Meet the Team

Randy is the founder and majority owner of GTM Holdings, a holding company that owns a series of supply chain consulting firms including The Seismic Group. He is an entrepreneur, board member, and investor in numerous companies.

In his role Randy oversees the consulting practices, and provides strategic procurement advice to key clients. These clients primarily include consumer packaged goods companies of all sizes.

He has spent his entire career in the field of purchasing and purchasing consulting. Mr. Briesath has extensive experience in procurement management strategy, cost take out strategy, and supplier management. He often acts as an adviser to business leaders who lead and manage the purchasing functions.

When not at work, Randy has served on non-profit boards, enjoys all sports (especially college football – Go Gophers), hiking, and traveling with his wife and kids.

Results oriented professional who is passionate about optimizing client outcomes. Clear understanding of organizational dynamics with the ability to unite varying functional areas around strategic corporate goals. Legacy of identifying, recruiting and developing talent while creating a culture of accountability and recognition. Experienced in working on Board of Directors/Trustees focusing on complex issues such as business strategy, balance sheet financing, regulatory issues and human resources.

Prior to joining The Seismic Group, Kent was the President and an owner of Victor Envelope Company. This organization is a state-of-the-art manufacturing and printing facility with the capacity to produce over 1 billion envelopes annually. Since he joined the company in 1988, he was recognized as a pivotal leader with high impact strategies. This led to him have roles in Production Management, Estimating, Sales and ultimately joining the Board of Directors where he and a group of partners orchestrated a leveraged buyout of the founder of the company. His responsibilities included long term strategic planning, recruiting, team building, process improvement and ultimately driving top/bottom line growth.

Kent has a B.A. in Business Administration from Butler University. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Elmhurst University.

Douglas is a credited Sales and Marketing VP who consistently delivers on stretch targets and manages P&L responsibly. Douglas efficiently energizes sales teams to focus and deliver results using a combination of excellent leadership with analytical rigor and strong interpersonal skills. Having lived, worked and traveled for business, extensively overseas, Douglas brings global contacts and perspective. He adds value by creating fresh, innovative, growth-oriented go to market strategies which are developed collaboratively and executed flawlessly resulting in significant increases in sales and profitability. Douglas has a very impressive track record of results such as leading and growing, profitably, a $400M worldwide sales division.

Specialties: key account management, business development, LED lighting, energy displays, smart building technologies, alternative energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, product management, customer relationship management, e – commerce, leadership, marketing, brand development, sustainability, team builder , pricing, increasing sales, sales, , strategic, , strategy development, strategy implementation, global sales, global business development, International, wireless technology, geo-thermal, biogas, multi-channel development and management.

Douglas is a fellow of the Institute of Purchasing and Supply

Mike Nolan has 15+ years of industrial real estate experience and has completed hundreds of transactions throughout North America. His integrated delivery model helps companies compare all relevant facts to create current vs. multiple future state scenarios when considering greenfields, facility consolidations, new market expansions, brownfield retrofits, building expansions, and sale leasebacks.

He has extensive knowledge regarding site selection, labor analytics, government incentives negotiation, real estate transactions, developer/contractor negotiations, relocation assistance, as well as general oversite and implementation of complex real estate transactions.

Recently, Mike spent 10+ years at Avison Young, a global commercial real estate firm, where he was one of the founders of their Private Equity Practice and was a partner on the #1 producing global team in 2018. After Avison Young, Mike went to work as a Principal at Hickey & Associates, a preeminent consulting firm focused or global site selection and government incentives procurement, where he founded their Family Office & Private Equity Practice Group.

Arizona State University, University of Iowa. Mike also holds a Managing Brokers License IDFPR.

A forward-thinking and effective supply chain consultant with extensive proficiencies in manufacturing, supply chain, strategic purchasing, sourcing, negotiations, operations analysis, technology transfer, material planning, e-sourcing platform, market forecasting, supplier management and outsourced purchasing services.

Bryan possesses a proven track record of success in food manufacturing and packaged goods. He leverages his engineering and purchasing experience to help clients and prospective clients identify opportunities to streamline operations and facilitate cost savings.

Bryan’s professional experience includes roles with Koch Industries where he served as the Director of Supply Chain, driving TQM and managing the startup of a greenfield manufacturing facility. He held the role of Plant Manager at Eli’s Cheesecake where he also facilitated the startup of a manufacturing facility. As the Purchasing Manager for Sara Lee Bakery Operations, he was responsible for strategic planning and achieved sustained improvements in quality and cost functions. His career began at Ralston Purina where he was served as a Project Engineer and Production Manager.

Bryan has a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Kansas State University and an MBA in Marketing from Duke University.

Scott Smith is a passionate connector, mentor, and solution provider who believes that success in business development is directly attributable to building mutually-beneficial, long-term relationships. He has built a robust, diverse, and reciprocally supportive network of financial and other professionals. Scott employs a client-centered approach to consistently align complex projects with positive outcomes. He has earned a reputation as a reliable, trusted advisor by helping companies manage change, navigate strategic initiatives, solve problems, and get things done.

Although his formal training is in accounting, Scott has always had a penchant for business development. A former Partner at Arthur Andersen, he draws on his background in financial reporting, audit, tax, and M&A transactions to manage the variables of key business decisions. His strength is assessing the needs of a business and identifying critical areas of exposure. Scott’s Seismic Team lives in the purchasing world daily.

Engaging, creative, and committed to providing exceptional client service; Scott brings a unique perspective, credibility, and stability to the process of helping clients navigate complex processes.

Scott has a BS in Accounting from Milliken University. He is a Board Member and Hospital Magician for Open Heart Magic.

Jeremy is an accomplished executive with over twenty years of domestic and international experience in both sales and operations. He is entrepreneurial and driven to cultivate strong organizational cultures to promote consistent top and bottom-line performance. A proven sales leader, adept at identifying new markets and formulating strategic approaches to market penetration. Operations leader focused on process improvement and implementing best-in-class operational principles. Jeremy has held senior leadership roles in both sales and operations within multinational corporations ranging from $30million to $350million in annual revenue. He is also an entrepreneur and has formed more than 25 operating companies.

In 2019 Jeremy founded Wetmore Consulting Group Ltd (WCG Ltd.). Here he applies his professional experience within senior management teams that operate both domestically and internationally. He has consulted on behalf of company ownership, banks and financial institutions, private equity and trade organizations.

Jeremy founded WP Properties LLC (2012), WPC Real Estate Management Inc (2016) and Twenty-Five Capital Ltd (2021); and currently serves as the President and Managing Partner for all three firms. The firms are focused on multi-family property development, construction management / property management and the repositioning of multi-family assets to drive value and equity growth. WPC Real Estate Management Inc. is an operating entity for all REO (200 multi-family units).

