Back to Conference Index

MG Vincent E. Boles Major General Vincent E. Boles serves in the Pentagon as the Army’s Chief Operating Officer for Logistics. He oversaw a Program and Budget of $5 Billion and is responsible for management and support of logistical operations worldwide. MG Boles has over three decades of experience in the leadership, planning and management of large complex organizations in the United States and Allied Forces. As the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4 in the Pentagon he was responsible for the oversight of Army Logistics Operations and Readiness and Distribution and Logistics Strategy and Integration.   His initial assignment as Brigadier General was as the Army Materiel Command’s Deputy Chief of Staff for ammunition.  In this position, he was responsible for the management of both Army and other services $27 billion ammunition account. In July 2001, he assumed control of the Army’s Field Support Command and control of all war reserve stocks and equipment, oversight of 52 technical assistance offices and the Army’s Logistics Augmentation Contracting Program.    Boles graduated from Niagara University with a bachelor of Arts degree in history and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Babson College, MA.

David Britten David is a graduate of the Technical University of Nova Scotia holding a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree from Queen's University at Kingston in mechanical engineering.  He is also a graduate of the Kellogg Management Institute.   David joined IPSCO in 1985 and, after a number of advancing positions, was named vice president and general manager of IPSCO’s Tubular business in 1999, and then vice president of Corporate Development.   In 2007, he accepted the position of senior vice president of steel for the IPSCO Division of SSAB.  David was named president of SSAB North America upon SSAB’s divestiture of its tubular business in 2008 and is a group executive vice president.   David serves on the boards and various committees of the American Iron and Steel Institute, Metals Service Center Institute, and the Steel Manufacturers Association

John Cross John Cross is Vice President of the American Institute of Steel Construction and a frequent speaker at seminars and workshops focused on construction material pricing, sustainability, eConstruction and the early involvement of steel specialty contractors in the design and construction process.   John pioneered the equipping of structural steel fabricators for early involvement in projects through a specialized training program conducted in partnership with the Design Build Institute of America.  He was awarded the National Press Award from DBIA for contributions to the Design-Build movement in 2003.    John currently serves as the secretary of the Board of Directors of the BuildSmart Alliance.  He is a registered professional engineer in Illinois and a graduate of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Thomas A. Delorie Thomas A. Delorie, managing director, Marsh Risk Consulting has 30-years of industry expertise with an emphasis in the areas of mining, metals (emphasis in steel), and chemical operations. Additionally, as a senior risk consultant for a variety of domestic and international clients, his work includes strategic risk analysis, preparation of property-related loss prevention reports, detailed process and fire protection assessments and loss prevention studies. He also evaluates high hazard occupancies, business interruption and interdependency studies, business continuity planning, loss investigations and safety/loss control program development.   A certified safety professional, Delorie earned a bachelor of science degree from Saint Francis College of Loretto, PA and participated in the both the University of Pittsburgh and New York University MBA and Chemical Engineering Programs.

James D. Hoffman James D. Hoffman is senior vice president, operations of Reliance Steel and Aluminum Co., since October 2008.  Prior to his appointment, he served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the company's subsidiary, Earle M. Jorgensen Company, from April 2006 to September 2008. Mr. Hoffman was appointed executive vice president of Earle M. Jorgensen Company in January 2006, having been a vice president of Earle M. Jorgensen Company from 1996.   From 1980 through 1991, he worked at various positions at United States Steel Corporation. Mr. Hoffman graduated from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s of science degree in Advertising and Marketing.

Michael Lerman A native of South Bend, Indiana, Mike Lerman joined the family owned Steel Warehouse Company in 1972 as a credit manager.  During his tenure with the company, he has held a variety of positions including sales manager, and vice president of sales and marketing.  Mr. Lerman was named president in 1998.  Prior to joining Steel Warehouse, he taught at Providence (RI) Central High School and coached its wrestling team.    Mike is a former president of the MSCI Central States Chapter and the founder and board member of the South Bend Hebrew Day School.   Mr. Lerman earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Brandeis University and a master of arts in teaching from Brown University.

