Dante Padilla Heeds and Dispenses Advice

Trained as an engineer and working in supply chain, Dante Padilla has learned to take and give advice on engineering, supply chain, and implementation

Dante Padilla, Dir, Supply Chain, Dover Fueling Solutions (Photo by Nancy Ibarra)

BY FRANK DIMARIA, HISPANIC EXECUTIVE

Dante Padilla grew up surrounded by factories in Monterrey, Mexico, the country’s industrial capital. In high school he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life until a guidance counselor advised him to visit the factories that dot Monterrey’s landscape.

The young student toured the factories and kept hearing a word that would put him on a path: automation. “I was hooked and reeled in,” Padilla shares, now supply chain director at Dover Fueling Solutions. “In the future, machines are replacing humans in reparative activities.”

Padilla earned a bachelor’s degree in automation and electronics engineering, and was working for Kemet Electronics as Manufacturing Engineer in Monterrey when he received more great advice, this time from a friend who was working for Osram Sylvania at the time.

“I’ll never forget it. He said, ‘Osram Sylvania is hiring engineers in supply chain management. We don’t do a good job researching and developing. We buy without due diligence. We need someone in between. Someone that can filter out and provide technological assessment,’” Padilla recounts.

Heeding his friend’s advice, Padilla moved to supply chain as Purchasing Engineer, where he won the respect of his new boss, who gave Padilla yet more good advice: move to Osram’s corporate office in Boston, where he would gain more experience on global projects. Padilla did and took on his first project. Lighting was transitioning from incandescent bulbs to LEDs, but Osram’s products were tanking.

“I started improving cost working alongside engineering and manufacturing having come from the factory where we produced the products in Mexico,” Padilla notes. “As an engineer I had insight, I had contacts, and I understood perfectly what they were trying to do.”

Dante Padilla, Dover Fueling Solutions

(Photo by Nancy Ibarra)

After four years at Osram, Padilla found a position managing the full line of lighting projects at an electronics company that manufactures the Phillips brand of lighting.

Three pieces of good advice had gotten Padilla this far; now it was time for him to dispense the advice. Upon arriving at Signify, he realized they were too dependent on suppliers in China.

“I received a visionary proposal of getting out of China in 2015, but this wasn’t possible without redesigning everything for North American suppliers,” Padilla says. His timing was perfect because in 2018 the US slapped tariffs on Chinese suppliers. The same year, the facility was the role model for Philips Lighting globally.

Then an opportunity fell in Padilla’s lap. Amazon was looking for a senior commodity manager in robotics, a field he’d been interested in since high school. “They were developing a new autonomous driving robot called Scout to deliver food and packages. A small EV,” Padilla remembers.

He took the job, but COVID made it difficult to work with suppliers and engineers, and autonomous driving technology was still nascent. Although Amazon had sunk a substantial amount of resources into the project, leadership pulled the plug on Scout.

Padilla transitioned to several other of Amazon’s sixteen robotics projects in the works, including Vulcan, an AI pick-to-stow robotic arm that can assist employees on repetitive tasks inside fulfillment centers, and Ecopac Made-To-Fit, which automated the fabrication of boxes and the wrapping of materials. Three years later, the sixty-hour work weeks and the excessive travel took its toll.

“My passion for robotics was still there, and I loved it. But every single year at Amazon felt like ten years. Amazon years are crazy,” Padilla recalls.

In 2024, Padilla transitioned to a new role within a manufacturing company focused on supporting convenience and fuel retailers that was beginning to explore alternative energy markets. Once again, he found himself in a position to offer strategic guidance. The organization had a long legacy and history, and many employees had decades of tenure. Padilla saw an opportunity to for a new approach.

“I offered a unique and fresh perspective with my outside experience. I was excited to help transform the previous way of doing business and open up new ways of thinking,” Padilla explains.

Much like his experience at Signify, the company relied heavily on long-standing overseas suppliers. “We had worked really hard to develop long standing relationships with suppliers, but I recognized a need to develop others within new technology sectors to allow our business to grow,” Padilla notes.

His assessment included a deep dive into contracts, supplier risk, tariffs, duties, and freight. His strategy: a complete supply chain transformation, anchored by a five-year plan for full regionalization.

“Dover Fueling Solutions is very dedicated. When someone says my company, instead of the company, you can tell they’re in love with this place.”

Dante Padilla

Padilla’s five-year plan is one year ahead of schedule. As for him, he’s exactly where he wants to be, fitting in perfectly with the manufacturing company’s collaborative culture. “They’re very dedicated. When someone says my company, instead of the company, you can tell they’re in love with this place,” Padilla shares. “This is good for me. The best decision.”

Padilla’s five-year-plan is one year ahead of schedule. As for him, he’s exactly where he wants to be, fitting in perfectly with Dover Fueling Solutions’ collaborative culture.

“They’re very dedicated. When someone says my company, instead of the company, you can tell they’re in love with this place,” Padilla shares. “This is good for me. The best decision.”

Hispanicexecutive.com