Jeremy is a graduate of Bradley University.

Megan Briesath is the Marketing Manager at The Seismic Group. She is responsible for planning and executing on the marketing strategy for all the practices. She oversees the budget, coordinates individual campaigns, monitors content, and drives overall brand engagement.

She began her career as a news reporter and producer at TV10 in Bloomington, IL before making the jump to WMBD, the CBS affiliate in Peoria. Her responsibilities included booking talent, creating content, and managing the morning shows.

She joined The Seismic Group (formerly known as Provident Spend Management) in 2018 as a Data Analyst where she assisted in data collection, ingredient sourcing efforts and supplier relations.

Megan has a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism from Illinois State University. Her university experience also included a semester at London Southbank University. She was a winner of the Impact Award at ISU which is given to the student who most contributes to a welcoming campus community and a former member of both PRSSA and SINBA.

Alura has over 20 years of technology experience supporting organizations in varied industries including legal and fresh-food data and category management consulting. At The Seismic Group Alura is responsible for the direction of data and analytical platform across the multiple practice areas. Pursuing the advancement of the analytical tools, processes and procedures and driving new product design and platform innovations with a focus on customer outcomes. She also participates as analytical and organizational support to various sourcing projects.

Prior to TSG she spent ten years with the Nielsen Perishables Group analyzing, reengineering, managing and automating data flow processes used to integrate information from multiple sources. Her background also includes developing and maintaining custom data factories, reporting systems and creating an online project management system that was fundamental to the management of the sales and accounting processes.

Her start in technology came at Winston & Strawn where she moved quickly from a Technical Support position to Analyst role developing her skills as an ASP.Net/C#/SQL programmer focused mainly on converting paper-based systems to web-based workflow automation systems, resulting in increased efficiency, improved response times and seamless data integration with external systems.

Alura has her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Loyola University.

With over 10 years of business analytics, data science, and strategic leadership experience in public and private equity owned business, Jason specializes in creating award winning analytics strategy, capabilities, teams, and solutions that drive tangible revenue and EBITDA improvements.

With a total quantifiable career revenue impact of $300 million+ and EBITDA impact of $75 million+, his teams have been successful in translating data and analytical insights into actionable business strategies and activities that drive higher revenues, greater margins, and market/wallet share growth working with both public and private equity owned companies (Weil-McClain, Mauser/BWAY, Newel Rubbermaid, Nalco, and Conagra)
In addition to analytics, Jason also has extensive executive experience in:

• Organizational, sales & channel, and marketing strategy design
• Sales operations
• Financial reporting
• Market research
• Price management
• Supply chain optimization
• M&A due diligence

Jason was recognized as an HVAC “Top 40 Under 40” in 2017 and earned my MBA from the University of Notre Dame. Jason was formerly ranked the #1 high school sprinter in Illinois (100m, 200m and 400m). He then followed up his high school career by becoming a Division 1 athlete at the University of Oregon.

Karen started her career at a large IT company, providing both technical and client support for a variety of industries including Manufacturing, Finance, Consumer Goods, Food & Beverage, and Retail. During that time she gained experience in client interfacing, requirements gathering, project management, data analysis, and EDI technical support.

In 2011 she joined Foresight Commodity Services, a consulting company specializing in fundamental commodity analysis, price forecasting and commodity purchasing strategy development. She supported and maintained their website which included hundreds of commodity and ingredient data series in 13 categories. Other responsibilities included managing several major website enhancements, testing, training, and user support. Her redesign of their proprietary Sugar Re-Export App resulted in major efficiency and productivity improvements.

She most recently joined The Seismic Group where she is providing support for sourcing projects, opportunity assessments, sales reporting, document management, and the procurement portal website. Karen is continuously looking for ways to streamline, improve, and automate business processes.

Karen has a B.S. in Business Administration and Management from Purdue University.

Kathryn’s dedication to pulling together data in the most concise and efficient manner, explaining the reasons why and presenting it in an easily understood format has been delighting clients her entire career. Her experience includes financial forecasting and consolidations, executive compensation plans, and financial dashboard design.

As Assistant Controller for Millward Brown, Kathryn was responsible for consolidation and analysis of the financial results of 60 global companies totaling over $1B in revenue. She created and maintained dashboards to report product details and financials for Global Brand Directors, performed ad hoc analyses on clients, products, and sectors, and was the financial liaison for executive compensation programs. Her resourcefulness in utilizing multiple complex data sets and leverage Excel functionality allowed her to build concise analyses that helped drive commercial success.

Prior to joining Millward Brown, Kathryn was Senior Accounting Analyst for AmeriKing. She was responsible for compiling financial statements for 60 fast-food restaurants in the Chicago and Denver markets, while identifying profit opportunities through P&L analysis and in store reviews.

Kathryn has her BBA in Accounting from The University of Toledo.

Tony has been an Analyst in the Spend Management Consultancy Field since 2002. He has provided analytical support for numerous strategic sourcing efforts for major consumer package goods companies by providing insights and fact-based research leading to actionable recommendations and significant results. Areas of Procurement include Packaging (Corrugate, Flexible Packaging, etc.), Raw Materials (Ingredients, Commodities, etc.) and Indirect Categories (Field Tech Support, MRO, etc.).

Tony’s analytical efforts include both qualitative & quantitative supplier proposal analysis, scenario analysis, market research, etc. He is also responsible for tracking actual results upon the conclusion of projects and the development & management of The Seismic Group’s online sourcing tool.
Prior to joining The Seismic Group, he was in Human Resources & Employee Training/Development with CITGO Petroleum Corporation. Here he was responsible for Contractor Management which included onboarding, payroll and ongoing training and certifications.
Tony was also the Warehouse Manager at Kayhan International while he was a college student.

Tony has his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Northern Illinois University.

Tyler began his career at the Chicago Blower Corporation as an Applications Engineer. His role encompassed project management, product design and selection, pricing, and technical support.

In 2015 he joined Supply Tigers and assumed the role of Business Analyst. Tyler developed, designed, and managed complex RFP’s and RFI’s for a variety of indirect expense categories. He used his detail-oriented approach to consolidate and organize customer data from disparate sources. This same approach helped ensure the integrity of the project results and customer savings.

In 2017 he became the Commercialization Manager of Seismic Solutions. Here he leveraged his access to a wide network of relationships to help new and emerging brands, products, and technologies accelerate growth, drive innovation, and reduce operating costs. He also spearheaded the sustainable packaging initiative and manages the PulPac partnership. PulPac is an R&D and IP-company and the inventor of Dry Molded Fiber – a groundbreaking manufacturing technology for low-cost, high-performance fiber-based packaging and single-use products.

