Mark Baxa, president and chief executive officer of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, sits down with us at the EDGE 2023 conference with an update on the organization's mission.

Mark Baxa is no stranger to CSCMP. He’s spent 10 years on the organization’s board of directors, did a stint as acting president and chief executive officer, then took over the position officially more than a year and a half ago. “It’s been a tremendous journey,” he says, noting that CSCMP, now in its 60^th year of operation under various names, has nearly 10,000 members.

Baxa says he and his staff are readying some major changes for the organization, while continuing with long-standing initiatives such as the annual State of Logistics Report, produced by Kearney and presented by Penske Logistics, as well as the State of the Global Semiconductor Supply Chain Report, authored by experts from Arizona State University and Colorado State University, along with Parkwood Advisors, LLC.

Baxa wants to enhance the organization’s educational mission, aimed at both entry-level supply chain practitioners as well as senior executives. Last year, it began adding content for high schools, as part of a STEM program for students at that level. It’s also providing career guidance through The Center for the Advancement of Talent and Training.

CSCMP has benefited in recent years, Baxa says, from the growing public awareness of the importance of supply chain management, caused in large part by the global disruptions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.