#70 The Spotlight On Supply Chains

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This week on The WAM Podcast, host, Linda Rigano, speaks to Lisa Morales-Hellebo, an amazing entrepreneur who is challenging the traditional views of supply chain and spotlighting new and innovative ways to look at it.

In 2017, Lisa and her partner, Brian Aoaeh, launched The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation, one of the largest and fastest growing grassroots-driven network of open and multidisciplinary meetup communities focused on supply chain, technology, and innovation. It’s flagship chapter, The NY Meetup, is attracting well over 150 attendees to its monthly programs. Their operating model is unique – and free – to all supply chain professionals. Space is donated and Lisa and Brian focus their efforts on attracting influential speakers who are leveraging technology in all sorts of cool ways.

Lisa also founded REFASHIOND Ventures, a VC that champions companies who are reinventing supply chains in the retail sector. Lisa shares how she recognized a need for companies to pay more attention to the inner workings of the supply chain and how her company meets those needs. Lisa also shares her view on VC funding and the gender bias that still exists around it.

“The playing field certainly is not even when you have female founders receiving less than 2% of all venture capital and you layer that with categories that male VCs simply don’t invest in or they don’t understand.” — @lisahellebo

MEET YOUR HOST

Linda Rigano

Linda Rigano is the Principal Consultant of The Rigano Group. Her expertise and enthusiasm for strategic and effective communication permeate all that she does as a consultant to B2B and B2C technology, manufacturing, supply chain, and publishing organizations to improve business performance and stakeholder relationships by building highly successful and measurable communications programs.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Linda has excelled in helping organizations advance the discussion of important industry issues. She was central to the development and promotion of ThomasNet’s annual Industry Market Barometer® (IMB) survey on the state of manufacturing, the ThomasNet/ISM “30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars” Recognition Program, and ThomasNet’s North American Scholarship Program. Linda also served as Director of Strategic Alliances for ThomasNet, and for many years was the Publisher of the Thomas Food Industry Register.

Throughout her career, Linda has been an active participant and presenter for manufacturing, supply management, and business associations. She is widely quoted in business and trade media, including Bloomberg Businessweek, Nightly Business Report, and Industry Today. Linda holds an MBA in marketing from Fordham University.

Connect with Linda Rigano on LinkedIn.

SPECIAL GUEST

Lisa is a seasoned entrepreneur, product strategist, and creative director whose career spans 24+ years working with technology startups and Fortune 500 companies. In 2014, Lisa founded and launched the New York Fashion Tech Lab with Springboard Enterprises and the Partnership Fund for NYC while serving as Executive Director for the first year. Her previous fashion tech startup, a contextual search engine, Shopsy, participated in TechStars in 2012 after Lisa was selected as one of the Top 10 Women in DC Tech. She has been featured in numerous publications and media outlets and is profiled in the best-selling book, Disrupters: Success Strategies From Women Who Break The Mold.

As an alumna of TechStars, Lisa maintains an active role in the startup community; she services on the Board of Puerto Rican accelerator, Parallel18, and mentors at The Startup Institute and The Founder Institute. She serves on several startup advisory boards while mentoring entrepreneurs around the globe.

Lisa shines a spotlight on other Latino founders by highlighting their work on LatinoBuilt.com and through her speaking engagements across the country. The New America Alliance recognized her as one of the top Latins in business and invited her to participate in the first American Latina Leadership Caucus in NYC.

In August 2017, Lisa teamed up with Brian Laung Aoaeh to start The New York Supply Chain Meetup. Building on that work, they started building The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation in May 2018 and are organizing the group’s first conference on June 19th and 20th in New York City.

Born in the Bronx, New York, Lisa obtained her BFA in Graphic Design with University Honors from Carnegie Melon University. She’s a lifelong lover of all things fashion and is addicted to learning, new media, technology, entrepreneurship, and travel.

For more, follow Lisa Morales on Twitter @lisahellebo and Instagram @lisahellebo and connect with her on LinkedIn. Check out REFASHIOND at www.refashiond.com and follow the brand on Twitter @refashiond and Instagram @berefashiond. Learn more about The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation by visiting www.tnyscm.com, following on Twitter @tnyscm, and connecting with the company on LinkedIn.

The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation is holding a new, free Supply Chain Innovation & Technology Conference June 19-20 in NYC, where the brightest minds in the industry will be discussing the reinvention of global supply chain networks.