May 18, 2023 – After more than 15 years of co-developing Bellwether League Foundation (BLF) from the ground up as a simple but integral idea to a renowned recognition program for healthcare supply chain excellence, Jamie C. Kowalski chose to dim the beam of his career lighthouse and retire formally and officially from service.
Kowalski co-founded BLF as a not-for-profit recognition program in 2007 and served as its Founding Chairman through 2013. He was instrumental in establishing the criteria and comprehensive assessment process for healthcare supply chain career recognition and induction into BLF’s Hall of Fame for Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership as well as leading the organization during its formative years, including navigating it through the Great Recession of 2008.
Kowalski was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, then rejoined the BLF Board of Directors in 2021 as Secretary while the organization transitioned into a nonprofit foundation. The Board elected him to his second stint as Chairman this past January.
“Being part of the duo and then the entire team that put Bellwether League together and guided its growth for over 16 years was one of the most satisfying and important things I had the opportunity and pleasure to do in my almost 50 years in the profession and industry,” Kowalski said. “I will miss working with BLF Co-Founder Rick Barlow and the rest of the team on the Board and the Advisory Council as well as the many financial supporters for the organization, the joy of talking with those recognized and honored by the Hall of Fame, the annual event and the actual handing of the award to each Bellwether, Future Famer and Ammer Honoree. I also will miss the team of dedicated and talented consultants that were on the Kowalski-Dickow Associates Inc. team over 23 years. Lastly, I will miss the relationships formed with the clients (from all healthcare supply chain sectors) who placed their trust in in our team to evaluate, establish solutions and strategies for supply chain advancement, and guide them through implementation. I’m incredibly proud of the over $1 billion dollars we helped our clients to save and for the long-term relationships that showed their appreciation.”
Kowalski further indicated that he thoroughly enjoyed the initial and ongoing conversations with those selected to enter the Hall of Fame and with those honored as Future Famers and Ammer Honorees as smart people who made and continue to make a difference in healthcare supply chain.