For several years Gavin Whittle of Astoria, N.Y., wrestled with supply chain problems in the Middle East. As an officer in the U.S. Navy deployed in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, his mission was to protect the lifeblood of the local economy and coalition military operations: oil. In civilian life, Gavin is dealing with supply chains of a different kind: fresh produce.
A senior manager of operations for FreshDirect, and a students in the College's MRSC program, his new mission is to get fresh, locally sourced food to the kitchen tables of customers in the greater New York City metro region, including Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey and Deleware. FreshDirect is an online grocer launched in 2002, providing fresh food at comparatively lower prices than many local supermarkets.
After high school, Gavin enlisted in Marine Corps and moved on to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, through a secretary of the Navy nomination. He graduated from Annapolis in 2006 with an English major and completed three deployments in the Middle East, plus a year-long staff assignment living in Bahrain.
While transitioning from the military, Gavin began to search educational opportunities to put his supply chain knowledge to work.