Team

Lisa Reisman is co-founder and executive editor of MetalMiner, the largest metals website by traffic, and CEO of parent company Azul Partners, which owns and operates multiple websites dedicated to the field of procurement. As one of the nation’s foremost metals experts, Lisa and her team have developed innovations in metal price forecasting, pricing and benchmarking. In addition to past roles at Arthur Andersen and Deloitte Consulting, she has also owned and operated her own aluminum trading company. Lisa earned her MPA from New York University along with a BA in political science and journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a Six Sigma Black Belt.

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Pierre has 25 years of experience in the procurement and supply chain industry, and is a recognized procurement expert specializing in supply processes, practices, metrics and enabling tools and services. He is a regular contributor to business publications, a frequent presenter at industry events around the world and counts himself fortunate to have served and interacted with so many CPOs and future CPOs.

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Jason is the founder of Azul Partners, which he started in 2004. He is regarded as one of the top experts in the world of procurement, finance and supply chain technologies. Jason divides his time into two areas. First, he works with sponsors and executives on corporate strategy, M&A and due diligence initiatives; second, he incubates and launches new ventures for Azul Partners. Jason got his on-the-job education in procurement solutions working at FreeMarkets in corporate development and other areas. Before that, he started his career in consulting and merchant banking. Jason holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in English Literature and History.

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Jenny has over 20 years of experience in international procurement. Having started her career as a supply manager with Owens Corning, she went on to work with FreeMarkets (Ariba) managing the sourcing projects of global enterprises. While there, Jenny first encountered colleague Jason Busch, who later co-founded Azul Partners and Spend Matters. After several years at FreeMarkets, working in Europe and Asia, Jenny co-founded e-Three in the UK. It specialized in procurement consultancy facilitated by strategic procurement technology. e-Three became a global partner of Oracle and was one of the first organizations to configure and host Oracle technology in the cloud. e-Three successfully merged and subsequently sold to a global Oracle partner based in North America. Jenny holds an MA (Hons) from St. Andrews University and takes every opportunity to spend time in Scotland. She also speaks fluent French and German. Now part of the Spend Matters team, Jenny brings her knowledge as a practitioner, business owner and source-to-pay technology advocate to the team and wider Spend Matters audience.

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With over 10 years in production, delivery, sales and client management experience, Sheena runs the commercial and client services team with a focus on innovative program design and delivering top quality results. Her client-first mindset leads to collaborative and engaging programming across the spectrum of Azul Partners sites. Sheena holds a BA in english literature and political science from the University of Washington and an MA in english literature from DePaul University.

In addition to his near-decade at Ariba as corporate webmaster and senior manager of online marketing, Scott has worked with web properties at several tech companies including Hyperion Solutions, PGP Corp. and Accept Software. Scott also has been involved with network and systems management organizations, working with the burgeoning internet at Novell in the mid-nineties. Early in his career, Scott worked for the FBI as both an illustrator and exhibits specialist before giving up the East Coast’s drastic winters for the more moderately dense fogs of the West.

Carina has over 12 years of experience in the procurement and supply chain industry. At Azul Partners, she leads marketing across all brands and drives the commercialization and advancement of Spend Matters SolutionMap. Previously, she created the ProcureCon portfolio of events in North America before heading up marketing and operations globally at IACCM (Contract Management Association). Carina is a Dutch native who values a pragmatic, innovative and customer-centric approach to marketing, product development and all things, really.

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Don negotiated over $300m of annual global steel purchases for John Deere Corp. and achieved a $34m cost savings over two years when compared to historical purchasing practices. Don has executed purchasing strategies in Brazil, Mexico, Europe and the US and maintains strong relationships with both steel producers and service centers, and is considered one of the world’s foremost expert steel buyers. Don has both his bachelor’s in manufacturing engineering and MBA from Western Illinois University.

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As Associate Analyst, Nick supports senior analysts in research and project delivery for clients. He also covers emerging and niche vendors within the procurement technology sector. Prior to his role as an analyst, Nick ran production for Spend Matters Brand Studio engagements, as well as served as the site editor for Spend Matters, where he first cut his teeth in procurement writing and editing the latest news, research and thought leadership on the sector. A two-time graduate of Northwestern University, he holds an MSJ from the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

Kevin is new to the procurement space, coming from a background of data analysis and IT support in the non-profit sector. At Azul Partners, he manages and grows clients' accounts, from keeping them involved with their marketing campaigns to scheduling programming that best leverages their contracted services. He has a bachelor's from UIUC in English and Creative Writing, and in his free time writes and designs for an indie video game company.

