Whitman School to hold 63rd Salzberg Memorial Program

On Thursday, Oct. 18, the Whitman School of Management will host the 63rd Harry E. Salzberg Memorial Program, a celebration of achievements in supply chain management. This year’s recipients of the prestigious Salzberg Medallion are Mike Haverty, executive chairman of Kansas City Southern (KCS), and Don Ralph, senior vice president of supply chain and logistics at Staples Inc.

The keynote address will be delivered by Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations and 43^rd governor of Kansas.

The program begins at 2 p.m. in the Lender Auditorium, located on the concourse level of the Whitman School building, and is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available at the University Avenue Garage. Preceding the presentation of the Salzberg Medallion, Jinny Cheung ’13 BS will be presented with the Zinsmeister Award, and Jack Urie Jesset ’14 B.S. will receive the Robert H. Brethen Prize.

The program will also include the Franklin CSCMP Syracuse University Student Round Table Presentation on “Technology Reshaping the Supply Chain Design,” and a panel discussion on “Innovation in Supply Chain Management” moderated by Burak Kazaz, Whitman associate professor of supply chain management, and featuring Tom Nightingale, president of sales and marketing for ModusLink, and Michale Belfiore, an author and speaker on innovation.

“We are truly honored to have such distinguished guests, and excited to recognize Michael Haverty and Don Ralph with the Salzberg Medallion. Their contributions to global SCM are truly remarkable,” says Frances Gaither Tucker, associate professor of marketing and supply chain management and chair of the marketing department in the Whitman School.

Haverty is a fourth-generation railroader who began his career with Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. in 1963. In 1970, he moved to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, where he held various operating positions before serving as president and chief operating officer from 1989-1991. In 1995, Haverty was named as a director and executive vice president of Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc. (KCSI) and a director, president and chief executive officer of The Kansas City Southern Railway Co. (KCSR).

Today, Haverty serves as executive chairman of Kansas City Southern (formerly KCSI), chairman of KCSR and Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A de C.V. (KCSM), as well as co-chairman of the Panama Canal Railway Co. (PCRC). Haverty was named Railroader of the Year by Railway Age (2001), Ernst & Young’s 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year (transportation category), and received the 2011 Railroad Innovator of the Year award from Progressive Railroading.

Ralph developed an extensive operating background while spending 27 years in the department store business, 16 with Federated Department Stores and 11 with The May Department Stores Co. His positions included vice president of logistics and senior vice president of operations. Ralph joined Staples in 1999. He has led the development of both the delivery (B2B) and retail logistics networks and developed a supply chain team that many consider the best in the office products industry. He has also provided the leadership to make Staples’ supply chain a competitive differentiator.

Ralph is chairman of the Corporate Advisory Board of the Distribution Business Management Association. He is also an executive committee member of Northeastern University’s College of Business Administration Board of Advisors and its supply chain advisory board and is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.