The Distribution Business Management Association is honored to present the 2016 Distinguished Service Award to Rick Sather, vice president of supply chain and operations at Link Snacks, Inc. Rick’s decades of experience have made him a leader in his field. For his ambitious and creative work within supply chain, we recognize Sather and place him among his peers of winners of the annual Distinguished Service Award.

The Distribution Business Management Association is honored to present the Distinguished Service Award to Carl Graziani, president of Super Store Industries (SSI), for his ambitious and creative work within both marketing and supply chain operations. Carl is responsible for leading the joint warehousing, procurement, distribution and manufacturing operations for Savemart and Raley's, two of the leading food retailers in Northern and Central California. His experience in myriad aspects of the grocery industry have made him a leader in his field.

Deverl is Starbucks Corporation’s executive vice president leading the Global Supply Chain Organization (GSC). He is part of Starbucks senior leadership team and is accountable for end-to-end supply chain operations globally spanning manufacturing, engineering, procurement, distribution, planning, transportation, inventory management and worldwide sourcing. His dedication and leadership within Starbucks and for the supply chain industry as a whole made him a natural choice.

John is Senior Vice President, Customer Supply Chain and Logistics for PepsiCo, Inc. He has been with PepsiCo for over 26 years and has worked in a number of different sales and field operations roles since joining the company as a route salesperson with Frito-Lay. John is responsible for working with PepsiCo’s largest customers on supply chain and collaboration initiatives to drive both effectiveness and efficiency across the shared supply chains.

Waheed Zaman, senior vice president of Chiquita Brands Inc., earned the 2012 Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding stewardship of a supply chain that reaches across 80 countries and employees more than 17,000 people. Zaman joined Chiquita in February 2004, initially as chief information officer, later assuming significantly increased responsibilities for global procurement and supply chain functions with the challenge of expanding the reach and impact of logistics and procurement efficiencies across all of Chiquita’s business units. As the company announced its goal of superior cold-chain management, Zaman was charged by CEO Aguirre to lead the team. Since 2008, his responsibilities have expanded to also include salads manufacturing and agricultural operations, banana owned production and purchased fruit globally, and shipping operations.

James J. Malvaso is President & CEO of Toyota Material Handling North America and Chairman of The Raymond Corporation. He has held these positions since April 2010. Mr. Malvaso is also a Managing Officer of Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) as well as a member of the Management Committee for the Toyota Material Handling Group, which is the largest forklift company in the world. Prior to this, Mr. Malvaso had been President & CEO of The Raymond Corporation since July 1997.

Don Walker, SVP of Distribution Operations, McKesson Pharmaceuticals received the 2010 Distinguished Service Award for his commitment and proven leadership to the Supply Chain Leaders in Action (SCLA). Don Walker is serving as the 2010 SCLA Chairman and has dedicated both time and effort into developing this year’s program. The theme of this year’s SCLA Annual Business Forum is “Prospering in the ‘New Normal’ Economy”. According to Walker, there is very little agreement on “exactly what this ‘new normal’ will look like and the exact changes it will demand”. He hopes and expects that “This [year’s conference] will be a unique opportunity for all of us to grab control of our own destinies and create and define this ‘New Normal’”.

Donald Ralph, SVP of Supply Chain & Logistics, Staples Inc. received the 2009 Distinguished Service Award.has been an effective and tireless business leader in the supply chain industry throughout out his career. He has provided the thought leadership and execution of Staples supply chain and logistics operations. At Staples he has developed a supply chain team that is considered the best in the office products industry. He oversees a supply chain network that comprises over 29 million square feet of infrastructure and conducts retail and B2B operations in 27 countries worldwide. Prior to joining Staples, Ralph developed an extensive supply chain and operating background while spending 27 years in the department store business with Federated Department Stores and the May Department Stores Company. The award was presented to Mr. Ralph at the DBM Awards banquet on May 13th during the Supply Chain Leaders in Action Annual forum in Jacksonville, Florida.

James LaBounty received the 2008 Distinguished Service Award. Mr. LaBounty is a logistician with over 40 years of experience in supply chain management. He retired as a Senior Vice President and Director of Supply Chain Management for JCPenney in 2008 where he provided strategic and operational leadership for all their supply chain activities. This included the oversight of a $1 billion dollar pipeline operation. Mr. LaBounty also had 28 year distinguished service career with the military where among many leadership roles he was the Chief of the Congressional Liaison Office of the US. Army. The award was presented to Mr. LaBounty at the DBM Awards banquet on June 26, 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Kevin Smith received the 2007 Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Smith is a career supply chain ractitioner. Currently the CEO of Sustainable Supply Chain Consulting he was previously the Senior Vice President and Corporate Sustainability Officer for CVS Caremark which generates $80B in revenue and dispenses over 1 billion prescriptions in the US. Prior to joining CVS, Smith spent 27 years in the CPG food manufacturing arena, most notable as Vice President of Logistics and customer Support at H.J. Heinz and numerous leadership positions at Kraft Foods. He has served on the board of numerous supply chain associations and contributed as a guest lecturer and board member to several universities. The award was presented to Mr. Smith at the DBM Awards banquet on June 12, 2007 in Orlando, Florida.