Chris Duchene is Illinois Tool Works’ (ITW) Vice President of Corporate Strategic Sourcing, reporting directly to ITW’s Vice Chairman, SEVP. Chris leads a lean but effective global group of 25 team members. The Group’s areas of responsibility range across multiple commodities such as chemicals, global travel, IT hardware/software, logistics, mro, oem components, office supplies/equipment, packaging, resins/plastics, telecom, utilities, waste & recycling, and more..... These categories represent over $2.0 billion in annual spend (approx. 20% of ITW’s total spend) from across the various ITW Business Units. Throughout Chris’ tenure at ITW, he has gained an understanding of how to navigate and influence change in ITW’s challenging culture and decentralized business model.
Prior to joining ITW in 2001, Chris spent 8 years as a Supply Chain/Sourcing Consultant across numerous companies, driving operational improvements and bottom-line cost reductions. He consulted for various clients supporting their supply chain and procurement initiatives.
Chris holds an MBA Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University and Accounting and Economics Undergraduate Degree from Eastern Illinois University. Chris is a member of the Board of Directors for the British American Business Council (BABC) and an active member of MAPI (Manufacturing Alliance).
About ITW: With $16 billion in revenues and nearly 100 years of history, ITW is a multinational manufacturer of a diversified range of value-adding and short lead-time industrial products and equipment such as highly engineered fasteners and components, equipment and consumable systems, and specialty products and equipment for customers around the world.
The Company consists of 875 decentralized business units, with over 2,300 locations throughout 57 countries, employing nearly 60,000 people. Average of 65 employees per location and $20million in revenue per business unit – there are some $1billion business units.
Diversity in end-markets (7 major end-markets): Industrial Packaging, Power Systems & Electronics, Transportation, Construction Products, Food Equipment, Polymers & Fluids, then All Other.
ITW’s guiding principles are decentralization, 80/20, Innovation (2007, ITW held nearly 20,000 unexpired patents and pending applications worldwide and ranked 79 of top issuers of U.S. patents) and Growth Through Acquisitions