Hurricane season is always deeply volatile for supply chains, and this year it’s extreme. Recently, hurricane Beryl barreled through Texas leaving millions in the dark, shaking up lives, and driving $32B in federal storm damage expenses. The same storm left thousands of homes in Jamaica without electricity after the country was slammed by twelve hours of heavy rain. The category-four storm weakened to a category-two before pounding the Mexican coast with six inches of rain.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2024 is set to be a record-breaking hurricane season for the Atlantic region. Hurricanes have already rocked communities and supply chains around the world, and we’re just getting started with the season typically running from June 1st to November 30th—peaking in late August and September. And we’re just getting started.
A tumultuous hurricane season is hallmarked by supply chain disruptions. In 2021 Hurricane Ida crippled the world’s largest petrochemical production plant in Texas—halting it to a perpetual standstill. The outage led to resin and plastic shortages, including PVC, and impacted a wide range of products consumers use every day: plastic packaging, bottles, toys… the list is endless. And in 2017, Hurricane Harvey sparked a week-long closure of multiple Gulf Coast ports, including the Port of Houston. Three of Houston’s major terminals were obstructed and freight carriers battled heavy congestion with flooded roadways and a driver shortage.
According to scientists, while climate change isn’t fueling more hurricanes, it is making storms devastatingly more destructive. According to the IPCC, a higher proportion of tropical cyclones globally are rising to category-three and above—topping average wind speeds. Meanwhile, global ports are already congested and the latest storms in the U.S. are disrupting a main gateway for energy commodities and their byproducts.
These ongoing climate challenges require diversity in thought and in the workforce, specifically where it hits the hardest, in supply chain. We already know that organizations employing more women in leadership surpass competitors, so closing the gender gap isn’t just good for the world economy and planet, it’s great for business.
Let’s Talk Supply Chain’s Women In Supply Chain program, and our blog and podcast series reinforce the importance of investing in gender diversity including female leaders and our nonbinary counterparts. We hope our Women In Supply Chain blog series motivates others to obliterate traditional gender barriers for a profound personal and professional impact.
We’re proud to feature Stacy Kirincic this month. Stacy is the Marketing AVP at Direct Chassis Link Inc. (DCLI) where she moved her career into supply chain almost eight years ago. She is a recognized marketing leader with nearly three decades of experience, largely in strategic, management roles. Stacy has a history of making a meaningful impact at her employers with a constant focus on KPIs and a deep knowledge of M&A. Stacy boasts both a Marketing Strategy MBA and a Technology MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. She achieved her bachelor’s in marketing from Northern Illinois University. Stacy is certified in Sustainable Marketing and Challenger Fundamentals – Core Sales Skills.
1. Where did your supply chain journey start?
I have spent my career in Marketing and the last seven marketing for a supply chain company. Before joining DCLI, I didn’t know what a chassis was, let alone all the other links in the supply chain. I was fortunate to attend several industry events, including RILA, TPM, and IANA EPXO, early in my role here, and that connected me with people and resources to help me learn.
I had the opportunity to build DCLI’s marketing function from the ground up –taking what I knew well and applying it to a space that I was just learning. From brand architecture to content, from website development to marketing automation, I’ve been able to craft a customer experience that helps the market know who DCLI is and how we can deliver for our business as their chassis partner of choice. My small but stellar team (who are also women in supply chain) has accomplished amazing things for our company and I couldn’t be more proud of them.
2. Have mentors supported your professional growth in supply chain?
I had a wonderful mentor, Kathleen, in my late twenties. She’s still “who I want to be when I grow up”. Kathleen was the first woman manager I’d worked for and a force of nature: smart, independent, cultured, witty—a delight to work with and learn from. Everything I am as a manager, I learned from her. Personally, she taught me to stand up for my ideas, to overcome imposter syndrome, and not to say “sorry,” (unless I actually owed someone an apology). She’s still a mentor and a friend today.
3. What’s your experience working in a male-dominated industry?
I’ve spent almost my entire career in male-dominated industries so I learned early on how to navigate them. And that’s by never attempting to be part of “the boys club,” but instead carving out my own seat at the table and showing my colleagues why I have a right to it. There have been instances when I’ve been overlooked and/or singled out—sometimes intentionally and sometimes not. I always try to not sweep these instances under the rug but address them and then move on instead. Humor helps; I keep a quote from Charlotte Whitton, the first woman mayor of a major city in Canada, on the wall in my office: “Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.”
4. When did you find your voice in your career?
I was around twenty-eight when I worked as head of operations. He was 5’5″ (I’m 5’8″ and used to wear heels). Even though I managed the firm’s marketing department, he had a go-get-me-a-cup-of-coffee attitude towards me. We were standing outside his office and I was speaking with him about an upcoming product launch and the production schedule related to it. Instead of looking at me, he was looking at what was about eye level with him—my chest. After a couple of minutes, I bent down, looked him in the face, and said “I know it’s a little high for you but my eyes are up here.”
He became flustered and ended the conversation quickly. I honestly thought I would be fired so I went and told our HR manager about what had happened. She laughed (she probably wasn’t supposed to) and said I’d done nothing wrong. Then she asked me if I felt threatened or wanted her to put the incident on his record. I felt so empowered and supported; I started being comfortable to speak my mind in any situation.
5. What advice do you have for women in supply chain and others looking to start a career in the industry?
Women belong everywhere. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Stand up, speak out, and, in the words of Margaret Atwood, “nolite te bastardes carborundorum”.
6. Who do you admire in and outside of the supply chain?
Maybe it’s cliché, but it’s The Notorious RBG. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a pioneer and the icon for women succeeding in a male-dominated industry.
7. What have you learned on your supply chain journey so far and what’s next?
I’ve learned that I do deserve to be where I am. I struggled horribly with imposter syndrome early in my career. I’ve finally realized I earned every step that I’ve taken in my career. It isn’t a mistake that I’ve come this far, and it’s up to me and no one else where I decide to go next. It’s something I learned before DCLI and something that my achievements continue to reinforce, especially after starting from scratch in supply chain.
8. What does your Women In Supply Chain feature mean to you?
I’m very proud to be part of this series. I’ve spent most of my career in male-dominated industries, (and my life as an outspoken feminist). I believe it’s important to shine a light on how women contribute to the supply chain industry, and in turn, literally keep the world moving.
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Meet Our Sponsor
Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s Women in Supply Chain award, sponsored by Let’s Talk Supply Chain podcast and Blended Pledge project, honors female supply chain leaders and executives whose accomplishments, mentorship, and examples set a foundation for women in all levels of a company’s supply chain network.
About the Author
Naomi Sylvian is a content marketing leader with more than 17 years of experience, and the editor of Let’s Talk Supply Chain™’s Women in supply chain™ series. Her works have appeared on Forbes, Mashable, Business Insider, The Muse, and Yahoo, and have been mentioned by The New York Times Online. Naomi mentors at-risk teens to fight recidivism and contribute on a local level, working with the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. Subscribe to her LinkedIn newsletter, The Chain Explained, for all things Supply Chain broken down with as many pop-culture references as possible, or view her marketing portfolio online.
