North American Supply Chain Executive Summit

Timothy “Tim” Cofer is Chief Executive Officer for Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), having previously served as Chief Operating Officer since joining the Company in 2023.

Tim is a seasoned consumer packaged goods executive, with more than 30 years of multinational experience in driving growth, leading transformations and executing significant M&A. His career is highlighted by a track record of creating value and building high performing teams. Prior to joining KDP, Tim was the Chief Executive Officer of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) (NASDAQ: CENTA), where he oversaw a multi-year period of double-digit revenue and profit growth and a series of strategic acquisitions.

Previously, he spent more than 25 years with Mondelēz International and its predecessor company, Kraft Foods, with responsibility across a wide range of product categories, including coffee, chocolate and packaged food. In Tim’s last position as EVP and Chief Growth Officer, he was a critical architect behind the company’s successful growth strategy. He previously led several global regions, including as President of Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa Mondelēz International and President of Kraft Foods Europe.  In his U.S.-focused roles of President of Kraft Pizza Company and President of Oscar Mayer Foods, he oversaw manufacturing and distribution operations, including a nationwide direct store delivery network. He also led the global integration of Kraft and Cadbury, delivering on the merger’s strategic and financial objectives while nurturing a combined high-performing culture.

Tim holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a BA in Economics and Political Science from St. Olaf College.

Chris Nielsen is executive vice president of supply chain and chief quality officer for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA).

In his role, Nielsen oversees all supply chain operations, including: purchasing, logistics, quality, integrated planning and control, innovation and strategy, service parts and accessories, and the Toyota Production System development groups.

Previously, Nielsen served as senior vice president of human resources, corporate strategy, and purchasing for Toyota Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) located in Erlanger, Kentucky. During his tenure, Nielsen’s leadership was pivotal in the “One Toyota” Headquarters initiative resulting in a successful merger of two Toyota affiliates with distinct cultures that operated separately for over 30 years. Prior to that assignment, Nielsen was president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, a vehicle assembly plant located in San Antonio, Texas. From 2003 to 2006, Nielsen served as project leader responsible for the overall design and construction of TMMTX, a $1.2 Billion project.

Nielsen joined Toyota in 1987 as a buyer at its Georgetown, Kentucky plant and progressed through a series of positions including vice president of purchasing where he was responsible for overseeing over $30 Billion in parts and materials procurement.

He was the first American to participate in the management expatriation program, a year-long management development assignment with Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) in Japan in 1999.

Nielsen holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute), and an Executive Education Certificate from The Wharton School of Business.  He is a member of the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing U.S. Board of Directors and serves as Chair of the Toyota Motor North America Audit Committee.

Nielsen is also a member of the National Association of Manufacturers Board of Directors (Executive Committee), Manufacturing Institute Board of Directors, Dallas Regional Chamber, Board of Directors (Executive Committee, 2019 Chair – Largest Regional Chamber in the United States), Dallas Citizens Council Board of Directors, and Texas 2036 Donor Advisory Council.

Kathryn E. Wengel (Kathy) is Executive Vice President, Chief Technical Operations & Risk Officer for Johnson & Johnson, and a member of the Company’s Executive Committee. She has significant healthcare, operations and global business expertise – with more than three decades of experience in leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson.

In her current role, Kathy is responsible for the continued strengthening of the Company’s core technical operations and risk management capabilities. She leads key technical operations functions including: Engineering & Property Services, the Office of Sustainability and cross-sector Supply Chain teams focused on standards, services, global transportation and trade controls, as well as critical risk functions, including: Quality & Compliance, Health Care Compliance, Global Security and Global Brand Protection. A strong developer of globally diverse teams, Kathy also plays an important role with external stakeholders to advance critical risk management, resilience and technical operations priorities on behalf of Johnson & Johnson and the healthcare industry.

Kathy served for nine years as Executive Vice President and Chief Global Supply Chain Officer, and prior to that, as the Company’s first Chief Quality Officer. Under her leadership, Johnson & Johnson maintains a top five position on the Supply Chain Top 25 list by Gartner, Inc. – a ranking that recognizes the critical role its Supply Chain has played as an integrator across an ecosystem of internal and external partners.

Externally from Johnson & Johnson, Kathy serves as a member of the Board of Directors at the Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (Labcorp), a leading global life sciences company. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors at the National Association of Manufacturers in the U.S. She also serves as a member of the Board of GS1 Global, a nonprofit that develops and maintains global supply chain standards. Within Johnson & Johnson, Kathy is executive sponsor for the Women’s Leadership & Inclusion (WLI) initiative and the Winning in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing and Design (WiSTEM2D) program.

In 2019, Kathy was recognized by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) with its lifetime Distinguished Service Award, and she was elected to the Supply Chain Hall of Fame, the industry’s top individual supply chain honor. In 2015, Kathy received the National Association of Female Executives’ (NAFE) Women of Excellence Award.

Kathy holds a BSE degree in civil engineering and operations research from Princeton University.

Rahquel is a Supply Chain executive with over three decades of experience, known for driving transformative results through consumer-centric innovation. Currently, she serves as L’Oréal’s North America Chief Transformation Officer, where she oversees a vast portfolio of tech-enabled, scaled productivity and digital omni-commerce initiatives. Rahquel’s impressive career includes 20+ years at P&G and international leadership roles across Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Joining L’Oréal USA in 2016, she rose to become Chief Operations Officer for North America, spearheading growth throughout the pandemic and transforming L’Oréal’s Supply Chain into a powerhouse, delivering record results and market leadership. Beyond her corporate role, she co-founded @KeepYourKookee, a mother-daughter podcast that elevates intergenerational conversations about relationships and womanhood. Rahquel also serves on the Board of MSC Industrial Supply and is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, underscoring her commitment to fostering an inclusive and vibrant corporate culture. She holds a degree from the University of Michigan and honorary degrees from MIT, Harvard, and CEDEP Business School.

