SignalDemand, an on-demand price and margin optimization software company, appointed Bill Rupp to its board of directors. Rupp brings nearly three decades of manufacturing experience to the board as a former top executive at Cargill, one of the world’s largest providers of food, agricultural and risk management products and services.
“SignalDemand has pushed the boundaries of what is possible in the commodity manufacturing industry,” Rupp says. “Cargill Meat Solutions has taken full advantage of SignalDemand’s optimization technology in the last several years, which has helped strengthen both the company and Cargill’s partnerships with customers. I am eager to bring my experience to bear toward SignalDemand’s continued success, helping industry leaders solve today’s challenges through improved pricing practices and decision-making.”
“Bill Rupp knows the challenges of driving shareholder value through improved pricing for a multi-billion dollar manufacturer,” says Mike Neal, CEO and founder of SignalDemand. “Bill is an innovator, willing to challenge the status quo, and a very compelling change agent. His intimate understanding of large-scale commodity manufacturing organizations will be a great asset to SignalDemand as we expand internationally and launch new optimization software and services.”
Rupp has worked in the manufacturing industry for almost three decades, helping to lead Cargill, one of the world’s largest and most powerful food companies and the largest private company in the United States. During his tenure at Cargill Rupp has opened new meat processing facilities, led plant operations and filled the role of general manager at a meat packing facility. He was vice president of operations for Cargill Beef, which generates approximately $10 billion in annual sales and employs over 15,000 people, before becoming president of Cargill Beef, a role he held for ten years.
Rupp also supervised Cargill’s beef businesses in Argentina and Australia as well as sales offices located in Japan, Taiwan, Shanghai, and Tokyo. For the past two years, in addition to his responsibilities with Cargill Beef, he also served as president of Cargill Meat Solutions, which has annual sales of $21 billion and employs over 35,000 people worldwide.
At Cargill, Rupp helped drive the company’s use of advanced technologies to grow its business, spearheading the implementation of SignalDemand’s price optimization solution. Recently, Cargill announced 25 percent year over year growth in Q4 2008, attributing its success to the company’s strategic use of information to drive intelligent decision-making. Increasingly, access to business intelligence that directly impacts profitability will become the base line price for entry in terms of an organization’s competitive advantage.
