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.
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.
Now, as President and Founder of Lincoln Road Enterprises, an operational philanthropic organization, Ann’s full focus is on elevating women’s leadership and creating a future in which women are at the forefront of improving the world we live in. Lincoln Road advances key initiatives and affiliated nonprofits with the purpose of impacting women’s leadership in the following fields: business, global supply chain, engineering and technology, infrastructure and design, and space and astrophysics.
Envisioning the future as a world without barriers to excellence, one in which women’s particular contributions are recognized and valued in making the world a better place, Ann founded the Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay, located on the shores of Geneva Lake in Wisconsin. Designed by Studio Gang, led by award-winning architect Jeanne Gang, the center will encourage innovation by bringing together accomplished women in an extraordinary space dedicated to collaborating and generating solutions to complex problems. The center is scheduled to open in 2025.
In addition to CSCMP’s Distinguished Service Award, Ann has received recognition from organizations both inside and outside the supply chain field, including the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Salzberg Medallion for Lifetime Achievement from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, and the Schultz Award for advancing women in transportation and logistics from the McCormick School at Northwestern.
Ann serves on the Kellogg School Global Advisory Board of Northwestern University, and on the Boards of Trustees for the New World Symphony, Miami Beach, the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, and the Chicago Architecture Center. She is a member of the Civic Committee Transportation Task Force, an affiliate of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
A graduate of the University of Iowa, Ann received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.