Don Maier is an associate professor of practice at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business. His professional career included roles in the logistics and supply chain management teams at FedEx, Office Depot, Penske Logistics, Monsanto and Merisant (a division of Monsanto). He was instrumental in the strategic design and leadership of the international logistics operation for North and Central America, and he managed the design and development of the total productive manufacturing quality culture at Merisant, focusing on 5S and lean principles. During this time, Maier earned a doctorate in organization development and a master’s in organizational behavior from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois, and taught various management-related courses.
Maier started his full-time academic career as an assistant professor at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. He was a member of the Will County Health Department’s Emergency Response Team, where he designed and managed the distribution of pharmaceuticals during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak. He served on Will County Center for Economic Development’s logistics advisory board, helping transform Joliet into the inland empire of the Midwest.
He held the rank of professor at two universities. For nine years, he served as dean for the Maine Maritime and Cal Maritime Academies. As the founding dean of the School of Maritime Transportation, Logistics, & Management at California State University-Maritime Academy, he oversaw programs in marine transportation, international logistics and naval science.
Maier has been featured on CNN, ABC-San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle, Popular Mechanics, and The Conversation regarding maritime transportation issues and volatility in the global supply chain. He was a keynote speaker for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle (MIAS), the Board of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco, the Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals Association and the International Association of Maritime Port Executives (IAMPE). He serves on advisory boards for the IAMPE and the Containerization & Intermodal Institute.