hearst Corporation.
Krish Nathan | CEO | SDI
Krish Nathan is the CEO of SDI . Nathan joined SDI in 2000, and his wide range of experience has allowed him to work directly with clients analyzing existing characteristics and providing global engineering solutions. A United Kingdom native, Nathan has worked on Sortation system solutions at Constructor Dexion Systems and at Logan Fabricom. Nathan holds degrees in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Coventry, England.
María Elena Ladrón de Guevara | Director of Marketing – Americas | SDI
MaríaElena has been with SDI since the beginning of 2014. MaríaElena brings with her a wide array of experiences and transferable skills not only from different fields, but from all across the globe. Prior to joining SDI, MaríaElena had several years of experience: working in preventive health education for an NGO in Washington, D.C.; as a Marketing Coordinator for Latin America at Great Plains Laboratory; as a teacher in Seoul, South Korea; as a teacher in Madrid, Spain; and as a researcher for PRESANCA—a United Nations Food Security program sponsored by the European Commission.
María Elena holds a Bachelor´s degree in Public Relations from Kansas State University and a Master´s degree in Cooperation and Development from the University of Pavia, Italy.