Sean Willems

Sean Willems is a distinguished academic and entrepreneur who serves as the Haslam Chair in Supply Chain Analytics at the University of Tennessee's Haslam College of Business. After earning his education from the Wharton School and MIT Sloan School of Management, he made significant contributions to the field of supply chain optimization. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found Optiant in 2000, a successful venture in multi-echelon inventory optimization tools that was later acquired by Logility. As both a scholar and practitioner, Willems has collaborated with major corporations like Hewlett Packard, Proctor & Gamble, and Intel, earning multiple recognitions including the 2008 Wagner Prize for his groundbreaking work on inventory placement under non-stationary demand. His research focuses on developing tactical decision support tools, inventory forecasting, and optimization, with his work gaining particular relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, he directs the business analytics and statistics Ph.D. program at the University of Tennessee while maintaining a visiting professor position at MIT Sloan School of Management since 2016. His commitment to education extends beyond traditional teaching, as demonstrated by his creation of a high-quality video studio during the pandemic to enhance online learning experiences through his innovative "World of Edcraft" project. Willems continues to shape the field through his editorial roles at Production and Operations Management and Interfaces, while his research publications on supply chain configuration and strategic safety stock placement remain highly influential in the academic community.