Dr. James A. Tompkins is an international authority on supply chain strategy and operations. As the CEO he provides leadership for Tompkins International. With more than 35 years experience, he holds an insider's view into what makes great companies even better. Jim has written or contributed to more than 30 books, and has been quoted in hundreds of business and industry magazines. He has spoken at thousands of international engagements and received more than 50 awards for his service to the profession.

An expert in global distribution strategy, Denny McKnight has spent his 25+ year career focusing on warehouse logistics, equipment, and technology, as well as overseeing the development of Tompkins’ proprietary robotic sortation systems and strategic partnerships.  Denny’s extensive experience leading large-scale initiatives in facility re-engineering and new greenfield DC/FC design has given him unrivaled levels of insight into the best approaches and technologies for the modern distribution and fulfillment environment.  As President of the Tompkins organization, he has been instrumental in creating the company’s vision of The Connected Warehouse™, where IoT-enabled equipment and building control systems harmonize with next-generation WES technology to create new levels of efficiency and supply chain transparency.

Denny is a frequent speaker on various warehousing and logistics subjects, is quoted in top industry publications, and has contributed to several industry related books.  In 2018, he was recognized by Supply & Demand Chain Executive as an industry “Pro-to-Know”.  

John Spain has been helping organizations improve their global supply chains for more than three decades. He frequently addresses trade and professional organizations and is a regular speaker on various warehousing and logistics subjects. John has also written or contributed to numerous articles for many prominent trade publications. He is an active member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. John received his B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Kaplan has 30 years experience as a CFO with 23 of those years working with public companies. During his career, Kaplan has been directly responsible for closing over $1.4 billion in transactions, including underwritten public offerings (four IPOs), PIPEs, acquisitions and bank financings. As EVP and CFO at Rare Medium Group, Kaplan completed a $186 million underwritten public offering and more than $70 million in private placement funding. Throughout his career as a CFO, Kaplan has been responsible for building and developing corporate finance and administrative staff to handle growth, and he has implemented budgeting and forecasting disciplines to manage growth. During Kaplan's tenure at Clabir Corporation, a conglomerate that owned 37 restaurants and 100 convenience stores, the company brought the popular KlondikeÔ ice cream bar to the national market and subsequently spun-off Klondike as a separate public company.

Kaplan also has substantial experience implementing and managing successful investor relations campaigns and coordinated securities analyst coverage for a number of public companies. Kaplan has experience in financial leadership, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations for public and emerging-growth companies. 

Kaplan holds a Master’s of Business Administration with distinction from the New York University Stern School of Business, where he was elected a charter member of Beta Gamma Sigma (National Business Honor Society), and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

Bruce Tompkins boasts more than 30 years of operations experience, from traditional industrial engineering to manufacturing and materials management. He is an expert in manufacturing and distribution processes, lean manufacturing implementation, Six Sigma methodologies, ISO/QS Quality Systems, and benchmarking and gap analysis. Bruce has authored numerous reports and created a variety of presentations that share findings from the Consortium's benchmarking and best practices surveys. He is also frequently quoted in numerous industry publications. Prior to his role at Tompkins International, Bruce was Vice President/General Manager of Operations for Maytag Herrin Laundry Products. He received his B.S. in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois and his M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Management from Oklahoma State University.

Mike is the President and one of the original leaders that has created Tompkins Robotics and brought the t-Sort sortation system to life for global customers. t-Sort is the world's first robotic, truly scalable, portable, and intelligently adaptable automated sortation system that is changing the way firms execute in their supply chains. He has been involved from day one in the evolution of this unique and innovation system - recognizing the potential, designing the applications, and creating the value proposition for Tompkins Robotics' customers. He continues to lead the design and forward movement of the company. He drives much of the new application development, new product conceptualization, and the integration with partners solving unique problems with complimentary robotic automation. His focus is to deliver Tompkins Robotics and its systems to customers in North America and Europe to maximize their service, performance, and operations in ways never before thought possible. Mike spent his prior career doing supply chain consulting and implementations for customers in a range of industries, including Pharmaceutical, Retail, Food & Beverage, and Consumer Products. Mike has been highly successful in building long-term relationships based upon his personal involvement in successful implementations. He has achieved significant results for clients that have led to bottom line savings, higher levels of performance, enhanced service levels across the supply chain, and an increase in overall shareholder value. He now brings that same level of success to the leadership of Tompkins Robotics and its customers. His client list includes over 200 hundred firms during his prior career and at Tompkins Robotics. Mike's work history includes the US Air Force, Tompkins International, Garr Consulting and Deloitte Consulting, prior to becoming totally focused on Tompkins Robotics.

