Carla Preston
Vice President Global Supply Chain Management
Stanley Black and Decker

Carla Traci Preston has amassed extensive leadership and expertise in supply chain management, product development with assignments in manufacturing operations, quality, product planning, strategy and business planning, purchasing and supplier development, risk + diversity.

As Stanley Black and Decker’s (SBD) Vice President Global Supply Chain Management Direct Team, Carla leads strategic sourcing enterprise-wide for Global Transportation (all modes), Commodities (raw materials), Packaging, and Purchased Components (castings, stampings, machining, etc.) to deliver the company’s vision. Carla is responsible for overseeing $2+ Billion of spend as well as Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) value creation through a combination of productivity, working capital, synergy, tariff mitigation, supplier risk, reduced lead-time, etc. Carla reports directly to the Head of Global Supply Management / CPO with leadership responsibilities for 3 direct reports and 75+ team members. Carla oversees the development and execution of holistic commodity / category strategies that are purchased across the global enterprise for all three SBD business units (Global Tools + Storage; Industrial, and Security) as well as150+ manufacturing facilities and distribution centers. Carla is directly transforming SBD by building a customer-focused, service-oriented team, as well as fostering an inspired and motivated environment and culture.

In 2016, Carla joined Dura Automotive, as the Vice President Global Supply Chain Management (CPO), Policy and Strategy. While at Dura, Carla led a team of 120 supply chain professionals based in 11 countries; focused on driving strategic sourcing, supply chain efficiency and increasing productivity and performance of over 5,000 suppliers and for 100 global facilities.

Carla was a member of Ford Motor Company’s team for 15 years. As Ford’s Director of Supplier Development and Diversity, Carla was responsible for providing access, growth, and development to 350+ diverse (i.e. minority, women, and veteran) suppliers, identifying qualified diversity suppliers, developing existing diversity suppliers, verifying supplier credentials, and expanding diversity suppliers throughout the supply chain network (i.e. Tier 1 and Tier II opportunities). Additional responsibilities included: creating, updating and leading the supplier diversity strategic business plan, establishing and monitoring progress toward annual supplier diversity objectives, managing Ford’s Joint Technology Framework initiative. Prior to this assignment, Carla was Manager, Global Product Development (PD) Business Operations and Planning (Chief of Staff) and Technical Advisor. Responsibilities included: directly supporting the Group Vice President of Global Product development (Ford Motor Company Officer); overseeing global product development’s strategic business plan development, facilitating management reviews and ensuring that processes required to operate the organization are efficient and lean. Carla also served as Ford Motor Company’s North American Cross Vehicle Strategy Manager and North American PD Sport Utility Vehicles Quality and Planning Manager.

Carla is an accomplished executive in her field. She has been recognized with over 20 major awards in supplier diversity, leadership, engineering, supplier diversity and inclusion as well as community service. In 2014, Carla was selected as The National Minority Supplier Development Council’s (NMSDC®) Minority Supplier Development Leader of the Year. This award is presented to a supplier diversity professional who has gone the extra mile to make a significant impact in the field of minority supplier development. IN 2007, Carla received the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) highest honor – The Junipero Serra award. This esteemed award is presented to a person who has provided unique and outstanding contributions in the fields of engineering and science, including management, administration and education. Padre Serra was a Franciscan missionary who traveled thousands of miles in the Pacific West, venturing into unknown lands and facing appalling hardships to establish missions that brought faith and hope to those they served. Carla demonstrated over a sustained period a similar pioneering spirit and tireless enthusiasm through her innovative accomplishments, leading the advancement of engineering and science. Carla has been recognized as an expert in the field of quality. She was elected as a Fellow by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and is the recipient of its Automotive Division Quality Professional of the Year Award and the Koth Award as well as the Automotive Industry Group’s Outstanding Achievement Award. She is certified by ASQ as a Quality Engineer, Quality Auditor and Quality Manager and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt. Professional Engineering magazine named Carla as one of the “100 Most Admired Women.”

A mentor to engineering students, women and promising engineers, Carla is a member of The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), American Society of Quality (ASQ), The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), Ford Hispanic Network (FHN) and Ford Professional Women’s Network (PWN). Carla is involved in numerous civic and philanthropic activities. She has served on the Board of Directors for: Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Minority Supplier Diversity Council, National Minority Supplier Diversity Council, Women’s Business Enterprise Council, and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Carla is a person of many interests and pursuits including: University of Michigan football, traveling, baking, scrapbooking and dancing. Among her many passions is educating young people especially in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Since 2000, she has served as an after school teacher.