Dr. Jain is Professor of Economics at St. John's University based in New York USA, where he mainly teaches a graduate course on business forecasting. He is also Chief Editor of the IBF's Journal of Business Forecasting. He has written over 100 articles, mostly in the area of forecasting and planning, and has authored/co-authored/edited nine books, seven in the area of forecasting and planning. His new book, "Fundamentals of Demand Planning and Forecasting," is the basis of IBF's body of knowledge. In a consulting capacity, he has worked for Brown and Williamson, Hewlett Packard, Union Fidelity Life Insurance Company, Prince Manufacturing, CECO Doors, Taylor Made Golf and Bilgore Groves. He has conducted workshops on business forecasting and planning for various organizations including Sweetheart Cup, Eastman Kodak, Jockey International, SABIC, Saudi Aramco, DU-Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co. -Dubai UAE, and Symbios Consulting Group-Egypt, Goody-Saudi Arabia, Al-Nahdi Medical. He has made presentations on business forecasting and planning at IBF conferences / workshops, Council of Supply Chain Management, Informs, DMDNY in New York, John Galt Solutions and SAS. He has been invited by various institutions to speak on business forecasting & planning including University Technology Malaysia, Malaysia, School of Future Studies & Planning, Devi Ahilya University, India, and Apeejay Svran Institute of Management, India. He is the recipient of 1994 award of the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation for his best paper.

Prior Roles

• Plan for Demand: Practice Manager of Supply Chain Planning for clients including Diageo, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Foster Farms, Cabot Industries and American Girl
• Cadbury
• Kraft Foods
• Unisys
• Snapple
• Numetrix
• Atrion International: Vice President of R&D

Award

• IBF Award for Excellence in Business Forecasting & Planning

Andrew Schneider is a veteran supply chain and business science professional, with a 20 year career spanning journalism, sales, demand planning, analytics, emerging data sciences, strategy, and enterprise risk management. He is a thought leader for the IBF and a member of the esteemed advisory board, an ASCM award-winning fellow & certification holder, and an always-hungry learner of & contributor to the business planning field. He has vast experience across leadership & practitioner roles in CPG, Footwear & Apparel, Food & Beverage, and Medical Device sectors, along with systems implementation, COE deployment, and full supply chain transformation experience. Andrew is presently employed in a supply chain management role with Viega LLC, but also maintains his consultancy practice and is always available to network, consult, and serve. He is an IBF Advanced Certified Professional Forecaster (ACPF).

Rob is currently the Global S&OP Leader for the Composites Business Unit at Owens Corning. He has held several management positions during his 15 years with the company, having led teams in pricing, supply chain, and finance. Prior to joining Owens Corning, Rob worked as an ERP Systems Implementation Consultant during the Y2K boom period. During the past year, his Global Supply Chain Team has worked to transform the S&OP sequence of meetings for OC Composites with an emphasis on efficiency, focus, and decision making. Through this process, Rob’s team has delivered EBIT savings, 15% FGI reduction, and greater alignment between marketing, finance, and supply chain. Rob holds a BA in Economics and an MBA from the University of Michigan, and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Additional Role

• Graves School of Business, Morgan State University, and Business Advisor for Oliver Wight Americas: Adjunct Professor in Operations Management and Supply Chain

Prior Role

• Ciena Corp: Director of Global Supply Chain Operations and the global leader of Executive S&OP for Ciena Corp.
• DuPont Company: Internal consultant and continuous improvement leader

Education

• BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh
• Master’s in project management from the Graves School of Business, Morgan State University.

Industry Involvement

• Speaker at international industry conferences and for STEM programs
• Active in APICS/ASCM
• Six Sigma Black Belt