Meet the team driving Arkestro’s growth

Alan Turfe’s distinguished career spans multiple industries, including automotive, e-commerce, metals, medical devices, biotechnology, life sciences, and pharmacy. He began as a financial analyst at General Motors and has held leadership roles in finance, operations, procurement, supply chain, and sales. As the former Chairman, President, and CEO of J M Smith Corporation, he led the fourth-largest pharmaceutical distribution and technology company in the U.S., with $3.0 billion in revenue.

Alan also held executive positions with P&L responsibilities at Thermo Fisher Scientific, IDEX Corporation, General Motors Corporation, and Fresenius Medical Care. Currently, he is the Managing Partner and Chief Finance Officer at Zoom Home Lending and serves on various boards, including Perigon Health, Arkestro, Detroit Medical Center Rehabilitation Institute, Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy, and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. Alan Turfe holds a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Rob DeSantis is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Arkestro. As a former co-founder of Ariba running sales, Rob has deep expertise in the procurement space, having helped propel Ariba from zero to $250 million in revenue in four years and IPO of the year in 1999 before its acquisition by SAP a decade later. In addition to co-founding Ariba, Rob was also an early angel investor and board member of LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional online network.

More recently, Rob served as an investor and advisor to a small portfolio of companies, including Bloom Energy, HiQ Labs, Agiloft, USEND and more. He is also a co-founder of TrueParity. Rob started his career as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry and holds a BSME from the University of Rhode Island.

Edmund Zagorin is a proud procurement nerd obsessed with the power of recommendations to fix broken processes and supply chains. Prior to founding Arkestro, Edmund worked as a consultant focused on data-driven supplier negotiations for large healthcare providers, contract manufacturers and multi-campus retail brands. Edmund is widely recognized as a thought leader on the emerging role of machine learning and artificial intelligence in procurement and has presented executive briefings on this topic to leadership teams at 3M, BASF, General Motors, Volkswagen, PwC, Kearney, EY, Accenture, OneValley, Plug & Play Tech Center and has been featured by Forbes, Shared Services and Outsourcing Network and ProcureTech.

Amit Jain is a serial technology entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience founding, scaling, and exiting companies in next generation displays, data-storage, high-end optical telecommunication, low-cost datacom devices, and advanced collaboration software. He founded Prysm Systems, which developed groundbreaking large-format Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) technology and the Prysm Application Suite, a cloud-based visual collaboration platform, which was leveraged by 20% of the Fortune 1000. Under his leadership, Prysm developed over 350 patents and raised over $600 million in equity funding across multiple rounds. Earlier in his career, Amit co-founded Versatile Optical Networks, which was acquired by Vitesse Semiconductor in 2001 for $250 million. He also served as CEO of Big Bear Networks, which was acquired by Finisar.

Over his career, Amit has raised more than $1 billion in debt and equity financing for his companies, spanning funding rounds, partnerships, and acquisition-driven capital events. Amit was also issued over 100 patents to his name, across hardware and software technologies. He brings deep technical expertise paired with business leadership across global operations, manufacturing, supply chain, and go-to-market functions.

Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Amit held technical and management roles at TeraStor, Optex Communications, and Digital Equipment Corporation. He holds a BS in Physics, a BS & MS in Electrical Engineering, and an MBA.

Tom Aitchison is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Arkestro, bringing more than 25 years of executive leadership helping enterprise software companies scale through rapid growth, transformation, and market expansion. He leads Arkestro’s global go-to-market strategy, customer success, operations, strategic partnerships, and execution as the company accelerates adoption of its Predictive Procurement Platform. Before joining Arkestro, Tom served as an Executive Operating Advisor to the company, partnering with the CEO, Board of Directors, and executive leadership team to refine its product strategy, go-to-market execution, and operating model.

Tom previously served as President of Go-to-Market at Introhive, Chief Executive Officer of Swrve, and Executive Vice President of Global Sales at Coupa Software, where he helped scale the company into the market leader in Business Spend Management and played a key role in its successful NASDAQ IPO. He has also held leadership positions at WatchDox, InQuira, Comergent, Sterling Commerce, and webMethods. Throughout his career, Tom has helped build category-leading software companies, complete strategic acquisitions, and take a company public. He is recognized for building high-performing organizations, developing enduring customer relationships, and aligning strategy and operational execution to drive sustainable growth.

