Jerry Cothran is widely recognized as one of the pre-eminent experts in the area of Performance-Based Logistics (PBL), with frequent speaking engagements, articles, and assistance to both public and private sector organizations on PBL-related topics.  He is a principal advisor to DoD on PBL policy and guidance, and works with major Aerospace and Defense companies on all aspects of PBL business strategies. 

With a federal career spanning over 30 years, Jerry has held a range of key leadership positions in the Military Departments and Office of the Secretary of Defense in both Acquisition and Logistics.  Most recently, Jerry served as Program Director for PBL at Defense Acquisition University, where he developed all DoD PBL training courses, provided advice to the Office of the Secretary of Defense on PBL policy and guidance, and developed the DoD PBL Implementation Model and on-line PBL Toolkit, which serve as the primary knowledge base references on PBL application across DoD and A&D organizations. In addition, Jerry has extensive hands-on experience in DoD Depot Maintenance and associated Logistics activities.

Jerry is a faculty member and research associate of the University of Tennessee’s College of Business Administration Center for Executive Education on the topic of Performance Based Logistics.  In this capacity he teaches the University’s 4 day PBL course and related focused PBL workshops in PBL implementation and PBL business strategy development.  He is a skilled communicator and facilitator, adept at translating complex concepts into easily understood components and bringing diverse groups to consensus on tangible plans and outcomes.

Jerry holds a degree in Business Management from Texas State University and an MPA from Auburn University, and is level 3 certified in Life Cycle Logistics with the Department of Defense.