PHILADELPHIA, July 20, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Demonstrating further commitment to providing the next-generation cost savings solution to the consumer products (CP) industry, ICG Commerce announced it is expanding its Consumer Products Executive Advisory Board with the addition of Pat Peters, former senior vice president of Unilever North America. Additionally, ICG Commerce is growing its internal CP team with the hire of industry veteran Thomas Bornemann as consumer products practice leader. ICG Commerce, the procurement outsourcing specialist, focuses exclusively on helping companies optimize their non-core spend by combining deep market intelligence integrated into an operational approach, resulting in significant cost savings that can be reinvested in growth. The Company continues to invest in its consumer products expertise in order to support the industry's increasing need for new ways to fund growth and innovation and rising adoption of Procurement Outsourcing. To date, more than 20% of top-50 U.S. CP companies have embraced Procurement Outsourcing as a key strategy, making it, according to sourcing advisor TPI, the top adopter among 20 industry segments the firm measures.
"ICG Commerce has seen great success in the consumer products sector, helping companies better manage areas of non-core spend like marketing, logistics and IT to drive savings that can be reinvested. We look forward to Pat's insights around the challenges and opportunities in the CP industry to help us drive continued success and growth," said Carl Guarino, CEO of ICG Commerce. "We are also enthusiastic about Thomas taking the helm of our CP practice at a time in which we are seeing consumer products companies increasingly look to procurement outsourcing as a new way to deliver sustainable cost savings."
As the sixth member of the Consumer Products Executive Advisory Board, Mr. Peters joins former executives from ConAgra, Kraft, Bruno's Supermarkets, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute. At Unilever, Mr. Peters was responsible for developing next-generation marketing, sales and distribution strategies for the company's blue-chip brands. A 30-year industry veteran, Mr. Peters is currently managing director with The Clarecastle Group,a New York-based executive consortium specializing in consumer brand and organizational architecture.
"I plan to work closely with ICG Commerce as they continue to support consumer products companies in capturing the millions of dollars of savings hidden in their non-core spend," commented Mr. Peters. "The advisory board was created to offer ICG Commerce a unique, first-hand perspective on the pain points and opportunities in the industry, which is more important than ever as companies position themselves for the economic recovery and adjusting to the new, value-driven consumer."
In a focused effort to expand its presence in CP, ICG Commerce also hired Thomas Bornemann, a 25-year industry veteran, as consumer products practice leader. Previously, Mr. Bornemann was the managing partner of Consumer Products for Clarkston Consulting, where he worked with a variety of leading Fortune 100 CP companies. Mr. Bornemann has recently been appointed to the Pamplin Business School board at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and currently serves on the board of Consumer Goods Technology.
About ICG Commerce, Inc.
http://www.icgcommerce.com/">ICG Commerce, the http://www.icgcommerce.com/corporate/doc/html/solutions/procurement_outsourcing_solutions.htm">procurement outsourcing specialist, is driving a fundamental change in the way today's businesses achieve financial agility and fund growth. ICG Commerce is the only procurement outsourcing specialist with superior market intelligence integrated into an operational approach, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in realized savings. ICG Commerce is a privately held company and member of Internet Capital Group's (Nasdaq:ICGE) network of partner companies.
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