Charlotte de Brabandt is a world-renowned Technology and Negotiation Keynote Speaker & Host with ample global industry experience in the field of automotive, timepieces, technology, pharma, consumer goods and medical devices.

She’s a published author, TEDX speaker, ISM 30 under 30 Megawatt Winner and a key member of the (ISM®) Thought Leadership Council. www.charlottedebrabandt.com

Greg brings over three decades of leadership experience in procurement technology, customer engagement, and strategic growth. Since joining Arkestro in 2021, he has worked in expanding the company’s Predictive Procurement capabilities, ensuring seamless implementation and measurable outcomes for Arkestro’s customers. His favorite part of working with customers is learning what they do and why they do it that way. You can often find him beginning a sentence with “I am just curious…”

Prior to Arkestro, Greg held leadership roles at Ariba, where he contributed to the company’s exponential growth from an early-stage startup to a global enterprise. He also led consulting initiatives for early-stage technology startups and served as a behavior health educator, guiding individuals through transformative lifestyle changes. His diverse background in technology, consulting, and behavioral science uniquely positions him to drive innovation and long-term value for Arkestro’s customers. Greg holds a BS in Finance from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Cindy Elkins is a healthcare and technology leader known for transforming patient experiences and building high-performing cultures. She was the EVP of Cell Therapy Patient Experience at Juno Therapeutics (acquired by Celgene, then Bristol Myers Squibb), and previously served as CIO at Juno and VP of Pharma Informatics at Genentech (member of the Roche Group).

Earlier in her career, Cindy was VP and GM of Supplier Solutions at Ariba, where she created the largest transacting eCommerce-enabled supplier community in the industry. She grew the Ariba Supplier Network from zero to over 100,000 suppliers in 18 months, launched annual subscription programs like Ariba Ready™ and Supplier Advantage, and turned the business unit profitable within a year. She also led strategic partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco.

Cindy served on the boards of Weight Watchers from (2014-2019), Chimeric Therapeutics (2021-2023), and currently serves as a Trustee and Chair Finance-Investment Committee of Vitalant, Director and Treasurer of Foundation for the Advancement of Clinical TMS (FACTMS), and is Board Co-Chair of the Foundation for Art and Healing. She holds a BS in Applied Mathematics from UCLA and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Dirk Morbitzer is an international executive and procurement leader with more than 20 years of experience spanning strategic sourcing, supply chain management, operational leadership, and the solar and energy storage industries. He has built and transformed procurement and supply chain organizations, negotiated complex global supplier agreements, developed supplier quality programs, and helped companies navigate rapidly changing markets and supply chains.

Dirk currently serves as CEO of Oakridge Power where he is responsible for establishing this supplier in the US energy market. He also serves as CEO of DIMOCO Inc., advising companies and investors on procurement and supply chain strategy, market development, operational scaling, and investment opportunities. Previously, he served as Group CEO of AEROCOMPACT, where he led the global solar technology company through a period of international growth. He began his career in supply chain consulting with Accenture.

Dirk has worked extensively across North America, Europe, and Asia, bringing a global perspective to procurement and supplier strategy. His experience spans strategic sourcing, negotiations, supplier qualification, quality management, cost optimization, market intelligence, organizational transformation, and supply chain risk management. As an Executive Advisor to Arkestro, he brings the perspective of both a procurement practitioner and a business operator, helping advance the role of predictive procurement as a strategic driver of enterprise performance.

Passionate about solving massively complex problems with cutting edge technology and an obsession with user-centric design, Ben jumped at the chance to climb aboard the Arkestro rocketship. Ben is responsible for the company’s Product strategy. Prior to joining, Ben spent 5 years in Engineering and Product Management roles at SurveyMonkey, focusing on the company’s Mobile and Enterprise product offerings. Ben holds a BS in Computer Science from Tufts University.

Global procurement leader delivering breakthrough supply chain results as Buyer up to Purchasing Director at Ford Motor Company and Global Purchasing Director at TI Fluid Systems and ZF Group. Founded DS Group Advisors (www.dsgroupadvisors.com), consulting with manufacturers for company procurement / part commodity / and sourcing strategies for outstanding SCM performance. Active on Wayne State University’s SCM Advisory Board and Arkestro’s Executive Advisory Council.

Anna brings over 25 years of international experience working across different industry sectors, in both large and small organizations and as part of global People teams. Anna is passionate about building trusting relationships and partnering with senior leaders to spearhead people and talent initiatives. Anna has built high performing teams in both small and large organizations with a track record of successfully implementing cultural and organizational change.

