CPOs on the Rise in 2011 – Eric Beylier: The CEO’s Direct Report (Part 3)

Our profile of Eric Beylier, the Head of Global Supply Chain & Procurement (Chief Procurement Officer) at TETRA Technologies, Inc. concludes today (It began here and continued here). Since the series title is CPOs on the Rise in 2011, it is only appropriate that we look at some of the main areas that Eric and his team will focus on this year.

Continuing the Work

This year, the focus on the organizational transition/upgrade continues. Given TETRA’s relative size, recruiting can sometimes be a challenge, so Eric invests his time in the development of job descriptions and commensurate compensation packages, because “if you really know what you’re looking for, you’re much more likely to find it.” Potential applicants should note that Eric does not want to explain strategic sourcing to anyone he hires; also, hiding in his organization with poor performance is all but impossible in a company of TETRA’s size. The reward of working in a more entrepreneurial environment and being able to quickly see the impact of one’s work has been helpful in attracting and building the right team at TETRA.

Reengineering also continues with a focus on accounts payable (AP), training, and risk mitigation. For AP, the team plans to automate the function with an ePayables solution and look at strategies that can help extend DPO (days payable outstanding). Training will be team-focused, very hands-on and interactive; and, there will also be an emphasis on training the field operations team to build relationships and to identify and react to project opportunities and supplier issues much earlier in the process. As with most companies in the oil industry, health, safety, environment and diversity remain a constant focus of supplier management at Tetra.

Eric not only loves his job, but he also loves his profession; if that hasn’t been clear to this point, that has been the writer’s fault. Eric has been a nuclear and material science engineer, he worked in sales & technical support, spent years as a management consultant, started a couple of companies and is now leading a supply chain & procurement organization. As he said to me: “being a Chief Procurement Officer has been one of the most interesting, diverse, challenging and satisfying professional activities for me. Supply chain and procurement touches everything in a company. And because everyone interfaces with suppliers, it brings many important parts together. There are so many possibilities [for supply chain & procurement] to create value and many companies have not even started to really capture them.”

Eric Beylier, Chief Procurement Officer and a Direct Report to the CEO. Part of the new generation of Chief Procurement Officers, a CPO on the Rise in 2011 and someone who is just getting started…..

We’d like to thank Eric for his time and support.

Postscript: For those of you that would like to hear more from and about Eric, do not fear…. a discussion with Eric on “procurement-led innovation” is planned for Ardent Partners’ upcoming research report “CPO Rising 2011: Innovative Ideas for the Decade Ahead” (more on that very soon).

CPO on the Rise in 2011 Name: Eric Beylier Title: VP – Head of Global Supply Chain & Procurement Company: TETRA Technologies, Inc. Education: MBA, UCLA, Anderson School of Management; MS and BS, Physics & Chemistry, Ecole Supérieure de Chimie Organique et Minérale; Post-MS research at M.I.T.’s Material Science Department. Years in Procurement: 20 Most valuable experience for current job: Operational engineering experience + high pressure management consulting projects on strategic sourcing with many companies across many industries Most important skill used in current job: Leadership, communication, people skills and financial skills The key to achieving success in procurement: Leadership, team building, relationship management, common sense, communication, communication, communication and solid quantitative analysis skills

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