Scott Taylor
CEO and President
Andres "Andy" Garcia
Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President
Joel Lesser
Chief Financial Officer
Clement Chin
Vice President of Business Development
Richard Norton
Vice President of Operations
Jeff Tanner
Director of Information Technology
Melanie Acker
Human Resources Manager
Brandon Taylor
Transportation Manager
Scott Taylor
CEO and President
Mr. Taylor brings over 30 years of entrepreneurial leadership and visionary skills to GSC Logistics. After graduating from San Francisco State University in 1973 with a BA in Business Management, he became President of Taylor Sales, Inc., a Northern California distributorship servicing large retail grocery and drugstore chains. Subsequently, Mr. Taylor became a partner and held the position of Executive Vice President with LCO Enterprises which operated a large contract warehousing program for a major California based drugstore chain.In 1990 he was a co-founder of GSC Logistics and has served as its President/CEO ever since. At GSC, Mr. Taylor is responsible for the company’s operational excellence and the development of its long-term strategies.
Andres "Andy" L. Garcia
Chairman of the Board
Executive Vice President
Mr. Garcia has been involved with the logistics industry for over 20 years. A graduate of California State University in Hayward, Mr. Garcia has held various positions in transportation, logistics, and management, plus trade and community organizations.In 1978, Mr. Garcia was General Manager for Distribution Consultants in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1980, he assumed the position of General Manager of Transportation for Distribution Centers, Inc. operating over 700,000 sq/ft of public warehouse services and related transportation programs. In 1987, Mr. Garcia accepted the Managing General Partner position with Western Distribution Centers, operating over 800,000 sq/ft of public warehouse and transportation services throughout the eleven western states. In 1989, was a founder of Gold Star Distribution, which eventually became GSC Logistics. Since 1989, Mr. Garcia has been instrumental in expanding GSC Logistics to its’ current role as a premier logistics provider in the San Francisco Bay area, managing import and export related programs, totaling over 165,000 FEU’s or roughly 16% of all import traffic at the Port of Oakland. Mr. Garcia has been President of the Distribution Managers Association of northern California, as well as President of the Hispanics Lyons Club of San Francisco, and Co-Chair of the Port of Oakland’s Maritime Air Quality Improvement Plan. Mr. Garcia is active within GSC Logistics as a major stockholder, Chairman and Executive within the organization.
Joel Lesser
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Lesser brings over 20 years of broad financial experience to GSC Logistics. Prior to GSC, he served as Vice President of Finance for Ion Systems for four years, a high-tech manufacturer, and was a key resource in the successful acquisition of the company to MKS Instruments for $80M.Mr. Lesser held Corporate Controller positions within the electronics, telecommunications, and internet industries. At Qualys, Mr. Lesser set the ground work for all financial systems and processes and established international subsidiaries to support European operations.At Signio, he had extensive interaction with investors, bankers and board members; the company was acquired by VeriSign in excess of 1 billion dollars.His eight year tenure with California Eastern Laboratories, an electronics distributor and engineering design company, supported the revenue growth from $30M to over $90M worldwide.He also served as a Sr. Business Analyst for Nortel Networks for six years. Mr. Lesser earned his B.S. in Accounting from San Jose State University and his M.B.A. in Finance from Golden Gate University.
Clement Chin
Vice President of Business Development
Mr. Chin has over 30 years of management experience in domestic and international transportation and logistics.
During that time, Mr. Chin has had significant involvement with leading organizations to develop new services and create innovative supply chain solutions to meet the challenging needs of his customers. Some of his accomplishments include the commercial advancement of domestic containerization and application of double-stack rail technology in the logistics and transportation field. He has been responsible for developing new products and successfully expanding services into new domestic and international markets.
Prior to GSC Logistics, Mr. Chin was the principle of a SF Bay Area based transportation and logistics company serving small to mid-size shippers. In addition, he has had significant experience and responsibilities in logistics, marketing and business development for the Port of Oakland, APL and Southern Pacific Railroad.