Before joining Arkestro, Anna spent two years as Chief People Officer at GAN Integrity, a SaaS compliance and risk technology company with employees in the UK, Denmark and the US.

Edwin has four decades of experience in governance and operational leadership. He skillfully navigated EY’s $15+ billion Americas business through economic challenges and played pivotal roles on EY’s Boards. Known for transforming EY’s Consulting arm into a global leader and advancing IT Risk and Security Services, Edwin is also a dedicated diversity advocate. Renowned for earning trust through investment in people and processes, he consistently drives outstanding business results.

Ron Rasmussen is the Chief Technology Officer of Arkestro, bringing decades of engineering leadership across SaaS and enterprise software to the company’s Predictive Procurement Platform. Ron is a co-founder and former CTO of Latitude 39, and previously served as CTO of Xactly, a Vista Equity portfolio company and the leading SaaS provider of sales performance management, where he led development, QA, information security, and data center operations. He has also held VP of Engineering and CTO roles at Quova (acquired by Neustar), Lithium Technologies, KnowNow, and Digital Impact, building products spanning geolocation, online communities, Social CRM, and direct marketing.

Ron has been a key member of executive teams that have acquired companies, been acquired, and taken a company public on the NYSE. He is known for building win/win partnerships both internally and externally, and for aligning technology decisions with business objectives across startups and established companies alike. Ron holds a B.A. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Jack Miles is a seasoned business strategy and operations leader with over 30 years of experience in transforming corporate services, administration, and sourcing organizations across top North American firms and government entities. Appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott, Jack served as the Secretary of the Department of Management Services (DMS), managing a large state agency with an annual direct operating budget of $2.5 billion and a functional budget exceeding $9.5 billion, representing approximately 14% of Florida’s $70 billion annual budget.

Before his tenure at DMS, Jack held C-Suite shared services and Chief Procurement Officer roles at renowned firms such as CIGNA, CIBC, AIG, Computer Associates, Travelers, Ames Department Stores, and Prentice-Hall. Known for advocating the adoption of tools and technology, Jack was instrumental in early eProcurement initiatives at CIBC, enhancing spend visibility and the ‘procure to pay’ cycle. His leadership drove significant transformation projects at AIG and CA, and he developed a strategy to modernize Florida’s decade-old eProcurement technology, showcasing his vision and expertise in procurement and technology adoption.

Stuart Gold brings over 30 years of global marketing expertise to the software industry, with a proven track record of driving growth and market expansion. His integrated marketing background enables him to work seamlessly across organizational functions. Before joining Arkestro full-time—after serving as a consultant for four years—Stuart was President of Gold Integrated Marketing, where he helped hyper-growth technology companies, including Arkestro, scale their market presence. Previously, he held senior marketing leadership roles at Ariba, Omniture, Responsys, DocuSign, and Domo, contributing to each company’s journey to IPO.

John Magner is the SVP of Global Sales at Arkestro and a Strategic Commercial Advisor, bringing decades of experience scaling enterprise technology and driving commercial growth. He has held leadership and advisory roles at SenseLabs (Board Member), icix, XOJET, and Ariba, where he helped shape go-to-market strategy and high-performing sales organizations.

John is known for his expertise in leadership, product marketing, solution selling, team building, and e-commerce. He earned his degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and continues to advise companies at the intersection of technology, innovation, and enterprise value creation.

With a career spanning more than two decades that began at ExxonMobil in 2002, Krishnan has worked in Downstream, Upstream, Chemicals and Novel Energy Technologies to become Chief Digital Officer at SABIC.

A recognized and respected leader, Krishnan has shared his expertise at numerous conferences as well as in guest lectures at the UH Business school. He is also an adjunct professor at the school of engineering, at UH. Krishnan holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering from TU Delft, a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from GWU.

William Seagrave is SVP Market & Product Strategy for Arkestro leading executive strategy discussions for AI predictive procurement operations with the world’s most technology innovative companies. Willam’s career spans executive leadership at global transformation companies across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Pacific Rim. His teams have opened new markets launching new products yielding global revenue growth exceeding multiple $100s Billions. He has managed public and private capital offerings, acquisitions, spin outs, and venture placements. He is passionate to enable dramatic evolution in our energy eco-system members and the world.

