INSTITUTE FOR SUPPLY MANAGEMENT® HONORS 30 UNDER 30 RISING SUPPLY CHAIN STARS

Winners represent future leaders, as standout and passionate problem-solvers

TEMPE, Ariz., March 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) announced the winners of the 2023-2024 30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars Recognition Program to honor global emerging leaders across various industries and supply management disciplines. The top nominee or “megawatt” winner from the 30 Under 30 is Zain Rauf, a supply chain lead for renewable fuels at Shell Oil Company.

“The accomplishments and talents of this group are extraordinary,” said Thomas W. Derry, Chief Executive Officer of ISM. “We’re continually impressed by the standout initiative, leadership, and abilities these young professionals have demonstrated to drive value across their organizations.”

Now in its tenth year, the ISM program honors individuals who are 30 or younger and demonstrate leadership, innovation, collaboration, and other outstanding attributes–at work and through their professional associations. Intended to help bridge the talent gap in procurement and supply management for younger generations, the program highlights role models for aspiring supply chain practitioners and students.

Hundreds of applications are received annually, and a rigorous review process assesses candidates based on detailed nominations provided by professional peers, leaders, and executives.

Working in the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Brazil, India, and Singapore, the honorees are making their mark on the manufacturing, pharmaceutical, aerospace and defense, oil and gas, and business services industries, among others. Sixty percent of the 2023 winners are women, and the median age is 29.

“The latest 30 Under 30 winners exemplify the new generation of supply chain leadership and demonstrate how high performers can make an impact on the profession,” said Derry.

Megawatt winner Zain Rauf, for example, is the sole supply chain lead managing Shell’s second-generation ethanol portfolio, which involves a first-of-its-kind licensed technology for the company. He has established a new supply chain for development of a multimillion-dollar pilot scale facility, which will be extended into multiple commercial scale plants worth more than US$1 billion in the next five years. Rauf sourced all new suppliers for the project’s engineering, procurement, construction, and operations phases by collaborating with internal and external stakeholders.

He established a cost-tracking mechanism with cost planners, developing first of its kind technical scopes of work with the project team, and negotiated complex terms and conditions with first-time suppliers. Additionally, Rauf identified creative solutions for sourcing of critical equipment with long lead times while operating in a new geography with labor shortages. The activities included optimization of engineering designs, detailed supplier evaluations, testing new commercial models and leveraging cross-business learnings from similar projects. He has helped deliver cost savings of US$3 million, which help enable testing of new processes during operations. 

The full list of the outstanding ISM 30 Under 30 winners includes:

Aubri Applegren, strategy consultant, Caterpillar Inc. (Irving, Texas)Austin Pieper, supply chain manager, Titan International North American Wheel (Quincy, Ill.)Dalen Medina, category manager, operating supplies and equipment, Hilton Supply Management (Denver)Diana Popoca, supply base manager, The Boeing Company (Mesa, Ariz.)Emily Taplin, senior manager, technology procurement – AI and analytics, GSK (London)Faith Bitts, MS, principal analyst, enterprise global supply chain data and analytics, Northrop Grumman Corporation (Irving, Texas)Gabriela Morales Castillo, global data analytics manager, Velcro Companies (Manchester, N.H.)Gautham Krishnan C G, MBA, PMP, principal specialist and global category manager, logistics, Fluor Corporation (Haryana, India)Ian Speers, MPH, CPH, EMT, CEO and co-founder, Pacto Medical, Inc. (Washington D.C.)Ines Khalfa, DESMA, procurement strategy and delivery director, GSK (Wavre, Belgium)Jackson Frizzell, principal associate, supply chain, Capital One (Richmond, Va.)Jari Zoller, strategic sourcing analyst, H.B. Fuller (St. Paul, Minn.)John Nixon, semiconductor supplier leader, General Motors (Detroit)John Boyle, category manager, United States Steel Corporation (Pittsburgh)Jordyn Roman, category manager I – energy and metals, United States Steel Corporation (Pittsburgh)Kali Kobert, category manager I – capital expenditures and services, United States Steel Corporation (Pittsburgh)Kingsley Bustamante, consultant, ProcureAbility, a Jabil Company (Hialeah, Fla.)Lewis Washington, procurement agent III, The Boeing Company (St. Louis)Lucas Sardenberg, supply chain specialist delivery and assurance, Shell PLC (Rio de Janeiro)Maroufath Ogoussan, MPA, CPPB, contract specialist, Government of the District of Columbia, Office of Contracting and Procurement (Washington, D.C.)Molly Knausse, senior manager, category management and strategic sourcing, Cox Communications (Atlanta)Pavana Sindhu Divakarla, factory manager, Hindustan Unilever Limited (Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, India)Rafael Fulton Fernandes, chief of staff, global supply chain and manager, GSC rotational program, Lenovo (Apex, N.C.)Russel Carey, material project manager, Leidos (Reston, Va.)Sai Bhargav Mettu, CPIM, principal specialist, supply chain business systems, KBI Biopharma Inc. (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.)Sam VanCura, senior sourcing analyst I, H.B. Fuller (Vadnais Heights, Minn.)Sylvia Lam, senior manager, regional buying content, GSK (Singapore)Timothy Mansure, senior manager, advanced therapies supply chain procurement, Johnson & Johnson (Titusville, N.J.)Tyler Smith, category buyer, Caterpillar Inc. (Chillicothe, Ill.)Zain Rauf, supply chain lead, renewable fuels, Shell Oil Company (Houston)

All 30 Under 30 winners receive a one-year ISM membership and complimentary admittance to ISM World, ISM’s annual conference, April 29 – May 1, 2024 and the ISM Awards Gala on April 30, 2024 where all winners will be recognized and celebrated.

For more details on the winners, please visit www.ISMWorld.org.

About Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®)

Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) is the first and leading not-for-profit professional supply management organization worldwide. Its community of more than 50,000 in more than 100 countries manage about US$1 trillion in corporate and government supply chain procurement annually. Founded in 1915 by practitioners, ISM is committed to advancing the practice of supply management to drive value and competitive advantage for its members, contributing to a prosperous and sustainable world. ISM empowers and leads the profession through the ISM Report On Business®, its highly-regarded certification and training programs, corporate services, events and the ISM Supply Chain Capability Model™. The ISM Report On Business®, Manufacturing, Services, and Hospital, are three of the most reliable economic indicators available, providing guidance to supply management professionals, economists, analysts, and government and business leaders. For more information, please visit: www.ismworld.org. 

Contact: Jessica Boyd, 480.752.6276, ext. 3085
[email protected]

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SOURCE Institute for Supply Management