Eli S. Lustgarten Eli S. Lustgarten is president of ESL Consultants LLC and senior vice president and senior analyst, Longbow Research.  Previously, he was director of institutional equity research of JB Hanauer & Company.  Lustgarten is responsible for the analysis of the industrial manufacturing and technology sectors of the economy.   In 2000, Lustgarten was managing director and director of research of H.C. Wainwright and Company.  For the prior five years, he had been a managing director of Schroder & Company and head of the Industrial Manufacturing Group.   Eli has been widely recognized by his peers, having been elected to the Institutional Investor All-American Research Team for more than 20 years.  He has also been recognized six times by the Wall Street Journal All-Star Analyst poll.   Lustgarten received a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the Polytechnical Institute of Brooklyn, and a master of science in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School.

Mark McGinnis Mark McGinnis, managing director, Marsh Risk and Insurance Services brings over 35 years of insurance experience including 25 years with Marsh and 15 years handling contractors and construction projects. His client expertise by industry is broad and diversified including metal service centers, construction, banking and water utilities. McGinnis is the client executive for many major Fortune 1000 clients including Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., and The Ryland Group, to name a few. Since 1994, he and his Marsh team have handled the entire corporate insurance program for Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company including the smooth integration of Reliance Steel’s many acquisitions.   McGinnis earned a bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg College, an MBA from Pepperdine University as well as an Associate in Risk Management.

Dale W. Reckman Dale is director of field services for WIRE-Net’s Great Lakes WIND Network™, Cleveland-based, non-profit supply chain organization whose mission is to increase the percentage of domestic manufactured content in North America’s wind turbines.  In this position, Reckman is responsible for developing the manufacturing capabilities of emerging wind-energy supply chain companies through on-site profiles, coaching and referrals.   Reckman brings to Great Lakes WIND Network over 25 years in operations, engineering and product development, estimating, sales and project management, procurement, and supply chain management.   Prior to joining Great Lakes WIND Network, Reckman was vice president of the Commercial Products Group for Magna Machine Company, a supplier to major wind power OEMs, and an owner of AR Industries, a large fabricating firm that was sold to ALSTOM Power in 2000.

Marci Rossell Marci Rossell served as the popular, lively chief economist for CNBC in the months immediately following September 11th.  Prior to her career in broadcast journalism, Marci served as corporate economist and investment spokesperson for OppenheimerFunds.  Before moving to Wall Street, she was an expert witness for Deloitte and Touche in court cases involving economic issues.  Marci began her career as an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.  She is currently a visiting professor at DePaul University.   Marci earned a Ph.D. in economics from Southern Methodist University, where she was named one of the Young Alumni of the Year.

Loren C. Scott, Ph.D. Dr. Loren C. Scott is president and founder of Loren C. Scott & Associates, Inc. and Professor Emeritus of Economics at Louisiana State University. He was named the Freeport-McMoran endowed Chair of Economics and received seven awards for outstanding classroom teaching.    Dr. Scott is co-developer of the Louisiana econometric model, a model used for providing annual forecasts of the Louisiana economy and is the author of over 75 articles and technical reports.  He is an energy specialist on the National Business Economic Issues Council which meets quarterly to discuss issues of state, national, and international interest and has been interviewed on MSNBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV and his work has been cited in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and the Moscow Times, to name a few.

Michael Taylor Taylor first joined C. Tennant and Sons, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill, in 1982 as a trainee. In 1983, he joined the sales team and in June 1986, he became the New York branch manager for Cargill Ferrous International.  Taylor moved to Minneapolis where he was named export manager in 1989 and U.S. import manager in 1990.  He was named assistant vice president in 1991 and general manager, Cargill Steel Service Centers in East Chicago Indiana in 1997.   Taylor was named unit leader, Cargill Steel Service Centers in Houston, Texas in June 2003 and is responsible for managing the company’s steel service center division. The steel service center business was merged into CFI in September of 2004. Along with managing the steel service center business, Mike is a member of CFI’s global leadership team.  He currently serves as MSCI Flat Rolled product division chairman and holds a director position on the MSCI Board of Directors.

Nick Yaksich As vice president, global public policy for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, he has more than 20 years of federal government relations experience primarily in the transportation sector.  Prior to joining AEM, he was Director of Government Affairs at the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) and managed the Associated General Contractors’ (AGC) national highway construction division.   After graduating from Miami of Ohio, he worked for Congressman Jim Oberstar of Minnesota and the Senate Subcommittee on Family, Health and Human Services. He received a Master of Science in Management from the University of Maryland University College.