Supply Chain Nation features JDA and other industry experts who are bringing their domain expertise and personal insight to the forefront through this blog. Take a moment to meet our bloggers, read their blogs and provide real-time feedback.
Suresh Acharya
Vice President of Product Development
Suresh Acharya is Vice President of Product Development at JDA Software. In his role, Acharya leads a global team of analytical professionals focused on developing innovative pricing and revenue management solutions for the freight transportation, passenger rail, media, and leisure travel and hospitality industries. Prior to joining JDA, Acharya served as Director of Modeling and Analysis at Manugistics (later acquired by JDA). There, he oversaw the algorithmic development of the retail pricing, forecasting and transportation solutions.
Prior to Manugistics, Acharya worked for the Operations Research Group at US Airways and was part of the team that built the airline’s fleeting and scheduling solutions. Acharya has also worked as an independent consultant in the travel and hospitality sector.
Acharya holds an M.S. in Operations Research from the University of North Carolina and an M.S. in Mathematical Sciences from Clemson University. Acharya holds a U.S. patent for his work in sales history decomposition.
David Johnston
Senior Vice President, Supply Chain
As Senior Vice President, Supply Chain at JDA Software, David Johnston is responsible for strengthening executive-level relationships with JDA’s manufacturing, wholesale and distribution customers and key prospects. Johnston previously served as Vice President of Forecasting and Replenishment Solutions, responsible for the strategic direction and business development of JDA’s forecasting and replenishment solution offerings. Prior to JDA, Johnston held a number of positions at E3 Associates, including Vice President of Industry Marketing and Partner Relationships and Vice President of Product Development. Johnston attended Louisiana State University and the University of New Orleans, where he focused on Computer Science.
Fred Baumann
Vice President, Industry Strategy
As Vice President, Industry Strategy at JDA Software, Fred Baumann leads global industry strategy for several manufacturing verticals at JDA Software. Baumann has been instrumental in driving JDA’s collaborative trading community strategies and launching the company’s CPFR, S&OP and Analytics offerings. Prior to joining JDA Software, Baumann held an application-training role at IBM and spent eight years with The Pillsbury Company where he served as a Value Chain Manager and was responsible for starting the collaborative inventory program with Wal-Mart for Pillsbury while executing other numerous value chain strategies. Baumann received his undergraduate degree at Georgia State University and an MBA with distinction from the University of Arkansas, Sam M. Walton School of Business where he had a core focus in supply chain management.
Russell Parker
Strategic Services Director
As Strategic Services Director at JDA Software, Russell Parker is responsible for providing strategic consulting around leading practices, process reengineering and business transformation to JDA’s retail clients. Russell has close to twenty years of experience working in consulting and in industry with major retailers throughout North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a BS in Industrial Psychology. Russell is also certified in Prosci ADKAR Change Management practices and his passion is focusing on the three key elements to help clients being successful in their business transformations: people, process and tools.
Beth Elkin
Vice President of Marketing and Communication
As Vice President of Marketing and Communicaton at JDA Software, Beth Elkin is responsible for leading JDA corporate communications, events, analyst relations, public relations and social media. Elkin joined JDA as part of the i2 acquisition in 2010. Her i2 tenure started in public relations and broadened to encompass all areas of marketing. She played a key role in communicating the company’s strategic initiatives in areas such as acquisitions, executive management changes, corporate and financial restructurings, crisis communications, branding and product launches. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Iowa.
Seawillow Hanson
Strategic Services Director
As Strategic Services Director at JDA Software, Seawillow Hanson is responsible for providing strategic supply chain guidance and counsel to key JDA retail clients and works proactively to help clients define and evolve their supply chain vision. Hanson has more than 30 years of supply chain experience and has held both corporate and consultative roles in both the retail and manufacturing industries. Hanson holds a Masters of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Operations Management, as well as undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology. Along with these credentials, Seawillow also is APICS certified, as a CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional.)
Bob Heaney
Sr Research / Lead Analyst, Supply Chain Management, Aberdeen
Bob Heaney is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of distinguished leadership experience in research, analysis, and advisory roles in Supply Chain Engineering. Bob’s coverage area within Aberdeen includes various elements of Supply Chain Execution (Transportation Management, Warehouse Management, Distributed Order Management, Third Party Logistics, Material Handling and Supply Chain Visibility).
Bob was awarded an executive fellowship with Hughes Aircraft Company and graduated with distinction with both a MBA and a MS in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. He holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Cindy Kim
Title: Director, Retail Solutions Marketing
As director of retail solutions marketing, Cindy Kim plans and executes demand generation programs covering JDA’s portfolio of retail merchandising, supply chain, store operations and all-channel commerce solutions.
Peter Sarris
Title: Strategic Services Director
As Strategic Services Director at JDA Software, Peter Sarris has extensive experience as a practitioner and advisor in supply chain management in process industries and retail. His specific emphasis is on demand planning, peplenishment planning, internal and external collaboration, change management including supply chain organization design. Sarris brings global experience with large and small organizations in North America, Europe, South Africa, Sweden, China and Australia. He is passionate in bringing success to JDA clients and making the customer buying experience a positive one by having the right merchandize in the right place and the right time cost effectively.
