Dr. Edmund Prateris a professor of global operations and logistics at the University of Texas at Arlington. He received his PhD, MSIE, and MSEE from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He became interested in global supply chains when he started and ran an import/export firm in Russia in the 1990s. He has taught and consulted in Southeast Asia and Europe for over 20 years. Most recently, he completed a fellowship with the National Academies of Sciences. As a Jefferson Science Fellow, he worked at the U.S. State Department in the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

Dr. Kim Whiteheadis an associate professor of Quantitative Management at Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina. She received her PhD in Management Science from the University of Texas at Arlington, her MBA in management from Florida State University, and a BBA in accounting from Georgia College and University. At Anderson University she created successful undergraduate and graduate programs specializing in supply chain management. Previously, she spent over 20 years in the consumer products industry and was the chief financial officer for a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of branded consumer products.