I AM UAA: Dale Shaw

M.S. Global Supply Chain Management '07
Managing Director, FedEx Alaska Operations
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Fun Fact:  Most memorable FedEx moment was as a guest on KFQD's Dave Stieren Show

Logistics. Moving things from point A to point B in a timely and efficient manner. Tedious line of work?

"What do you mean; we move the world!"

That's UAA alum Jimmy Dale Shaw (Dale if you're his great grandmother or know him well, Jimmy Dale if you grew up with him, or if you just met him, maybe just Jimmy). He puts a human enthusiasm to the world of supply chain management in his role as managing director of Alaska operations at FedEx.

"The smallest economic event can ripple across the entire globe," says the master of global supply chain management. "How the scope of what one market, or one company, can do to affect every person on the globe is fascinating. Furthermore, you can't help eliminate poverty without providing access for people to improve their standard of living. That's what FedEx does."

As he reflects on the far-reaching impacts FedEx has by providing a means for companies of all sizes to do business worldwide, it is clear that he does, in fact, find the logistics of supply chain management enthralling. Which is probably good, given he has been in the business for more than 20 years.

His career at FedEx started as a way to put himself through college. While attending the University of Memphis to study management information systems, he was hired as a handler at FedEx's Memphis hub, working the night shift. It was an entry-level, part-time position that would end up giving him a solid foundation for a lifelong career with the company.

"One of the perks of working for FedEx is tuition assistance," he says, explaining that for the 10 years he spent earning his undergraduate degree, he worked for FedEx five of those. "Since I was working nights, I wasn't taking a full load of classes. I was supporting myself all through college."

Graduation in 1997 was quickly followed by being promoted to a management position and getting married, all in a span of three months. His new wife worked for FedEx, where the two met, and attended the University of Memphis as well. A year into their marriage they were expecting their first child and Dale was starting to think about further opportunities with the company. By 1999, he took an opportunity to transfer to Fort Worth, Texas, with his family and continue developing himself as a manager for FedEx. After two and a half years (and a second child), it was on to Alaska.

Why Alaska? "For the sheer thrill of going somewhere I have never been but always wanted to go," he says. "I can't even begin to tell folks from where I'm from how great it is to live here. Whether you're talking community, where you work, the schools, the churches, the business community, everyone just really wants Anchorage and Alaska to be successful. We don't all agree how to get to the endpoint, but we all agree on the goal-that we want Alaska to be the absolute best place to live and work and play."

Clearly, he carries his enthusiasm for logistics to the rest of his life. (Don't get him started on his kids' soccer and little league games. "It's a tremendous amount of fun. I just get so excited when they do well.")

Over the 10 years he has worked for FedEx in Anchorage, Dale has worked his way through the ranks, experiencing all aspects of the second largest import facility FedEx operates. From hub operations manager (2001-03) to senior manager for sort operations (2003-04), ramp operations (2004-07) and gateway clearance operations (2007-11), Dale now applies his combined experience as managing director for all of FedEx's Alaska operations.

While at the senior management level, he started looking around for more educational opportunities and found just what he was looking for in UAA's Master's of Supply Chain Management. Prior to his enrolling, FedEx had donated money to help start the logistics program in the College of Business and Public Policy. As a student himself, Dale has been a relentless advocate for the program, and has even taught as an adjunct professor.

"I loved it," he says of his teaching position. "I tried to bring a level of energy to that class that I bring to my work and my own personal education. No one was sleeping in those classes, that I can tell you!"

FedEx also dedicates time to UAA by giving tours of the Anchorage hub to logistics students. And through their tuition assistance program, the company is able to send quite a number of employees to school at UAA for continuing education in a variety of programs, including nursing, aviation and business in addition to logistics.

Looking back at his life so far, Dale talks most highly about his family and his education.

"I am 150 percent dedicated to work, but I am most proud of my family. I have a great family," says the father of three. "And one thing I try to instill in my kids is to make sure you put the time and focus into your education because it is very important. I learned the hard way that education is expensive after losing a scholarship my first semester of college. It's not free, you're paying for it either with your time and effort or your money."

And even though he was so busy working while earning both his undergraduate and graduate degrees, he says because he enjoyed his experience so much at UAA, his wife has decided to attend his alma mater for a nursing degree, starting in January. Maybe we'll have the chance to welcome his kids to campus in the future, too.