Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Velez.
Hi Juan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
First and foremost, I’m a family man. I’m fortunate to have a strong, supportive wife, a brand-new baby boy, four grandchildren, and parents who are still healthy, along with my adult daughter. They are at the center of everything I do. I started my career thinking in terms of people, culture, processes, and problems that needed to be solved in big organizations.
I’m an engineer by training, and early on I was drawn to environments where complexity was high, and execution really mattered. Operations gave me that. It’s where strategy meets reality, where decisions show up immediately in safety, customer experience, cost, and culture. That intersection sparked my work passion.
I began my career at Target, leading large, high-volume operations with hundreds of employees. It was an intense environment—tight margins, strict compliance requirements, and constant pressure to deliver. Those years shaped how I lead today. I learned the fundamentals of running safe operations, managing large P&Ls, developing frontline leaders, and executing at scale. Most importantly, I learned that results are never sustainable without engaged people and a healthy culture.
From there, I moved into Macy’s, where the scope expanded significantly. I led one of the highest-volume operations in the country, managed a multi-million P&L, and delivered several construction and renovation projects. It was a period that sharpened my ability to balance operational excellence with financial discipline and long-term strategic thinking. I also spent a great deal of time developing leaders—something that remains a core part of my identity as an operator.
Then, I joined Amazon, which amplified everything I knew about operations and felt like a PdD. in operations excellence. I led the new generation of Amazon Robotics fulfillment centers, exceeding one million square feet, and teams of several thousand employees. I helped launch several new robotics facilities in Florida, accelerating performance beyond company expectations. The environment demanded relentless innovation, deep data fluency, and the ability to lead through constant change and ambiguity. It reinforced my belief that the best operators are systems creators, coaches, continuously improving, and problem solvers—not just executors.
In 2024, I joined Ingram Micro, where I currently serve as Director of Operations. My focus has been on stabilizing and transforming the operation simultaneously—reducing labor costs and Opex, driving zero lost-time safety incidents, improving service and quality metrics by double digits, restoring inventory health, reducing shrink, and rebuilding culture and engagement. The work, while challenging, is deeply rewarding because it’s not just about performance—it’s about building something durable with one of the greatest people and greatest cultures I’ve ever worked with.
Throughout my career, education and continuous learning have been non-negotiable. I’ve earned two engineering master’s degrees, completed leadership programs at MIT Sloan and the Center for Creative Leadership, and remain deeply involved in academia, charity, and industry boards, including Florida International University’s Advisory Board for the Engineering School. I believe strongly that leaders owe it to their teams to keep learning, because organizations grow only as fast as their leaders do.
Looking back, my journey has been consistent in one way: I’ve always been drawn to complex operations where people matter, where improvement is continuous, and where leadership shows up on the floor—not just in meetings. That mindset is what took me from my first operations role to where I am today, and it’s what continues to guide how I lead. But, to achieve your goals (personal and professional), it is essential to have a strong support system, which, in my case, is my loving and beautiful family, specifically my newborn baby boy and my wife.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road—especially in leadership and operations. This is a 24/7, 365-day responsibility, where unexpected challenges emerge daily. That reality is demanding, but it’s also what makes the work meaningful. It forces you to stay sharp, think on your feet, and make decisions with real-life consequences.
In operations, there are no small challenges. When safety, security, people, customers, and financial outcomes are all interconnected, every decision matters. The complexity of balancing those elements—often simultaneously—is where the real pressure lies, and where leadership is truly tested.
Those experiences have shaped my mindset. They pushed me to embrace continuous learning, to build from lessons learned—both successes and failures—to benchmark relentlessly against the best, and to never become complacent with results. I believe deeply in continuous improvement, both professionally and personally. There are no limits when you stay curious, humble, and committed to getting better every day. Just a 1% improvement every day makes you 4 times better at the end of the year!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At my core, I’m an operations and supply chain leader. I run large, complex distribution and fulfillment organizations where safety, service, cost, people, and customer experience all intersect—and where decisions have immediate, real-world impact. Today, in my role as Director of Operations at Ingram Micro, I focus on stabilizing performance while simultaneously transforming operations to be more efficient, resilient, and scalable.
My specialization is turning complexity into clarity. I’m known for taking underperforming or highly complex operations and improving them through a combination of disciplined execution, Lean operations and continuous improvement, data-driven decision making, and strong frontline leadership. I spend a significant amount of time on the floor because I believe the best solutions come from deeply understanding the work, not just reviewing dashboards.
I extend that same approach to help my team and my company improve their operations, supply chains, leadership systems, and automation capabilities. The focus is always the same: build simple, repeatable processes, develop leaders who can think and execute, and create organizations that can scale without losing control or culture.
What I’m most proud of isn’t a single metric or title—it’s the teams and leaders I’ve developed and the cultures we’ve built together. Whether it’s achieving zero lost-time safety incidents, restoring operational health, delivering multimillion-dollar cost savings, or turning around engagement and retention, those results are only possible when people are aligned, trusted, and empowered.
What sets me apart is my ability to operate at the intersection of strategy and execution. I can move comfortably from enterprise-level strategy discussions to solving problems on the Distribution Center floor, and I bring a systems-thinking mindset that connects people, process, technology, and financial outcomes. I also have a deep belief in continuous learning and continuous improvement—personally and professionally—which keeps me evolving as the business evolves.
Ultimately, I’m known for getting results the right way: with high standards, accountability, strong culture, and leaders who are better at the end of the journey than when we started, all by working hard, making history, and having fun at the same time.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to work with me is through open, honest collaboration and a shared commitment to excellence. I value people who are willing to engage deeply, challenge assumptions respectfully, and focus on solving the right problems—not just the visible ones and the short term ones.
For teams and leaders, that means bringing data, bringing ideas, and bringing ownership. I’m highly collaborative and accessible, but I expect accountability and follow-through. I work best with people who are curious, creative, action-oriented, and willing to learn quickly from both successes and failures.
From a collaboration standpoint, I’m most effective when partners are transparent about constraints and risks early, so we can solve problems together rather than react to them later. I strongly believe in cross-functional partnership—operations, finance, engineering, technology, and HR all need to be aligned for real progress to happen.
Stakeholders and teams can work with me as a thought partner—whether that’s improving operational processes, building leadership capability, redesigning supply chains, implementing Lean systems, or leveraging automation and technology to scale. I don’t operate as a distant advisor; I embed with teams, help translate strategy into execution, and stay engaged through delivery.
The most meaningful support I can receive is trust, candor, honesty, and shared ownership of outcomes. When those are present, collaboration becomes powerful, progress accelerates, and results follow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.svconsultinggroup.com
Image Credits
Juan Velez
