Announcing the 2020 Recipients of the AWESOME Legendary Leadership Award

February 27, 20202 minute read

At the eighth annual AWESOME Symposium – June 10-12 in Chicago – two outstanding leaders will be presented with the AWESOME Legendary Leadership (ALL) Award. They are Ertharin Cousin, Founder and CEO, Food Systems for the Future, and former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and Joanne Wright, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of IBM’s Enterprise Operations and Services.

From 2012 to 2017, Ertharin Cousin guided the 14,000-member WFP team feeding more than 80 million people each year and had oversight for one of the world’s most sophisticated and often dangerous supply chain (20 ships, 70 aircraft, 5,000 trucks and 14,000 employees). Previously she served as the US Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture after many years helping to lead the US domestic fight to end hunger, including serving as EVP and COO of America’s Second Harvest. Read bio

In her current role, Joanne Wright is responsible for redesigning IBM’s operating model and driving end-to-end digital solutions as she leads IBM’s transformation to a data-driven cognitive enterprise. She is a member of IBM’s Acceleration Team and the Executive Sponsor of Global Women of IBM. Previously, Joanne was Chief Operating Officer of IBM’s Supply Chain, responsible for strategy, execution and transformation of IBM’s global, end to end supply chain, delivering to clients across more than 170 countries. Read bio

The ALL Award is presented each year to women in senior supply chain roles who have:

Since 2014, when the first presentation took place at the AWESOME Symposium, 12 women have been honored.