Nichole Smith Email & Phone Number

Evergreen, Co, Us

Longmont, Colorado, Us

Monroe, Louisiana , Us

Lumen (NYSE: LUMN) is a global communications and IT services company focused on connecting its customers to the power of the digital world. Lumen is a $17.6 billion company, #166 on Fortune 500, with approximately 51,000 employees and customers located in more than 60 countries.

Santa Clara, California, Us

Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), helps data-driven leaders find and use the value in their data to innovate intelligently and reach outcomes that matter for business and society. Over 80% of the Fortune 500 trust Hitachi Vantara for their DATA-Driven solutions. We combine technology, intellectual property and industry knowledge to deliver data-managing solutions that help enterprises improve their customers’ experiences, develop new revenue streams, and lower the costs of business. Only Hitachi Vantara elevates your innovation advantage by combining deep information technology (IT), operational technology (OT) and domain expertise. We work with organizations everywhere to drive data to meaningful outcomes.

Denver, Co, Us

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is the world's largest money transfer company. Western Union is a $5.7 billion company, #445 in Fortune 500, with a network of approximately 520,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories.• $1.2 billion spend globally• Successfully developed and executed strategy for contingent labor and consulting category, achieving $10MM savings in Year 1 against $100MM global spend under management (IT and non-IT).• Global Big 4 spend management responsibility (Audit, Advisory, Tax)

Denver, Colorado, Us

The Gates Corporation, a $2.9 billion company, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tomkins plc, owned by Onex and CPPIB. It is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial and automotive products, systems and component with operations in 33 countries. • Overall responsibility for sourcing and category management across $514MM in indirect spend.• Identify Global Opportunities for total cost of ownership (TCO) reductions and efficiencies and manage these opportunities from inception through completion.• Spend analysis, purchasing policy development, bid management.• Development, negotiation and implementation of global supply contract agreements.• Identify new suppliers in order to optimize purchasing agreements and reduce costs.• Make appropriate recommendations to management; develop and deliver effective and persuasive presentations appropriate for project teams and business leaders.

Framingham, Ma, Us

Responsible for Indirect strategic sourcing, negotiation, and administration of contracts and license agreements for the world's largest office products company. Staples is a $24.7 billion company, #122 in Fortune 500, #475 in Global 500, with a workforce of nearly 100,000 employees serving businesses and consumers across 27 countries on five continents. • Provide sourcing capability to support $1.3 billion in indirect procurement and $500MM in freight spend.• Sourcing responsibility for $60MM annual savings goals plus $40MM integration savings.• Analyze internal spend obtained using PeopleSoft Financials (Oracle).• Establish and maintain positive and credible relationships with key stakeholders in Operations, Finance, Marketing, HR, Legal, Logistics, and Facilities to ensure their participation in sourcing and procurement activities.• Employ formal strategic sourcing process theories, processes and practices including Porter’s 5 Forces, SWOT analysis, Kraljic 2X2 Purchasing Matrix, and sourcing Gemstone. • Identify and qualify supply alternatives that provide maximum value.• Lead structured analysis of supplier industry, economics, and market conditions.• Recommend commodity sourcing strategies to drive competitive pricing and terms.• Generate Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) materials and communicate to vendors.• eSourcing and online auction experience using eBreviate and Ariba Professional eProcurement. • Evaluate and score vendor responses and select finalists. • Develop strategic negotiation plans and conduct high level negotiations with potential and chosen vendors. • Lead contract origination/drafting, negotiation, and renewal including interfacing with Legal experts for final contract review and execution.

Mascot, Nsw, Au

Responsible for Indirect strategic sourcing, negotiation, and administration of contracts and license agreements.• Provide sourcing capability to support $1.3 billion in indirect procurement and $500MM in freight spend.• Employ formal strategic sourcing process theories, processes and practices including Porter’s 5 Forces, SWOT analysis, Kraljic 2X2 Purchasing Matrix, and sourcing Gemstone. • Recommend commodity sourcing strategies to drive competitive pricing and terms.• Generate Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) materials and communicate to vendors.• eSourcing and online auction experience using eBreviate and Ariba Professional eProcurement. • Develop strategic negotiation plans and conduct high level negotiations with potential and chosen vendors. • Lead contract origination/drafting, negotiation, and renewal including interfacing with Legal experts for final contract review and execution.

Louisville, Colorado, Us

Pearl Izumi USA, a subsidiary of Shimano, is the leading cycling apparel company in the United States. With 150 employees, 13 retail outlet stores in the United States, and offices in the United States and Europe. • Manage and execute all aspects of the global supply chain including materials planning and forecasting; purchasing fabrics, garments, accessories and footwear; WIP; international logistics; compliance; vendor relations; production tracking; and overall delivery performance.• Develop and negotiate contracts with international and domestic vendors of raw materials, finished goods, and transportation.• Proven experience identifying and negotiating lead time reductions throughout all aspects of the supply chain. • Experienced in detail process mapping and written documentation • Systems experience in master planning (MPS), material requirements planning (MRP), Microsoft Excel and Access, and AS-400 based ODS.• Proven experience and understanding of fabric mill and apparel/footwear factory production techniques, operations, and processes with the ability to coordinate delivery across geographic boundaries.

Profitably directed a $6 million privately-held trading company whose primary business is Global Sourcing and Procurement of metal component parts and industrial castings for domestic distribution to OEM’s. • Specific commodity experience includes metal castings, machined components, stamping, extrusions, heat treatment and finishing; Plastic parts and electronic components, such as electric motors, wire harnesses, and pumps.• Instituted an operating plan generating an annualized growth of 110%.• Reduced operating expenses by 26% by eliminating costly redundancies.• Raised company’s gross margin by 29%.• Located, negotiated with, and developed strategic suppliers globally to ensure continuous improvement in quality, delivery, inventory cost, support, and technological capability.• Actively managed new product development process assuring proper commodity and supplier decisions were made when sourcing new products.• Managed domestic and international transportation.

Established and directed a $2.5 million international textile recycling operation in Charlotte, NC. The company was a subsidiary of Allied Textiles & Refuse Inc. in Montreal, PQ with annual sales of $15 million.• Planned, scheduled, coordinated daily production for maximum effective utilization of employees, equipment, and material.• Developed training and evaluation procedures to include job position recruitment, interviews, New Employee Orientation Program (NEOP), training, progressive discipline, complaint resolution, and employee termination. • Designed and administered corporate safety training program, which reduced on-the-job injuries by 75%.• Implemented and enforced OSHA Regulations, and developed and monitored policies and procedures appropriate to the day-to-day operations of the company.• Coordinated both domestic and international shipping (export): full truckload, less-than truckload, ocean, rail, and air. • European, Asian, and North American relations.

Education record

Juris Doctor, Law