HERstories: Practical Advice from Inspiring Women in Trucking
Tracks: Leadership, Professional Development
Every professional woman in the transportation industry can benefit from hearing about the successes, challenges, and passions of other females in their own career journeys. This special session will feature three accomplished women professionals in transportation who will share their own unique career story in a 20-minute TED Talk format, ultimately providing attendees with sound practical advice, perspective and inspiration about how to be successful in your career. The group of women telling their stories includes Debi Boffa, Chief Executive Officer with TravelCenters of America, Michelle Burgess, Director of Inclusion & Diversity with Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, and Bruna Chiosini, Global Head of Supply Chain and Supplier Quality with Nikola Motor Company.
Debi Boffa will tell her story of rising up as a leader and talk about things that happened to her and what she has learned. She also will share her experiences in leading through a time of industry disruption -- addressing the significant challenges and opportunities presented by the changing landscape in business and in transportation.
Michelle Burgess will tell her inspirational story of how she has become a true change agent by becoming a volunteer, advocate, board member and speaker on the concepts of female empowerment, access to equity, and exclusion in the workplace.
Bruna Chiosini, Nikola's Global Head of Supply Chain, brings a wealth of insights from her upbringing in Brazil, shaped by her father's entrepreneurial spirit and the value of relentless determination with unwavering resolve and a powerful mindset. Join her as she recounts breaking barriers in the male-dominated trucking sector, emphasizing respect, cultivating confidence, and discovering ones "Fighting Power" to fuel your personal journey to success.
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Debi Boffa
CEO TravelCenters of America
Debi Boffa
CEO TravelCenters of America
Debi Boffa is the CEO of TravelCenters of America (TA). In this role, Debi is leading TA through its next chapter as the newest member of the bp family of brands. She is focused on elevating the guest experience and leading the business through the changing mobility landscape.
Debi is a seasoned management executive, with over 25 years of experience with bp. She has worked across many sectors, including engineering, retail, sales, marketing and operations. Most recently, Debi served as both President of bp’s Retail Operating Organization and President of Thorntons LLC. In this role she led the integration of bp’s ampm business with Thorntons while concurrently overseeing the operations of more than 1,200 convenience stores nationwide.
Prior to moving to the United States, Debi served as both the Head of Country and Managing Director of bp New Zealand, where she led bp’s convenience retail and downstream fuel business in New Zealand.
Debi Boffa has an Engineering Degree from the University of Canterbury.
Michelle Burgess
Director of Inclusion & Diversity Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages
Michelle Burgess
Director of Inclusion & Diversity Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages
Michelle Burgess is the Director of Inclusion & Diversity for Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages. She promotes an inclusive environment of belonging in the CCSWB culture, executing the DEI strategy not only as a business imperative, but to ensure the BEST outcomes for ALL people. Burgess' passion and influence expands beyond the organization itself, into the community, while setting the precedent for socially responsible leadership practices.
Burgess' unique background and mix of 30+ years’ workplace leadership experience, (across many industries) equip her to provide insight, with engaging, practical, and immediately applicable solutions to real-world situations.
As a true change agent, she has been a volunteer, advocate, board member and speaker on the concepts of female empowerment, access to equity, and unconscious inclusion in the workforce. Burgess created the EMPOWER cohort at CCSWB to support female associates, providing an engaging space to increase collaboration and elevate belonging. She is also the Co-founder and Chief Culture Officer of “Just Reset It”. Her commitment to Inclusion and Diversity is nothing short of inspiring.
Bruna Chiosini, PMP
Global Head of Supply Chain and Supplier Quality Nikola Corporation
Bruna Chiosini, PMP
Global Head of Supply Chain and Supplier Quality Nikola Corporation
Bruna Chiosini is an accomplished leader with almost 20 years of experience in supply chain, program management, quality and vendor/customer relations. She has a proven track record in achieving positive business results by developing strategic partnerships, identifying new opportunities, adapting to new markets and technologies. Chiosini joined Nikola as a Program Manager and moved into the Director of Program Management and then into Head of Supply Chain and 6 months later she was promoted to the Global Head of Supply Chain.
Before joining Nikola, Chiosini was the Program Manager over Axles and Suspensions at Meritor and served various roles at the ZF Group over an 8-year period including Program Manager, EPS System and Supply Chain. She has a strong purchasing and program management professional with an engineer's degree focused on industrial engineering.
