2019 Spring Keynote Bios: Spring 2019 IDN Summit

One of today’s most influential voices in workplace trends, Chester Elton has spent two decades helping
clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. In his provocative, inspiring and always entertaining talks, #1 bestselling leadership author Chester Elton provides real solutions to leaders looking to manage change, drive innovation, and lead a multi-generational workforce. Elton’s work is supported by research with more than 850,000 working adults, revealing the proven secrets behind high-performance cultures and teams.

He has been called the “apostle of appreciation” by Canada’s Globe and Mail, “creative and refreshing‚” by the New York Times, and a “must read for modern managers” by CNN. Elton is co-author of the multiple award-winning New York Times and #1 USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling leadership book, All In, The Carrot Principle, and The Best Team Wins. His books have been translated in more than 30 languages and have sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Elton is often quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Fast Company and the New York Times. He has appeared on NBC’s Today, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, National Public Radio and CBS’s 60 Minutes. In 2018 Global Gurus research organization ranked him as #13 in the world’s top leadership experts and #5 in the world’s top organizational culture experts; and he is a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches pay it forward project. Elton is the co-founder of The Culture Works, a global training company and a board member of Camp Corral, a non-profit for the children of wounded and fallen military heroes.

Sara Henderson is the Vice President of Supply Chain at Avera Health, located in Sioux Falls, SD. She has over 15 years of experience in finance, supply chain and healthcare. Her healthcare leadership career began at the University of Utah Medical Group and led to increasing responsibilities and leadership roles within Avera Health. She is best known for ability to oversee and lead large scope initiatives such as item master standardization, integration of revenue cycle with supply chain operations, and the restructure of the supply value analysis process into clinical integration. Sara has her Economics B.S. degree and MBA from University of South Dakota.

Kreg Koford is the Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Sustaining Care Services at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). He has significant experience in strategic sourcing, category management, asset management, supplier collaboration, and supply chain operations. His commitment to transforming the healthcare supply chain industry has resulted in enhancing effectiveness and efficiencies across a wide array of activities and initiatives.

Prior to MSKCC, Kreg was responsible for managing more than $2.2 billion of nonlabor spending at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, where he served as Assistant Vice President, Strategic Sourcing and Solutions. In that role, he helped lead the Intermountain supply chain organization to the number-one spot on the Gartner Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 ranking in both 2016 and 2017. He also managed Intermountain’s key customer and supplier relationships, with a focus on identifying new sources of value that went beyond traditional price decreases and margin-shifting activities.

Kreg earned his bachelor’s degree and his master’s in business administration from Brigham Young University. Most recently, he received certifications from Intermountain Healthcare’s Advanced Leadership Program and Michigan State University’s Executive Program, in addition to becoming a Certified Professional in Supply Management. He previously earned certifications from the Association for Health Care Resource and Materials Management’s Supply Chain Leadership Institute and IPS Project Management Advanced Training.

Chad Pennington is the only player to win the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award twice, doing so in 2006 and 2008. The New York Jets invested their first-round draft selection and picked Chad as the as the 18th overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, making him the first quarterback taken in that draft. Chad played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Jets and Dolphins. In 2003, Chad became the 47th quarterback in NFL history to achieve a perfect passer rating. Chad also twice earned the NFL passer completion percentage leader and in 2002 was named the Most Improved Player by the Professional Football Writers Association. At the time of his retirement, Pennington was the NFL's all-time leader in career completion percentage at 66.0% among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 pass attempts. Chad graduated from Marshall University where he excelled academically, graduating with a degree in journalism, and becoming a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship.

Chad, along with his wife Robin, now run the 1st and 10 Foundation, with the mission to build stronger communities by funding programs and institutions that seek to improve quality of life for kids throughout West Virginia, Tennessee, and the New York metropolitan area. He is also active coaching elementary and middle school football for The Lexington School and was recently tabbed as the new coach to revive high school football for Sayre School in Lexington, KY.

Chad continues to be active with the NFL serving as Co-executive Director of the NFL Legends, assisting former players in dealing with life after football and offering guidance to new talent with the transition from college.

Eric Tritch, MBA is the Vice President of Supply Chain for the UChicago Medicine. In this role, he has oversight of all supply chain operations, contracting, value analysis and supplier management activity for the health system.

Eric has extensive experience and a proven track record in Supply Chain and Strategic Sourcing processes. His career started in the industrial manufacturing sector, then went into supply chain consulting, and now has been in healthcare for the last 8 years.

Keynote Speaker Bios