Heather Sheehan will be the new Executive Director
AWESOME has announced that Nancy Nix, who has led the organization since becoming the first Executive Director in mid-2014, will become Executive Director Emeritus at the end of this year. The new Executive Director, as of January 1, 2018, will be Heather Sheehan, AWESOME’s Director of Member Engagement & Sponsorships and former Vice President for Danaher Corporation.
“It has been a terrific challenge – and an ‘awesome’ experience – to have served as Executive Director during these early years,” said Nancy. “AWESOME’s growth from an idea that the future of women’s supply chain leadership could be transformed by bringing the top women in the profession together – to an active, dynamic and still-expanding network of more than 1,100 women, confirms that the need was there. The passion was there. The potential was there. And AWESOME lit the fuse.”
Under Nancy’s leadership, working with Ann Drake, AWESOME founder and CEO of DSC Logistics, the organization has focused on these key initiatives: the annual Symposium; scholarships that provide funds for university students to attend the CSCMP conference and the AWESOME Symposium; the presentation of the AWESOME Legendary Leadership Award to recognize outstanding women in supply chain; powered by AWESOME programs connecting other organizations to AWESOME leaders who can participate as speakers and panelists; and research on women in supply chain, conducted in collaboration with Gartner Research. Read more about AWESOME’s history.
Heather Sheehan was one of the first two women presented with the AWESOME Legendary Leadership Award (in 2014). After serving as one of the original members of the AWESOME Advisory Board, Heather took on the responsibilities of a newly-formed position: Director of Member Engagement and Sponsorships. Since then, not only has the AWESOME network grown significantly, but relationships have been developed with an increasing number of Symposium sponsors – the number totaling 31 in 2017.
According to Ann Drake, “Nancy and Heather are a highly effective team. They’ve worked together over the past two years to expand AWESOME’s reach in the professional community, raise awareness of the expertise and excellence of female supply chain leaders; engage companies who are committed to supporting the work of AWESOME in advancing diverse leadership; and strengthen AWESOME as a robust organization.”
She continued, “We are extremely pleased that Nancy has agreed to continue in the capacity of Executive Director Emeritus and work with us on special projects.”