All things nexterus
Board of Directors
All Things Nexterus
About Us
Sam Polakoff
Chairman of the Board
Sam Polakoff
Chairman of the Board
Sam Polakoff is the Chairman of the Board and third-generation owner of Nexterus Inc. Sam has played an integral role in transforming Nexterus into a supply chain engineering and technology firm, helping small and mid-sized companies to position themselves for growth since his start in 1975. During his tenure with Nexterus, Sam has expanded the company’s service portfolio by launching the following divisions: Information Technology, Sales & Marketing, International Transportation Management, Freight Payment, and Supply Chain Services.
In 2022, DC Velocity Magazine recognized Sam as a “Logistics Rainmaker” in the Lifetime Achievement category. In 2023, Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine recognized Sam as a “Supply Chain Pro to Know.”
Sam has spoken and conducted workshops around the country. He has been a guest lecturer at many area colleges, including York College, Salisbury University, Shippensburg University, The University of Baltimore and Towson University. Sam is a former adjunct faculty member at Penn State – York and his alma mater, Towson University. At Towson University, Sam served as chairman of the Advisory Board for the College of Business & Economics and taught “The CEO Simulation,” a course he designed for advanced business students aspiring to run a company after graduation.
Sam graduated from Towson University in 1986 with a degree in Marketing.
In his spare time, Sam enjoys writing. He is the award-winning author of thrillers, Hiatus, Shaman, Escaping Mercy, and An Inch from Oblivion. In 2024, Sam released the first book in a historical fiction trilogy entitled The Diary of Essie Lassiter. In 2007, Sam wrote a children’s book entitled “A Christmas Tale,” 100% of the proceeds of which support glaucoma research and education.
Ryan Polakoff
Vice Chairman of the Board
Ryan Polakoff
President & CEO
Ryan Polakoff is the President, CEO, and 4th generation of ownership at Nexterus, overseeing all day-to-day activity. Starting in 2003, Ryan has worked every desk at the company to truly learn the business from the ground up. As a “what is possible?” leader, Ryan thrives in difficult situations- He enjoys dissecting complex issues, designing solutions, and implementing actionable results. Ryan works closely with the Nexterus Management Team on both vision design/creation, and how to operationalize strategic concepts.
Ryan is a firm believer in challenging the status quo and embraces his role as a coach and always stands by his personal motto “walk your talk.”
Ryan enjoys public speaking, having served as a panel moderator, panelist, guest speaker, and supply chain subject matter expert for many different organizations, including York College of Pennsylvania, Towson University, Baltimore World Trade Center Institute (WTCI), York County Economic Alliance (YCEA), Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), Pennsylvania Manufacturing Association and others. Ryan’s industry insights & articles have been published with many prominent groups including Supply Chain Brain Magazine, The American Journal of Transportation (AJOT), Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Supply Chain Quarterly, Inbound Logistics Magazine, Food Logistics Magazine, Supply & Demand Chain Executive (SDCE), DC Velocity, and others.
In 2024, Ryan was recognized as a “Supply Chain Pro to Know” by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine (SDCE), in the “Rising Stars” category. Additionally in 2024, Ryan was also recognized as a “Rock Star of the Supply Chain” by Food Logistics Magazine.
Ryan studied at Shippensburg University with a primary concentration in Supply Chain Management and a secondary concentration in Marketing. In his free time, Ryan enjoys attempting to play golf and sing 80’s rock karaoke. A native Marylander, Ryan still resides in Maryland today with his wife, Rischelle and his daughter, Sophia.
Dwight H. Schwader
SVP of Operations, Fitness & Logistics Industries (Retired)
Dwight H. Schwader
SVP of Operations, Fitness & Logistics Industries (Retired)
Dwight Schwader has over forty years of progressive management experience & responsibilities within supply chain & logistics. Specific exposure to Pricing, Logistics, Planning, Order Management, Inventory and Sales. Developed successful sales presentation and closing techniques. Effectively lead and trained sales teams. Oversaw an International organization based in the UK. Implemented national delivery systems utilizing multi-modal organizations to ensure timely, cost effective deliveries. An organized problem solver with an excellent analytical and administrative skill set. Has successfully handled multiple projects simultaneously, initiated change and communicated effectively with all levels of personnel.
