In the nearly three decades Frank McKay has spent at Jabil, the company has undergone a transformation, becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse with revenues nearing US$30bn.

As the Chief Supply Chain Officer, Frank oversees both procurement and Jabil’s procurement supply chain services organisation. His tenure showcases how the procurement function has evolved from a back-office necessity into a primary driver of financial materiality.

Originally starting within Jabil’s Scottish operations, Frank's career path has been defined by international mobility and high-stakes leadership. He has transitioned from the UK to the corporate headquarters in the US and later to Singapore, where he managed the Asia supply chain. Reflecting on his 29-year journey, Frank describes himself as "a Jabil guy through and through", noting that the company’s constant growth has provided a perpetual platform for development. "It's a brilliant company," he says. "I've been really fortunate and privileged to be able to grow with the company."

A foundational experience

While Frank has held numerous leadership roles, he points towards his time running supply chain operations for Asia as the most impactful period of his career. It was a role that demanded rapid cultural integration and the navigation of an ecosystem that was largely unfamiliar. At the time, Jabil was experiencing a period of intense expansion in the region, requiring the sourcing of new capabilities and the identification of net new markets.

"I had to learn quickly while integrating myself into a culture that I wasn't familiar with while travelling about 70% of the time," Frank recalls. "That was probably the area where I probably wasn't ready for the job at the time, but I had enough really smart, capable people around me that helped me through the challenging times." This period served as a foundational experience, equipping him with the agility required for his current global remit.

Redefining the procurement value proposition

Over the last four years, the electronics and semiconductor markets have faced unprecedented volatility. For Frank, success has been measured by the ability to maintain growth despite these constraints. He attributes this to "building the resiliency into the supply chain that has ensured that we have continued growth despite the constraints and the challenges, especially in the electronics market and especially in the semiconductor market".

Key to this resilience is the depth of Jabil's external partnerships. Frank advocates for a philosophy where suppliers are treated with the same level of care as clients. "We always say we treat our suppliers like customers, because without our suppliers, if we don't have access to the components to build the products, we can't satisfy our customers," he explains. This approach has secured Jabil access to critical components during periods of global scarcity.

Beyond operational stability, Frank has pushed the boundaries of what a procurement organisation can achieve by overseeing strategic acquisitions. This move into M&A within the supply chain function has allowed Jabil to create entirely new revenue and margin streams. "Having the trust of the management team to go off and make acquisitions inside a procurement and supply chain organisation, which typically doesn't happen, and be able to create that into revenue and margin streams that didn't exist before," he notes, serves as proof that "it's not just business guys that can run P&Ls and provide true financial materiality to the company".

The future: AI and agility

Looking ahead, Frank sees the role of the Chief Supply Chain Officer becoming increasingly intertwined with advanced technology. He views AI not as a peripheral tool but as a core strategic pillar. However, his approach remains grounded in measurable outcomes: "AI is going to continue to play a larger part in ensuring that you can demonstrate that you're tapping into that capability; that it isn't just skunkworks projects, that you aren't just investing for the sake of investing, that you've got an actual strategy, a plan, that you've got a return for that investment."

For Frank, the ultimate goal remains the same: ensuring the organisation remains agile enough to withstand geopolitical shifts and natural disasters while staying ahead of customer demands. By blending deep-tenured relationships with a clear-eyed strategy for digital transformation, he continues to position Jabil at the forefront of the global manufacturing landscape.