Advisory Board

Bill Hurles                         Bill served as Executive Director of Supply Chain at General Motors where he led the global operations of 159 plants, as well as GM’s Global Supply Chain Leadership Team. Bill is a well-known, highly respected, and passionate leader in supply chain management community and successfully guided GM through many supply chain crises with effective risk management and resiliency strategies.

Bill Marrin                        The former Executive Director of World 50, a private peer community that enable CEOs and C-level executives at globally respected organizations discover better ideas, share valuable experiences and build relationships that make a lasting impact. Bill is a particular expert in leadership development, coaching c-suite executives, and working with early stage companies to drive growth.

Dr. Keith Thurgood Dr. Thurgood brings a unique perspective on healthcare, operations management and leadership having served at senior level leadership positions in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.   Most recently Dr. Thurgood has returned to UTD following a 14-month sabbatical following an appointed by the Secretary of Defense Chief Management Officer to lead the largest global community services, retail and grocery reform effort in a generation. He was also President, Spend and Clinical Management, MedAssets, a healthcare performance improvement company.  He also served as President and CEO of Overseas Military Sales Corporation and as the Senior Vice President of Operations for Sam’s Club. He also served as the CEO of The Exchange (formerly the Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the United States Department of Defense’s $10 billion global for-profit retail enterprise and he has also held executive positions with Frito-Lay and PepsiCo. In addition to his civilian job, he has over 28 years of Army service, both active and reserve.  Major General Thurgood served as the Deputy Commanding General and Chief of Staff, United States Army Reserve in Washington, D.C.  His last assignment prior to his retirement was the Deputy, Business Transformation, Office of the Secretary of the Army.  During his tour of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was the Commanding General of the Army’s largest transportation and distribution command and simultaneously the Deputy Commanding General of the theater logistics support / supply chain command

Management

Carl Ralph                         Managing Director, is a supply chain practitioner with experience managing Supply Chain operations across multiple industries. In addition to an extensive background in ERP implementation and support, Carl was trained in Lean Operations directly by Toyota Production System (TPS) and received graduate education in Supply Chain Engineering at MIT.