#212: Inside IKEA’s End-to-End Supply Chain Overhaul with Susanne Waidzunas

Arun Krishnan, SVP of Global Supply Chain and Strategy at AstraZeneca, shares how the company is reimagining its supply chain to support ambitious growth while keeping patients at the center. He discusses AstraZeneca’s focus on innovation, AI-enabled ways of working, self-healing supply chains, and the importance of building capabilities for the future. Arun also explains how the organization continues to maintain strong global supply delivery amid volatility, from the pandemic to geopolitica...

*Hosted by Radu Palamariu* Luca Labriola, Chief Operating Officer at Aalberts, reflects on his journey from the shop floor to leading global supply chain transformations. He played a key role in building an end-to-end supply chain model that improved delivery performance and reduced inventory, and today he is strengthening supply chain and procurement capabilities while shaping the Aalberts Production System to drive long-term operational discipline. Luca also shares his leadership philosophy...

*Hosted by Radu Palamariu* Steffen Lang runs operations for one of the world’s most impactful pharma giants, Novartis, leading over 20,000 associates globally. He started in R&D and now oversees the delivery of life-saving medicines at near-perfect service levels. In this episode, we explored how he built a product-centered, resilient supply network, embraced AI in manufacturing, and tackled the real-time complexity of personalized therapies. We dive deep into leadership, dual supply cha...

*Hosted by Radu Palamariu* Karin Shanahan, EVP and Chief Supply Chain & Operations Officer at Bristol Myers Squibb, shares how she led a full-scale reboot of the company’s global operating model across 11,000 people in 80 markets. From Excel chaos and post-acquisition silos to a connected, data-led, and transparent supply chain, Karin walks through the bold decisions that made it happen. She breaks down how telling the hard truths, setting new cultural norms, and earning cross-functional...

*Hosted by Radu Palamariu* Cliff Henson leads Microsoft’s Cloud Supply Chain and Engineering, powering Azure, Microsoft 365, and Copilot across 400+ data centers globally. I sat down with Cliff to discuss how he helped pivot Microsoft from a “buy” to a “make” model, turning the cloud supply chain from a cost center into a strategic growth engine. We explore how his team implemented 26 AI agents, dramatically reducing headcount while doubling output. He also shared the blueprint for lean proc...