Stephen J. Pimpo
Managing Principal, Double Eagle Consulting
Stephen J. Pimpo
Managing Principal, Double Eagle Consulting
Steve Pimpo is the managing principal of Double Eagle Consulting, a service-disabled veteran owned small business that provides consulting, business development and strategic relationship management services to companies desiring to do business in the defense and federal market. He has 30 years federal consulting experience as a former senior executive/leader working for some of the world’s largest management consulting firms (KPMG, BearingPoint, Deloitte, Accenture and BDO).
He has particularly deep experience in the areas of strategy, business development, supply chain, change management, foreign military sales, performance improvement, program and financial management, acquisition support, coaching and training.
He served as a Supply Officer in the United States Navy working in logistics, financial management, acquisition, retail sales and food service management. He retired from the U.S. Naval reserves after serving as the officer in charge of a naval contracting unit supporting the United Kingdom, Italy and Bahrain.
Steve holds an M.S. degree in Business/Finance from the Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. degree in Political Science from the United States Naval Academy. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife, Cindy, and their six children. He enjoys golf, fishing, playing guitar, football, theatre, and spending time with his family.
Fabrizio Brasca
CEO & Founder, TriSuccess Advisory Inc
Fabrizio Brasca
CEO & Founder, TriSuccess Advisory Inc
Fabrizio (Fab) Brasca is a 30+ year veteran of the logistics and supply chain technology space. Fab has worked across the globe with some of the largest organizations providing guidance not only on functional excellence but also on strategic and organizational approaches to capitalize on technology investment.
Currently, Fab is the CEO and founder of TriSuccess Advisory providing strategic advisory centered around go-to-market, organizational and acquisition diligence services. His clients include AutoPlant, delaPlex, and Koerber Supply Chain Solutions. He also serves on the advisory boards of Nexterus and e2Log.
Prior to founding TriSuccess Advisory, Fab served as Chief Strategy Office of FourKites having initially served as executive vice president (EVP), industry and market strategy. In this role, he led his organization to drive industry specific go-to-market strategies, thought leadership and solution execution excellence as well as expanding FourKites’ alliance and partner ecosystem.
Previously, he was CVP of solution strategy at Blue Yonder, responsible for developing innovative strategies across all industry verticals, strengthening executive-level relationships with key customers and prospects and advising companies on best practices to become more profitable. Fab joined Blue Yonder as part of the i2 Technologies acquisition in January 2010 after spending more than 10 years at i2 serving in transportation-focused senior management positions. In these roles, he helped lead i2’s global transportation practice including marketing, presales, roadmap development and services functions.
He holds an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics, with a specialization in business and information systems from the University of Waterloo in Canada and is an avid triathlete and multiple Ironman and Ironman 70.3 finisher.
Jenny Bedard
CFO, PLA Solutions
Jenny Bedard
CFO, PLA Solutions
Jenny Bedard joined PLA as the Chief Financial Officer in November 2023 and is responsible for leading the Accounting, Finance, and Technology functions of the organization. Bedard has 25+ years experience spanning the Logistics, Automotive, Medical Software, Telecommunications, and Human Resource Services industries. She has worked in various types of environments from start-ups to fortune 50 companies. Prior to joining PLA, she spent ~3 years at Lazer Logistics where she co-led the company’s culture initiative and was a key contributor to company initiatives including rebranding, expansion into new services through 3 acquisitions and investments in EV’s, creation of a data governance function and data lake, and the successful sale to their 4th Private Equity sponsor (EQT Partners).
