SCM publishes groundbreaking list of supply chain leaders

Unilever’s Pier Luigi Sigismondi named as Europe’s top Supply Chain Executive

Who are the most influential supply chain executives in Europe? Which leaders are truly shaping their organisations? And who can be seen as a poster child of the supply chain universe? European logistics magazine Supply Chain Movement has collaborated with executive search firm Inspired-Search to compile a list of Europe’s top supply chain executives. In the top spot is Unilever’s Pier Luigi Sigismondi, a supply chain practitioner who says on his LinkedIn profile he is ‘creating a legacy whilst making a difference’.

Supply Chain Movement and Inspired-Search, supported by the input of other executive search companies, have compiled a list of close to thirty supply chain executives who are truly shaping their organisations. The ranking is based on several criteria including span of control, visibility and awards won (individually or with their supply chain team). The result is a list of the top supply chain leaders in Europe who are making a big impact throughout the supply chain. Furthermore, they share their expertise internally and externally, and transfer their knowledge by speaking at events, hosting webinars and giving media interviews. In other words, each of them is a poster child of the supply chain universe.

Number one

Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Unilever, is ranked the number one supply chain executive in Europe. He joined Unilever on the Executive Board in September 2009, following roles at global management consultancy AT Kearney and Nestlé SA, where he was Vice President of Corporate Operations Strategies in Switzerland and Vice President of Supply Chain and R&D in Mexico. At Unilever, he heads a global operation consisting of 270 factories delivering EUR 23 billion of cost of goods sold. He is accountable for Unilever’s end-to-end value chain and tasked with creating the best supply chain in the fast-moving consumer goods industry.

Ranking

Close on Pier Luigi Sigismondi’s heels in the ranking are Chris Tyas, VP Supply Chain Nestlé (in second place) and Ivanka Janssen, Supply Chain Director Europe at Diageo (third). Chris Tyas has been at Nestlé for thirty years, initially across manufacturing roles throughout Europe but also in human resources. Having joined Nestlé’s supply chain organisation at its inception in the mid-1990s, he helped to establish the function in the UK before going on to assume responsibility for Europe. He became Head of Group Supply Chain in 2013. During his time with Nestlé UK, Tyas commanded several initiatives with retailers to improve their on-shelf availability and increase efficiency. He has also used his skills outside of the supply chain business and several non-profit organisations have benefited from his expertise.
Ivanka Janssen was appointed Supply Chain Director Europe at Diageo in July 2011. Her focus is to ensure that the European supply chain is the integrated business partner to Diageo and its customers by fulfilling Diageo’s consumer demand through a customer-driven, end-to-end segmented supply chain that is efficient, responsive and agile.

Complete list of Europe’s top supply chain executives