Tyler is a graduate of the University of Minnesota B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Tim is a supply chain professional with over 25 years’ experience in procurement, inventory management, transportation, warehousing, budgeting, and customer service. He has a proven record in managing key supplier relationships, attaining cost savings goals, and reducing inventory investment.

Tim works with key suppliers to consolidate spend across the entire customer base to gain corporate level pricing for small to mid-market companies. He uses his knowledge of indirect spend categories to develop key strategies and actions focused on savings, efficiencies, and bottom-line results.

As a category expert for MRO (Maintenance, Repair, & Operation) he is a key asset in designing future state solutions for categories that accelerates current initiatives and introduces best practices for continuous improvement and spend management.

Tim holds a BS in Business Management from Southern Illinois University and a Master’s in Supply Chain Management from Elmhurst University.

Senior-level procurement, supply chain and risk management executive in the CPG area, with a focus on Strategic Sourcing, building supply chain relationships and ensuring appropriate & competitive cost structures. Highly effective communicator who has worked closely with numerous clients and vendors to develop and deliver innovative and forward-looking strategies.

Mike has a wealth of experience in the packaging procurement field across numerous packaging formats. He possesses a proven track record of identifying and implementing significantly improved cost structures, allowing clients to reduce costs, leverage technical resources, gain operational efficiencies, and retain competitive pricing during volatile market conditions.

Mike has a BS in Business from Elmhurst University

Steve has a strong background in the food business, having managed the wholesale, foodservice, franchise, and restaurant sides of the business in a variety of operations, distribution, logistics, warehouse, transportation and human resources roles. He has provided professional leadership to small and large operations having over 1000 employees on his teams. He is able to quickly assess situations, think strategically; analyze and orchestrate improvements taking into consideration the impact on the entire supply chain.

Steve served as the Operations Manager and HR director for SuperValu for over 20 years where he was also responsible for central inbound and warehouse / transportation management. He also spent 12 years with US Foods where he held several roles including Senior Director Network Strategy, Logistics and Director of Operations. He currently serves as an advisor to Market Fresh Produce where he provides supply chain solutions for growers and shippers throughout the newly developed partner network.

Steve specialties include labor union relations / negotiations and grievance handling. He has deep experience in supply chain logistics, perishable food regulations and handling. He has led change management initiatives and has created successful employee engagement & recognition programs.

Steve holds a BA / BS in Management from Drake University. He is also Lominger certified in leadership / talent management.

Bill is a procurement specialist in the food industry with significant, progressive experience across the ingredient, commodity, and packaging categories, capital equipment contracting, as well as supply chain management.

He began his career in procurement in 1988 when he joined PepsiCo (Quaker Oats) as a Buyer, Commodities. Additional roles through the years included Purchasing Supervisor, Commodities, Senior Buyer of Packaging, Manager of Continuous Improvement, Supply Chain Manager, Packaging Purchasing Manager, and Director of Procurement, Ingredients.

Bill joined Tootsie Roll Industries as a Director of Procurement in 2012 with responsibilities for the sugar and vegetable oil commodity area, ingredients, and the flexible packaging category.

He has extensive experience in driving cost savings within the procurement role and across the supply chain. His cross functional experiences give him an in-depth understanding of the interrelationships between the functions of an organization, the supply base, and the ability to drive complex projects from ideation to implementation.

Bill is a graduate of Loras College with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Business Administration and Management. He has his MBA from Loyola University Chicago.

His certifications include C.P.M. Certified Purchasing Manager, Institute for Supply Management

Phil Karig has worked for over 25 years in the Plastics industry. Prior to founding Mathelin Bay & Associates, he served 9 years as Vice President of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management and then Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at Spartech Corporation (portions currently Spartech LLC and formerly PolyOne), a US $ 1 billion company that performed sheet and rollstock extrusion, injection molding, profile extrusion, calendaring and blown film extrusion, as well as compound and color concentrates production.  During his career he has purchased billions of pounds of plastic resins, including: ABS, ASA, SAN, Acrylic, Polycarbonate, APET, PETG, PVC (suspension and dispersion), Polystyrene, Polyethylene, Polypropylene and more.

Prior to Spartech, he led the procurement and logistics functions for 11 years at Uniroyal Technology Corporation (Uniroyal Plastics), which produced Royalite brand extruded sheet products, Naugahyde brand vinyl coated fabrics and Ensolite brand foam products.  Prior to Uniroyal, he was at Leaseway Transportation Corp. (currently Penske), a US $ 1 billion public company, for 5 years as a Strategic Planner before assuming P & L responsibility for a network of bulk plastics warehouses and rail to truck plastics transfer facilities.

Mr. Karig earned his Master’s degree at Harvard University and his Bachelor’s at the State University of New York.  He is a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Fellow, has taught Game Theory and Decision-Making, and has also worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee. He is board member of the Society of Plastics Engineers Thermoforming Division and speaks English and German.

Tim has an extensive background in a variety of business functions and industries. He has worn many hats throughout his career including leading Sales, IT, Finance, and Operations in both service and product companies large and small throughout North America. He has deep expertise in contract manufacturing, contract packaging, 3rd Party Logistics, and transportation services. He has been an ardent supporter of the industry and has been involved in the Contract Packaging Association since 2007 having held every position in the organization. Tim understands what it takes to be able to support both large brick and mortar clients as well as emerging marketing only clients.

Prior to entering consulting Tim was Senior Vice President Operations for
Quest Products where he was responsible for the supply chain and contract manufacturing relationships required to support the existing brands as well as the integration of four acquired brands including their manufacturing operations into the Quest organization.

Before joining Quest, Tim was Chief Operating Officer for The Visual Pak Companies, where he led the transformative growth of a regional coman/copack operation into an operation that resulted in an 11x increase in sales through the creation of a vertically integrated operation throughout the US and Mexico.

Tim has an undergraduate degree in Business from Indiana University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. An avid outdoorsman who enjoys the tranquility of fishing and the thrill of upload bird hunting, Tim is most proud of his wife, a practicing nurse, and being the father to two sons.

Jeff brings over 35 years of procurement experience in various roles with a primary focus in ingredients and commodities. He has been involved with firms that cross the spectrum of size and financial status. His corporate experience allows Jeff to uniquely understand the challenges facing operations today and how important the right solutions are to maximum profitability.

Jeff most recently spent over 10 years as Vice President at Provident Spend Management, a strategic purchasing consultancy. His focus was on reducing client’s ingredient and commodity spend.

Prior to joining Provident, Jeff was the Senior Manager of Packaging at Quaker Oats where he was responsible for some of the largest spend categories across Ingredients, Commodities and Packaging. He also played a role in new product development for the company and holds twenty-three patents.

He began his career working for CF Industries, a cooperative owned chemical company. During his time there he held various roles of increasing responsibility including member management, supply chain support and international sales.

