Marcelo Valadares is a seasoned supply chain leader with over 21 years of experience driving planning excellence in global organizations. He currently serves as Senior Supply Chain Planning Manager at Valent Biosciences, where he leads end-to-end planning functions including Demand Planning, Supply Planning, Inventory Management, and Integrated Business Planning (IBP). Marcelo has held key leadership roles at Unilever and Johnson & Johnson, where he implemented S&OE processes, advanced inventory strategies, and led the Sumitomo Supply Chain Planning team. He holds a Master’s in Supply Chain Management, an MBA from FGV-SP, a bachelor's in Mathematics, and certifications from APICS and MIT.
Sara Niakian is Director of Supply Chain at SIG Group, where she leads end-to-end planning across demand, supply, inventory, and fulfillment to drive performance and resilience. With over a decade of experience in global supply chain, she focuses on inventory strategy, S&OP leadership, and data-driven transformation. Previously, she led enterprise planning at UScellular, overseeing more than $200M in inventory investments and launching a Power BI Center of Excellence to strengthen analytics and decision-making. Sara holds an MBA in Finance from DePaul University and engineering degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Sharif University of Technology.
Lina Alvarado Díaz is a senior supply chain leader with more than 20 years of experience advancing forecasting and integrated planning maturity in complex, global organizations. She currently serves as Director of Supply Planning & Execution at Fortune Brands Innovations, where she leads the evolution of S&OP and S&OE into enterprise planning systems that improve forecast usability, decision quality, and execution outcomes. Lina brings a strong IBF‑aligned perspective, focused on aligning demand signals, supply constraints, and governance rhythms to support higher‑quality planning decisions while addressing meeting fatigue through fit‑for‑purpose forums. Her work emphasizes planning discipline, cross‑functional accountability, and the practical application of maturity concepts that move organizations beyond process compliance toward real business impact. A frequent industry panelist and speaker, Lina holds an MBA, an MSc, and professional certifications including PMP and SCPro.
S&OP processes often come with several recurring meetings, but are they all really necessary? In this interactive networking session, we’ll explore different perspectives on the value, efficiency, and purpose of each step in the S&OP cycle, with input from both panelists and participants. Together, we’ll challenge traditional approaches, share real-world experiences, and discuss practical ways to streamline meetings while still maintaining alignment, accountability, and results.
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