Honoring female supply chain leaders and executives
November 17-19, 2026
Charleston Mariott | Charleston, SC
2026 Overall Award Winners
As CEO of Apex Transit Solutions, Marina Ivanov remains deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the business while also leading the company’s long-term strategy, growth, and culture initiatives. Unlike many executives in transportation, Ivanov operates with a hands-on leadership style and stays directly connected to customers, drivers, dispatch operations, recruiting, safety, and financial oversight. Her daily responsibilities include overseeing fleet operations, customer relationships, strategic account growth, recruiting and driver retention initiatives, operational planning, and process improvement. She works closely with dispatch and operations teams to ensure freight is moving efficiently while maintaining strong service levels for customers and realistic expectations for drivers. Ivanov is also heavily involved in business development and relationship management, regularly communicating with shippers, brokers, insurance partners, financial institutions, and technology providers. She has played a major role in modernizing the company’s operational infrastructure, including implementation of new systems and operational workflows designed to improve visibility, efficiency, and scalability. She actively participates in recruiting initiatives, mentoring, leadership development, and industry events that promote opportunities for women in transportation and supply chain leadership. One of her most impactful advocacy efforts involved helping support North Carolina House Bill 472, legislation designed to ban predatory booting of commercial vehicles and ensure timely cargo release. After Apex Transit Solutions and several other carriers experienced costly and disruptive towing and booting practices, Ivanov used her platform to speak publicly about how these practices negatively impacted drivers, carriers, and the supply chain. Through collaboration with the North Carolina Trucking Association and legislative stakeholders, the bill ultimately passed the North Carolina House unanimously. CLICK HERE to read an exclusive interview with Ivanov on protecting carriers, supporting drivers and building people-first culture.
It was 1997 when Hannah Kain pitched 23 banks with her business plan for a small business loan to start ALOM. It was the 23rd bank that approved the loan; a bank that remains ALOM’s bank to this day. It’s this perseverance and resilience that to this day, dubs Kain as an engaged and inspiring business leader. Fast forward to today, and ALOM operates out of 20 global locations, and can fulfill orders to 85% of U.S. zip codes in 48 hours or less by ground delivery. Kain’s business management and supply chain career began in her childhood growing up in Denmark. She took a more than casual interest in her father’s business, where he would explain processes and methods of business operation. After college, Kain held various management and executive positions in Europe, with a wide range of experience in the packaging industry dating back to 1990. After emigrating to the United States, she became frustrated by the one-size-fits-all manufacturing mentality prevalent at that time. That’s why she developed what is dubbed as the first B2B e-commerce order management portal. Within 2 years of opening ALOM, Kain made her vision a reality: orders received by noon could ship out same day and be delivered to the end user within 48 hours. Also under Kain’s leadership, ALOM holds ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, SOC 2 Type 2, EcoVadis Silver, NABP certifications and all ALOM facilities are FDA registered. In 2017, she implemented a supplier nearsourcing initiative to mitigate global trade uncertainty, lower carbon footprint, and ensure on-time, full order delivery of materials. ALOM also maintains a 10-plus-year average diverse supplier spend of over 21%. CLICK HERE to read an exclusive interview on why discuss why perseverance, determination, and doing the right thing are key ingredients to success.
Sheri Hinish is the founder and CEO of Supply Chain Revolution Global LLC, which operates under the Supply Chain Queen brand, where she advises Fortune 500 companies and governments on supply chain transformation, AI-enabled operations, circular economy strategy, and just-transition planning. She leads strategic advisory engagements that help global organizations embed sustainability and equity into their operating models. And, she hosts and produces The Supply Chain Revolution podcast, which elevates underrepresented voices, including women, leaders from the Global South, and innovators working outside traditional power structures. In 2026, Hinish launched Women of the Revolution, which honored 65 women across six continents and three tiers. Hinish also created and manages the SCQ Fellowship, a hands-on professional development program for early-career women entering supply chain, media, and sustainability. The program intentionally recruits women who might not otherwise have access to senior-level mentorship or the professional networks that accelerate careers. Previously, she spent nearly two decades in the most demanding operating environments in global professional services, rising to senior partner and VP at IBM, where she served as global leader for sustainability services and led teams of more than 3,000 professionals. She then joined EY as a senior partner, where she helped lead the Open AI and Data Science Challenge, which democratized access to emerging technology skills across a wide talent base, and served on COP Executive Committees from COP26 through COP30, bringing equity and climate-finance perspectives into the highest-level global sustainability governance conversations. CLICK HERE to read an exclusive interview with Hinish to discuss the importance of mentorship, sustainability and embracing emerging technologies.
