<p>Gus Perna, the visionary leader and logistician who led the most rapid vaccine deployment effort in global history, shares his proven principles of leadership, teamwork, and strategic planning—as well as the surprising ways AI bolstered the operation’s success, and insights on how organizations can harness its power. </p><p>Before he was named to co-lead the U.S. government’s COVID-19 response in 2020 with Operation Warp Speed, General Gus Perna served as head of the U.S. Army Materiel Command where he managed redistribution of critical munitions to the Pacific and fixed the Army’s housing crisis. As Commander of the Philadelphia Defense Supply Center, he was responsible for the fighting force’s global supply chain.</p><p>One of the military’s most skilled and most senior logisticians, General Perna worked to build manufacturing capacity and the end-to-end supply chain needed to get vaccines distributed “at warp speed.” Leveraging public-private partnerships and cutting-edge technology including artificial intelligence, he accelerated the operation beyond what anyone thought possible—all while the vaccines were still in development.</p><p>General Perna retired from the U.S. Army in August of 2021 after 38 years of distinguished service in which he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. In 2021, the association of Business Executives for National Security honored him with the Eisenhower Award.</p>
Visionary four-star general who co-led the Coronavirus Task Force’s highly successful ‘Operation Warp Speed’ vaccine deployment; Supply Chain Expert
<ul><li><strong>The Leadership Lessons of a Master Logistician</strong></li><li>The unprecedented success of the American vaccine development and distribution effort is a perfect illustration of the adage that “leaders win through logistics.” With candid, behind-the-curtain anecdotes, General Gus Perna shares the leadership principles, pragmatic tactics, and personal habits that helped Operation Warp Speed achieve what so many said was impossible, delivering over 390 million COVID vaccines in less than 12 months.</li><li>Told he could have as many staff as he wanted, Perna opted for fewer than 100—to keep the organization flat and ensure he was involved in every aspect of the operation. Relying on public-private partnerships, Perna eliminated procedural roadblocks by communicating “CEO-to-CEO” with the heads of industry who could make things happen. Candidly, Perna explains the importance of transparency and direct communication in winning their cooperation and trust. A natural storyteller, Perna delivers unforgettable lessons on the importance of a logistics mindset for resilient leadership at organizations of every type and size.</li><li><strong>Fast, Frictionless Supply Chains</strong></li><li>Who better to show business leaders and C-Suite executives how to plan for and securely navigate supply chain disruptions than the “visionary logistician” responsible for leading the most successful vaccine development and distribution effort in history?</li><li>Drawing on his experience with Operation Warp Speed and multiple other commands in which he oversaw the fighting force’s global supply chain, General Gus Perna shares his bias-for-action approach to leading in highly dynamic, fast-changing conditions. With vivid, real-world examples and a storyteller’s knack, Perna explains how he identifies supply chain weaknesses, how he leverages technology and AI to test for and mitigate operational risk, how he manages security assurance (including cybersecurity) and makes use of redundancy to ensure future flexibility. He leaves audiences better prepared to future-proof their own organizations to meet any challenge at warp speed. </li><li><strong>Executive Roundtable</strong></li><li>Keppler Executive Roundtables give you intimate, off-the-record access to world-class experts and authorities on the issues that matter most to your business.</li><li>When the pandemic hit and the decision was made to assemble a public-private team to plan the nation’s vaccine development and deployment effort, the then Secretary of Health and Human Services asked, “Who is the best logistics leader in the Defense Department?” The response was immediate: General Gustave Perna. </li><li>General Perna spent decades in the U.S. Army Material Command, the military branch responsible for supplying all soldiers with supplies, ammunition, housing and whatever else they needed to be successful in foreign theaters of war in the Middle East. His intimate knowledge of supply chains and how to make them work have proven invaluable to companies struggling to harden a delivery infrastructure constantly beset by new challenges—from COVID to trade disputes and geopolitical upheaval. </li></ul><p><br></p><p>General Perna tailors every Executive Roundtable presentation to address your specific industry, challenges and needs. <a href="https://www.kepplerspeakers.com/executive-roundtables" target="_blank">Learn more about the Keppler Executive Roundtable offering here</a>.</p><p><br></p>