Derek Nolen
Corporate Logistics Manager
Gallagher-Kaiser

Derek Nolen built Gallagher-Kaiser's logistics function from the ground up and leads it today across North America and Europe. 

His approach has been to make competition the default, standardising how lanes are bid, how carriers are vetted, and how work is awarded. For example, he has partnered with an IT provider to turn that discipline into a digital bid board that schedules lanes and surfaces real-time analytics, giving the business a clearer view of where cost and capacity actually sit.

Much of his current work sits where automotive construction meets the data centre buildout, and he sees firsthand how those two demand curves compete for the same trucks, cranes, and warehouse space. He leads warehouse siting and readiness for oversized battery room and equipment moves, weighing crane capability, fire and electrical compliance, and whether a unit ship assembled or broken-down decisions that reshape the transport plan long before a load is tendered. He has negotiated and launched warehousing in both the US and Mexico and works across a partner network of asset-based carriers and brokers to keep options open when capacity tightens.

Across three decades in supply chain, Derek has led international teams and worked through the operational realities of OEM, tier-one, and construction environments including site logistics for a major paint shop construction program, where sequencing deliveries to a live build schedule left no room for slack. He brings a practical view of what flexibility costs, what it's worth, and how to design a network that can absorb change without absorbing chaos.