Carol Ptak is currently a partner with the Demand Driven Institute (DDI) Prior to DDI she was at Pacific Lutheran University as a Visiting Professor and Distinguished Executive in Residence. Previously, she was Vice President and Global Industry Executive for Manufacturing and Distribution Industries at PeopleSoft where she developed the concept of demand driven manufacturing (DDM). Additionally, Ms. Ptak spent four years at IBM Corporation culminating in the position of Global SMB Segment Executive.

A leading authority in the use of ERP and Supply Chain tools to drive improved bottom line performance, Ms. Ptak's expertise is well grounded in four decades of practical experience as a successful practitioner, consultant, and educator in manufacturing operations. She is the author and coauthor of numerous articles and books including Adaptive Sales and Operations Planning, The Demand Driven Adaptive Enterprise, Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning, Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning Third Edition, MRP and Beyond and ERP, Tools, Techniques and Applications for Integrating the Supply Chain, Theory H.O.W., Necessary but not Sufficient, and the updated version of Quantum Leap, originally written by John Constanza.

She holds an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology and completed the EMPO program at Stanford University. Ms. Ptak is certified through APICS at the fellow level (CFPIM) and also holds the CIRM certificate. Ms. Ptak was the President and CEO of APICS for the year 2000. Prior to her election as APICS President, she served on the Society in a variety of positions.

Chad Smith is co-founder and partner of the Demand Driven Institute (DDI). Prior to DDI, Chad co-founded Constraints Management Group (CMG) in 1997, a services and technology company specializing in demand driven manufacturing, materials and project management systems for mid-range and large manufacturers. He served as Managing Partner of CMG from 1998 to 2015. Clients, past and present, include Unilever, LeTourneau Technologies, Boeing, Intel, Erickson Air-Crane, Siemens, IBM, The Charles Machine Works (Ditch Witch) and Oregon Freeze Dry. He has coauthored several books with a variety of subject matter experts including Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning Third Edition, Demand Driven Performance: Using Smart Metrics, Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning, Precisely Wrong--Why Conventional Planning Fails and How to Fix It, The Demand Driven Adaptive Enterprise--Surviving and Thriving in the VUCA World and Adaptive Sales and Operations Planning.