Welcome to Procurement News, part of our ongoing aggregate news series covering recent supply management headlines and trends pertinent to Chief Procurement Officers and other procurement leaders. Contact us with your news story here.
CPO News
James Butler Appointed CPO at Brinker
DALLAS — Brinker International, Inc. announced that James Butler has joined the company as senior vice president and chief supply chain officer. In his new role, Butler oversees all supply chain functions, including procurement, food safety and quality assurance, distribution and logistics, brand program management, and supply chain systems for Brinker’s corporate-owned restaurants.
According to Kevin Hochman, president and CEO of Brinker International, “James is a visionary leader who builds collaborative, integrated teams and coaches future leaders to continually improve and drive results,” he said. “He will play a key role in executing our new strategic pillars, working cross-functionally to help us improve and innovate on the core Chili’s food categories we want to win on — including burgers, fajitas, chicken crispers, and margaritas — to improve our Guests’ experience and increase traffic.”
Prior to joining the Brinker family, Butler was senior vice president, KFC Supply Chain, at Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions, LLC (RSCS), where he led the supply chain management organization for several national restaurant brands.
Butler stated, “I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and work with the Brinker teams on exciting new initiatives to help transform supply chain and procurement strategies that will drive growth, impact the bottom line, and maintain operational excellence,” he said. “This is an exciting time for Brinker, and I’m thrilled to join the team on this new journey.”
Read the full announcement here.
Lightsource bp Appoints Rachael Legg CPO
SAN FRANCISCO — Lightsource bp, a global leader in the development and management of renewable energy projects, announced the appointment of Rachael Legg as chief procurement officer. Legg joins Lightsource from Johnson Matthey (JM), where she was chief procurement officer since 2018.
The company stated that as chief procurement officer, Legg will be responsible for Lightsource bp’s global procurement organization, including purchasing, supplier quality, and global supply chain strategy. She will lead the formation of strong partnerships that will support sustainable procurement, thus enabling Lightsource bp’s growth ambition of developing 25GW of solar power by 2025.
According to Legg, “It truly is a privilege to have joined the Lightsource bp team, as the company is well placed to drive the expansion of renewable energy generation with responsible, sustainable utility-scale solar power,” she said.
“Our people’s passion, drive, and commitment are impressive. Working collaboratively with our colleagues and supply partners, procurement has a key role in sustainably driving profit, enabling growth through innovation, and anticipating and ensuring supply to achieve our strategic ambitions. Building on solid foundations, I am delighted to be leading the procurement team as we enable Lightsource bp’s growth as the world accelerates its transition to low carbon.”
Read the full announcement here.
Lubrizol Announces New Procurement Leadership
CLEVELAND — The Lubrizol Corporation, a global leader in specialty chemicals, announced the appointment of a new Lubrizol executive leadership team, including roles in procurement.
Assuming the role of senior vice president of procurement and high-growth regions and chief procurement officer is JT Jones. Jones has significant international experience and more than 20 years of business development, strategy, procurement, operations, financial, senior sales management, and P&L leadership experience at preeminent international consulting and Fortune 500 chemical and coatings companies, most recently at PPG Industries.
Eduardo Pedreira was appointed vice president of supply chain, leading the team in strategic supply planning, production scheduling, customer service, and business partnerships. Pedreira has an accomplished history as a transformational supply chain and operations leader with more than 17 years of experience at PPG Industries.
According to Lubrizol President and CEO Rebecca Liebert, “For more than 90 years, Lubrizol science has solved complex challenges and advanced new opportunities across a variety of industries,” she said.
“We’re pairing that history of innovation with strong leadership, drawn from inside and outside our organization, to propel our Lubrizol people, customers, technology, and enterprise operations to our next 100 years of growth.”
Read the full announcement here.
Tarbinlam Lafon Assumes the Role of CPO for Humana
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Humana, a for-profit health insurance company, welcomed Tarbinlam (Tar) Lafon as its vice president, chief procurement officer. He assumed the role on November 14, 2022.
As reported in DiversityInc, Lafon leads the company’s procurement efforts and is responsible for the “leadership, strategy, talent and execution of the end-to-end procurement process,” according to Humana.
“Tar’s goals include driving compliant, competitive, and innovative acquisition of services and goods from leading suppliers and partners, while championing closer collaboration with the business, supply base, and external partners.”
Read the full announcement here.
Murat Aksel named CPO for MAN Truck & Bus SE
MUNICH, Germany — MAN Truck & Bus SE, a manufacturer of vans, trucks, busses, diesel and petrol engines, concentrating on passenger and freight transport, announced the appointment of Murat Aksel as chief procurement officer.
According to Alexander Vlaskamp, chairman of the executive board of MAN Truck & Bus SE, “Murat Aksel has many years of international experience in procurement. His key task will be to further stabilize our supply chains, which are currently still strained, in the ongoing ramp-up of our truck production and to make them even more sustainable,” Vlaskamp said.
The company stated that since January 2021, Aksel assumed overall responsibility within the Volkswagen Group for the management of materials purchasing and the provision of services.
Read the full announcement here.
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