2023 Conference Speakers

Dr. Caplice is a Senior Research Scientist at MIT and serves as the Executive Director for the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics. He created and leads the MITx MicroMaster’s Program in Supply Chain Management for which he was awarded the MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning, the Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education, and the MIT Teaching with Digital Technology Award. He also founded and directs the MIT FreightLab. Chris was named the Silver Family Research Fellow and awarded the CSCMP Distinguished Service Award in 2016. Outside of MIT, he serves as the Chief Scientist for DAT Freight and Analytics.

Mr. Cordero is an international maritime industry leader and is the Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, California. He is the Port’s representative to the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority Governing Board and the Governing Board of the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility Joint Powers Authority. In 2020 Mr. Cordero was elected to a two-year term as Chairman of the Board for the American Association of Port Authorities and previously served as an Executive Board member on AAPA’s Latin American delegation. He sits on the L.A. County Economic Resiliency Task Force, chair of the Commodities and Goods Movement sector working group and serves on the Federal Reserve Bank’s Los Angeles branch seven-member board of directors. Mr. Cordero has practiced law for more than 30 years, specializing in workers’ compensation cases. He holds a law degree from the University of Santa Clara and a Bachelor of Science in political science from California State University, Long Beach.

Ms. Correale is the Senior Vice President Strategic Fleet Partnerships at Uber Freight. Alyssa is a seasoned supply chain professional with a strong background in the food and beverage industry. She has spent time across the entire supply chain, from the manufacturing floor to procurement leadership. Her industry roots run deep, as she grew up working in her family’s manufacturing business. She has a strong passion for relationship development and innovation.

Mr. Dagnese is President and CEO of PECO Pallet, Inc., a leader in pallet rental services to grocery and consumer goods manufacturers throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Prior to joining PECO Pallet Mr. Dagnese was president of Con-way Freight and an executive vice president of parent company Con-way Inc.,(now XPO Logistics). Mr. Dagnese was responsible for Con-way’s Freight’s overall operating and financial performance, strategic planning and business plan development. Mr. Dagnese was previously president of Con-way Truckload, where he was responsible for that company’s strategic direction and its operational and financial performance. Mr. Dagnese also worked for The Procter & Gamble Company for 14 years in a variety of transportation, logistics and customer service positions, including manager of North American transportation operations. He is a graduate of Indiana University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business and transportation.

Degroot Logistics is a 3PL based in Chicago focused on food and beverage markets. Adam also operates 4D Farm Product Sales, a fruit and vegetable sales and brokerage business. From his background in production agriculture from growing up on a 4th generation grain and vegetable farm in Central Illinois, he developed an early appreciation for commodity markets and the transportation markets that make them tick.

Kathy leads ALAN in facilitating donations of logistics services and equipment that enable the delivery of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid each year. She works on national work groups, including those hosted by the Department of Homeland Security, National Emergency Management Association, The Transportation Research Board and others, each which is focused on efficient coordination of logistics activities during disasters.

Prior to joining ALAN she lead IT infrastructure implementation and support, corporate systems and business continuity planning for Saddle Creek Logistics Services.

Cassandra is a transportation law expert and a transportation industry influencer. She was recently named one of the 100 People Transforming Business in North America by Business Insider joining alumni such as Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and Jeff Bezos. Cassandra has disrupted the transportation industry with a lively Joe Rogan-like show called “MadGaines Live” where each month, thousands of loyal viewers tune into FreightWaves TV for her educational, non-traditional show where she unites a very fragmented, volatile industry. Now Cassandra has disrupted the industry again as the Founder and CEO of Carrier Assure Inc. which is the industry’s first performance scoring software that anticipates how the carrier will transport the goods based on data science and trends. The score allows those that select carriers to match the right carrier to the right shipment.

