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.
Procurement Executive News
Bonnie Kahakui Nominated to Lead Hawaii’s State Procurement Office
HONOLULU — Governor Josh Green, M.D., nominated longtime procurement official Bonnie Kahakui to head the State Procurement Office, which oversees billions of dollars in contract awards and goods and services purchases made by the state each year.
According to Green, “Bonnie Kahakui’s knowledge and background in procurement made her the natural choice to officially fill this critical position, especially at a time when Hawai‘i’s taxpayers expect accountability and integrity in managing public funds,” he said.
Kahakui’s nomination to a four-year term as Administrator and Chief Procurement Officer of the State Procurement Office is subject to approval by the state Senate.
Since January 2021, Kahakui has served as acting administrator and chief procurement officer and before that, she was the Procurement Office’s assistant administrator.
Kahakui noted, “Our focus is to streamline processes across state government while locating the best goods and services for our taxpayers.”
Read the full announcement here.
Dollar Tree, Inc. Adds Supply Chain to COO Mike Creedon’s Leadership Scope
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Dollar Tree, Inc. announced a key role expansion for COO Mike Creedon, who will add leadership of Dollar Tree & Family Dollar Merchandising and Supply Chain to his scope.
According to Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO, “We are fortunate to have an incredibly talented and dedicated leadership team at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. As we’ve worked together over the last year to build our transformation strategy, Mike has served as a key leader driving our operational path forward,” he said. “In this expanded role, Mike will have full end-to-end accountability for delivering a best-in-class store experience for our customers.”
With this alignment, Dollar Tree Chief Merchandising Officer Rick McNeely, Family Dollar Chief Merchandising Officer Larry Gatta, and Chief Supply Chain Officer Mike Kindy will report to Creedon.
Before joining Dollar Tree in 2022, Creedon held several leadership roles at Advance Auto Parts for almost nine years, most recently as EVP and president of U.S. Stores. He also held executive positions with Tyco International and ADT Security.
Read the full announcement here.
Chris Stearman Appointed to TBC Corporation’s Newly Created CSCO Role
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – TBC Corporation, a leader in the mobility industry and one of North America’s largest marketers of automotive replacement tires through wholesale and franchise operations, appointed Chris Stearman to the newly-created role of chief supply chain officer.
The company stated that Stearman will lead TBC’s end-to-end global supply chain operations, including supply chain strategy, planning, purchasing and procurement, manufacturing, distribution, innovation, and logistics for the company.
As an accomplished supply chain leader with more than 20 years of industry experience, Stearman most recently served as vice president, supply chain operations leader for Tyson Foods. Prior to joining Tyson, he held senior leadership roles at Revlon, Beam Suntory, and Avon.
According to Sam Kato, TBC president and CEO, “TBC is focused on our ongoing evolution, and strengthening our planning, purchasing, inventory management and distribution, and supply-chain-as-a-service solutions,” he said.
“With expertise extending to various facets of the global supply chain, encompassing planning, inventory management, logistics, and more specifically purchasing, Chris is perfectly positioned to contribute to TBC’s ongoing evolution and drive the company’s supply chain forward,” Kato added.
Read the full announcement here.
Sheetal Shah Promoted to CSC&MO for UPSIDE Foods
BERKELEY, Calif. — UPSIDE Foods, a leading cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood company, announced that Sheetal Shah, former SVP of supply chain and manufacturing, has been promoted to chief supply chain and manufacturing officer.
The company stated that Shah leads UPSIDE’s manufacturing, supply chain, and strategic sourcing efforts. Since joining UPSIDE in 2021, Shah has played a key role in spearheading the development and expansion of UPSIDE’s supply chain and manufacturing operations.
Significant accomplishments include strategically sourcing cell feed and vital inputs with a focus on cost reduction and scalability, overseeing operations at the Engineering, Production & Innovation Center (EPIC), and leading UPSIDE’s plans for manufacturing at commercial scale.
According to Shah, “I’m extremely proud of what our team at UPSIDE has accomplished already. We’re focused now on scalability, expanding our technology platform, and building a world-class supply chain and manufacturing footprint that will deliver against our production, cost, and impact targets, setting the stage for our success and allowing us to realize the positive impact we aspire to make.”
Prior to UPSIDE Foods, Shah served as senior vice president of product and operations at Impossible Foods, where he managed the supply chain through a period of global turbulence during the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded the product portfolio, enabled retail expansion globally, and unlocked manufacturing capacity.
Read the full announcement here.
Steve Gawronski Joins Harbinger as VP, Supply Chain and Logistics
LOS ANGELES — Harbinger, an electric vehicle (EV) truck manufacturer, announced the appointment of Steve Gawronski as vice president, supply chain and logistics. He will join the Harbinger leadership team, working together with other electric vehicle experts to ensure the successful launch of the company’s revolutionary commercial medium-duty EV platform that is beginning production.
The company stated that at Rivian, Gawronski built and managed a team of 300+ and oversaw direct procurement, indirect procurement, logistics, packaging, supplier quality, program management and business systems/analytics.
According to John Harris, CEO of Harbinger, “Steve has incredible experience — and has delivered incredible results — at two of the biggest names in the EV industry,” he said. “His deep background in leading supply chain operations for fast-growing, high-visibility automotive companies make him the ideal person to continue our momentum and position us to be the leading producer of EVs for the medium-duty vehicle market.”
Gawronski noted, “Electrification represents a significant opportunity for the medium-duty truck market. There are obvious parallels between where Harbinger is today and where Tesla was over a decade ago at the genesis of the EV revolution,” he said.
“The commercial transportation industry represents a dynamic and emerging opportunity for a similar form of disruption. I’m extremely excited at the opportunity to join a company that is focused not only on offering a cleaner powertrain solution but also on delivering meaningful performance improvements, all at a cost that makes the adoption of electric vehicles a very realistic choice for commercial vehicle applications,” Gawronski added.
Read the full announcement here.
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