Bill Copacino: The master mentor

Three years ago this week, I heard from a mutual friend that Bill Copacino was in hospital and not at all well. I had seen him just a few months prior for lunch and a chat about life, business and, above all, supply chain. Upon reaching out to see if I could visit him, I got an email back from his brother telling me Bill had just passed away.

I wanted then to write something about how much I respected Bill and had learned from him, but, lacking anywhere to publish it at the time, I didn’t. It’s been bothering me ever since, so today I will right the wrong.

A lifetime of learning

I first met Bill when I was a new supply chain analyst at AMR Research, covering software from the likes of i2 Technologies and Manugistics. Bill led the supply chain practice at Accenture (then, still Andersen Consulting) and he had me come meet with his global practice leadership to talk about technology trends. The meeting comprised about 30 people from around the world and the discussion most certainly involved me learning way more than I taught. Typical of what – I would later realise – made Bill so great was the ease with which he could recall specific details and people in the course of dissecting supply chain strategy, circa 2001.

On many other occasions, I was privileged to meet with Bill to hear about what the Accenture team was up to and what we at AMR saw happening around supply chain. Each time, the dominant impression left on me was of a man totally in control of the complexities of supply chain as a practice area, but also uniquely capable of connecting with every single person in the room in ways that made them better.

Each time Bill Copacino was on my calendar, I made extra effort to prepare – not because I was afraid the meeting would be tough, but because I wanted to learn as much as possible while I had him.

Learning by doing

After leaving Accenture, Bill became the Chief Administrative Officer at C&S Wholesale Grocers. In what probably looked like a mysterious move away from prestige and power, Bill took on the task of actually running a supply chain in the “real world”. He was by no means the only ex-Accenture supply chain consultant to move into the real world, but he certainly didn’t need to do it as a career stepping stone. He did it, I believe, because he honestly wanted the challenge. As a somewhat jaded analyst accustomed to “solution” vendors actively avoiding such dirty work, Bill’s move impressed me deeply. Smart and accomplished as he was, he still wanted to learn more.

The last time Bill was a client of mine at AMR came with his leadership of supply chain software vendor Oco. I went to see him at Oco’s unassuming office in Waltham, Massachusetts, where – once again – he had morphed into something new: this time, a zealous tech entrepreneur. As ever with Bill, the meeting was full of lessons. Sure, there were plenty of little lessons about supply chain, but more important was the example of seeking out challenge. Bill was in some ways completing a circuit from consultant, to industry, to technologist, all under the umbrella of supply chain.

Mind your mentor

We at SCM World are about to release a new report based on a survey of over 600 supply chain executives that says that the top resource challenge going forward is not energy, water or land, but people. No one worries much about labour shortages, but they do see a talent gap. Above all, leaders are looking for people who can think laterally, critically and practically about supply chain in business terms – not just technical terms. This is what Bill was all about.

Looking back, now I see even more clearly how important Bill’s mentorship was in my development. He showed me not only how to approach the topic of supply chain strategically, but also how to build a team of people able to accelerate learning for the wider organisation.

Mentoring people is more art than science. Bill Copacino was a master.