Jennifer Chew Of Bristlecone On What We Must Do To Create Nationally Secure And Resilient Supply Chains
An Interview With David Leichner
Sustainable Change: When we make big changes, like implementing AI into every facet of an organization, we also need to take things off of the list. Otherwise, the degree of change is unsustainable. It’s simply not possible to do everything — prioritize what will make the biggest difference in your organization right now.
The cascading logistical problems caused by the pandemic and the war in Eastern Europe, have made securing a reliable supply chain a national imperative. In addition, severe cyberattacks like the highly publicized Colonial pipeline attack, have brought supply chain cybersecurity into the limelight. So what must manufacturers and policymakers do to ensure that we have secure and resilient supply chains? In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders who can share insights from their experiences about how we can address these challenges. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Chew.
As a seasoned leader and strategist, Jen Chew brings extensive experience in advising global multinationals and fast-growing start-ups, specializing in the supply chain, manufacturing finance, marketing and branding, digital/enterprise technology, talent, customer experience, and employee engagement.
In her current role as Vice President of Solutions and Consulting at Bristlecone, a Mahindra Group Company, Jen is driving the company’s shift to become a consulting-led organization. Drawing from her diverse background, insights from discrete manufacturing, and experience in growing a consulting practice within an India-based organization, Jen leads in a transformative way at Bristlecone.
Her career journey includes leadership roles at TCS’ Consulting & Service Integration Team, Deloitte Consulting, IBM, PwC, and Forrester Research. While at Forrester, she authored one of the first Forrester Waves and contributed significantly to the transition from traditional to internet purchases in her leadership of joint research with the Institute for Supply Management.
Currently, Jen oversees Bristlecone’s consulting-led approach, emphasizing purposeful and proactive integrated offerings. She champions a solution-oriented approach that incorporates leading practices across People, Process, Data, and Technology to address the challenges of managing cost reduction while creating resilience in the supply chain.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
Thank you for having me! I grew up in Alabama, where I went to public school. When I was fifteen, I was fortunate to be accepted and attend a summer program at Barnard College in New York City. It was quite a culture shock, and I gained new perspectives from my experience. I’d go so far as to say that this summer program opened new doors for me and changed my entire outlook on life.
Because of that experience, I chose to go to college in New York, and after that, I lived abroad whenever I could, always chasing that global perspective and the insights from meeting new people. I’ll always remember when I got my passport — that was a big moment, and it showed how I was evolving as a human being.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I can tell you a story involves a whole lot of confidence and a leap of faith. Early in my consulting career, I was doing a training course for an SAP certification. At the same time, there was a group of partners doing a separate training course, and during the dinner portion of the evening, I walked right over and introduced myself to all of the senior partners present. I connected with one partner in particular, who, after our conversation, asked me, “Can you be in London on Monday?”
Even though it sounds crazy, I saw an opportunity, and I said yes — and was in London after quickly packing up my apartment and reducing my possessions to a single checked bag and carry on. I ended up living in Europe for two years, and with every project, I took a step up within the organization. By the third project, I was leading a multinational SAP program. Plus, I was able travel across Europe, seeing many parts of the world I wouldn’t have otherwise.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Being a risk taker, demonstrated by the last story, is a big part of my success. I learned to say yes and not talk myself out of things. If I’d never taken the risk to go to school in NYC or to say Yes to moving to London on short notice, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Second, I am a big believer in transparency. Many leaders think that by controlling the narrative, they hold power, but I disagree. As a leader, my goal is never to ‘control my team, but rather to empower my team to make better, more informed decisions. I also try to cultivate a two-way street: in being transparent with my teams, I also ask that they to do so in return — including telling me when I’m wrong.