Jeff has a B.A. in Political Science from Drake University.

Mitch is an execution oriented, optimistic, and innovative professional with a diverse, cross-functional background in P&L leadership, business development, logistics, and strategic planning. He has significant success driving financial improvements, creating meaningful value enhancing supply chains, and utilizing comprehensive logistics management techniques, with added experience in manufacturing, and technology sectors. Skilled at identifying, evaluating, and executing corporate development opportunities, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, and technology development.

Mitch has held various leadership roles including CFO & VP of Finance at Red Gold where he led the acquisition of its largest competitor which doubled EBITDA. He served as CEO of Market Fresh Produce, Principal and Founding Member of BrightPath Capital and CEO of CDC Logistics where under his leadership revenue and IBIDTA increased by over 200%.

Over the years, Mitch has provided Management Consulting services including: strategic innovation; enterprise improvement (strategy & transformation, revenue growth, cost efficiencies, margin expansion, operational excellence); transaction services and interim management.

Mitch has a BS in Accounting from Ball State University.

​Jennifer spent 10 years in Private Equity where she led a team of Supply Chain experts with a focus of improving cost and driving operational efficiencies across 82+ portfolio companies from various industries and sizes. While there, she pioneered successful leveraged buying programs in multiple indirect spend categories and had the additional responsibility of leading the Operations Lean and Continuous Improvement team. She conducted supply chain and operations due diligence for the company’s buyout teams and led turn around initiatives with a focus of improving EBITDA and growth for its portfolio companies. ​
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She has 35+ years of multi-industry experience in global sourcing, right-sizing supply chains and leading matrixed global supply chain organizations for Fortune 100 and 500 companies such as TRW Automotive, Ingersoll-Rand, Kroger and Briggs and Stratton. ​
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She served as past Chairman of the Board for Lawrence Merchandising Services and was an active board member of Unwired Technologies. She currently serves as an active Board member for G K Elite Sportswear.​
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Jennifer has her Master’s Degree in Business Administrations, a Bachelor’s Degree in Manufacturing Engineering and an Associate’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Murray State University. She is CMfgT certified and served as Secretary for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. ​

Derek Walton brings 25+ years of experience in global sourcing, operations and supply chain management across dozens of companies and industries. ​
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He spent 8 years as Vice President of Operations at American Capital, LTD. Consulted with CEO’s and CFO’s and was responsible to identify areas of opportunity and develop strategies to drive Operational Process Improvements, Supply Chain Productivity and improve Working Capital. ​
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Prior to joining American Capital, Derek was Regional Sourcing Director, Americas for the Climate Control sector of Ingersoll-Rand, a $10B diversified industrial company. In this role, he had Supply Chain responsibility for all Climate Control locations within the U.S., Puerto Rico, Brazil and Mexico. Additionally, his responsibilities included the development of strategies and continuous improvement initiatives globally to drive cost performance and meet financial targets for the sector. ​
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Derek held several positions of increasing responsibility during his 15-year tenure at Ingersoll-Rand including working for corporate Ingersoll-Rand on a team to re-engineer the global sourcing and supply chain function. He also held key corporate positions on both the Castings and Metals/Fabrications Centers of Excellence driving savings exceeding $70M​
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Derek has a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from the University of Northern Iowa with dual emphasis in Business Administration & Operations Management. His certifications include Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) – Institute of Supply Management (ISM), Green belt certified​

A sourcing professional with a passion for problem solving. Dan is a self-pronounced “farm kid” who grew up in the agriculture community in Northern Michigan. His family owned and operated an innovative company that specialized in manufacturing and selling dried fruit ingredients to industrial and food service clients.

Most recently Dan was Senior Procurement Manager at fairlife, LLC, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, where he was solely responsible for overseeing the strategic sourcing efforts associated with their entire Ingredient spend. He is most proud of his work around building a resilient and cost competitive supply base over the course of the pandemic, for a brand with a portfolio of products that saw its revenue grow 3X over that same period of time.

Dan began his career with Nestle S.A. in various strategic sourcing focused roles. He helped optimize their Gerber baby food brand’s fruit and vegetable farm to factory sourcing program. He was heavily involved in managing grower relations, transportation and 3rd party warehousing operations across a number of crops and growing regions. After five years, he moved into a newly created role supporting Nestle’s Beverage division and their health and wellness focused coffee creamer brand, Natural Bliss. Dan was the Procurement lead on the brand’s commercial team responsible for quickly executing cost-effective innovation and renovation projects that impacted ingredients, packaging and indirect categories of spend.

Dan possesses a BA in Business Management from Northwood University where he played college football while graduating in three years.  He also has an MS in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University.

Doug Blanchard is an experienced executive with over 40 years of progressive management experience. Doug has applied his leadership skills and experience on numerous client engagements in various areas of business operations, including all aspects of lean enterprise management, business and operations strategy, sales and operations planning, quality systems, new product development, cultural change, leadership coaching and organizational development. Additionally, he has been a leader in acquisition due diligence assessments and the development of value creation strategies for the M&A segment of our business.

Doug worked for Lexington Home Brands as COO/Executive Vice President of Operations, where he was responsible for a $450 million division with 15 plant locations. Prior to that, he worked for Emerson Electric, where he had P&L responsibility for a $300 million division. Doug also has experience at Darling Store Fixtures, Tenneco Automotive, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Doug has a BS in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Akron. He also serves on the board of DeWayne’s Quality Metal Coatings.

Steve has a strong background in the food business, having managed the wholesale, foodservice, franchise, and restaurant sides of the business in a variety of operations, distribution, logistics, warehouse, transportation and human resources roles. He has provided professional leadership to small and large operations having over 1000 employees on his teams. He is able to quickly assess situations, think strategically; analyze and orchestrate improvements taking into consideration the impact on the entire supply chain.

Steve served as the Operations Manager and HR director for SuperValu for over 20 years where he was also responsible for central inbound and warehouse / transportation management. He also spent 12 years with US Foods where he held several roles including Senior Director Network Strategy, Logistics and Director of Operations. He currently serves as an advisor to Market Fresh Produce where he provides supply chain solutions for growers and shippers throughout the newly developed partner network.

Steve specialties include labor union relations / negotiations and grievance handling. He has deep experience in supply chain logistics, perishable food regulations and handling. He has led change management initiatives and has created successful employee engagement & recognition programs.

Steve holds a BA / BS in Management from Drake University. He is also Lominger certified in leadership / talent management.

Tim has an extensive background in a variety of business functions and industries. He has worn many hats throughout his career including leading Sales, IT, Finance, and Operations in both service and product companies large and small throughout North America. He has deep expertise in contract manufacturing, contract packaging, 3rd Party Logistics, and transportation services. He has been an ardent supporter of the industry and has been involved in the Contract Packaging Association since 2007 having held every position in the organization. Tim understands what it takes to be able to support both large brick and mortar clients as well as emerging marketing only clients.

