ERP Best Practices: Leading Successful Implementations & Driving Business Transformation

Scott Ayers, a life-long Memphian, obtained both his undergraduate and MBA from the University of Memphis. Shortly after graduation, Scott earned his CPA license and began his career at Ernst & Young as an auditor, where he served clients such as AutoZone, Mueller Industries, Kirklands, and Dunavant Enterprises. He also worked for Ernest & Young as the recruiting coordinator at the University of Memphis. Scott took the role of Corporate Accounting Manager at Mid-America Apartments (MAA) where he gained experience in corporate accounting and SEC public company filings, and later joined Evergreen Packaging, a multinational manufacturing company, where he served as Director of Profitability Reporting & Analysis. These experiences gave Scott a diverse accounting and finance background, ultimately leading him to Hunter Fan Company where Scott started as the Director of Accounting and was promoted to CFO after four years. Hunter Fan was founded in 1886 and is the leading brand of residential ceiling fans and offers industrial ceiling fans, air circulators, residential lighting, and home comfort solutions. Headquartered in Memphis, Hunter operates a light manufacturing and assembly plant for its industrial fan division in Smyrna, TN, a distribution center in Byhalia, MS, and sales offices in Mexico, Canada and Europe. Scott is married to his high school sweetheart, Tina Ayers, who teaches kindergarten at Arlington Elementary School. Scott and Tina have two beautiful daughters, Gabbey, who is 20 and a junior at Mississippi College, and Briley, who is 16 and a junior at Arlington High School. Scott and Tina are avid sports fans and enjoy cheering on the Memphis Tigers and taking annual family vacations, always including their 105-pound Labrador, Bo Samson.

Kevin Boyum is Vice President of Digital and Data Strategies at Interstates, where he leads enterprise digital transformation, data strategy, and AI initiatives that drive measurable business outcomes. He brings a strong track record of helping organizations improve execution, sharpen decision-making, and align technology with business priorities. Kevin has held CIO, CTO, and Chief Transformation Officer roles across mid-market and private equity-backed organizations, including executive technology leadership for a $1B business. His background includes leading ERP implementations, M&A transitions, and large-scale operational transformations across manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, retail, and logistics. He is known for helping teams bring clarity to complex priorities, aligning around critical decisions, and keeping major digital programs on track in fast-moving, high-stakes environments. Kevin’s leadership has been recognized with the Consumer Goods Technology Innovator Award for initiatives that delivered more than $40M in measurable business impact, including EBITDA improvement.

Brad Wragge is an IT Practice Director and Executive Consultant with Project Consulting Group (PCG), bringing more than 30 years of leadership experience helping organizations improve business results by aligning technology, process, and people. Over his career—spanning consulting, consumer goods, healthcare, medical device, automotive, and manufacturing—Brad has led enterprise-scale transformations, including major system implementations and operational modernization initiatives. Brad’s ERP expertise is grounded in hands-on delivery and executive leadership. At The Toro Company, he led SAP initiatives that included consolidating European facilities into a single global SAP instance, deploying Warehouse Management with radio frequency (RF) devices, and executing a platform upgrade. In parallel, he drove enterprise planning disciplines and governance to align annual initiatives with business strategy and to ensure strategic architecture standards were applied while still supporting divisional needs. In his consulting leadership roles, Brad has supported complex mergers, divestitures, and consolidation programs—facilitating information solutions architecture, selecting and negotiating contracts for core business applications, and building roadmaps that connect business goals to execution plans. He has also led, sponsored, and participated in multiple large-scale deployments across enterprise platforms, including ERP solutions such as Oracle Enterprise Solutions, Oracle NetSuite, JD Edwards (JDE), Infor, and Sage, alongside CRM and enterprise analytics implementations that required disciplined change management and strong cross-functional alignment with business and technology leadership. For finance and operational executives, Brad is valued for his ability to translate enterprise system strategy into practical execution—bringing structure to ERP decision-making, improving how organizations plan and govern large programs, and ensuring that process and data considerati

Winifred T. Daniels is a senior technology and business leader with more than two decades of experience building and leading high-performing IT, application development, and operations teams across complex, global organizations. Her background spans software engineering, enterprise applications, network infrastructure, quality assurance, and systems integration, with a consistent focus on aligning technology strategy to business outcomes. Winifred has held various leadership roles at organizations including Equus Holdings, Cliqstudios, Thomson Reuters and Taylor Corporation. She has led large-scale ERP and enterprise system initiatives involving SAP and Oracle JD Edwards, CRM platforms such as Microsoft Dynamics, SAP CRM, and Salesforce, as well as business intelligence, eCommerce, and mobile solutions. Her experience includes overseeing global, onshore and offshore teams, managing complex integrations, supporting mergers and acquisitions, and ensuring delivery across highly regulated and security-conscious environments. In addition to her corporate leadership experience, Winifred brings a strong foundation in governance, process design, and continuous improvement. She is a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Scrum Master, and she has a proven track record of establishing standards, methodologies, and operating models that drive efficiency, quality, and scalability. Winifred has completed her Doctor of Business Administration at the University of Florida, complementing her academic background that includes master’s degrees in Software Engineering, International Management, and Business Administration. She currently serves as Special Assistant to the CEO of the Accreditation Council for Chinese Business Education, where she supports international accreditation recognition and quality assurance initiatives for business education institutions.

Suzanne Newsome is a seasoned business solutions and program management leader with over 20 years of experience driving enterprise transformation within global industrial and technology organizations. She currently serves as a Project Management Director, Business Solutions at Copeland, where she leads complex, cross-functional initiatives that enable scalable operations and improved business performance. Suzanne specializes in ERP-enabled transformation, business process optimization, and enterprise systems integration, with a strong track record of aligning technology investments to strategic business outcomes. Her expertise spans the full ERP lifecycle—from requirements definition and process design to implementation, integration, and organizational adoption. She is particularly effective at bridging business and IT stakeholders to deliver practical, value-driven solutions across finance, supply chain, and operations. Prior to Emerson, Suzanne held senior consulting and program leadership roles with organizations including NCR Corporation, WorkflowOne, and Morgan Business Consulting, building deep expertise in business analysis, process improvement, and Oracle-based enterprise environments. Known for her collaborative leadership style and execution focus, Suzanne brings a pragmatic perspective to ERP transformation, emphasizing not just system deployment, but the critical importance of process alignment, stakeholder engagement, and sustained value realization.