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Stuart has over 30 years of international metal supply experience, including 20 years running a metals distribution business with offices in Europe and Asia. He is considered an expert in global metals trading and sourcing. After a career as managing director of the international trading arm of a major British distribution and engineering group, Stuart set up and continues to run his own companies trading, stocking and distributing aluminum in Europe and Asia. Stuart holds an Honours degree in Applied Science and is a graduate of Ashridge Management College’s Strategic Business Management Program.

Xavier Olivera is an advisor and consultant with over 20 years of professional experience in companies as Accenture, Bearing Point, SAP, AT&T and Azul Partners. Currently Xavier works as a leading Source-to-Pay analyst and adviser at Azul. In his role as LATAM Executive Director for Spend Matters, he has published over 250 research articles focusing on IT solutions, services, and emerging technologies related to procurement. Xavier's advisory accelerates the learning curve around Source-2-pay processes digitization, helping businesses to achieve their procurement vision and business objectives.

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Andrew has worked, throughout his career, as an analyst, executive, adviser and entrepreneur at the business intersection of technology and services. His first brush with procurement came early in his career when he was a network planner for a Ford Aerospace telecom services subsidiary, responsible for leasing high speed digital bandwidth facilities from emerging fiber optic and wireless network providers. He went on to serve in executive roles (involving software product management/development, marketing, strategy, et al) across several small to large companies (including ADP). In more recent years, beginning as a research analyst at Staffing Industry Analysts, he has become focused as an analyst, writer, and adviser researching the rapidly changing services and labor supply chains (especially the impact of technology). Andrew holds an MS in Policy Analysis from Carnegie Mellon University. He lives and enjoys life with his extended family in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jessica has an extensive background in project management and client support. She was previously at SRS Acquiom Inc., an M&A tech company, and worked with its legal team to represent the selling shareholders of various companies. She attended a six-month coding bootcamp and caught the startup bug, leading her to work for Techstars Accelerator, where she supported 10 unique tech companies in Chicago's fastest growing startup network. Jessica was recruited as the first Customer Success Manager for one of those 10 startups, 2ndKitchen, a food-tech company. Now with Azul Partners, she continues to support accounts, but instead of learning the complexities of “escrows” or “the best pizza in Chicago” (also very complex), she is enjoying learning the unique needs of procurement professionals. In her free time, she performs stand-up comedy and teaches dance.

Michael Lamoureux is Spend Matters Consulting Lead Analyst on Strategic Procurement Technologies and Advanced Technology Applications. As an expert in Algorithms, Analytics, and Optimization, he's primed to evaluate, and advise on, the most advanced and innovative applications on the market today. His PhD in Computer Science combined with his deep industry background and extensive knowledge about Supply Management gives him unique insight into the space.

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Nick comes to us as a graduate of Marquette University, with a bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management and Marketing. As a Client Services Manager for MetalMiner, Nick is excited to combine his marketing skills with knowledge of supply chain in his role. His intellectual curiosity and communications skills make for a great chance to provide real value to clients. In his free time, Nick enjoys being with friends and family, listening to music, playing guitar, watching films, and sharpening his chess game.

Marcos completed his dual master’s degree in industrial engineering and operations from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He now serves as a product development data analyst at MetalMiner and Spend Matters. He holds a BSc and Master in Industrial engineer (concentration in Supply Chain & Management engineer) from the Technical University of Madrid.

Maria Rosa is from Peru, and she has over 8 years of experience in the mining industry. She started her career as a geotechnical engineer at Knight Piesold. She later transitioned into research analysis at Wood Mackenzie as a supply and cost analyst for base and precious metals. Maria Rosa joined the MetalMiner team in 2020 as a senior research analyst. She holds a geological engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines and is working on her graduate degree from Queen's University.

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Rafael is a Data Analyst at Azul Partners. He interned at Azul to complete a dual master’s degree in industrial technology and operations from the Illinois Institute of Technology - and then remained to enhance the development team. Rafael wrangles all SolutionMap benchmark data, develops new applications and manages technology projects. Passionate for outdoor sports, he loves skiing, cycling or playing tennis and many others. Rafael has always been thrilled by Chicago’s atmosphere, diversity and gastronomical opportunities but has returned to living and working in Madrid from where he hails.