In this episode, Donna and Tom sit down with Lee Beard to unpack key lessons from an exceptional 35-year career spanning leadership roles at Dell, Nike, Nordstrom, and the Coca-Cola system. Lee details what it takes to build agile, customer-centric transportation networks, navigate major shifts toward direct-to-consumer and omni-channel retail, and balance speed with precision. He addresses cutting through tech hype by focusing on high-leverage use cases and shares why professional engagement through organizations like CSCMP remains a powerful career catalyst. Finally, Lee reflects on his transition into academia to mentor the next generation of supply chain leaders. Takeaways: Managing rapid scale and omni-channel fulfillment across global retail and beverage networks Navigating supply chain technology by avoiding vendor hype and running targeted pilot programs The strategic value of active industry networking and external engagement Core leadership philosophies, career advice, and keeping priorities balanced over a long career Stay connected with CSCR on LinkedIn (Center for Supply Chain Research) and Instagram (@pennstatesupplychain), and be sure to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you are tuning into Unpacked: Insights hosted by the Penn State Smeal Center for Supply Chain Research™. Thank you for joining us! Visit our website: https://www.smeal.psu.edu/cscr Guest Bio: Lee Beard is a customer-focused operations executive with over 30 years of experience and extensive industry knowledge in transportation, logistics, and supply chain management. He most recently served as SVP, Logistics for Swire Coca-Cola, one of the five largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the world. Over three years, Lee led a sweeping operational transformation of Swire’s distribution centers, delivery operations, transportation, and fleet management, along with cold drink equipment service and remanufacturing. Prior to joining Swire CCUSA, Lee was at Nordstrom where he was responsible for all aspects of transportation across the US and Canada, including international ocean and air freight, domestic inbound, store delivery networks, e-commerce customer shipments and returns. Lee also led global transportation at Nike where he and his team developed critical transportation capabilities to power their “Consumer Direct Offense” – a transformational e-commerce strategy to serve consumers personally at scale around the world. Before Nike, Lee spent ten years in the Coca-Cola System in key transportation, logistics, and procurement leadership roles and served as a key member of the executive startup team for a logistics-focused joint venture between The Coca-Cola Company and its largest US bottler. He also worked at Dell, Inc. for six years in various manufacturing, logistics, and global strategy roles. At Dell, Lee was a member of a small team that designed a ground-breaking planning and replenishment methodology for Dell’s assembly factories that was implemented globally and earned a patent for the company (US7577577). Serving the supply chain and logistics profession has long been a passion for Lee. He has been active in CSCMP (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals) for many years, serving on the organization’s Board of Directors, as a Board officer, and Board Chair in 2022. He also served CSCMP as past chair of the Annual Conference Planning Committee and past member of their Research Strategies Committee. Lee also serves on the Board for the Transportation & Supply Chain Institute at the University of Denver and is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Supply Chain Management, Logistics, and Procurement. He enjoys teaching and mentoring those pursuing careers in supply chain and logistics and is a frequent guest speaker in supply chain programs. Lee earned a bachelor’s in industrial engineering and a master of science in management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is currently pursuing his doctorate in business administration at the University of Florida. He and his wife Claire reside in Draper, Utah.