WORKFORCE INNOVATOR
Abbi Failla –
Chief Administrative Officer & Chief of Staff to the CEO, EASE Logistics
Abbi Failla serves as chief administrative officer and chief of staff to the CEO at EASE Logistics, supporting day-to-day priorities, leading key projects, and ensuring the leadership team stays aligned and on track. On any given day, that can mean managing employee relations, overseeing policy implementation and benefits administration, tracking commissions, handling financial reporting and budget planning, or managing the build-out of EASE’s new headquarters. She also owns the company’s 2026 strategy and goal planning process, working directly with leadership to set direction and keep execution on course. Failla joined EASE Logistics in April 2021, where she founded the company’s first Strategy and Innovation Department, establishing programs, systems and structure. She also championed the integration of AMMI, EASE’s proprietary platform that executes more than 40,000 AI-driven tasks per week, to ensure the workers running those workflows were prepared and comfortable. Over the next four years, she steadily expanded her scope, from director of strategy and innovation to VP of business operations, then EVP, and most recently, her current role. Failla also serves as a founding board member and chairs the Workforce and Education Committee of the Ohio Supply Chain Academic Network (O-SCAN), designed to grow and diversify Ohio’s supply chain talent pipeline through cross-sector collaboration between employers, educators, and workforce leaders. She spent the first two decades of her career in human performance and business transformation across government, finance, insurance, healthcare, and automotive sectors, initially serving as event director for the State of Ohio Office of the Governor, and then at organizations such as Huntington National Bank, One10 Marketing, and Nationwide Insurance. CLICK HERE to read an exclusive interview on detail why championing human connection is important when training employees to embrace robotics.
CLICK HERE to learn more about other winners from this year’s Women in Supply Chain Forum™ Award.
2025 Overall Award Winners
Joshe Ordonez built Airpals for the people behind the scenes, the ones asked to “just ship this real quick” and then left juggling outdated systems, endless tracking links, and fragmented carrier accounts. Her drive to think outside the box is rooted in her journey, from weaving ancient textile techniques with Ecuadorian artisans to building an AI platform for logistics in New York. Her competitive edge is her ability to translate complex logistics pain points into seamless, human-first solutions, especially for operational workers. CLICK HERE for an exclusive interview about collective strength, the power of reinvention and what it takes to build AI products for the logistics space.
With two decades of experience in the logistics industry, Brittany Caskey began her career at UPS giving tours of its largest contract logistics campus in Louisville, Ky., before advancing into a sales role focused on warehousing and distribution solutions for high-tech, industrial, and retail clients. In 2016, she was promoted to lead the North America sales team, where she introduced new go-to-market strategies to penetrate untapped verticals. Her success led to a global role in 2020, where she assumed leadership of UPS’ global logistics and distribution sales and customer solutions organization. Today, she serves as chief commercial officer, logistics, for DP World, where she continues to transform the Americas region’s commercial strategy. Caskey’s cross-functional and cross-regional background is a key driver of her out-of-the-box thinking. CLICK HERE for an exclusive interview on Caskey’s “outside-of-the-box” leadership, why mentorship matters and what it takes to experience the full spectrum of the supply chain.
Mary Casillo is a powerhouse in the pallet industry who continues driving her career and her employers’ business goals forward. She never intended to be a professional within the supply chain but was “physically tackled” into the pallet industry. Since then, she has spearheaded initiatives to share the importance of well-managed national pallet management programs; stays abreast of industry trends, technological advancements, and best practices; and creates an atmosphere where everyone feels equal. CLICK HERE for an exclusive interview on sustainable pallet management, supplier diversification and the importance of DEI efforts.
Natasha Martinez is redefining what “workforce development” means in today’s AI era. As head of fleet success for BeyondTrucks, she helped develop the company’s pilot fleet operations, led the transformation of dozens of fleets with the BeyondTrucks platform, deployed technology across fleets, and mentored clients along their transformative technology journeys. Her approach is human-centric and workforce-centric rather than technology-centric. And, her foundational work with truck drivers, dispatchers, accounting, and payroll clerks sets an example of how transformation can prioritize people, productivity, collaboration, and human capabilities. CLICK HERE for an exclusive interview on digital transformation in transportation and the importance of maintaining a diverse supply chain background.
2024 Overall Award Winners
Hakobyan started out as an over-the-road truck driver and fleet manager dispatcher, then started her own freight broker agency, and today, is founder of Freedom Freight, LLC. CLICK HERE to read more and watch an exclusive interview discussing the importance of being your own brand.
McKeehan knows what it takes to put the customer first. She and her team are embarking on a journey of regeneration that encompasses everything from sustainable packaging to building next-gen facilities. CLICK HERE to read more and listen to an exclusive interview on what it takes to be a Trailblazer in the fast-paced e-commerce world.
For Dabrowski, DEI initiatives aren’t just a checklist; they’re a way of life. CLICK HERE to read more and watch an exclusive interview about the importance of involving people in organizational change management and why striving for equity should be the ultimate goal.
Whether it’s developing the Women’s Employee Resource Group or an in-house mentorship program, Bates’ true superpower is to grow teams. CLICK HERE to read more and watch an exclusive interview about why ideas over hierarchy is crucial in building up internal teams.
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