Dan Bartel is Chief Procurement Officer. In this role, he leads all corporate procurement teams, processes and strategy for American.

Dan’s career spans nearly 30 years leading procurement, sourcing and supply chain management systems across several industries. Most recently, he served as Chief Procurement Officer of Schneider Electric, and, prior to that, he held various leadership roles at ABB Ltd., leading both companies’ multi-billion-dollar procurement programs.

Dan was awarded 2023 CPO of the Year from the World Procurement Awards and he helped lead Schneider Electric to various industry awards, including the top spot on the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2023 and the Environmental and Social Impact Award and Supply Chain Initiative Award at the 2022 World Procurement Awards. He also serves as an Advisory Board Member for several organizations, including World 50 Group’s Procurement Leaders, business sustainability ratings provider EcoVadis, and the University of California’s Institute for Supply Chain Excellence and Innovation.

Dan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in production operations management from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and an Executive MBA from the Institute for Management Development.

Willem Uijen serves as Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer and is part of the Unilever Leadership Executive.

With a career spanning 23 years, Willem first joined Unilever as a trainee engineer at the Research Centre in Vlaardingen, The Netherlands. Thereafter he held a variety of Supply Chain roles in manufacturing, distribution, customer service and planning before leading the Supply Chain function for Unilever Mexico and Caribbean. Subsequently he led the Supply Chain for Home Care and later for Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Prior to his current role, Willem was the Chief Procurement Officer for the Unilever Group.

Heather is the Vice President of Supply Chain Strategy and Systems at Ulta Beauty, where she leads key areas within the Supply Chain organization, including Supply Chain Strategy, Network Expansion, Data and Analytics, and Logistics Systems. With a strong background in inventory management and cross-functional integration, Heather has held significant roles such as Director of Merchandise Planning & Inventory and Director of Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). Her career trajectory reflects a deep expertise in supply chain management and strategic planning.

Prior to joining Ulta Beauty, Heather spent 10 years at Caterpillar Inc., where she developed and refined her leadership skills in supply chain operations. Heather holds an MBA from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. Heather is also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and a Certified Supply Chain Professional, underscoring her dedication to driving operational excellence.

Joanna Kostecka is the Vice President of Cloud Global Supply Chain Planning at Microsoft, where she leads end-to-end planning transformation for the company’s $100B+ cloud business. With over 20 years of executive experience at Fortune 500 companies including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, ABB Ltd., Honeywell, and Sumitomo, Joanna is recognized for delivering large-scale, AI-enabled supply chain transformations that align operations with enterprise growth.

Prior to Microsoft, Joanna served as VP of Global Planning & Materials Management at HPE, overseeing operations for its $19B hardware business. She led a multi-year transformation across process, systems, and talent—impacting revenue delivery, working capital, and customer satisfaction. At ABB and Honeywell, she spearheaded global planning, fulfillment, and NPI supply strategies in complex environments. Her expertise spans supply operations, materials management, logistics, and integrated business planning.

A Top 50 Finalist for the Supply Chain & Procurement Professional Award by OnCon Conferences, Joanna is also a graduate of HPE’s Board Readiness Program and a member of Chief, the premier network for executive women leaders. Born and raised in Poland, Joanna holds an Executive MBA from the University of Poznan and Georgia State University in Atlanta, a postgraduate degree in Management Psychology, and a master’s in European law and administration from the University of Poznan.

Craig Sutton is the Vice President for Industry 4.0 at Eaton Corp since 2021.    He is driving the development and adoption of industry leading technologies to deliver value and a competitive advantage to their global manufacturing footprint which builds power management solutions.   He has a passion for new manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing, robotics, lightweight materials, digital manufacturing, Industrial 5G, and Internet of Things (IoT) for manufacturing.

Prior to Eaton, he worked for over 23 years at John Deere with roles ranging from customer support, quality engineering, product engineering, product validation, and advanced manufacturing & innovation.

Along with experience in product design and advanced manufacturing, he currently serves on the CESMII (Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute) executive council, Girl Scout of NorthEast Ohio board, and has previously served on the Quad City Manufacturing Lab board, Western Illinois University College of Engineering advisory board, Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Corp (IMEC) board, the Iowa Innovation Council, and MxD institute’s tech advisory council.

Craig received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture engineering from the University of Illinois, an executive MBA from the Tippie School of Business at the University of Iowa, and a Strategic Innovation Leadership certificate from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.  He currently works at the Eaton Center based out of Cleveland, OH.

Quentin Roach joined The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) as Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer in August 2023. In this role, Quentin oversees ELC’s strategic supplier relationships and enhances end-to-end synchronization across the company’s supplier network to help accelerate innovation, growth, and joint value creation.

Prior to joining Estee Lauder, he served as a catalyst for transformation, innovation and growth through senior level executive positions in Sale & Marketing, Business Development, Sourcing & Procurement, Quality, Supply Chain Planning, Global Real Estate, Manufacturing Operations, Workplace & Enterprise Services and Engineering in healthcare, pharmaceutical, consumer goods/products, medical device, academia and automotive industries with General Motors Corporation, Delphi Corporation, Strong Health/The University of Rochester, Bausch & Lomb, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck & Co., Inc. and Mondelez International. He currently serves on the board of directors for US Foods, Inc, Armada Supply Solutions, Baldwin Richardson Foods Company, and is Chairman of Board for the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc.

Quentin brings to ELC a proven dedication to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion and is focused on making a positive impact on communities and the world through strong corporate citizenship. Quentin holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University as well as a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management of Technology from Arizona State University.