In this timely event, we will explore global supply chains' past, present, and future. First, we will define precisely what a supply chain is and the root causes of today’s challenges that intersect with geopolitics, globalization, and grand challenges such as de-population and climate change. Buffington will close with a paradigm shift in thinking about supply chains, economics, and globalization that could lead to a new era of opportunity. With a thought-provoking panel and Q&A session, this discussion will examine whether global supply chains are on the brink of collapse or reinvention.

Jack Buffington is the Program Director/Professor for the Supply Chain Management program and the Denver Transportation Institute at the University of Denver.  Buffington is also the Supply Chain and Sustainability Director at First Key Consulting, a global brewing consulting firm.  Before these roles, Jack was responsible for supply chain logistics for Miller/Coors Brewing Company, the second-largest beer company in the U.S. and the fourth-largest worldwide.  During Jack’s career at Miller/Coors, he was responsible for various functions in Information Technology, Operations, Supply Chain, and special projects such as the merger between Miller and Coors and Coors and Molson.

Buffington received a Ph.D. in Supply Chain Management from the Lulea University of Technology in Lulea, Sweden, and a Post-Doc at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.  Jack has published over twenty peer-reviewed journal articles and eight books, most recently 2024 titled “Environmental Innovation: An Action Plan for Saving the Economy and Planet by 2050” and 2023 “Reinventing Supply Chain: A 21st Century Covenant for America.”  Jack is collaborating with innovators in supply chain, sustainability, and healthcare across the planet. 

Talking Points: 

Act 1: A Brief History: From Markets to Supply Chains 

Act 2: What Went Wrong? 

Act 3: The Fix (Supply Chains or Something Else?) 

Q&A