Gene Tyndall has 30 years experience consulting with major corporations. Prior to joining Tompkins International, he was President of Ryder Global Supply Chain Solutions, and was a Senior Partner with the E&Y Supply Chain Management Practice. In his current role, he focuses on the firm's marketing strategy, as well as developing and applying services and solutions. In 2007, he was awarded "Global Logistics Person of the Year" by the Global Institute of Logistics.

Dale Harmelink oversees supply chain consulting services at Tompkins International. Dale is an expert in logistics systems planning, order-picking, and warehouse operations. He is skilled in computer modeling and evaluation of distribution system alternatives, as well as developing and evaluating warehouse equipment and systems. Dale has taught numerous seminars on logistics, and has co-edited and co-authored several books. He received his B.S. in Manufacturing Administration from Western Michigan University.

Kelly Reed is a "veteran" supply chain authority in every sense of the word. A 2014 recipient of Supply & Demand Chain Executive's Pros to Know award and a 2014 MHI Roundtable member, Kelly has more than 30 years experience in Supply Chain Management, Distribution Center design and material handling systems integration, warehouse control system design and implementation, and system life cycle support. He has worked extensively with many public, private, and government businesses to improve their supply chain planning, execution and warehouse operations. Prior to joining Tompkins International, Kelly served in the U.S. Marine Corps in a variety of supply chain leadership positions. He received his B.S. in Business Administration at Ohio State University and his M.S. in Information Systems from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Herman is an experienced and accomplished global sales and marketing executive within the distribution, manufacturing, and supply chain industries.

Throughout his career Herman has successfully lead sales, marketing, and account management organizations to achieve accelerated growth. Prior to joining MonarchFx he was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for XPO Logistics, Supply Chain. He has also served as Vice President of Global Account Management with Flextronics, Vice President of Global Sales at ITT, Interconnect Solutions, Vice President of North American Semiconductor Marketing at Arrow Electronics, before starting his career with Marshall Industries. He has over 25 years of experience as a thought leader and practitioner of market segmentation strategy, solution selling process, value proposition development, and disciplined global sales execution. Herman has spoken publicly on strategic solution selling and mentors startup companies with their go to market strategy and sales messaging.

Herman holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University with a major in Accounting. He has attended advanced management and leadership programs at Harvard University and the ITT Management Institute.

Thompson Brockmann is an instrumental Tompkins Robotics team member for the development of the highly innovative t-Sort robotic unit and parcel sortation system. t-Sort is the world's first robotic, truly scalable, portable, and intelligently adaptable automated sortation system that is changing the way firms execute in their supply chains.

Since joining Tompkins International in 1995, he has developed extensive experience in the design and implementation of distribution networks and fulfillment centers in eCommerce, 3PL, consumer goods, retail, and apparel. He has played lead roles in developing Strategic Master Plans, justifying systems and equipment, detailed facility planning and specification, and managing the implementation process for clients.

In his current role as Vice President at Tompkins Robotics he oversees the full life cycle, from solutions development to post go-live owner transition of t-Sort, integrated material handling systems, and other automated solutions.  Thompson uses his over 20 years of experience in distribution and fulfillment system designs and implementation, to deliver his clients with Tompkins Robotics solutions that maximize their service, performance, and operations in ways never before thought possible.

Received his B.S. and Master’s in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Mike Halsey received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University, and is a 24 year veteran of Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consulting Services team. He has extensive experience in the design and implementation of Manufacturing and Distribution Facilities and Operations, Material Handling Equipment selection and specifications, Warehouse Management Systems, Distribution Networks, and Production Planning systems. Mike’s successes include the design of more than 50 distribution centers, 18 distribution networks, and ten manufacturing facilities. Mike approaches every project with a focus on achieving customer service goals, and employs innovative engineering concepts to ensure peak operational and economic performance of his facilities. Among his clients are Ingram Books, STIHL, Performance, Inc., Cooper Tools, Virginia ABC, Indigo Book & Music, Advance Auto, Hanesbrands, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, and MTD Products.

