Welcome to the summer edition of CPO News! We’d be remiss if we didn’t end the summer sharing some of the higher-profile appointments, promotions, and scandals that occurred in the procurement world this summer. So grab yourself a cup of coffee and get caught up.

Got any procurement news to share? Drop us a line at editor at cporising dot com. Thanks, and enjoy!

From CPO to… Jamie Rhee Appointed Commissioner of Chicago Department of Aviation

Earlier this summer, news emerged from the City of Chicago that the City’s Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), Jamie Rhee, had been named by Mayor Rahm Emanuel as the newest Commissioner for the Department of Aviation. Rhee replaces Ginger Evans who stepped down on August 1st. Rhee has worked for the City of Chicago for nearly 25 years, beginning in 1994 at the Department of Aviation, earning her JD and becoming a published expert on aviation law. She served as General Counsel and managed procurement contracts for the O’Hare Modernization Program, among many other roles and accomplishments. Rhee went on to become the City of Chicago’s CPO and manage roughly $2 billion in goods and services for one of America’s largest cities, including for the Department of Aviation. She led procurement transformation efforts to make them more transparent and inclusive, developing 20 supplier diversity programs and incentives to ensure that the City’s contracting practices reach women-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned, and small businesses, and reflect Chicago’s multiculturalism. Rhee earned her Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University and her Juris Doctorate from the DePaul University School of Law.

Shannon Andrews Replaces Jamie Rhee as Chicago’s CPO

We’d be remiss if we didn’t also give a shout out to Shannon Andrews, who has replaced Jamie Rhee as Chicago’s CPO, effective August 1. Andrews has over a decade of experience in progressively higher procurement leadership, working for the City of Chicago as Assistant and Deputy Chief Procurement Officer, and most recently the surrounding Cook County Government. She had been the CPO for Cook County since 2013, after a brief stint as the County’s Director of Contract Compliance. In returning to the Windy City, Andrews looks to continue driving diversity and transparency efforts spearheaded by her predecessor. Andrews received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampton University. Congratulations to both Shannon Andrews and Jamie Rhee!

Retired USAF Lt. Colonel Named CPO for the City of Atlanta

Speaking of municipal government, the Mayor of Atlanta, Ms. Keisha Lance Bottoms, recently named retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, David L. Wilson II, as the City’s newest Chief Procurement Officer. Readers may recall that the former CPO for the City of Atlanta, Adam Smith, was terminated from the role in early 2017, before pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy and accepting bribes from city contractors, and being sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. In hiring a retired, high-ranking military officer, Mayor Bottoms hopes to bring transparency, integrity, and accountability back to the CPO role.

Wilson retired from the USAF after 20 years of distinguished service, most recently serving as the Deputy Executive Director for the Installation Contracts Division at nearby Robins Air Force Base. At Robins, he “[Led] three contracting branches, 88 personnel; providing cradle to grave acquisition support to 40 diverse organizations managing $1.2B in commodity, service, and construction contracts sustaining the Robins Air Logistics Complex.” Wilson earned a Bronze Star for Meritorious Service during his two decade career with the Air Force. He earned a BBA in Accounting from Howard University and an MBA in Procurement and Acquisition from Webster University.

A new SVP of Purchasing and Supplier Management Takes the Wheel at Volvo CE

In other news, we recently learned that Peter Jordansson has been named Senior Vice President of Purchasing and Supplier Management at Volvo Construction Equipment (CE), effective October 1. Jordansson has nearly 25 years of logistics, procurement, and supply chain experience under his belt, working for several marquee brands in Sweden, such as Scania and Volvo CE. Most recently, he served as Director of Sourcing Development and Procurement at SSAB, a Swedish metals supplier. Jordannson returns to Volvo CE to lead the procurement and supplier management division and represent its interests and mission at the Executive Management Team. He will report directly to Volvo CE’s President, Melker Jernberg.

Former CPO for New York’s MTA Charged with Grand Larceny

And lastly, it gives us no pleasure to report that earlier this month, Angel Barbosa, the former CPO for the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney (DA) on several charges of grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, and forgery, and possession of forged documents. The charges allege that Barbosa hatched a scheme to purchase more than 60 iPhones from a city vendor with nearly $60,000 in taxpayer money and then, through subordinates, to resell the phones for personal profit. Barbosa has also been charged with forging official documents to inflate his salary from a previous position by $30,000 in order to receive a higher starting salary with the MTA. The MTA’s Inspector General (IG) had investigated Barbosa on suspicion of him engaging in other corrupt behaviors, which led to his termination in March 2017. At the time, various media outlets reported that Barbosa was terminated for soliciting bribes from KPMG officials in exchange for helping to illegally steer MTA contracts towards the accounting firm. He also allegedly counseled his girlfriend, who worked in the office, to doctor her official documents to inflate her salary, as well. The IG for the MTA referred his results to the Manhattan DA’s office, which began investigating Barbosa and ultimately led to his indictment earlier this month.

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