Leonardo (Len) DeCandia is a globally recognized supply chain and procurement expert with over 40 years of experience, including 25 years in C-suite roles at Fortune 100 companies like Johnson & Johnson, Estée Lauder, AmerisourceBergen, and Roche. Known for driving transformative change and delivering significant P&L impact, Len specializes in digital transformation, sourcing strategy, acquisition integration, inventory optimization, and organizational governance.

As Global Chief Procurement Officer at Johnson & Johnson (2014–2022), Len helped lead a 200% share growth. At Estée Lauder, his leadership contributed to 400% growth. He is also the Founding Chair of the Center for Supply Chain Management at Rutgers University, where he continues to teach and advise.

Len was named Global CPO of the Year in 2021 and received the Global Procurement Leaders Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. He currently serves as an Executive Board Advisor to Arkestro, Strategic Board Member at Transparent Energy, and sits on the Board of Trustees for Saint Peter’s Health System.

Marc Carlson serves on the Board of Directors of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue as well as several corporate and philanthropic boards. As a Senior Advisor with the US State Department, he worked on issues relating to trusted technology and 5G deployment. As a businessperson he spent 35 years helping to build important technology companies focused on Robotics, Mechanical Design, Business Systems Automation, Digital Transformation Management, Multi-Asset Process Automation and Data Flow Automation. Marc holds Mechanical Engineering and Business (BSME and MSM) degrees from Purdue University.

Mark Rose is a global business leader and value chain optimization specialist with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations improve enterprise performance through commercial excellence, advanced analytics, technology, and operating model transformation. As Co-Founder and CEO of Global VCO, he advises executive teams and boards on strategic transformation, value chain optimization, and the practical application of technology to unlock sustainable competitive advantage and improve shareholder returns.

Prior to founding Global VCO, Mark held senior leadership roles at Chevron, Woodside Energy, and BP, spanning strategy, trading, marketing, shipping, and global portfolio optimization. At Chevron, he established and led the company’s first Global LNG and Integrated Gas Value Chain Optimization function. A passionate advocate of the value chain optimization philosophy, Mark has helped organizations design and implement the operating models, governance frameworks, and decision-making capabilities required to create lasting commercial advantage. As an Executive Advisor to Arkestro, he is focused on helping enterprises leverage AI to transform procurement, optimize supply chains, and drive measurable margin improvement.

Meredith Gibbons is a Chief Procurement Officer and has been a Member of Management and Advisory Boards, primarily in the automotive, manufacturing, and green energy spaces. Most recently at PowerCo, she established and led global procurement strategies for one of the world’s most ambitious electric vehicle battery manufacturing initiatives. With close to 15 years of experience across procurement, innovation, strategy, and operations within the Volkswagen Group ecosystem and smaller firms before, Meredith has built a reputation for driving transformation, fostering innovation, and creating high-performing teams. Prior to joining PowerCo, she held several leadership roles at Volkswagen of America, spanning IT, innovation, logistics, marketing procurement, and regional operations. Her expertise includes strategic sourcing, supplier collaboration, digital transformation, and organizational leadership. Meredith is also recognized as a champion for diversity and inclusion in the automotive industry and has been featured by the Women Automotive Network for her leadership and impact on the future of mobility.

Mike Shin serves as the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Trinity Rail Industries, Inc., bringing over 25 years of senior executive experience in global supply chain and procurement leadership across major American corporations including FLIR Systems, GE, Stanley Black & Decker, Remington Arms, and Gibson Guitars. He has international experience living in China, Mexico, France, and South Korea, holds a distinguished degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology, and was inducted into its Academy of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2023.

Paul Wellener is a nationally recognized leader in the global manufacturing industry with over 35 years of experience as an executive, consultant, and board member. At Deloitte, he served as Vice Chair and led the US Industrial practice to nearly double in size, becoming one of the firm’s top growth sectors. He also managed the Northeast Ohio practice, where his collaborative leadership helped nearly quadruple its growth. Paul has worked with a wide range of global manufacturing clients—advising C-suite leaders on large-scale transformations, strategic planning, and talent development. His influence extended beyond consulting, as he played pivotal roles on boards and leadership teams of several Cleveland-area nonprofits undergoing significant change.