Prior to her time in Logistics, Bedard spent 13 years at Cox Automotive where she was a founding member of their new Mobility Solutions business unit, was part of the Strategy Group that unified all automotive assets under one brand, led the company’s largest acquisition and subsequent integration efforts, and contributed to high growth businesses like Autotrader.com and Kelley Blue Book. Bedard started her career at MCI, now Verizon Business, during an era of disruption and innovation in the telecom space. During her 10 years at the company, she supported their Global, Reseller and Consumer Markets divisions with largely Financial Planning & Analysis.
After Verizon, Bedard partnered with the Sales organization at McKesson Provider Technologies to restructure their organization and processes to drive additional productivity and contract profitability. Bedard also worked for Adecco, a $20B global HR firm, as the SVP of North American Finance and focused on transformation and regaining market share.
Bedard has a BA in International Trade/Business & Spanish and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Auburn University. She later pursued a BS and MAcc in Accounting from Mercer University. She earned a Six Sigma Green Belt from Emory and completed the Cox Executive Leadership Program. For her community, she serves as Treasurer on the Boards of non-profit organizations PAWS Atlanta and formerly for Senior Connections. She is also a member of the Auburn University Business School Advisory Council and Entrepreneurship Council and participates in the CFO Leadership Council and CFO Roundtable organizations. Bedard lives in downtown Atlanta with her husband and 3 rescue dogs and in her spare time, enjoys volunteering, running, traveling and cooking.
Stephen Auvil
Chief Federal Engagement Officer, TEDCO
Stephen Auvil
Chief Federal Engagement Officer, TEDCO
Stephen is currently TEDCO’s Chief Federal Engagement Officer. In this role, he oversees TEDCO’s programs supporting technology transfer from federal laboratories. He also works to identify and to secure federal funding to support Maryland’s innovation ecosystem. During his tenure at TEDCO, he has created and/or managed multiple programs for university and federal technology transfer, early-stage investment funds, entrepreneurial support, and ecosystem building. Prior to TEDCO, Stephen served as the Assistant Vice President for Research at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) where supported the university’s research enterprise and its economic development mission as it relates to research, technology transfer, and new venture creation. He was one of the architects of UMBC’s ACTiVATE® and INNoVATE™ programs and served as a co-principal investigator on the National Science Foundation grants that supported these programs. He also served as the Director of UMBC’s Office of Technology Development (OTD). During his tenure, he oversaw significant growth in OTD’s active license agreements, intellectual property portfolio, and licensing revenues. He actively promoted UMBC’s research capabilities and helped to build ties with Maryland companies.
Before joining UMBC, Stephen worked as an Assistant Director in the Office of Technology Licensing at Johns Hopkins University where he evaluated inventions and negotiated license agreements for a variety of technologies. Stephen graduated with a BS in Biology and Engineering Science from Loyola University in Maryland. He went on to earn an MBA from the University of Baltimore and an MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University.
Terry Hartley
VP & Director of Pricing, FedEx Services (Retired)
Terry Hartley
VP & Director of Pricing, FedEx Services (Retired)
Retired Director of Pricing Application from FedEx Services after many years of service. During my FedEx career, I worked for a number of different divisions before moving into FedEx Corporate. Starting with FedEx National (formerly Watkins Motor Lines) as VP of pricing and eventually into my last position where I was responsible for invoicing accuracy and pricing implementation.
Oversaw group handling over 18 million shipments a day, and our invoicing accuracy was at 99.9987%.
Prior to joining FedEx, I was the Director of Pricing for Con-Way Central. In just over 22 years we brought online automated rating and billing, weighing and inspection, pricing requests and negotiations, and density-based pricing systems, which helped build the company from zero revenue to the second-largest LTL carrier, in the country and changed the industry forever.
Terry is a graduate of Ferris State College with a B.S. in Business Administration and holds an MBA in BA from Central Michigan University, majoring in Marketing and Finance.
Terry is an avid golfer, along with being an avid University of Michigan, Detroit Lion and Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan.