Podcast Summary

Supply Chain Now

Episode: Supply Chain Leadership in the Never Normal: A Power Panel of Women Rewriting the Rules
Host: Corinne Bursa
Air Date: September 24, 2025

Overview

This episode features a “power panel” of five leading women in supply chain, representing global brands such as Hasbro, Kimberly Clark, Mars Pet Nutrition, McCormick, and Lamb Weston. The panel discusses how they are steering their companies through the “never normal” — a landscape defined by constant volatility, technological advancement, and disruption. The conversation covers personal career-defining moments, the impact and promise of artificial intelligence in supply chains, and heartfelt advice the panelists would give to their younger selves. Throughout, the tone is candid, empowering, and rich with actionable leadership insights.

Panelist Introductions & Passions for Supply Chain

Start: 04:49

• Stephanie Beal (Hasbro, Chief Supply Chain Officer):

  • Passion: Energized by her team and transforming Hasbro’s supply chain.
  • Achievements: $250M in productivity savings and 39 days reduced inventory since 2022.
  • Quote: “We’ve been on a transformation journey… Phenomenal results from a really energized team, and I really get my energy from my team.” (04:49)

• Tamara Fenske (Kimberly Clark, Chief Supply Chain Officer):

  • Passion: Problem-solving, innovation, curiosity.
  • Impact: Orchestrating major supply chain transformation at a 150+ year-old company.
  • Quote: “How do you continue to transform and reinvent? We’ve really put the supply chain in the center of what our transformation is.” (05:58)

• Eliza Siminova (Mars Pet Nutrition, VP Global Supply):

  • Passion: The “realness” of making things; supply chain as the force that “makes it happen.”
  • Energizer: The factory environment and team engagement.
  • Quote: “I fell in love with manufacturing and with the realness of things in supply chain… We are not top of mind… but we become…the key business partner when it’s about make it happen.” (08:03)

• Whitney Slessinger (McCormick, VP Global Planning & Logistics):

  • Passion: End-to-end connectivity, collaboration, thriving in chaos.
  • Balance: Coaching her children’s sports teams while leading global initiatives.
  • Quote: “If you like to thrive in chaos, supply chain is the place for you. And it’s all about building those capabilities to navigate it as effectively and efficiently as possible.” (10:04)

• Sylvia Wilkes (Lamb Weston, Chief Supply Chain Officer):

  • Passion: Solving problems with teams; focusing on talent and integration.
  • Company Snapshot: Leading supplier of frozen potato products.
  • Quote: “My passion is really about solving problems through teams and through people… The unlock is really an integrated value chain.” (12:01)

Defining Career Moments

Start: 13:55

Tamara Fenske (Kimberly Clark)

• First plant manager position was pivotal — brought “high accountability” for people, community, and sustainability, shaping lifelong appreciation for supply chain work.
• Quote: “Being a plant manager is one of the most humbling responsibilities… Your goal is to make sure that plant is viable and sustainable for decades.” (14:26)

Eliza Siminova (Mars)

• Early “mindset change” from a manager who told her: “You will find ways to return five times the value of your compensation… in cost savings or in sales.” (16:51)
• Lesson: Always create and articulate value, no matter how junior you are.

Whitney Slessinger (McCormick)

• Two pivotal experiences: Leading people in manufacturing (“you cannot have the depth of perspective until you do it”), and later pivoting into sales, gaining key respect for customer needs.
• Quote: “Between the manufacturing and sales experience, knitting together that end to end supply chain… has been incredibly valuable.” (19:00)

Sylvia Wilkes (Lamb Weston)

• Building Starbucks’ soluble coffee supply chain from external procurement to internal production — a turning point in seeing the power of integrated supply chains.
• Quote: “Really proving out that business case for me… was a little bit of a defining moment in really understanding how an integrated supply chain… can deliver great business results.” (21:06)

Stephanie Beal (Hasbro)

• First global assignment at Unilever: Realizing the expanded impact and necessity of building scalable global processes.
• Quote: “It’s a mindset shift. All of a sudden you realize you have to think broader and more impactfully and more inclusively…” (23:00)

Artificial Intelligence: Hype, Hope & Real Applications

Start: 24:50

Core Themes

• Data Discipline: Every panelist stresses the foundational need for accurate, well-governed data before AI can deliver value.
• People Impact: AI as a lever to automate rote tasks, freeing up staff for more strategic, creative work.
• Transformational Use Cases: From demand planning to inventory optimization to knowledge management.

Memorable Quotes & Cases

• Eliza Siminova:

  • “AI starts to force operational discipline, which as leaders we try to do… but now the system tells you, 'If you don’t feed me with the right data, then I’m not going to deliver value for you.'” (26:40)
  • Case: Using AI to synchronize parameters across suppliers, factories, warehouses for loss elimination and efficiency.