Prior to entering consulting Tim was Senior Vice President Operations for
Quest Products where he was responsible for the supply chain and contract manufacturing relationships required to support the existing brands as well as the integration of four acquired brands including their manufacturing operations into the Quest organization.

Before joining Quest, Tim was Chief Operating Officer for The Visual Pak Companies, where he led the transformative growth of a regional coman/copack operation into an operation that resulted in an 11x increase in sales through the creation of a vertically integrated operation throughout the US and Mexico.

Tim has an undergraduate degree in Business from Indiana University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. An avid outdoorsman who enjoys the tranquility of fishing and the thrill of upload bird hunting, Tim is most proud of his wife, a practicing nurse, and being the father to two sons.

Mitch is an execution oriented, optimistic, and innovative professional with a diverse, cross-functional background in P&L leadership, business development, logistics, and strategic planning. He has significant success driving financial improvements, creating meaningful value enhancing supply chains, and utilizing comprehensive logistics management techniques, with added experience in manufacturing, and technology sectors. Skilled at identifying, evaluating, and executing corporate development opportunities, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, and technology development.

Mitch has held various leadership roles including CFO & VP of Finance at Red Gold where he led the acquisition of its largest competitor which doubled EBITDA. He served as CEO of Market Fresh Produce, Principal and Founding Member of BrightPath Capital and CEO of CDC Logistics where under his leadership revenue and IBIDTA increased by over 200%.

Over the years, Mitch has provided Management Consulting services including: strategic innovation; enterprise improvement (strategy & transformation, revenue growth, cost efficiencies, margin expansion, operational excellence); transaction services and interim management.

Mitch has a BS in Accounting from Ball State University.

Working with some of the largest and most innovative brands in the world, Jared has developed best-in-class packaging optimization programs, in conjunction with or following strategic sourcing events.

He is a degreed packaging engineer with extensive global packaging experience. Jared has over 20 years of achievements in sales, design, engineering, and optimization, delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in realized value improvement.

After starting out with Packaging Design at Hasbro toy company, Jared began his career in a sales role in the corrugated industry. Frustrated that every solution involved delivering “more corrugated” he made the switch to Unisource which became Veritiv after a merger with XpedX. Over the next 13 years it was here for, working with brand owners based in the States that manufactured globally, that a market need was identified for a material and supplier agnostic to packaging optimization solution.

After Veritiv, he spent nearly 4 years at a large packaging consulting firm, building a new practice focused on value optimization, before starting his own consulting firm, ROI Packaging. In January 2022, ROI Packaging and Provident Spend Management executed a merger to form Seismic O+E

Jared is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in Packaging Engineering / Packaging Science. He also holds a Certificate from Wharton in Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.

With over forty years of professional experience, Mike has an extensive background in business development, client management and project management services. Prior to the founding of Strategic Project Advisors LLC, and partnering with Seismic Facility Solutions, he headed up Project Management at Avison Young’s Chicago Office where he managed a team of project managers working on real estate capital projects, with a heavy focus on complex industrial projects.

He was responsible for starting the Project Management group where he built up the group over five years, managing high profile industrial, retail, and tenant interior projects. Prior to Avison Young, Mike was a Director at Cushman and Wakefield managing corporate tenant relocations and industrial projects for a variety of clients. Additionally, he was a Project Executive providing Construction services in the Chicago Metropolitan area. He served as a Senior Vice President/Partner at Clune Construction Company where he assisted in growing the company to $300,000,000 annual volume. Prior to entering Construction Management, Mike was a licensed Architect working on base buildings, building renovations and interior fit-outs for corporate, healthcare, retail, and industrial clients.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Architecture (1980) from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Other Professional credentials: LEED AP, Licensed Architect (1981 to 2005), Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards, Finalist – Project Manager of the Year (2016 & 2020).

Tim has 30+ years of experience helping middle market companies identify, quantify and mine latent value. He is widely recognized for his expertise in supply chain functions as the author of the book (Implementing Supplier Partnerships), presenting at national and local conferences, and creating numerous articles on value creation, sourcing and logistics. In addition, he created the firm’s proprietary 9-Box Inventory and Pricing tool which has helped countless companies optimize their inventory levels and improve their pricing practices.

Tim’s primary focus is on serving Private Equity clients and their portfolio companies. He has particular experience in manufacturing and distribution businesses and has a unique ability to assess operational issues and symptoms and translate them into actionable solutions that management and ownership alike can understand and measure.

Prior to forming The ProAction Group, he worked in operational consulting at Arthur Andersen and a boutique supply chain consulting firm.

Tim has a BS in Accounting from Marquette University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He serves on the boards of ACME Metal Coatings, Automated Business Machines and DeWayne’s Quality Metal Coatings.

Brandon has over 15 years of packaging experience working in the consumer-packaged good industry as well as the biotechnology industry. He serves a dual role at The Seismic Group as our Director of Packaging Engineer and as the Senior Packaging Engineer for our client Turtle Wax.

He has formerly held Senior Packaging Engineer positions with Glanbia Performance Nutrition and Sara Lee Frozen Bakery. He specializes in packaging innovation, renovation, and optimization with familiarity with plastic and glass bottles, closures, flexible film, bags, paperboard cartons, corrugated cases, shrink sleeves, and pressure sensitive labels.

Brandon began his career at Diageo as a Quality Control Technician. Here he managed all material related issues and created a Quality Monitoring Scheme that included a training program to institutionalize a culture of quality control.

Brandon has a BS from Michigan State’s School of Packaging.

Travis possesses a unique background in design, manufacturing, and quality to solve challenging problems for the packaging industry. He has experience in leading international teams to launch new packaging and equipment across global sites. He has also managed one of nine ISTA Thermal Transport Labs in the US to provide the cold chain testing needs of the e-commerce consumer goods industry.

Travis has successfully commercialized over 50 products using his design and project management skills. Throughout his career he has qualified new parts and molds on injection-molding and blow-molding machines. He is innovative and continually seeks to innovate products, packages and processes using his background in the plastics and packaging industries. Travis has contributed to 12 patents for the design and functionality of plastic containers.

His professional experience includes roles at Graham Packaging as a Senior R & D Engineer where he led cross-functional teams to assist in the implementation of the R&D projects and generated patentable ideas and trade secrets. He was also a Packaging Program Manager at Adept where he initiated and drove packaging qualifications and new package designs in support of product initiatives, packaging design and performance enhancements and cost-improvement efforts.

Travis is a graduate of Penn State University, with a BS in Plastics Engineering. He has been featured in MSC Simulation World Magazine and was a Society of Petroleum Engineers Conference Speaker ’20.

