Ann Drake draws upon more than three decades in the supply chain field – as the former Chairman and CEO of DSC Logistics and an actively involved industry leader – to focus on organizations related to the global supply chain, the nation’s transportation system and the future of women’s leadership. She is Founder and Chair of AWESOME (Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management and Education), and Founder and President of Lincoln Road Enterprises.
AWESOME, launched by Ann in 2013 after she became the first woman in 47 years to win the Distinguished Service Award from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, has grown to become a community of more than 1,500 woman in diverse senior supply chain leadership roles. AWESOME works to advance and transform the future of supply chain leadership.
Through Lincoln Road Enterprises, founded in 2019, Ann is initiating new ways to advance the influence and contributions of women in business, supply chain, engineering/technology, infrastructure/design, and space.
In her previous role as corporate CEO from 1994 through 2018, Ann guided DSC Logistics to become one of the leading supply chain management companies by transforming supply chain management into a critical business strategy based on collaborative partnerships. Today, DSC is part of CJ Group, a South Korean conglomerate with global logistics reach.
In addition to CSCMP’s Distinguished Service Award, Ann has received recognition from organizations both inside and outside the supply chain field. In 2018, the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University presented Ann with the Distinguished Alumni Service Award. Also in 2018 she received the Luminary Award as Entrepreneurial Champion from C200, the global organization of businesswomen. In 2019, she received the Salzburg Medallion from Syracuse University for her lifelong achievements.
Ann is a member of the Kellogg School Global Advisory Board at Northwestern University, serves on the Board of Governors for Chicago’s Metropolitan Planning Council and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. She is a member of the Civic Committee Transportation Task Force, an affiliated organization of the Commercial Club of Chicago. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the A.M. Castle Company and the Board of Governors for the Committee of 200, and as Vice Chair of the Business Advisory Council for the Northwestern University Transportation Center.
Ann received an undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.