Vanessa Hornai and Sarah Palmer earn recognition for exemplary leadership, mentorship, and exceptional performance, inspiring colleagues, and driving results.

PECO Pallet proudly announces that Vanessa Hornai and Sarah Palmer have been honored with the 2024 Women in Supply Chain Award by Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive. This prestigious recognition highlights their outstanding contributions and leadership within PECO and the industry.

Vanessa Hornai has been honored with the “Workforce Innovator” Women in Supply Chain Award. In her role as Senior Purchasing Manager, she has played a pivotal role in supporting PECO’s expanding supply chain. Vanessa has managed an integrated program that encompasses sustainable purchasing and procurement, inventory management, transportation, and financial reconciliation across the company’s entire North American network. Vanessa’s journey illustrates the positive, enduring impact that continued supply chain education can have on leadership skills, personal and professional growth, and workforce development. And then “paying forward” those benefits through mentorship, support, and encouragement of others.

Sarah Palmer has been honored with the “Trailblazer” Women in Supply Chain Award. As Senior Manager of operations at the Chicago Depot, Sarah has earned a reputation as a go-to problem solver whose positive attitude motivates her teams to reach ambitious improvement goals. Sarah has led a remarkable transformation at PECO’s Chicago depot, achieving unprecedented gains in both production and employee morale. Her embracing of Lean practices of leadership and continuous improvement, and her skillful application of them, are a case study in how to build and sustain a high-performing team – and a path to excellence for a young professional developing a successful career.

“I could not be prouder of Vanessa and Sarah for the work they’ve put in and the leadership they have demonstrated to build our success,” said Joe Dagnese, PECO’s chief executive officer. “These are two remarkable examples of strong, respected women who are improving our company and building successful teams through leadership, workforce development, and superior planning and execution skills.”

The Women in Supply Chain Award honors female supply chain leaders and executives whose accomplishments, mentorship, and examples set a foundation for women in all levels of a company’s supply chain network. This year’s list includes individuals from software and service providers, consultancies and academia, trucking and transportation firms, professional development agencies, sourcing and procurement divisions, and more.

“Every year, this award continues to amaze me. But this year especially, it’s all about the quality of the submissions. These women are doing remarkable things for their communities, organizations, and teams and are paving the way for future young female leaders to be a part of an industry that’s making a difference,” says Marina Mayer, Editor-in-Chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive and Co-Founder of the Women in Supply Chain Forum.

“New this year, the award was broken down into Rising Stars, Trailblazers, DEI Pioneer, and Workforce Innovator. From there, we named an overall winner per category and then four honorable mentions per category. This year’s applications were superb and made it next to impossible to just pick one winner. I’m so proud of these women and their achievements. We’re just getting started.”