• Whitney Slessinger:

  • “We need to have really clear data structures, data governance and we need to educate and enable our team members to successfully manage the data so that we know that our tools that we’re investing in… are going to work for us.” (29:05)
  • Excitement: Using AI to eliminate non-value add work and make employee roles more strategic and fulfilling.

• Sylvia Wilkes:

  • “More automation of non value added work to elevate the work that our people are doing… drives engagement and retention.” (30:44)
  • Focus: Utilizing AI for inventory and demand forecasting, and thus better cash flow and working capital.

• Stephanie Beal:

  • “We opened up ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to all of our employees… the adoption… has been phenomenal.”
  • “I took our supply chain strategy and I asked for a critical evaluation of it [using AI]… and got a very humbling response back, 65 changes… But the power of that is tremendous.” (32:45)

• Tamara Fenske:

  • “The next stage is really in agentic AI… not only being able to see things, but it actually being able to ingest the data and give you a best known way and offer alternatives.” (35:13)
  • Knowledge management example: Centralized decades of tissue manufacturing data into a searchable engine; transformed how teams troubleshoot and share expertise. (36:38)

Advice to Their Younger Selves

Start: 37:40

Universal Themes:

• Career confidence and self-advocacy.
• The critical value of mentors and a “personal board of directors.”
• The ability to articulate and connect your value to business outcomes.
• Comfort with failure and ongoing self-growth.

Highlights & Quotes:

• Whitney Slessinger:

  • “I wish I could go back and give my younger self the assurance that it was going to be okay… your value proposition is for you, and it’s for you to be able to leverage to build your personal brand…” (38:07)

• Sylvia Wilkes:

  • “I wish I’d maybe had a mentor earlier on in my career… If you don’t have a mentor or your sort of personal board of directors, I think that’s really important…” (39:27)
  • Applies: “Always looking to build confidence in my team, get some early wins on the board…”

• Stephanie Beal:

  • “You’re really in charge of your own career and no one’s going to do it better for you than you.”
  • “Establishing mentorship relationships early… is so valuable. You’ll never be able to pay your mentors back… but you need to learn how to pay it forward.” (41:20)

• Tamara Fenske:

  • “Be confident and be consistent and deliberate about what you want to do. Help other people help you… Be comfortable being uncomfortable…” (42:47)

• Eliza Siminova:

  • “Give your best every day and everything else will fall into place… Once you have given it all, let go and trust that things will work out…”
  • “It’s important to know how to tell your story… balance that drive for results with the ability to articulate value.” (44:30)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Topic | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------------|--------------| | Panelist Introductions, Passions | 04:49 - 13:55| | Defining Career Moments | 13:55 - 24:50| | The Promise & Practicalities of AI | 24:50 - 37:40| | Advice to Their Younger Selves | 37:40 - 47:51| | Closing Thoughts & Panelist Contact Info | 47:51 - 49:13|

Notable Quotes

• “If you like to thrive in chaos, supply chain is the place for you.” — Whitney Slessinger (10:04)
• “You have to be ahead of the game and design rather than just be part of the process. It’s not only about efficiency, it’s about delivering smart design solutions.” — Eliza Siminova (16:51)
• “AI starts to force operational discipline… If you don’t feed me with the right data, then I’m not going to deliver value for you.” — Eliza Siminova (26:40)
• “No one’s going to do it better for you than you. ...Failure doesn’t define you.” — Stephanie Beal (41:20)
• “Be confident and be consistent and deliberate about what you want to do. ...Be comfortable being uncomfortable.” — Tamara Fenske (42:47)

Final Takeaways

• Transformation Is the Norm: All panelists emphasized change is constant and reinvention is essential in supply chain leadership.
• AI Is a Game-Changer—If Founded on Data: Smart adoption of AI depends on foundational data quality, flexible operating models, and an engaged workforce.
• Empowerment Is Key: The most impactful supply chain leaders are self-advocates, develop their storytelling abilities, seek mentorship, and pay it forward.
• Diversity in Experience: Success stories span manufacturing, sales, finance, and global assignments—showcasing the broad pathways into modern supply chain leadership.

Panelist Contact Information

All five leaders welcome LinkedIn connections for further discussion, advice, or mentorship. Panelists encourage including a brief note about your intent to connect.

Host’s Closing Remark:
“It is a great time to be in supply chain...keep leading, boldly rewriting the rules and thriving in this new never normal world of supply chain.” — Corinne Bursa (49:13)

This episode captures not only practical strategies and candid perspectives, but also a powerful sense of community and momentum among women leaders rewriting the rules in supply chain’s new normal.