Luke is a self-motivated Packaging Engineer who brings a strong work ethic and deep technical knowledge to his profession. He has 11+ years of industry experience, specializing in design, optimization, and commercialization across a broad range of pack formats.

Luke was most recently a Senior Engineering Manager at Keurig Dr Pepper, where he managed the secondary/tertiary packaging portfolios for hot and cold; responsible for driving category strategy and improving supply chain efficiencies. Before joining Keurig, Luke was a Packaging Engineer with Mondelez International where he served as a steward for major brands in the cookie/cracker space, leading several productivity efforts and new product launches.

Luke has a Bachelor’s Degree in Packaging Science from Rochester Institute of Technology.

In between developing packages, Luke spends his time snowboarding and hiking with his wife, daughter and son in Vermont and hunting/fishing out West.

Kara is a critical thinker and driven engineer, who values thorough execution and organized documentation. She has over 11 years of experience in the CPG world and has held roles in process engineering, packaging engineering, supply chain, and technical project management.

Most recently, Kara was a Packaging Engineering Manager at Keurig Dr Pepper. She was responsible for managing the single-serve coffee and CSD can portfolios; delivering significant productivity savings; and leading network-wide programs. In her early career at Keurig, Kara was a Process Engineer who led the optimization of coffee and bulk powder to improve manufacturability and quality.

Kara is a graduate of Cornell University, with a BS in Biological Engineering and a concentration in Biomedical Engineering.
Outside of work, she loves to ski and canoe in the Green Mountains of Vermont with her husband and two young boys.

Working with some of the largest and most innovative brands in the world, Jared has developed best-in-class packaging optimization programs, in conjunction with or following strategic sourcing events.

He is a degreed packaging engineer with extensive global packaging experience. Jared has over 20 years of achievements in sales, design, engineering, and optimization, delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in realized value improvement.

After starting out with Packaging Design at Hasbro toy company, Jared began his career in a sales role in the corrugated industry. Frustrated that every solution involved delivering “more corrugated” he made the switch to Unisource which became Veritiv after a merger with XpedX. Over the next 13 years it was here for, working with brand owners based in the States that manufactured globally, that a market need was identified for a material and supplier agnostic to packaging optimization solution.

After Veritiv, he spent nearly 4 years at a large packaging consulting firm, building a new practice focused on value optimization, before starting his own consulting firm, ROI Packaging. In January 2022, ROI Packaging and Provident Spend Management executed a merger to form Seismic O+E

Jared is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in Packaging Engineering / Packaging Science. He also holds a Certificate from Wharton in Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.

Doug Blanchard is an experienced executive with over 40 years of progressive management experience. Doug has applied his leadership skills and experience on numerous client engagements in various areas of business operations, including all aspects of lean enterprise management, business and operations strategy, sales and operations planning, quality systems, new product development, cultural change, leadership coaching and organizational development. Additionally, he has been a leader in acquisition due diligence assessments and the development of value creation strategies for the M&A segment of our business.

Doug worked for Lexington Home Brands as COO/Executive Vice President of Operations, where he was responsible for a $450 million division with 15 plant locations. Prior to that, he worked for Emerson Electric, where he had P&L responsibility for a $300 million division. Doug also has experience at Darling Store Fixtures, Tenneco Automotive, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Doug has a BS in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Akron. He also serves on the board of DeWayne’s Quality Metal Coatings.

Steve has a strong background in the food business, having managed the wholesale, foodservice, franchise, and restaurant sides of the business in a variety of operations, distribution, logistics, warehouse, transportation and human resources roles. He has provided professional leadership to small and large operations having over 1000 employees on his teams. He is able to quickly assess situations, think strategically; analyze and orchestrate improvements taking into consideration the impact on the entire supply chain.

Steve served as the Operations Manager and HR director for SuperValu for over 20 years where he was also responsible for central inbound and warehouse / transportation management. He also spent 12 years with US Foods where he held several roles including Senior Director Network Strategy, Logistics and Director of Operations. He currently serves as an advisor to Market Fresh Produce where he provides supply chain solutions for growers and shippers throughout the newly developed partner network.

Steve specialties include labor union relations / negotiations and grievance handling. He has deep experience in supply chain logistics, perishable food regulations and handling. He has led change management initiatives and has created successful employee engagement & recognition programs.

Steve holds a BA / BS in Management from Drake University. He is also Lominger certified in leadership / talent management.

With over 10 years of business analytics, data science, and strategic leadership experience in public and private equity owned business, Jason specializes in creating award winning analytics strategy, capabilities, teams, and solutions that drive tangible revenue and EBITDA improvements.

With a total quantifiable career revenue impact of $300 million+ and EBITDA impact of $75 million+, his teams have been successful in translating data and analytical insights into actionable business strategies and activities that drive higher revenues, greater margins, and market/wallet share growth working with both public and private equity owned companies (Weil-McClain, Mauser/BWAY, Newel Rubbermaid, Nalco, and Conagra)
In addition to analytics, Jason also has extensive executive experience in:

• Organizational, sales & channel, and marketing strategy design
• Sales operations
• Financial reporting
• Market research
• Price management
• Supply chain optimization
• M&A due diligence

Jason was recognized as an HVAC “Top 40 Under 40” in 2017 and earned my MBA from the University of Notre Dame. Jason was formerly ranked the #1 high school sprinter in Illinois (100m, 200m and 400m). He then followed up his high school career by becoming a Division 1 athlete at the University of Oregon.

Mike Nolan has 15+ years of industrial real estate experience and has completed hundreds of transactions throughout North America. His integrated delivery model helps companies compare all relevant facts to create current vs. multiple future state scenarios when considering greenfields, facility consolidations, new market expansions, brownfield retrofits, building expansions, and sale leasebacks.

He has extensive knowledge regarding site selection, labor analytics, government incentives negotiation, real estate transactions, developer/contractor negotiations, relocation assistance, as well as general oversite and implementation of complex real estate transactions.

Recently, Mike spent 10+ years at Avison Young, a global commercial real estate firm, where he was one of the founders of their Private Equity Practice and was a partner on the #1 producing global team in 2018. After Avison Young, Mike went to work as a Principal at Hickey & Associates, a preeminent consulting firm focused or global site selection and government incentives procurement, where he founded their Family Office & Private Equity Practice Group.

Arizona State University, University of Iowa. Mike also holds a Managing Brokers License IDFPR.

Mitch is an execution oriented, optimistic, and innovative professional with a diverse, cross-functional background in P&L leadership, business development, logistics, and strategic planning. He has significant success driving financial improvements, creating meaningful value enhancing supply chains, and utilizing comprehensive logistics management techniques, with added experience in manufacturing, and technology sectors. Skilled at identifying, evaluating, and executing corporate development opportunities, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, and technology development.

