Panel Discussion: Direct Supply Network Digitalization with the Internet of Supply Chains™

  • Manufacturers are facing key challenges that are driving supply chain digitalization in order achieve greater visibility, adaptability and responsiveness
  • Learn how TraceLink built the Internet of Supply Chains to track and trace pharmaceutical products, and how the IoSC can be leveraged for broader digital transformation
  • Explore how a digital network platform enables data sharing and collaboration with a network of contract manufacturers and suppliers through a single link
  • Understand how all contract manufacturers can be engaged digitally, from the most sophisticated to the most immature
  • Examine the impact of enabling supplier management and external manufacturing teams to engage contract manufacturers and suppliers through collaborative work management with full data integration
  • Hear how shared visibility to KPIs for executives, managers, and employees for internal and external teams can improve supplier management operations
  • See the power of the predictive insights that can be generated once CMOs and suppliers are connected in a collective information network for intelligent business execution

Moderator:

Shabbir Dahod
President and CEO
TraceLink

Shabbir Dahod is President and Chief Executive Officer of TraceLink and a member of the company’s board of directors. He co-founded the company in 2009 with a vision of building a business that will transform how life science companies manage the manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and dispensing of pharmaceutical products across a network of trading partners in the global life sciences supply chain.

For well over a decade, Dahod has dedicated himself to pharmaceutical supply chain integrity, making it his mission to protect patients around the world. As a true visionary, Dahod recognized early on where and how traceability technology could be used to strengthen the life sciences supply chain and make a significant impact on saving lives. In the early 2000s, while working with MIT Auto-ID Labs (which germinated the concept of Internet of Things (IoT) in 1999), he was alerted to a series of incidents where counterfeit drugs made their way to unsuspecting patients across the US Moved by the gravity of human lives at stake, and immersed in IoT research, Dahod had the idea to lift the journey of a pharmaceutical product up into the digital cloud; its footprint would be managed digitally, thereby securing the passage of safe medicines from manufacturer to patient and all steps in between.

Dahod says, “At TraceLink, we are blending decades of knowledge in technology, life sciences, and supply chain business process with a revolutionary approach to digitally transform the life sciences supply chain. My contribution is to leverage 32 years of experience in engineering, product innovation, and business strategy, in order to provide our customers with a proven software solution that enables our customers to exchange critical data with their network of trade partners while easing the burden of complying with global track and trace regulations.”

Early in his career, Dahod worked with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at his Seattle-based startup, Asymetrix, where he established the company as a leader in Multimedia Authoring technology in the computer based learning market. With Allen, Dahod researched and incubated a number of emerging web-based products and technologies, including early initiatives in e-commerce, natural language query, online sports, digital media, and Java development tools. He eventually served as a Senior Executive of the Paul Allen group of companies, and later joined Microsoft as a Senior Leader to spearhead collaboration and knowledge management efforts using emerging XML standards and new Internet communication tools.

Panelists:

George Llado
Former SVP and Chief Information Officer
Alexion Pharmaceuticals

George is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Alexion Pharmaceuticals. He was responsible for building the company’s Global Information Technology function that enables Alexion to serve patients and their families with rare diseases through the innovation, development, and commercialization of life-changing therapies.

A bio-pharma industry veteran with over 34 years of business, information technology and cyber-security experience, George and his team develop and implement innovative technology and enable data-driven insights across Alexion’s R&D, Commercial, Manufacturing Operations and Supply Chain functions.

Prior to joining Alexion, George served as Vice President and business line CIO for Merck and Co., where he led the large-scale merger integration of Merck/Schering-Plough across the IT and Shared Business Services organizations. George previously worked at Citibank, N.A.

George serves on the Board of Directors of Charles River Laboratories and the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). He also serves on the Advisory Board of Sierra Ventures and Temple University’s Fox Business School. George holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from New York Institute of Technology and completed the Executive Development Program at both Harvard and the Wharton School of Business.

George was named to Forbes CIO Next 2021 list that highlights top tech executives who are redefining the CIO role and driving game-changing innovation. In 2020, he was named a Global CIO of the Year finalist by the Boston CIO Leadership Association for demonstrating excellence in technology leadership.

Jake Barr
CEO
BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting

An acknowledged industry leader, Jake now serves as CEO for BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, providing support to a cross section of Fortune 500 companies such as Cargill, Caterpillar, Colgate, Dow/Dupont, 3M, Merck, Bayer/Monsanto, Newell Brands, Kimberly Clark, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Estee Lauder and Coty among others. He’s also devoted time to engagements in public health sector work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

At P&G, he managed the breakthrough delivery of an E2E (End to End) Planning Transformation effort, creating control towers which now manage the daily business globally. He is recognized as the architect for P&G’s demand driven supply chain strategy – referenced as a “Consumer Driven Supply Chain” transformation. Jake began his career with P&G in Finance in Risk Analysis and then moved into Operations. He has experience in building supply network capability globally through leadership assignments in Asia, Latin America, North America and the Middle East.

He currently serves as a Research Associate for MIT; a member of Supply Chain Industry Advisory Council; Member of Gartner’s Supply Chain Think Tank; Consumer Goods “League of Leaders“; and a recipient of the 2015 – 2021 Supply Chain “Pro’s to Know” Award. He has been recognized as a University of Kentucky Fellow.

Rita Fisher
EVP, Supply Chain and Chief Information Officer
Reynolds Consumer Products

As a member of the RCP Lead team, Rita is responsible for all aspects of the company’s Supply Chain and Information Technology, including strategies, policies, programs and business transformations leading to improved financial results and new customer experiences.

Rita joined RCP in 2017 from Kraft Heinz, most recently as Vice President and Head of Global Business Services.  During her 22 years in Kraft Heinz, she held many global and regional roles in Information Technology and Supply Chain, including Head of Global IT and Sr Director Supply Chain Transformation.

Rita earned her BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MBA from DePaul University.