June 14, 2017
Insight from Recent ISM 2017
The ECU Student Chapter of the Institute for Supply Management attended the ISM2017 Annual Conference in Orlando, FL May 21-24. Two officers represented the chapter because of their active participation in the Student ISM Chapter during the 2016-2017 academic year. The trip was made possible through the Vincent K. McMahon Endowed Professorship, currently held by Dr. John F. Kros of the College’s Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management. The students were accompanied by Dr. Kros who serves as an assistant faculty advisor for the group.
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron Photo Courtesy of ISM.
More than 3000 conference attendees gathered at the event. The students were able to hear two outstanding keynote speakers, General Colin Powell USA (Ret.) and former UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The theme of both keynote speakers was how to lead in times of complex business pressures caused by geopolitical events.
Regarding Prime Minister Cameron’s presentation, Dr. Kros said,
Dr. John Kros
“He (Cameron) spoke specifically to globalization and its effect on business. His thoughts were that globalization is here to stay and while an entity can try to avoid it or isolate themselves from it, world trade will continue and could be to that entity’s detriment. Therefore, analogous to supply managers’ duties of negotiating and reviewing purchasing contracts, businesses and governments must negotiate fair and open trade agreements while continually reviewing previous agreements.”
College students also got to choose from more than 80 learning sessions offered by companies leading the way in supply management, including Amazon, Apple, Pfizer, Google, Halliburton, Sprint, Siemens and Staples.