Finally, competitiveness is an important trait to have, and I honed that growing up in team and individual sports. I’m a lifelong athlete with a strong drive to win. I played soccer growing up in Alabama, but there weren’t any girls’ teams — so I played goalie for the boys. I also swam on competitive teams throughout my childhood often focusing on distance events. In high school, I played on the state championship tennis team. And when I went to college, I was a D1 athlete, rowing on the crew team at Columbia University. Playing sports taught me the value of hard work and practice…and how to dig deep for that extra ‘something’ to block the goal, set a personal record, or win the tie-breaking point.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
My new role at Bristlecone focuses on the impact of AI on the supply chain, and how that impact will force a fundamental re-thinking of the industry. Because of AI, everything has changed seemingly overnight, and AI has gone from an interesting idea to an integral part of how organizations function. My goal is to talk about these rapid advances in technology as a boon instead of a challenge and show organizations how they can implement AI smoothly into their day-to-day functions.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. In order to ensure that we are all on the same page let’s begin with some simple definitions. What does the term “supply chain” encompass?
I think of the supply chain as being inclusive of planning, procurement, and operations — I actually challenge the term “supply chain” because it’s too linear to truly encompass everything the supply chain does. I think it’s better described as a “supply and delivery network.”
Can you help articulate what the weaknesses are in our current supply chain systems?
Just like with a physical chain, you can’t only look at any one part. The supply chain is made up of links between processes, people, data, and technology, and they all need to be taken into consideration. For instance, you can’t think about procurement without considering planning or without factoring in logistics. Like in any industry, people tend to pivot to the shiny thing — right now it’s AI technology. But you can’t focus on technology without also including people and processes.
Can you help define what a nationally secure and resilient supply chain would look like?
To achieve security and resiliency, regardless of borders, is about both physical product flow and information flow — they’re equally important. You can’t have one without the other. When people hear supply chain, they often think only of the physical, but without the information flow, you can’t anticipate or predict problems, so the resiliency portion is really put at risk.
What would you recommend for the government or for tech leaders to do to improve supply chain cybersecurity?
It sounds basic, but we need to get a good foundation of standards and processes in place. Leaders need to stop stacking the house of cards higher and higher just to see what they can achieve without shoring up the base.
What are the “5 Things We Must Do To Create Nationally Secure And Resilient Supply Chains” and why?
1 . Sustainable Change: When we make big changes, like implementing AI into every facet of an organization, we also need to take things off of the list. Otherwise, the degree of change is unsustainable. It’s simply not possible to do everything — prioritize what will make the biggest difference in your organization right now.
2 . Prioritize People: To properly manage the current pace and degree of change, your people should be happy, educated, and driven. After all, you can’t expect resilience in the supply chain if you aren’t creating resilience in your people.
3 . The Importance of Process: As I talked about before, processes create a solid foundation on which resilience can be built. As technology changes, keep your organization’s best practices up to date, especially as they increasingly become automated.
4 . Data Standards: Don’t try and reinvent the wheel! There are numerous resources and methods out there for data safety that have been proven over and over. If you’re not sure, look to the experts.
5 . Keep on Top of tech: AI is maturing so rapidly that it’s important for every organization to have some level of experimentation so they can be informed when making decisions about AI standards. If you don’t have a deep level of understanding about how this new tech functions, you won’t be able to participate in the dialogue. This doesn’t necessarily mean implementing public-facing functions — it can look like having AI education seminars and encouraging your team members to play around and see what fits.
Are there other ideas or considerations that should encourage us to reimagine our supply chain?
My background has taught me about the importance of diversity and respect for different perspectives. The more ideas you have, and input on those ideas from different perspectives, the better. As we’re reimagining what the supply chain can look like as we implement new technology, we need to be actively seeking input on different thoughts and approaches from anywhere and anyone. You can always weed out unsuccessful ideas, but you can’t come up with all of those different perspectives on your own.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
My true dream is that someday, housing will be accessible to all. The bottom line is that people need safety, and a lot of people experiencing homelessness are unable to dig themselves out without help, and there’s no help to be had. Studies have also shown that if people aren’t housed, they’re held back in unfathomable ways. On a smaller level, this includes making all spaces accessible for disabilities. I think about that partner dinner I interrupted that jumpstarted my career and sent me to Europe — what if that dinner had been in another part of the restaurant only accessible by stairs, and I was in a wheelchair? Everyone should have the same opportunities, and that means everyone should have access physically to the same spaces.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifercchew
This was very inspiring and informative. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this interview!
About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is the Chairman of the Friends of Israel and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.
