DATE: 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Nov. 6, 2009.

EVENT: The University of Michigan’s third annual global operations conference, “Redefining Operations: Strategies for a Volatile Economy,” will feature talks from industry and academic leaders, including Hau Lee, director of Stanford University’s Global Supply Chain Management Forum; U-M alumnus Reuben Slone, executive vice president of supply chain at OfficeMax; and John Kelly, president of Xerox Global Services, North America.

Lee will address “Winning Supply Chain Strategies in a Multi-Polar World” at 9:15 a.m., Slone will discuss “Headwinds: Opportunities for Transformation” at 11:30 a.m. and Kelly will talk about “Agility in the Enterprise: Outsourcing an Overlooked Business Structure” at 4:45 p.m.

The conference also will feature three panels of corporate experts discussing automotive, energy and supply chain operations. Moderators include David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research (automotive panel, 10 a.m.), Marc Wiseman of Ricardo Consulting (energy panel, 2 p.m.) and Sharad Elhence of Infosys (supply chain panel, 3:30 p.m.).

In addition, MBA and graduate engineering students will compete for top honors in a case competition sponsored by Ricardo Consulting.

PLACE: U-M’s Palmer Commons, 100 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor.

SPONSORS: The Tauber Institute for Global Operations and the Operations Management Club at the Ross School of Business, along with corporate sponsors Cisco Systems, Accenture, BorgWarner and Carolina Precision Plastics.