Mitch has held various leadership roles including CFO & VP of Finance at Red Gold where he led the acquisition of its largest competitor which doubled EBITDA.  He served as CEO of Market Fresh Produce, Principal and Founding Member of BrightPath Capital and CEO of CDC Logistics where under his leadership revenue and IBIDTA increased by over 200%.

Over the years, Mitch has provided Management Consulting services including: strategic innovation; enterprise improvement (strategy & transformation, revenue growth, cost efficiencies, margin expansion, operational excellence); transaction services and interim management.

Mitch has a BS in Accounting from Ball State University.

Tim has 30+ years of experience helping middle market companies identify, quantify and mine latent value. He is widely recognized for his expertise in supply chain functions as the author of the book (Implementing Supplier Partnerships), presenting at national and local conferences, and creating numerous articles on value creation, sourcing and logistics. In addition, he created the firm’s proprietary 9-Box Inventory and Pricing tool which has helped countless companies optimize their inventory levels and improve their pricing practices.

Tim’s primary focus is on serving Private Equity clients and their portfolio companies. He has particular experience in manufacturing and distribution businesses and has a unique ability to assess operational issues and symptoms and translate them into actionable solutions that management and ownership alike can understand and measure.

Prior to forming The ProAction Group, he worked in operational consulting at Arthur Andersen and a boutique supply chain consulting firm.

Tim has a BS in Accounting from Marquette University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He serves on the boards of ACME Metal Coatings, Automated Business Machines and DeWayne’s Quality Metal Coatings.

With over forty years of professional experience, Mike has an extensive background in business development, client management and project management services. Prior to the founding of Strategic Project Advisors LLC, and partnering with Seismic Facility Solutions, he headed up Project Management at Avison Young’s Chicago Office where he managed a team of project managers working on real estate capital projects, with a heavy focus on complex industrial projects.

He was responsible for starting the Project Management group where he built up the group over five years, managing high profile industrial, retail, and tenant interior projects. Prior to Avison Young, Mike was a Director at Cushman and Wakefield managing corporate tenant relocations and industrial projects for a variety of clients. Additionally, he was a Project Executive providing Construction services in the Chicago Metropolitan area. He served as a Senior Vice President/Partner at Clune Construction Company where he assisted in growing the company to $300,000,000 annual volume. Prior to entering Construction Management, Mike was a licensed Architect working on base buildings, building renovations and interior fit-outs for corporate, healthcare, retail, and industrial clients.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Architecture (1980) from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Other Professional credentials: LEED AP, Licensed Architect (1981 to 2005), Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards, Finalist – Project Manager of the Year (2016 & 2020).

Brandon has over 15 years of packaging experience working in the consumer-packaged good industry as well as the biotechnology industry. He serves a dual role at The Seismic Group as our Director of Packaging Engineer and as the Senior Packaging Engineer for our client Turtle Wax.

He has formerly held Senior Packaging Engineer positions with Glanbia Performance Nutrition and Sara Lee Frozen Bakery. He specializes in packaging innovation, renovation, and optimization with familiarity with plastic and glass bottles, closures, flexible film, bags, paperboard cartons, corrugated cases, shrink sleeves, and pressure sensitive labels.

Brandon began his career at Diageo as a Quality Control Technician. Here he managed all material related issues and created a Quality Monitoring Scheme that included a training program to institutionalize a culture of quality control.

Brandon has a BS from Michigan State’s School of Packaging.

Tyler began his career at the Chicago Blower Corporation as an Applications Engineer. His role encompassed project management, product design and selection, pricing, and technical support.

In 2015 he joined Supply Tigers and assumed the role of Business Analyst. Tyler developed, designed, and managed complex RFP’s and RFI’s for a variety of indirect expense categories. He used his detail-oriented approach to consolidate and organize customer data from disparate sources. This same approach helped ensure the integrity of the project results and customer savings.

In 2017 he became the Commercialization Manager of Seismic Solutions. Here he leveraged his access to a wide network of relationships to help new and emerging brands, products, and technologies accelerate growth, drive innovation, and reduce operating costs. He also spearheaded the sustainable packaging initiative and manages the PulPac partnership. PulPac is an R&D and IP-company and the inventor of Dry Molded Fiber – a groundbreaking manufacturing technology for low-cost, high-performance fiber-based packaging and single-use products.

Tyler is a graduate of the University of Minnesota B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Working with some of the largest and most innovative brands in the world, Jared has developed best-in-class packaging optimization programs, in conjunction with or following strategic sourcing events.

He is a degreed packaging engineer with extensive global packaging experience. Jared has over 20 years of achievements in sales, design, engineering, and optimization, delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in realized value improvement.

After starting out with Packaging Design at Hasbro toy company, Jared began his career in a sales role in the corrugated industry. Frustrated that every solution involved delivering “more corrugated” he made the switch to Unisource which became Veritiv after a merger with XpedX. Over the next 13 years it was here for, working with brand owners based in the States that manufactured globally, that a market need was identified for a material and supplier agnostic to packaging optimization solution.

After Veritiv, he spent nearly 4 years at a large packaging consulting firm, building a new practice focused on value optimization, before starting his own consulting firm, ROI Packaging. In January 2022, ROI Packaging and Provident Spend Management executed a merger to form Seismic O+E

Jared is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in Packaging Engineering / Packaging Science. He also holds a Certificate from Wharton in Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.

Megan Briesath is the Marketing Manager at The Seismic Group. She is responsible for planning and executing on the marketing strategy for all the practices. She oversees the budget, coordinates individual campaigns, monitors content, and drives overall brand engagement.

She began her career as a news reporter and producer at TV10 in Bloomington, IL before making the jump to WMBD, the CBS affiliate in Peoria. Her responsibilities included booking talent, creating content, and managing the morning shows.

She joined The Seismic Group (formerly known as Provident Spend Management) in 2018 as a Data Analyst where she assisted in data collection, ingredient sourcing efforts and supplier relations.

Megan has a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism from Illinois State University. Her university experience also included a semester at London Southbank University. She was a winner of the Impact Award at ISU which is given to the student who most contributes to a welcoming campus community and a former member of both PRSSA and SINBA.

Randy is the founder and majority owner of GTM Holdings, a holding company that owns a series of supply chain consulting firms including The Seismic Group. He is an entrepreneur, board member, and investor in numerous companies.

In his role Randy oversees the consulting practices, and provides strategic procurement advice to key clients. These clients primarily include consumer packaged goods companies of all sizes.

He has spent his entire career in the field of purchasing and purchasing consulting. Mr. Briesath has extensive experience in procurement management strategy, cost take out strategy, and supplier management. He often acts as an adviser to business leaders who lead and manage the purchasing functions.