Steve Davis
Title: Vice President of Strategic Services
As Vice President of Strategic Services at JDA Software, Steve Davis is responsible for bringing business transformation and leading practices to JDA’s worldwide customers. With more than 30 years of experience in the retail and supply chain industries, Steve has held management positions at tier one retailers across the U.S. and brings considerable knowledge, experience and passion to his work as an expert in specialty retailing from product development to the sales floor.
Ralph Williams
Title: Practice Director, Strategic Services
As Practice Director, Strategic Services at JDA Software, Ralph Williams (@RTWilliamsJDA) is responsible for delivering category management process solutions for Retailers and Manufacturers. Currently based in Toronto, Ralph pioneered JDA Strategic Services in Europe working from JDA UK office. He holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.
Paula Natoli
Title: Senior Director of Product Management
In her role as Senior Director of Product Management at JDA Software, Paula Natoli helps to drive the vision, direction, strategy and enhancement development of the software suites in the area of Demand Management, Pricing & Promotions Management & Optimization, and Collaboration. With over 14 years of experience spanning roles in consulting services, education services, and product management, Paula interacts with hundreds of JDA customers globally to ensure that the software JDA delivers to the market not only meets their supply chain requirements but also provides a competitive advantage against their competition. Paula holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Business Logistics from Penn State University.
Anand Medepalli
Title: Vice President of Industry Strategy
Anand Medepalli serves as Vice President of Industry Strategy for JDA Software’s Pricing and Revenue Management business. Medepalli has more than 20 years of experience as a trusted advisor with leading companies in pricing and product strategies, commercial account strategies and asset planning decisions. At JDA, he is responsible for advising companies and articulating JDA’s go-to-market strategy for the passenger travel, leisure travel, hospitality and freight transportation industries and defining innovative solutions to help drive growth. Medepalli holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Iowa State University.
Fab Brasca
Title: Vice President of Global Logistics
As Vice President of Global Logistics at JDA Software, Fabrizio Brasca (@FabBrasca) is responsible for developing innovative transportation and logistics strategies across all industry verticals, strengthening executive-level relationships with JDA’s key customers and prospects, and advising companies on best practices to become more profitable. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics co-op degree with a specialization in business and information systems from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario.
Hamish Brewer
Title: President and CEO
As President and CEO of JDA Software, Hamish Brewer is responsible for overseeing all aspects of JDA and for developing company strategy. Throughout his tenure at JDA, Brewer held a variety of senior roles, giving him broad experience across JDA’s products and operations. Prior to JDA, Brewer worked for four years at IBM. He holds a Bachelor of Science in production engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce in economics from the University of Birmingham, UK.
Kelly Thomas
Title: Group Vice President of Global Accounts
As Group Vice President, Global Accounts, Kelly Thomas (@KellyThomasJDA) is responsible for managing relationships and value delivery at JDA’s largest accounts. Thomas has more than 27 years of experience in leading teams in design, development, sales, and delivery of supply chain management and manufacturing execution solutions. He is the author of more than a dozen papers in the area of supply chain management and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Thomas holds a degree in chemical engineering from Rutgers University.
Scott Welty
Title: Global Vice President of Retail Industry Strategy
As Global Vice President of Retail Industry Strategy, Scott Welty (@ScottWeltyJDA) is responsible for strengthening executive-level relationships with JDA’s retail customers and key prospects. With widespread experience within the retail industry, Welty has held several leadership roles at JDA Software and within the retail industry. With a core focus on business process optimization, he has helped hundreds of companies select the proper solutions to attain increased revenues, profits and efficiencies. He holds a bachelor’s of science from The University of Toledo.
Razat Gaurav
Title: Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
As Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Razat Gaurav is responsible for revenue and market share growth, including leading all sales, presales and business development activities across the Americas and EMEA regions. In this role, he has managed partner and alliance relationships and guided solution and industry roadmap development. Gaurav has also served in various roles across product management, solutions marketing and strategic consulting services functions. He holds a B.S. in Engineering and Transportation Policy from Illinois Institute of Technology.
Wayne Usie
Title: Senior Vice President of Retail
As Senior Vice President of Retail at JDA Software, Wayne Usie (@waynejusie) is responsible for developing innovative retail strategies and strengthening executive level relationships with JDA’s key retail customers and prospects, and advising companies on best practices to become more profitable. Usie has also held several leadership roles at JDA Software and within the retail industry. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
Bob Anson
Title: Vice President of Industry Strategy
As Vice President of Industry Strategy, Robert Anson (@RobertAnson2) brings more than 25 years of management and consulting experience with both large and small companies across the enterprise solutions value chain for the PLM, SRM and SCM markets. Anson has experience in solution innovation, sales and business development, process improvement and implementation and has led manufacturing and aerospace and defense companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Joseph King
Title: Senior Vice President, Global Services Sales, JDA Software
Joseph King leads Global Services Sales, Services Presales, Services Alliance Programs and Cloud Services strategy at JDA Software. King is responsible for sales and sales process and support for JDA’s world-class services including Cloud, Consulting and Education. Prior to this position, King was instrumental in pioneering JDA’s transformation from a software company to a cloud-enabled organization. King has more than 28 years of experience in managed services sales, operations, support services and executive management. King holds a bachelor’s degree from Pace University.
