Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences (2026) Planning a logistics or supply chain leadership summit? This definitive guide to the Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences covers selection criteria, vetted speaker ideas, comparison snapshots, sample agendas, buying tips, FAQs, and quick links to relevant resources on The Keynote Curators (TKC).

October 23, 2025

If you’re searching for the Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences, you’re in the right place.

This guide is built for shippers and carriers, 3PLs and brokers, manufacturers and retailers, port and airport authorities, and tech providers who want speakers that truly speak your language—network design, nearshoring, capacity constraints, OTIF, SKU rationalization, warehouse automation, routing guides, ELD/HOS realities, emissions and ESG, cyber/fraud, and responsible AI—while giving your teams practical behaviors they can use on Monday.

We analyzed industry reports, current conference agendas, and common planner questions, then combined that research with TKC’s roster to deliver a high‑signal playbook you can act on today.

Why this matters now: Logistics & supply chain audiences prize clarity, credibility, and utility. The Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences balance strategy with frontline playbooks—leadership behaviors, conversation scripts, and measurable outcomes tied to cost‑to‑serve, service reliability, safety, compliance, and customer trust.

What Planners Are Actually Searching For

When people look up the Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences, the same intent patterns appear again and again:

• Future‑ready leadership: leading through rate and fuel volatility, capacity cycles, nearshoring/friend‑shoring decisions, geopolitics, trade lanes, and port/rail congestion.
• AI, automation & visibility: responsible AI for forecasting and routing, digital twins, robotics, and end‑to‑end transparency that sticks within a control environment.
• Customer trust & growth: reliability over rhetoric—service promises you can keep, exception management, and communications that calm customers.
• Operational excellence: cost‑to‑serve discipline, dock‑to‑stock and pick‑to‑ship improvements, cycle‑time and dwell reductions, and cross‑functional S&OP wins.
• Cybersecurity & fraud: identity, cargo theft rings, payments fraud, vendor risk, and incident leadership that preserves trust.
• People & culture: safety, shift scheduling, coaching conversations, retention in tight labor markets, and inclusion in distributed teams.

You’ll see those needs reflected throughout this guide—so your content, speaker selection, and agenda all line up with real search intent.

Who This Guide is For

• Shippers (manufacturers/retailers/C&PG): enterprise leadership meetings, S&OP summits, network strategy off-sites.
• Carriers & asset‑based providers: fleet and terminal leadership days, safety & ops summits.
• 3PLs & brokers: regional leadership roadshows, customer conferences.
• Ports, airports & authorities: board sessions, trade development forums.
• Tech & data providers: customer summits, user conferences, product kickoffs.
• Events companies & associations: national conferences, regional roadshows, virtual/hybrid series.

How We Selected The Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences

We prioritized speakers who:

1. Have supply‑chain proximity (operators, logistics strategists, futurists with logistics depth, economists/trade experts, cyber leaders).
2. Translate leadership into behaviors—not buzzwords (coaching scripts, cadence, visual management, and execution frameworks your managers can use next week).
3. Offer multiple formats (keynote + moderated fireside + panel + workshop + executive roundtable) so ideas become actions.
4. Earn repeat bookings and strong ratings, signaling practical value and audience resonance.

Tip: Pair the opening keynote with a moderated panel (transport + warehousing + planning + risk) to align across functions, then add a breakout workshop to build a 90‑day plan with named owners.

Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences: Our Top Picks

Order is alphabetical. Click through for full bios, videos, and availability.

• Adam Levin — Nationally recognized cybersecurity and identity‑theft expert; translates cyber/fraud risk into leadership actions that protect customers and speed recovery for logistics networks.
  Great for: cyber/fraud leadership, operations, and customer trust.
  
• Alice Han — Macro and geopolitics specialist (China, global capital flows); gives leadership teams clear strategy around trade lanes, nearshoring, and supply risk.
  Great for: network strategy, board briefings, trade and sourcing decisions.
  
• Andrew Busch — Former U.S. government Chief Market Intelligence Officer; turns market/policy signals into decision‑ready insights for logistics leaders.
  Great for: leadership meetings, risk committees, client events.
  
• General Vinny Boles — Military logistics leader; hard‑won lessons on leading supply chains under pressure, from readiness to resilience.
  Great for: warehouse/transport leadership, safety & ops summits.
  
• James Taylor — Future‑of‑work and innovation strategist; connects AI/digital twins/robotics to practical leadership choices in distribution and manufacturing.
  Great for: automation and change‑leadership tracks, user conferences.
  
• John Kasarda — World authority on air logistics and airport‑area development; strategic lens on global supply‑chain design and time‑critical flows.
  Great for: air freight/network strategy days, port/airport authorities.
  
• Jill Schlesinger — Emmy‑winning analyst who makes economic news useful for leaders and customers; superb at Q&A.
  Great for: client conferences, cross‑functional leadership days.
  
• Marci Rossell — Former CNBC Chief Economist; frames growth, inflation, and rates with an executive‑ready story your leaders can act on.
  Great for: C‑suite retreats, investor/customer briefings.
  
• Michael Rogers — Practical futurist; illuminates the trade‑offs between technology bets, customer promises, and operating discipline.
  Great for: strategy days, digital transformation programs.
  
• Peter Zeihan — Geopolitics and energy expert; sharp insights into reshoring, demographics, maritime risk, and supply‑chain realignment.
  Great for: board sessions, network redesign, investor/client events.
  
• Theresa Payton — Former White House CIO; leading voice on cyber, fraud, and resilience; equips leaders to prevent incidents and communicate clearly when they happen.
  Great for: cyber/fraud tracks, operations, and customer trust.
  