When not at work, Randy has served on non-profit boards, enjoys all sports (especially college football – Go Gophers), hiking, and traveling with his wife and kids.

Results oriented professional who is passionate about optimizing client outcomes. Clear understanding of organizational dynamics with the ability to unite varying functional areas around strategic corporate goals. Legacy of identifying, recruiting and developing talent while creating a culture of accountability and recognition. Experienced in working on Board of Directors/Trustees focusing on complex issues such as business strategy, balance sheet financing, regulatory issues and human resources.

Prior to joining The Seismic Group, Kent was the President and an owner of Victor Envelope Company. This organization is a state-of-the-art manufacturing and printing facility with the capacity to produce over 1 billion envelopes annually. Since he joined the company in 1988, he was recognized as a pivotal leader with high impact strategies. This led to him have roles in Production Management, Estimating, Sales and ultimately joining the Board of Directors where he and a group of partners orchestrated a leveraged buyout of the founder of the company. His responsibilities included long term strategic planning, recruiting, team building, process improvement and ultimately driving top/bottom line growth.

Kent has a B.A. in Business Administration from Butler University. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Elmhurst University.

Bruce is responsible for all facets of finance and accounting, including financial reporting, billing and accounts receivable, and accounts payable. He also prepares budgets, cash flow projections, and financial statements. In addition, he is responsible for all of the administration functions for Seismic, including employee benefits, facilities, and technology.

Prior to joining the Seismic Group, Bruce spent 11 years with Barrington Services Group, LLC, where he held various roles with responsibilities in Finance and Accounting. He oversaw managed the financial side of construction of a 30,000 square foot commercial building. Once complete, his responsibilities included all finance functions and daily management of the building. He also oversaw the finance functions of converting a building in Monterey, CA into an IMAX Theater. Once the construction was complete, he was responsible for all finance functions including month end close. He also assisted in daily management of all theater functions.

Bruce received a BS in Accounting from Northern Illinois University and is also a CPA. He is currently a member of Financial Executives International.

Bill is a graduate of Loras College with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Business Administration and Management. He has his MBA from Loyola University Chicago.

His certifications include C.P.M. Certified Purchasing Manager, Institute for Supply Management

Alura has over 20 years of technology experience supporting organizations in varied industries including legal and fresh-food data and category management consulting. At The Seismic Group Alura is responsible for the direction of data and analytical platform across the multiple practice areas. Pursuing the advancement of the analytical tools, processes and procedures and driving new product design and platform innovations with a focus on customer outcomes. She also participates as analytical and organizational support to various sourcing projects.

Prior to TSG she spent ten years with the Nielsen Perishables Group analyzing, reengineering, managing and automating data flow processes used to integrate information from multiple sources. Her background also includes developing and maintaining custom data factories, reporting systems and creating an online project management system that was fundamental to the management of the sales and accounting processes.

Her start in technology came at Winston & Strawn where she moved quickly from a Technical Support position to Analyst role developing her skills as an ASP.Net/C#/SQL programmer focused mainly on converting paper-based systems to web-based workflow automation systems, resulting in increased efficiency, improved response times and seamless data integration with external systems.

Alura has her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Loyola University.

Karen started her career at a large IT company, providing both technical and client support for a variety of industries including Manufacturing, Finance, Consumer Goods, Food & Beverage, and Retail. During that time she gained experience in client interfacing, requirements gathering, project management, data analysis, and EDI technical support.

In 2011 she joined Foresight Commodity Services, a consulting company specializing in fundamental commodity analysis, price forecasting and commodity purchasing strategy development. She supported and maintained their website which included hundreds of commodity and ingredient data series in 13 categories. Other responsibilities included managing several major website enhancements, testing, training, and user support. Her redesign of their proprietary Sugar Re-Export App resulted in major efficiency and productivity improvements.

She most recently joined The Seismic Group where she is providing support for sourcing projects, opportunity assessments, sales reporting, document management, and the procurement portal website. Karen is continuously looking for ways to streamline, improve, and automate business processes.

Karen has a B.S. in Business Administration and Management from Purdue University.

Kara is a critical thinker and driven engineer, who values thorough execution and organized documentation. She has over 11 years of experience in the CPG world and has held roles in process engineering, packaging engineering, supply chain, and technical project management.

Most recently, Kara was a Packaging Engineering Manager at Keurig Dr Pepper. She was responsible for managing the single-serve coffee and CSD can portfolios; delivering significant productivity savings; and leading network-wide programs. In her early career at Keurig, Kara was a Process Engineer who led the optimization of coffee and bulk powder to improve manufacturability and quality.

Kara is a graduate of Cornell University, with a BS in Biological Engineering and a concentration in Biomedical Engineering.
Outside of work, she loves to ski and canoe in the Green Mountains of Vermont with her husband and two young boys.

Kathryn’s dedication to pulling together data in the most concise and efficient manner, explaining the reasons why and presenting it in an easily understood format has been delighting clients her entire career. Her experience includes financial forecasting and consolidations, executive compensation plans, and financial dashboard design.

As Assistant Controller for Millward Brown, Kathryn was responsible for consolidation and analysis of the financial results of 60 global companies totaling over $1B in revenue. She created and maintained dashboards to report product details and financials for Global Brand Directors, performed ad hoc analyses on clients, products, and sectors, and was the financial liaison for executive compensation programs. Her resourcefulness in utilizing multiple complex data sets and leverage Excel functionality allowed her to build concise analyses that helped drive commercial success.

Prior to joining Millward Brown, Kathryn was Senior Accounting Analyst for AmeriKing. She was responsible for compiling financial statements for 60 fast-food restaurants in the Chicago and Denver markets, while identifying profit opportunities through P&L analysis and in store reviews.

Kathryn has her BBA in Accounting from The University of Toledo.

Tony has been an Analyst in the Spend Management Consultancy Field since 2002. He has provided analytical support for numerous strategic sourcing efforts for major consumer package goods companies by providing insights and fact-based research leading to actionable recommendations and significant results.  Areas of Procurement include Packaging (Corrugate, Flexible Packaging, etc.), Raw Materials (Ingredients, Commodities, etc.) and Indirect Categories (Field Tech Support, MRO, etc.).

Tony’s analytical efforts include both qualitative & quantitative supplier proposal analysis, scenario analysis, market research, etc.  He is also responsible for tracking actual results upon the conclusion of projects and the development & management of The Seismic Group’s online sourcing tool.

Prior to joining The Seismic Group, he was in Human Resources & Employee Training/Development with CITGO Petroleum Corporation.  Here he was responsible for Contractor Management which included onboarding, payroll and ongoing training and certifications.

Tony was also the Warehouse Manager at Kayhan International while he was a college student.

Tony has his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Northern Illinois University.