On September 1, 2013 Sarah Vandermast was named the USA Manager—Supply Chain. Sarah is taking over the role formerly held by Jim Kitchens, who is now the USA Director – Supply Chain, and will be reporting to Jim.

In this role, Sarah is responsible for management and administration of the portfolio of USA agreements, development of new initiatives, coordination and interface with suppliers and members, facilitation of Supply Chain Management (SCM) team activities and providing SCM-related support to the USA members.

Sarah is new to the nuclear power generation industry. She comes to USA from the power construction industry where she worked for the third largest industrial construction company in North America. There she managed a portfolio of corporate supplier agreements utilized by dozens of projects in the U.S. and Canada, and representing over $150 million in annual spend. Sarah’s entry to supply chain management was while teaching English to Logistics and Procurement professionals at Texaco and Petrobras while living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 2002 to 2005. In 2011 she earned an M.S. in Global Logistics and Maritime Management from Maine Maritime Academy’s Loeb-Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics. Sarah is “yellow belt” certified in Lean/Six Sigma and speaks Portuguese and Spanish.

Sarah recently sat down to discuss her position as USA Manager-Supply Chain:

I know you are brand new to this position and industry, but is there anything in particular you have noticed so far compared to your previous positions?

The level of collaboration. It is abundantly clear that USA not only talks about teamwork, but truly functions as a team, or rather a collection of teams that work effectively as a fleet. I was extremely impressed by the level of frankness and thoroughness with which tough issues were addressed at both the recent Supply Chain Management meeting and the Quarterly Board of Directors/Site Leadership Team/Management Council meetings I attended within my first weeks at USA. I must confess that I mistakenly pre-judged the nuclear industry to be, well, old-fashioned, because of the rigid, regulatory climate by which it is bound. What I’m finding at USA is that its team-based approach to problem-solving is refreshingly dynamic, reflective, and progressive. 

What are you looking forward to in this new role?

I’m very excited to be coming into USA at a time when the Supply Chain team is proactively building relationships with various functional areas across the fleet for the purpose of identifying new supply chain-based opportunities for fleet-wide cost savings programs, and to better understand how, and by whom, the existing USA suppliers are being utilized, and where there are opportunities for improvement in those suppliers’ and USA’s SCM performance.

Ever-committed to continuous self-improvement, I’m also really looking forward to sharpening and expanding my skills in contract negotiation and supplier relationship management against the backdrop of a new (to me) industry, especially with such robust technological tools for benchmarking and tracking at my fingertips. As I familiarize myself with the supplier portfolio, I’m heartened to see many supplier names I have worked with in the past, and am enjoying researching those suppliers with which I’m less familiar. The size and scope of the existing USA Agreement Portfolio is impressive, and as a Supply Chain Manager, I am humbled by how much time, energy, and commitment the negotiation and administration of those agreements must represent. I look forward to being the steward of the existing agreements and supplier relationships, and am energized by all the opportunities I see for expanding and improving the value SCM delivers to the fleet – I am at your service.

Is there anything in particular you like to do in your free time when not embroiled in Supply Chain-related work?

I swim several miles a week to stay healthy (and to force myself to be parted from my smartphone and other technology for at least 30 minutes a day). I have recently taken up tennis, and absolutely love it, though I’m very much a beginner still. I am obsessed with current events so I’m constantly chasing multiple news sources for the foreign policy, political, social, environmental, and economic issues that matter to me. Lately though, most of my free time is spent with my young son, whose passion for all things dinosaur and Lego is truly a joy to share.

Sarah works out of her home in Lenexa, KS with her son, Lenny, their fish, Mose, and about 100 dinosaurs. She’s a transplant from the “Great State of Maine,” but is proud to call Kansas her second home. She can be reached at svandermast@usainc.org.