• William “Gus” Pagonis — Legendary Leadership in the Supply Chain perspective; lessons on orchestration and execution at scale.
  Great for: enterprise ops days, large program kickoffs.
  

Want a women‑in‑operations angle or a field leadership boost? We’ll tailor the shortlist to your audience, seniority mix, and outcomes. Get Proposal and note your line of business, audience mix, and goals.

Comparison Snapshot (at‑a‑glance)

Speaker	Logistics/Supply‑chain relevance	Leadership focus	Great for	Formats
Adam Levin	Cyber, identity & fraud	Incident leadership, prevention playbooks	Ops, risk, customer trust	Keynote • Tabletop • Panel
Alice Han	Macro, geopolitics, trade	Strategic clarity under uncertainty	C‑suite, board briefings	Keynote • Fireside
Andrew Busch	Markets & policy	Decision‑ready narratives	Leadership meetings, client events	Keynote • Roundtable
Gen. Vinny Boles	Military logistics	Leading under pressure	Warehouse/transport leadership	Keynote • Workshop
James Taylor	AI/digital twins/robotics	Change leadership & adoption	Automation tracks, user conferences	Keynote • Masterclass
John Kasarda	Air logistics & networks	Time‑critical flows, site strategy	Ports/airports, network strategy	Keynote • Panel
Jill Schlesinger	Economic news, clear	Client trust & clarity	Client conferences, leadership days	Keynote • Q&A
Marci Rossell	Macro, inflation, rates	Story‑driven economic leadership	C‑suite, sales enablement	Keynote • Workshop
Michael Rogers	Futurist for business	Tech trade‑offs & customers	Strategy days, transformation	Keynote • Panel
Peter Zeihan	Geopolitics & energy	Reshoring & risk clarity	Board sessions, network redesign	Keynote • Q&A
Theresa Payton	Cybersecurity & fraud	Resilience, communication	Ops, risk, payments	Keynote • Tabletop
William “Gus” Pagonis	Supply‑chain leadership	Orchestration & execution	Enterprise ops summits	Keynote • Fireside

Fees vary by date, location, routing, and format. Get Proposal to request a precise quote and current availability for your dates.

What “leadership” Means in Logistics & Supply Chain Right Now

In logistics and supply chain, leadership lives at the intersection of prudence and progress. Your audience expects speakers to respect real‑world constraints—driver availability, detention, accessorials, inventory aging, service commitments, regulatory and safety requirements—while helping them simplify operations, grow responsibly, and adopt new tools safely. The Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences do five things consistently well:

1. Make complexity simple without being simplistic. They strip jargon and show how to translate network strategy into frontline behaviors.
2. Give behaviors, not buzzwords. Coaching scripts for DC huddles, escalation playbooks for exceptions, cadence for execution, and clear dashboards.
3. Balance offense and defense. Growth with risk controls; innovation with governance and explainability; speed with safety.
4. Model customer‑trust communication. Especially during disruptions—fast, transparent, empathetic updates that reduce churn.
5. Show how AI and automation amplify people. Guardrails, human‑in‑the‑loop, and what changes on Monday.

Program Design Playbook (so ideas turn into results)

Use this as a plug‑and‑play structure for a shipper, carrier, 3PL, or port/airport leadership day.

• Outcome first. Example: “Regional leaders leave with a 90‑day plan to cut dwell by 12% and raise OTIF by 3 points.”
• Design for mixed rooms. Transport + warehousing + planning + procurement + risk; use common language and cross‑functional examples.
• Anchor with a keynote that sets context (economy, trade, fuel, capacity, tech), followed by a moderated panel to localize lessons by function.
• Add hands‑on breakouts to draft action plans with owners, metrics, and support. Close with an executive roundtable to commit resources.
• Instrument for follow‑through (30‑60‑90‑day check‑ins, dashboards, QA calibration, dock‑to‑stock/yard metrics, coaching cadence).

Sample Full‑Day Agenda (shipper or 3PL leadership summit)

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Buying Guide: How to Secure The Best Leadership Speakers For Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences

1. Outcome first. E.g., “Leaders leave with a coaching script for exception calls that reduces penalty charges and protects NPS.”
2. Audience mix. Percentages for transport/warehouse/planning/procurement/risk; seniority bands.
3. Format mix. Keynote + panel + workshop + roundtable; define interaction level (live polling, Q&A, table exercises).
4. Calendar & routing. Offer 2–3 date options; ask about nearby holds to optimize travel cost.
5. Pre‑brief. Policies, compliance, and safety sensitivities, internal success stories, and topics to avoid.
6. AV & interaction. Microphone plan, room set for discussion, polling tools.
7. Follow‑through. Request a one‑pager of Monday behaviors and a 30/60/90 plan.

FAQs — Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences

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Relevant resources on The Keynote Curators (internal links)

• Leadership Topic Hub
• Economy Speakers
• Blockchain & Supply Chain (Blockchain Speakers)
• Artificial Intelligence Speakers for 2025
• Get Proposal (availability & fees)
• TKC Podcast

Want us to hand‑pick 3–5 Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences for your exact dates and budget? Get Proposal and note your line of business, audience mix, and goals.

Final word

Choosing the Best Leadership Speakers for Logistics & Supply Chain Conferences is about fit, not flash. Start with your outcomes, match the speaker to your audience and moment, then convert insight into a 90‑day plan. If you want a curated shortlist by function, budget band, and date, we’ll put 3–5 names on hold and return availability quickly—so you can move from planning to impact.

Tags: Adam Levine, Alice Han, Andrew Busch, General Vinny Boles, James Taylor, Jil Schesinger, John Kasarda, leadership, Marci Rossell, Michael Rogers, Peter Zeihan, strategy, Theresa Payton, William Pagonis

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