Institute for Supply Management® Honors Thomas Linton with 2019 J. Shipman Gold Medal Award

TEMPE, Ariz., April 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Institute for Supply Management named Thomas K. Linton, chief procurement and supply chain officer at Flex, the 2019 J. Shipman Gold Medal Award winner in recognition of his distinguished service for the cause and advancement of the supply management profession.

Linton was honored during the 2019 Shipman Award ceremony at ISM2019, ISM's annual international supply management conference, taking place April 7-10 in Houston, Texas. The award, created in 1931, is ISM's most esteemed honor and is presented annually to an individual who personally contributes to the advancements of purchasing and supply management while providing assistance and guidance to other professionals.

"Tom Linton is an inspiring leader at the pinnacle of his career," said ISM CEO Tom Derry. "He has made a lasting impact in giving back to the profession and in driving transformational change through his leadership that spans the globe."

In Linton's 37-year career in procurement and supply chain, four times as chief procurement officer (CPO) over the last 16 years, he has earned the reputation as a visionary leader. Since joining Flex in 2011 after CPO roles at LG Electronics in Seoul, South Korea, as well as previous CPO roles at Freescale Semiconductor, and Agere Systems, he is now responsible for serving automotive, industrial, consumer, networking, energy, medical and telco industries with more than US$1B spend in each.

In a US$25B global supply chain solutions company, he oversees execution of supply chain management, sourcing (direct and indirect), materials operations, logistics, and systems transformation. He assists in managing 9,000 employees in 30 countries and more than 100 factories and is a force for innovation and technological advancement. For example, he established an industry-leading real-time information platform called Flex Pulse, which drives asset velocity with supply chain visibility.

In his current and prior roles at Flex and LG respectively, he implemented corporate-wide procurement policies which fundamentally improved their way of doing business while enhancing and driving all sourcing decisions into and through the procurement organization.

Tom leads with the objective to, "drive the business, before the business drives you." This philosophy has led to a career of innovations that drive cost savings, business process innovations and the enhancement of the business reputation of the places he has worked. This has included a rigorous adherence to a code of ethics.

"It is an honor to be named as this year's winner of the J. Shipman gold medal," said Tom Linton, Chief Procurement & Supply Chain Officer at Flex. "Over its 87-year history, the J. Shipman award has recognized many of the leaders and innovators in the supply chain and purchasing field, and I'm humbled to be included in their ranks."

Beyond his full-time professional endeavors, Linton's passion for procurement leads to extensive volunteering to help develop the industry. His ISM contributions include terms on the ISM global Board of Directors, including as Chairman of the Board (2013-2015), in addition to multiple ISM committees, speaking engagements, serving as an R. Gene Richter Scholarship executive mentor, and volunteering as a member and leader in numerous other professional organizations. He has spoken at more than 12 universities, written extensively in professional publications including the Harvard Business Review, and co-authored a book in 2017 called The Living Supply Chain with Dr. Robert Handfield.

About the J. Shipman Gold Medal Award

Johnson Shipman was a pioneer member of the New York affiliate of the National Association of Purchasing Agents, now Institute for Supply Management^®, well-known for giving liberally of his time and counsel. The J. Shipman Gold Medal Award was created in 1931, and is presented to those individuals whose modest, unselfish, sincere, and persistent efforts have aided the advancement of the procurement and supply chain management field. Those chosen for the award have also assisted and guided members of the profession in their endeavors.

About Institute for Supply Management^®

Institute for Supply Management^® (ISM^®) is the first and leading not-for-profit professional supply management organization worldwide. Its 47,000 members in more than 90 countries around the world manage about US$1 trillion in corporate and government supply chain procurement annually. Founded in 1915 by practitioners, ISM is committed to advancing the practice of supply management to drive value and competitive advantage for its members, contributing to a prosperous and sustainable world. ISM empowers and leads the profession through the ISM Report On Business^®, its highly-regarded certification and training programs, corporate services, events and the ISM Mastery Model^®. Its Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business^® are two of the most reliable economic indicators available, providing guidance to supply management professionals, economists, analysts, and government and business leaders. For more information, please visit instituteforsupplymanagement.org.

Contact: Jessica Boyd, 480.752.6276, ext. 3085
[email protected]

SOURCE Institute for Supply Management