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
Masco Corporation Makes Procurement Appointments
LIVONIA, Mich.— Masco Corporation, a global leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of branded home improvement and building products, announced plans to enhance its procurement expertise following recent executive retirements. To further streamline the organization and the procurement function, the company made the following leadership appointments:
- Arun Iyer has been promoted to Masco’s Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer & Masco Operating System and appointed to Masco’s Executive Committee. He previously served as Delta Faucet Company’s Vice President, Supply Chain & Service.
- Steven Nikolopoulos has been named Masco’s Vice President, Chief Procurement Officer and appointed to Masco’s Executive Committee. Steve joins the organization from Newell Brands, where he held the position of Chief Procurement Officer for the last nine years.
According to Jon Nudi, Masco’s president and chief executive officer, “With the deep experience of our current leaders, combined with external expertise, Masco’s Executive Committee is well positioned to provide focus, agility, and drive greater alignment between corporate and business unit priorities, enabling the strong execution of our growth strategy.”
Read the full announcement here.
Vertiv Names Frieda He CPO
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Vertiv, a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, announced Frieda He as the new chief procurement officer. She will lead Vertiv’s global procurement organization, with a focus on further strengthening supply chain resilience, enabling growth, optimizing cost and value, and driving supplier quality across the company’s portfolio, including end‑to‑end power and thermal management solutions for data centers, communications networks, and commercial & industrial applications.
The company stated that He brings nearly two decades of global procurement and supply chain leadership experience across the automotive and electrification businesses. In her most recent role, Frieda served as CPO and a member of the Group Management Team at Polestar. She oversaw more than $3 billion in annual global spend across direct and indirect materials, supplier quality, R&D industrial programs, cost management, and global real estate, while leading cross-functional global teams and driving cost savings, governance, and enterprise transformation during periods of industry disruption.
According to Gio Albertazzi, chief executive officer for Vertiv, “Frieda He is a proven global leader with deep experience building and scaling resilient, sustainable supply chains,” he said. “Her expertise in complex, multinational procurement environments and her track record of driving operational discipline and value creation will be critical as Vertiv continues to scale to meet accelerating demand from AI‑driven and high‑density digital infrastructure.”
Read the full announcement here.
Tom Winters Retires, Leaving a Lasting Impact in Supply Chain
THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Flowers Foods, Inc. announced that Tom Winters, chief supply chain officer, retired from the company. Winters has been a valued member of the Flowers leadership team since 2022. A search for his successor is underway.
According to Heeth Varnedoe, president and chief operating officer, “The exceptional leadership and expertise Tom has imparted to Flowers over the last four years will have a lasting impact on our organization,” he said .
“Tom has not only been integral in forging a stronger, more agile supply chain for Flowers, he is revered across the industry by his peers and team members alike. We are deeply grateful to Tom for his service and wish him the very best in his retirement.”
Prior to Flowers, Winters held several key leadership roles at PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble, where he last served as senior vice president of supply chain for PepsiCo’s North American Beverages and Nutrition divisions. Over the course of his career, he has been instrumental in advancing efficiency initiatives that fuel operational stability and business growth.
Read the full announcement here.
Amol Mehra Appointed CPO for Exide
KOLKATA, India — Exide Industries Limited appointed Amol Mehra as president and chief procurement officer. Mehra brings 28 years of experience in commodities, including non-ferrous metals and coal.
His expertise spans sales and trading across B2B and B2C segments. He previously held roles as chief business officer & joint president at Adani Enterprises, and worked with Vedanta Group, Trafigura, Great Eastern Shipping, and Ballarpur Industries.
Read the full announcement here.
Supply Management News
Amazon Launches Amazon Supply Chain Services
SEATTLE — Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), which extends the company’s entire portfolio of freight, distribution, fulfillment, and parcel shipping solutions to businesses of all types and sizes. These services were originally developed to power Amazon’s own retail operations and to support independent selling partners worldwide.
Over the past three years, hundreds of thousands of Amazon sellers have trusted the company’s logistics network to move, store, and deliver hundreds of millions of packages across third-party facilities, warehouses, and sales channels beyond the Amazon store. The launch of ASCS builds on this momentum, now supporting third-party logistics for businesses in industries such as healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, and retail.
According to Peter Larsen, vice president of Amazon Supply Chain Services, “Amazon is bringing the infrastructure, intelligence, and scale of its supply chain services — proven over decades — to businesses everywhere, much like Amazon Web Services did for cloud computing,” he said.
“Supply chain wasn’t just a function at Amazon — it was core to providing an exceptional shopping experience. Our differentiator. The reason we could offer fast, dependable delivery that nobody else could. And with the launch of ASCS, we’re confident we can give any other business access to the same cost efficiency, reliability, and speed that we’ve built for Amazon customers.”
Read the full announcement here.
General Mills Faces Setback in Supply Chain Sustainability Push
Amazon, Walmart Seek Source Reduction Solutions From Suppliers
