TRAILBLAZER
Dennis Mullahy
JOB TITLE: VP, GLOBAL SUPPLY MANAGEMENT AND LOGISTICS COMPANY: JOHN DEERE
The man who ploughed through the pandemic, learning as he went
W
allas Wiggins is VP Global Supply Management and Logistics at John Deere, the well-known manufacturer of machines and equipment for agriculture, construction, forestry, and other industries. John Deere is an iconic US business. It was back in 1837 that farmer John Deere invented the first steel plough, which was designed
to cut through sticky prairie soil. Before the dawn of the combustion engine, Deere did more than any single person to increase agricultural productivity in the US. Today, John Deere employs 68,000 people worldwide and has annual net sales and revenue of around US$44bn. Wiggins is the man who ensures that the company’s products reach thousands of customers across the globe every day. Wiggins cut his supply teeth at GM Wiggins began his career in supply management at General Motors, where he spent over a decade, working across supply management, engineering, operations, and other areas. After this he went to work for a small B2B startup in Detroit called Covisint, which focused on connectivity between suppliers and the automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). It was after this, in 2007, that he joined John Deere, as a quality manager at a facility in North Carolina. His next role was in the corporate strategy team at company HQ in
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April 2022
