offshoring or onshoring? where is manufacturing headed next?
panel profiles

Daniel Spulber, Moderator
Elinor Hobbs Distinguished Professor of International Business
and Professor of Management Strategy
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Daniel F. Spulber is the Elinor Hobbs Distinguished Professor of International Business and Professor of Management Strategy at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, where he has taught since 1990. He is also Professor of Law at the Northwestern University Law School (Courtesy). He received his PhD in economics in 1979 and his MA in economics in 1976 from Northwestern University, and his BA in economics in 1974 from the University of Michigan. Spulber has taught at Brown University, the University of Southern California, and the California Institute of Technology.

Spulber has received eight National Science Foundation grants, three Searle Fund Grants, and two Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Grants for economic research. Spulber is the founding editor of the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.

Spulber is the founder of Kellogg’s International Business & Markets Program. His research is in the areas of International Economics, Industrial Organization, Microeconomic Theory, Management Strategy, and Law.

Jim Borsum
Partner, Operations Practice
A.T. Kearney

Jim Borsum is the leader of A.T. Kearney’s America Operations Practice and has over 25 years of experience in the manufacture, distribution, and retailing of food, beverage, and consumer goods. His domain expertise is in cost reduction, supply management, customer satisfaction, and operations effectiveness. He is the primary contributor in the development of A.T. Kearney’s Strategic Sourcing, Manufacturing and Supply Chain methodologies, systems and training materials.

Prior to consulting, Borsum was a Vice President/General Manager of a global consumer products manufacturer and an Operations Manager at an international agricultural processing firm. He holds a M.B.A. in finance and marketing from the University of Chicago, along with a M.S. in controls engineering and a B.S. in food engineering both from Michigan State University.

Damien Flynn
Vice President, Strategy & Integration for Flat Carbon Americas
ArcelorMittal

Damien Flynn serves as Vice President, Strategy & Integration for Flat Carbon Americas. He is responsible for the development of regional strategy and execution of all major strategic initiatives, including alternative energy, M&A, and joint venture/alliances within the region. Flynn also oversees ArcelorMittal’s Clean Technology Fund, which invests in technologies with the potential to reduce steelmaking emissions and/or influence the evolution of major steel markets. Before 2006, Flynn was manager of continuous improvement, developing and executing performance improvement ideas in all areas of steel production, from coke making to finishing.

Prior to joining ArcelorMittal in 2003, Flynn consulted to basic materials clients with McKinsey & Company and Partners in Performance International. He has also served as Vice President, Development for a subsidiary of CRH.

Nelson B. Head KSM ’87
Vice President
SAFCO, LLC

Nelson Head is a seasoned entrepreneurial executive with over 21 years of management experience founding and running middle market organizations. Head recently acquired SAFCO LLC, a manufacturer of custom designed low voltage power solutions, accessories and cord sets sold to OEMs specializing in commercial/industrial electronic devices used in mobile, remote environments.

Prior to acquiring SAFCO, Head was president of IMS Companies, LLC, a holding company overseeing business units manufacturing robotically machined gears, wire harnesses, custom cables, stamped metal components and sheet metal enclosures. Head also co-founded Parson Group, a start-up finance and accounting consulting firm which was named the #1 Fastest Growing Private Company by Inc. Magazine in 2000. Before starting Parson Group, Head served as vice president at The Hirsh Company, a leading manufacturer of consumer shelving and wood storage products. In addition, he identified, negotiated, and acquired middle market manufacturing companies at Code, Hennessy & Simmons.

Head received his undergraduate engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and holds a Masters of Management degree in finance and accounting from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Tom Wieser KSM MMM ’92
Founder & Managing Director
Odyssey Research

Tom Wieser is a former Director, Value Engineering at SAP America where he helped companies drive value from major investments in technology and hardware. Wieser has extensive experience leading companies through significant change. His areas of expertise include implementing and managing “off-shore” development teams, managing large and complex projects, and strategy/business consulting. Wieser has worked in the Supply Chain Software arena in a variety of roles from entrepreneur to management consultant and director; he has worked for leading-edge start-up companies to the Fortune 500 and led engagements in a variety of industries including, manufacturing, media, defense, basic materials, metals, and chemicals.

Tom currently works as an independent consultant and recently founded the strategic consulting firm Odyssey Research and has held consulting and management positions with Clerestory Consulting, Kewill, Divine, Material Sciences and Inland Steel Company.

Wieser received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University, an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management and an M.E.M. from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Northwestern University.