UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. –– The Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR) at the Penn State Smeal College of Business has appointed four new members to its Corporate Advisory Board for the 2026-27 term, bringing diverse expertise from the technology, retail, consulting and grocery sectors.
The new board members include:
- Scott Andrews, supply chain systems director at Wegmans Food Markets Inc., leads the Supply Chain Systems Team and collaborates on strategic initiatives. Since joining Wegmans in 2007, he has held leadership roles in distribution operations, logistics, master data and inventory management. With more than 24 years of total supply chain experience, including seven years in manufacturing prior to Wegmans, Andrews holds degrees from Penn State and Saint Joseph's University.
- Amit Bansal, senior vice president of technology silicon and server infrastructure procurement at Dell Technologies, leads strategic procurement of technology silicon including CPUs, GPUs/AI modules, and networking chips while overseeing server infrastructure procurement and global manufacturing initiatives. With more than 23 years of experience at Dell, he has held various global leadership roles across procurement, operations engineering, supplier quality and manufacturing in Austin, Singapore and Taipei.
- Travis Byers, director of supply chain planning and analytics at Victoria's Secret & Co. (VS&Co.), leads teams responsible for inventory optimization, flow analytics and strategic inventory positioning across the VS&Co. network while spearheading global supply chain initiatives in emerging international markets. With more than 14 years of progressive leadership experience at VS&Co. since 2010, he has successfully led major projects including a $30 million Bombay Sorter material handling equipment implementation.
- Kerry McCarthy, fellow of supply chain resilience at LMI, focuses on developing and implementing innovative supply chain solutions across all mission areas while overseeing resilience projects and serving as a technical advisor. With over 20 years of experience working with organizations including the Department of Defense, NASA, FEMA and private sector clients, he serves on the Supply Chain Risk Leadership Council and is president of Pittsburgh's Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Chapter.
Jessica Gerhard, senior director, international supply chain at the Hershey Company, has been named chairperson for 2026 and Kim Hadlum, vice president of inventory planning at ARMADA Supply Chain Solutions, has been named vice chairperson for 2026.
"We are thrilled to welcome these accomplished supply chain leaders to our advisory board," said Donna Palumbo, executive director of CSCR.
"Their collective expertise spans key supply chain functions including technology procurement, analytics, resilience and systems management. Their insights will be invaluable as we expand our initiatives and implement increased programming aligned with both Smeal's strategic direction and the evolving future of supply chain," Palumbo added. "We are particularly focused on developing cutting-edge resources that prepare our students and industry partners for the AI-driven transformation reshaping global supply chains."
CSCR advisory board members support the center by developing its brand, attracting new corporate supporters, providing input on strategic planning and serving as ambassadors for Penn State Smeal and CSCR.
Returning board members include Drew Ceschini, director, global supply planning for standard product at Rockwell Automation; Shea Nesseler, vice president of logistics at Danone; and Chad Whyte, executive vice president of supply chain at Utz Brands Inc.