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Blasgen to retire as CSCMP president, CEO

Baxa, former CSCMP chairman, to take reins on interim basis

Blasgen to retire from CSCMP in March (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves and CSCMP

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) said Wednesday that Rick D. Blasgen, its president and CEO for more than 15 years, will retire from the group on March 5.

Blasgen will be replaced on an interim basis by Mark Baxa, president and CEO of  FerniaCreek Global Supply Chain Consulting Group and a former CSCMP chairman. Blasgen will assist in the transition and will continue as an adviser to the Lombard, Illinois-based trade group. CSCMP will begin a search for a permanent successor later this year, said Brian Gibson, the group’s chairman.

Founded in 1963, CSCMP is best known for providing educational, professional networking and career advancement opportunities to its 9,000 worldwide members. It is arguably the most prominent trade association in the supply chain management field, partly by virtue of its longevity. Its annual EDGE conference — which is scheduled to be held this September in person in Atlanta — is considered a top-tier event in the trade. Blasgen is slated to be honored at the event, CSCMP said.

Blasgen joined CSCMP as president and CEO in November 2005. He has spent most of his career in the food industry. He was senior vice president-supply chain at food giant ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) before joining CSCMP.


Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.