Karl has an extensive background in supply chain strategies, software, solutions, and project management, as well as transportation and routing work for perishable goods and food service, where he has helped numerous organizations eliminate waste in their supply chains and develop better customer service.  Prior to re-joining Tompkins, Karl was VP of Logistics Systems for Supply Chain Intelligence where he was responsible for the design and implementation of transportation software.  Karl also served as a Senior Director of Consulting Services at Manhattan Associates, responsible for the implementation of optimization products, such as PTRS (routing & scheduling), SmartSite (network planning), Slot-Info (slotting), and Productivity Manager (labor management).

As a partner at Tompkins International, Brian Hudock specializes in total supply chain projects, including supply chain network analysis and planning, facility and operations optimization, and the design, specification, and installation of various equipment and systems. Brian is a frequent contributor to well-respected trade journals on the topics of material handling and warehouse operations, and his expertise extends across numerous industries. He received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Kevin is a Vice President in the Supply Chain Information Technology Dimension. With over 22 years experience in the supply chain industry, Kevin has managed a wide range of projects including Supply Chain IT system selection and deployment for many industries, including publishing, food and beverage, consumer electronics, and pharmaceuticals within multi-channel retail and wholesale operations. He also has extensive experience in facility design and layout, network optimization, transportation optimization, and warehouse management strategic design and implementation. Kevin has been a pioneer in the field of Internet retail fulfillment and is also a recognized authority in the areas of distribution facility design as well as Warehouse Management System (WMS) justification, selection, and integration. Prior to joining Tompkins, Kevin served in a variety of supply chain industry and consulting roles including Director of Supply Chain Consulting Services for TranSystems | ESYNC, Director of Fulfillment Systems for eToys, Senior Supply Chain Consultant for AnswerThink for WMS implementations, and Project Manager for BDM / MARC Global responsible for leading the implementation of their WMS solution.

David Latona has more than 30 years experience in the supply chain industry. He is an apparel and footwear material handling integration specialist, skilled in the complete merchandise and mechanical flow of operations with a particular emphasis systems development in view of the overall supply chain.

Before joining Tompkins, David was a Partner and Senior Vice President of Vector Design, Inc. a nationwide material handling integrator and Co-founder and Managing Director of a third party logistics operator in the Port of Los Angeles.  He also co-founded Polygon Solutions, a B2B model offering services to emerging apparel and footwear brands providing a hosted ERP system, data entry, auditing and customer services. His expertise has helped companies such as The Wet Seal, Kenneth Cole Productions, The May Dept Stores, Carole Little, Perry Ellis, Warnaco, BCBG, bebe, Macy’s, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Kellwood, Authentic Fitness, Rock and Republic, Earth footwear, Tyr Sports, Kids R Us, JC Penney’s and The Gap.

As Vice President of Product Development, Jim’s role is to ensure that Tompkins Robotics is always on the leading edge of warehouse robotics. 

He joined Tompkins in 2012 to lead the Asia Supply Chain practice.  With over 15 years as an expatriate in China, Jim understands the Chinese language, culture, and end-to-end supply chain.  His experience in offshore manufacturing uniquely qualifies him to help vendors develop their products for the U.S. market. Prior to joining Tompkins, Jim managed the acquisition of a Flextronics factory, and subsequently managed all operations including New Product Introduction and implementations of ISO9001, QMS, and Scala ERP.  Under Jim’s leadership, the factory introduced new technologies that enabled RoHS compliance, micro BGA, and in-circuit testing. 

Upon joining Tompkins, he drove the expansion of the firm’s Asia practice into warehouse design and material handling equipment. Projects include site selection, network optimization, DC design, and procurement. During Jim’s tenure in China, his team discovered ground-breaking sortation technology which was not available in the US.  After moving back to the US in 2016,  Jim played a key role in establishing the distribution agreement and patents which laid the foundation for Tompkins Robotics.

Jim has a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MBA, both from Purdue University.

Michael A. Zakkour has two decades’ experience in international market strategy and implementation, primarily in China and Asia where he has assisted more than 300 multinational, public and private enterprises on their entry and growth strategies and implementation, supply chain and operations in China, including some of the biggest names in retail, food and beverage, entertainment, consumer products, health care, real estate, technology, fashion and luxury. He is also the co-author of the best-selling new book from Wiley “China’s Super Consumers” and is a contributing writer at FORBES, MSNBC, Harvard Business Review, Beijing Review and appears regularly on the BBC and NPR. He has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, WWD, Crain’s NY and CNBC, and The China Business Network among many others.