Men To Watch Awards 2026 honors Dr. Vernard Jenkins II

Vernard Jenkins II is an enterprise operations and strategy executive with over 15 years of experience leading large-scale transformation across complex, high-performance environments in the private sector and the United States Air Force. He currently serves as Vice President of Operations – Enterprise Fulfillment & Strategy at Knight-Swift Warehousing and Fulfillment, where he oversees national fulfillment and support operations, a workforce of more than 1000, and a $200M+ enterprise budget while unifying multi-site operations and driving significant cost reductions and process standardization.

Throughout his career at Knight-Swift, H-E-B, Stitch Fix, and Target, he has delivered measurable performance turnarounds, including cutting operating expenses by nearly half across eight sites, improving on-time delivery rates to 97%, and leading underperforming operations to top-ranked status through structured execution and cultural transformation. A recognized builder of leaders, Jenkins has designed and led more than 600 development programs, mentoring and advancing over 175 professionals and creating enterprise talent pipelines that accelerate promotions and expand leadership capacity. His earlier service in the U.S. Air Force included directing global operations planning and strategic partnerships across multiple countries, as well as developing training programs that increased team performance by 60%.

Jenkins holds a Doctor of Education in Executive Leadership from Houston Christian University, a Master of Science in Sports Management from American Military University, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the United States Air Force Academy, where he was a starter on the Division I Men’s Basketball Team.