Known for his energy, mentorship, and commitment to diversity, Paul co-founded Deloitte’s Board Ready Women program in Cleveland, which has helped nearly 100 women prepare for board service. His board experience spans both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including the Deloitte Foundation, United Way of Greater Cleveland, and the National Association of Manufacturers. Recognized for his service and leadership, Paul received the Norman Cohn Hope Award from the MS Society and the Alumni Service Award from Carnegie Mellon University, his graduate alma mater. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Randy Haines is the former Chief Procurement Officer and Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at Smithfield Foods, where he has led enterprise-wide supply chain transformation since September 2021. With approximately 20 years of experience in procurement and operations leadership, Randy brings deep expertise in digital enablement, strategic sourcing, transportation, warehousing and cost-optimization across complex manufacturing environments.

Earlier in his career, he co-founded and led a consulting firm that delivered procurement savings for Fortune 500 manufacturers through data-driven strategies and supplier collaboration before returning to Smithfield Foods.

Robert B. (Rob) Carter is a technology and business executive who dedicated his 45-year career to advancing business through the use of cutting-edge technology. Carter received his bachelor’s degree in computer and information sciences from the University of Florida in 1981.

He began his technology career in telecommunications and then joined Federal Express in 1993. He recently retired from FedEx after spending more than 25 years as the corporation’s global CTO and CIO. Carter was a member of the 6-person executive committee and served as Co-President & Co-CEO of FedEx Services, the shared service entity responsible for Sales, Marketing, Information Technology and Customer Service.

Carter was honored as a distinguished alumni from the University of Florida as well as from the University of South Florida where he received his MBA in 1990. He has received many industry accolades, including, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Fortune Magazine’s Executive Dream Team, Forbes Magazine CIO Innovation Award, Information Week’s Chief of the Year Award, and is a charter inductee of CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame.

Carter also serves on the boards of New York Life, Quest Diagnostics, and the University of Memphis.

Robert C. Turnham, Jr. was a founding partner, President, and Director of Goodrich Petroleum Corporation, a public E&P company focused on exploration, exploitation and development of unconventional onshore oil and natural gas reserves in Texas and Louisiana. The company was founded in 1995 and traded on the New York Stock Exchange, until it was sold in 2021.

Prior to 1995, Mr. Turnham was President of Liberty Production Company, a privately held oil and gas exploration and production company, and Turnham Interests, Inc., an oil and gas investment company. He started his career with Pennzoil Company in 1981. Mr. Turnham has been a guest commentator on CNBC, Fox Business and Bloomberg, a guest speaker at numerous conferences over the years, and has served on various private company and non-profit boards.

Scott Barghaan is a go-to-market executive, advisor, and educator focused on how modern buyers, sellers, and procurement teams create value together. His work sits at the intersection of revenue leadership, buying group dynamics, operating model design, and applied AI in commercial and sourcing organizations.

With 25+ years of experience, Scott has built and led global revenue organizations at EMC and Salesforce, driving enterprise-scale sales transformations as markets shifted from on-prem to cloud and now AI-driven workflows. Most recently, as SVP of Global Seller Experience at Salesforce, he led a 275+ person organization and sponsored Project Lotus, Salesforce’s multi-year global sales transformation.

Today, Scott advises startups and enterprises on go-to-market strategy, sales transformation, and AI adoption. He is a board advisor to multiple AI companies, a Limited Partner at Stage 2 Capital, and an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, where he teaches modern GTM systems and buyer decision dynamics. He holds a BA in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond.

Tim Scott is an accomplished Chief Operations and Supply Chain Executive with over 30 years of international experience leading large-scale transformations in grocery retail, wholesale, and CPG food manufacturing. A former Royal Canadian Navy officer, Tim’s leadership is grounded in disciplined execution, strategic foresight, and collaborative team-building.

He has successfully scaled organizations ranging from $300 million to $30 billion in revenue, delivering over $100 million in cost savings through supply chain optimization, logistics innovation, customer experience and digital transformation. His career includes executive and senior leadership roles at Grocery Outlet, Sobeys, Metro Inc., Mondelez, Kraft, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Nestlé, where he led complex multi-site, multi-temperature, last mile delivery operations, and nationwide expansions.

As founder of True North Supply Chain Advisory, Tim provides strategic guidance to boards and executive teams across startups, growth-stage firms, and Fortune 500 companies. He advises on operational scalability, technology strategy, sourcing, fulfillment, and last-mile logistics, with a focus on aligning purpose with performance to create sustainable enterprise value. Tim also spends time mentoring supply chain tech innovators and startup incubators tackling real-world industry challenges and building a commercially viable product and/or service.

Tim brings a unique blend of military discipline and accountability, global perspective, operational insights and commercial acumen—helping organizations build resilient, customer-centric operations that drive long-term growth and competitive advantage.