Chicago-area warehouse leader receives professional designation

Chicago-area warehouse leader receives professional designation

A Chicago-area logistics executive is the first in the state – and the first woman ever – to earn the logistics industry’s Executive Warehouse Logistics Professional (EWLP) designation. International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA), the resource for warehouse logistics, recently awarded the designation to Noreen Ryan, vice president at third-party asset-based warehousing and transportation provider First Logistics. Ryan’s accomplishment will be formally recognized March 13, 2018, as part of the International Warehouse Logistics Association Convention & Expo.  

“The EWLP designation puts Noreen in a very exclusive group,” says Steve DeHaan, IWLA President & CEO. “Only warehouse logistics professionals who have achieved professional stature and who have given back to the 3PL community are recognized this way. Noreen’s stellar career and her willingness to serve others puts her at the top.”  

Ryan’s more than 30 years in management have taken her from general operations at a manufacturer to sales, marketing, and general at several global supply chain service providers and warehouses logistics companies.  

Her industry leadership includes service as chairman of the IWLA Technology and Operations Solutions for Warehousing Conference and as chairman for CSCMP’s Circle of Excellence Committee, where she has also served as regional adviser and Chicago Roundtable president. Formerly, Ryan served on the WERC Board of Directors and chaired that council’s annual conference.  

Ryan is vice president of education for the Chicago Chapter of the Materials Handling & Management Society and is as a professional adviser for undergraduate supply chain students at DePaul University in Chicago.  

The EWLP designation is the highest level in the Warehouse Logistics Professional Program. Individuals must first ascend through “qualified” and “certified” levels to reach this professional pinnacle. The program, overseen by the IWLA Education Committee, is open to all warehouse logistics professionals, regardless of their companies’ IWLA membership status.