J. Paul Dittmann

J. Paul Dittmann, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee. Dittmann comes to the University of Tennessee after a 30-year career in industry. He has held positions such as vice president, logistics for North America; vice president global logistics systems; and most recently served as vice president, supply chain strategy, projects, and systems for the Whirlpool Corporation. Dittmann has served as a consultant for many companies providing a variety of services such as supply chain assessments, supply chain strategy development, and network optimization studies. He has taught numerous public seminars in the areas of lean manufacturing, global business, and supply chain excellence, and has spoken at many conferences on these and other topics. Dittmann has been married for 40 years to his wife Brenda, and has three children, David, Kathy, and Melissa, as well as five grandchildren. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.