Biography

Dr. Bruno Silvestre is the Dean of the I.H. Asper School of Business, CPA Manitoba Chair in Business Leadership, and Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Manitoba. Before serving as Dean, he worked as Associate Dean, leading multiple portfolios, as the Director of the Transport Institute, acting Department Head, and the CN Professor in Supply Chain Management at the Asper School. Prior to that, Dr. Silvestre held academic appointments at the University of Winnipeg, at the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, at SPRU, University of Sussex, UK, and multiple academic institutions abroad. 

Dr. Silvestre's research mainly focuses on two interconnected streams. The first research stream is related to sustainable supply chain management, and more specifically how supply chains incorporate sustainability (i.e., environmental and social aspects) into their business practices to address issues such as forced labour, child labour, conflict minerals, human trafficking and corruption. The second stream is related to supply chain learning, i.e., how supply chains’ actors collaborate, collectively learn, and implement such knowledge to innovate toward enhanced operational, financial, environmental, and social performance.

Dr. Silvestre's research has been published in top-tier business journals and has been cited widely (please check his Google Scholar profile above). His research has appeared in journals such as the International Journal of Operations and Production Management; International Journal of Production Economics; Journal of Management Studies; Journal of Cleaner Production; Business Horizons; Production Planning & Control; Technovation; Technological Forecast and Social Change, Organization Studies; among others. He currently serves as an Editorial Board member for the International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, among others. Dr. Silvestre has taught extensively in the areas of operations management, supply chain management and sustainability at all levels (i.e., undergraduate, MBA, EMBA, MSc, Ph.D.) at top schools in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Israel.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Silvestre has close to 15 years of industry experience prior to joining the academy. His experience has been in manufacturing/operations/supply chain management, as well as business development and project management in the energy, mining, manufacturing, and tech industries.

Research Interests

  • Supply Chain Sustainability
  • Supply Chain Learning
  • Supply Chain Innovation
  • Supply Chain Trajectories
  • Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Teaching Interests

  • Supply Chain Sustainability Management
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Operations Management

Publications

Silvestre, B.S; Gong, Y.; Bessant, J.; Blome, C. (2023). From supply chain learning to The Learning Supply Chain: drivers, processes, complexity, trade-offs, and challenges. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 43(8), 1177-1194.

Johnson, M.R., Naik, H., Chan, W.S. Jesse Greiner, J.; Michaleski, M.; Liu, Dong; Silvestre, B. S. & McCarthy, I. P. (2023). Forecasting ward-level bed requirements to aid pandemic resource planning: Lessons learned and future directions. Health Care Management Science, 26, 477–500.

Silva, M.E.; Silvestre, B.S.; Ponte, R.C.D.L.; Cabral, J.E.O. (2021). Managing micro and small enterprise supply chains: A multi-level approach to sustainability, resilience and regional development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 311, 127567.

Greiner, J.; Naik, H.; Johnson, M.; Liu, D.; Silvestre, B.; Ballouk, H.; McCarthy, I. (2021). Preparing for the Second Wave:  Lessons about managing patient flow and resource utilization on medical wards at Providence Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation, 9(2), 100530

Silvestre, B.S; Viana, F.; Monteiro, M. (2020). Supply chain corruption practices circumventing sustainability standards: Wolves in sheep’s clothing. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 40(12), 1873-1907.

Roy, V.; Silvestre, B.S.; Singh S. (2020). Reactive and proactive pathways to sustainable apparel supply chains: Manufacturer's perspective on stakeholder salience and organizational learning toward responsible management. International Journal of Production Economics, 227, 107672.

Silvestre, B.S.; Silva, M.; Cormack, A.; Thome, M. (2020). Supply chain sustainability trajectories: Learning through sustainability initiatives. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 40(9), 1301-1337.

Silvestre, B.S; Țîrcă, D. (2019). Innovations for sustainable development: Moving toward a sustainable future. Journal of Cleaner Production, 208, 325-332.

Silvestre, B.S; Monteiro, M.; Viana, F.; Souza, M. (2018) Challenges for sustainable supply chain management: When stakeholder collaboration becomes conducive to corruption. Journal of Cleaner Production, 194, 766-776.

Silvestre, B.S. (2015). Sustainable supply chain management in emerging economies: Environmental turbulence, institutional voids and sustainability trajectories. International Journal of Production Economics, 167, 156-169.

Silvestre, B.S. (2015). A hard nut to crack! Implementing supply chain sustainability strategies in an emerging economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 96, 171-181.

Silvestre, B.S.; Silva Neto, R. (2014). Capability accumulation, innovation, and technology diffusion: Lessons from a base of the pyramid cluster. Technovation, 34(5), 270-283.

Hall, J.K.; Matos, S.V.; Silvestre, B.S. (2012). Understanding why firms should invest in sustainable supply chains: A complexity approach. International Journal of Production Research, 50(5), 1332-1348.

Hall, J.K.; Matos, S.V.; Sheehan, L.; Silvestre, B.S. (2012). Entrepreneurship and innovation at the base of the pyramid: A recipe for inclusive growth or social exclusion? Journal of Management Studies, 49(4), 785-812.

Hall, J.K.; Matos, S.V.; Silvestre, B.S.; Martin, M. (2011). Managing technological and social uncertainties of innovation: The evolution of Brazilian energy and agriculture. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 78(7), 1147-1157.