John is CEO and Founder of FUBU, a much-celebrated global lifestyle brand, and a pioneer in the fashion industry with over $6 billion in product sales. He has received over 35 awards including the Brandweek Marketer of the Year, Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award and, most recently, was named #4 on LinkedIn’s Top 20 Voices, a list of the top influencers in the U.S. worth following to get inspired and stay informed! His marketing firm The Shark Group offers advice on how to effectively communicate to consumers through innovative means and connects brands with the world’s top celebrities for everything from endorsements to product extensions. John is also an author of four best-selling books including his New York Times best-selling books, The Power of Broke (2016) and Rise and Grind (2018). In March 2020, John released his sixth book, Powershift, that walks through his tried and true process of how to transform any situation, close any deal and achieve any outcome through his own experience and vast network of industry leaders. Finally, he’s celebrating his 12th season on ABC’s hit business show Shark Tank by acclaimed producer Mark Burnett.

As a 16 year trucking industry veteran, Dustin most recently led Over-The-Road (OTR) Operations for U.S. Xpress Enterprises. Koehl previously served as Senior Vice President of Sales for U.S. Xpress, leading a complete sales transformation for the $2 billion transportation provider. He began his career at Total Transportation, a subsidiary of U.S. Xpress. Through his career there, he led sales, customer service, pricing, and helped create the company’s dedicated and brokerage divisions. Dustin is deeply connected to innovative technologies that are transforming the trucking industry, including a multi-year partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and its FreightLab program which find solutions for greater efficiency in logistics. Also, he is strategic advisor for RePower, a digital trailer platform that’s solving for the $2 trillion opportunity for underutilized equipment in the trucking industry. Dustin served as vice chair of the automated truck committee with the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and was selected by the DOT Volpe Center as part of an expert working panel as it prepared its 2023 recommendation to congress for autonomous vehicle infrastructure needs. Koehl has served on several additional industry committees, including the ATA Board of Directors and the American Transportation Research Institute – Advisory Committee.

Mr. Leo has worked and/or owned RLS Logistics for over 25 years. While earning his BS in Business Administration from Monmouth University, he worked in every department to gain a thorough knowledge of the company. After graduating in 1996 he was named Vice-President, Transportation Group. In 2000 he was named President/CEO, Transportation Group, and became 50% owner along with his brother Anthony M. Leo, President/CEO of the Warehousing Group. In 2021 Russell became CEO of the entire RLS Logistics organization. As CEO, Russell enjoys the responsibility of ensuring the continued growth of RLS for many years to come. He currently resides in southern New Jersey with his wife Jacqueline and twin boys.

Dan Lewis is co-founder and CEO of Convoy, a digital trucking network that is transforming the trillion-dollar global trucking industry in service of its mission, “To transport the world with endless capacity and zero waste”. Before Convoy, Dan served as General Manager of New Shopping Experiences at Amazon, after having product and data roles at Microsoft, Google, and various startups. Dan started his career in supply-chain and strategy consulting for Oliver Wyman, working in operations across Europe, Latin America, and the US, after graduating from Yale University.

Sam Loesche is the Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Waabi and an expert in surface transportation policy, specializing in autonomous trucking and mutli-modal freight issues. He previously led federal policy and government affairs at autonomous trucking developer Embark Trucks, and prior to that spent eight years as the head of transportation policy at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Sam serves as the chairman of the AUVSI’s trucking advocacy committee, was a member of the Biden-Harris Campaign’s Infrastructure Policy Committee, and has sat on numerous panels and working groups within US DOT, Congress, and various state agencies. He has been featured in numerous national publications. A graduate of Kenyon College, he currently resides in Washington, DC.

Tracy Rosser has over 25 years of senior level supply chain experience, including transportation, distribution, and retail store operations experience. Tracy most recently served as Executive Vice President of operations for Transplace, an Uber Freight Company where he had responsibility for the transportation management operations. Prior to Transplace, Tracy served as Senior Vice President of Transportation and Supply Chain for Walmart. While in this role, he had responsibility for all domestic transportation, transportation procurement, the Walmart private fleet, transportation strategy and support, global transportation, last mile and supply chain services. Prior to joining Walmart, Tracy spent nine years in the truckload transportation industry holding positions in sales, marketing, and operations. Tracy holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Alabama and an MBA from Tulane University.