Mr. Chin has a B.A. in Business Economics from New York State University College and an MBA in Finance from Golden Gate University. He is actively involved with professional industry-related organizations including Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), Waterfront Coalition, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) and Warehouse Education and Resource Council (WERC).Richard Norton
Vice President of Operations
Mr. Norton has managed the transportation and warehousing operations of GSC Logistics since 2001. His responsibilities include managing all cross dock and warehouse functions, import/export container operations and regional domestic trucking, with a combined staff of over 400.Prior to GSC, he served as General Manager of the West Coast Region for Peapod, Inc. Peapod, Inc. is an electronic commerce company focused on target marketing, consumer research and web based shopping and delivery operations. At Peapod, Mr. Norton served as part of a Senior Management team challenged with the task of creating a new business model for nationwide implementation. He developed infrastructure including organizational structure, policies, pricing, hiring, training programs and facility design. He traveled nationwide to launch new markets in New York, Boston, Chicago, Connecticut and Washington. Mr. Norton was a three time recipient of the ‘Founder’s Amaze and Delight Award’ awarded by the Executive Officers for “outstanding performance and exceptional commitment to realizing Peapod’s dream, mission, and passion.” Mr. Norton holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Jeff Tanner
Director of Information Technology
Mr. Tanner has 32 years of experience in the Transportation, Warehousing and Information Technology industry. He has been with GSC Logistics since 1982.Mr. Tanner oversees a multi-site network and manages an application portfolio for each department which includes maintaining service level agreements for a 78 user community. Mr. Tanner ensures that cost-effective technology solutions are planned and implemented throughout the organization. Prior to his current position, he was our Warehouse Manager and responsible for a 470,000 square foot facility with multi-site locations. One of his many projects included the design and institution of a barcode inventory system.As a Special Projects Manager he was responsible for a 180,000 square foot warehouse for a private contract with IBM. The project included inbound/outbound air, ground and JIT shipments, order prioritization and weekly “complete warehouse” inventories. He exceeded all of IBM’s requirements.As Traffic Manager, he managed a fleet of 24 drivers, scheduled deliveries to 100+ Longs Drugs Stores, scheduled the maintenance of the truck and the trailer fleet, and coordinated the backhaul program. Mr. Tanner earned his AA degree from Chabot College and is continuing his education in the IT profession.In his leisure time, he enjoys woodworking, woodturning, making toys for Toys for Tots and volunteer restoration work on the historic Glass House.
Melanie Acker
Human Resources Manager
Ms. Acker began her career with GSC Logistics (GSC) in 2008. She brings to GSC a broad background from various industries of service, inclusive of Engineering, Financial Services, Non-Profit/Healthcare, Retail and Risk Management. Her experience is comprised of: 15+ years of Customer Service, 11+ years of Senior Management and 8+ years of Human Capital Management and Systems. Her broad focus is in the area of Employee and Labor Relations, Customer Service, Management & Policy Development and Workforce Planning & Employment. She has developed policies and procedures for small to mid level companies and defined customer service protocols within organizations. Her strengths lie within the ability to communicate over broad lines of business, target and manage strategies for growing companies and empower personnel to perform at peak levels. Ms. Acker is an advocate of team organizations and mentoring people along their career to become strong leaders within their field of work. Her service philosophy is: ‘respect first the opportunity to serve, and continue that degree of respect with everyone involved in the pursuit; for within the opportunity you will create strong relationships that bring a return on your investment…you’. Ms. Acker is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she majored in Business Administration and is obtaining her degree in Human Resources Management with Golden Gate University. Ms. Acker is a member of Future Business Leaders of America and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and is a volunteer for various charitable organizations.
Brandon Taylor
Transportation Manager
Mr. Taylor has had the unique opportunity to learn all aspects of GSC’s diverse service package and customer base. Beginning his Logistics career in 1994, Brandon held numerous positions and responsibilities in GSC’s Hayward CA. warehouse operation from forklift driver to project manager. Brandon completed his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration at California State Stanislaus in 2002 with concentration in operations management. During his college years, Brandon continued his growth in logistics, using his talents in GSC’s transportation department by getting involved in all aspects of dispatch, systems, and new customer development. In 1999 GSC was awarded its first opportunity to service a large retail importer at the Hayward facility, where Brandon was involved in the development of the company’s first true cross-dock operation. As the company relocated to the Port of Oakland in 2004, Mr. Taylor was promoted to the position of Logistics Operations Manager as GSC grew its truck fleet from 14 drivers in 2000 to over ten times that number in 2006. In August of 2009 Mr. Taylor was promoted to the position of Transportation Manager. He was also recently recognized with the Target All-Star Award.
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