The River Rock Advisors team is dedicated to the success of our clients who entrust the performance of their supply chains and operations to us. As a result of that dedication, we — both our company and the talented individuals in it — have been fortunate to be recognized by a variety of organizations and institutions for our service and results. Learn more about our awards and recognitions here.
SupplyChainBrain Great Supply Chain Partners
As a supply chain management information resource, SupplyChainBrain has for more than two decades been asking organizations around the country to nominate their supply chain partners based on outstanding service and solutions. For multiple years in a row, we have been honored for making a significant impact on our clients’ efficiency, customer service, and overall supply chain performance.
Weatherhead 100 Upstart Award
The Weatherhead 100 Upstart Awards are issued by the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Winners are fast-growing companies with 15 or fewer employees and net sales of less than $5 million in the previous year (determined by the percentage of growth over the past five years).
Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know
Supply & Demand Chain Executive, the only publication covering the entire global supply chain, recognizes outstanding executives whose accomplishments offer a roadmap for other leaders looking to leverage supply chains for competitive advantage.
Reach Out to Get Started with Us
With our 3D-Ops Model℠ framework, River Rock Advisors can assist you in identifying your most pressing operational and supply chain challenges. Contact us today to get started.
Jeff is an affiliate of River Rock Advisors who has been in supply chain consulting for more than 35 years. While he has experience with a broad range of logistics and manufacturing issues, his specialty is quantitative analysis of supply chain networks and manufacturing/distribution planning and scheduling. He is the designer and development manager of multiple software tools for planning and scheduling, both custom and packaged applications. His book Directing the Flow of Product: A Guide to Improving Supply Chain Planning, was well received and led to the formation of his firm Product Flow Planning Associates LLC. Jeff is an alumnus of Cleveland Consulting Associates, Menlo Worldwide’s Professional Services Group, and Computer Science Corporation’s Supply Chain practice. Jeff’s PhD is in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.
Tom, a River Rock Advisors affiliate, has over thirty years of domestic and international officer-level supply chain leadership experience with responsibility for materials budgets over $500 million and logistics budgets over $400 million. His extensive experience in manufacturing, wholesale, and retail environments has led to demonstrated results in improved service levels, working capital, and direct material / logistics cost reductions. Tom has executed over 30 mid-market supply chain consulting engagements including interim leadership roles since 2011. He has leveraged his experience and expertise in: Supply Chain Management – Sales, Inventory, & Operations Planning (SIOP), Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP), Information Technology, Organizational Development / Design, Advanced Planning & Scheduling, Physical Network Designs, 3PL Management, Distribution Resource Planning (DRP), Supply Base Development, and Customer Alignment. Tom holds a BA in Economics and Mathematics from Kalamazoo College and an MBA in Supply Chain from Michigan State University.
Mike, an affiliate of River Rock Advisors, has a consulting career that spans finance, advanced costing, BI, complexity modeling and operational process excellence from the boardroom to the manufacturing floor. His 15-year-old firm, On Target Performance Group, has worked on projects with us covering cost analysis, process improvement, software selection/implementation, and program management, and Mike’s time as an advisory colleague goes back to working with Gary and Steve in the 1990s with Computer Sciences Corporation.
Matt is a River Rock Advisors affiliate with more than 15 years of industry and consulting experience. He leads the data engineering, data warehousing and analytics enablement company, Startup Analytics. He and his company focus on building and scaling data analytics infrastructure and client capability. His approach of “BI (Business Intelligence) before AI (Artificial Intelligence) aligns well with RRA’s “Insights and Analytics for business decisions.” Matt and RRA have teamed to provide rapid set up of external data analysis environments and powering critical data visualizations assisting ongoing executive decision insights and actions at RRA clients.
Chad is a River Rock Advisors affiliate with more than 20 years of industry experience in operations leadership roles in large, multinational chemical manufacturing organizations. He specializes in turnaround strategies to deliver capacity optimization and organizational efficiencies, having done so across diverse manufacturing processes, technologies, and markets (automotive, aerospace, pharma, oil and gas, coatings, building materials, and industrial applications). His methodologies for designing and implementing scalable and sustainable processes to support business growth and productivity have been deployed by teams in over 15 countries. Chad has worked for industry leaders such as Arkema, Eastman Chemical, and ICP. He has a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Georgia and a BS in Chemistry from Clemson University.
Ken is a River Rock Advisors affiliate with more than 30 years of experience both in managing and providing advisory services in product development and supply chain activities. He has senior operating experience in global product development, sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution with publishing companies and has contributed in industries as varied as online retail, chain drug, food service, and telecommunications as a senior advisor. Over the course of his career, Ken has founded digital services companies both in the US and abroad; a public domain publishing imprint; designed and operated SIOP processes, systems, and distribution operations. Prior to his entry into industry, Ken was a senior manager in Andersen Consulting’s logistics strategy practice. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and a master’s degree in Computer Science with a specialty in Machine Learning from Georgia Tech.
Andrea, a River Rock Advisors affiliate, has held a variety of global leadership roles in supply chain functions within both industry and consulting, for over 30 years. His experience covers the breadth of supply chain topics, with a more recent focus on leveraging supply chain management disciplines to help carbon emission reduction and increase transparency and resilience across the value-chain. His consulting experience includes leadership roles at EY, EDS (now DXC) and BDO, and he also held executive management roles at CBRE, Tyco (now Johnson Controls), Unisys, Fila and Partminer/IQXPERT. He is a Fulbright Scholar, with a Masters of Science in Management from Purdue and a BS in Business Administration from Universita’ Bocconi in Milan, Italy. He splits his time between the USA and Italy and provides RRA with North American and European on-the-ground capabilities.
Victor Milligan is the co-Founder and Managing Partner of Cairnbridge Advisors and an Advisor to River Rock Advisors. Cairnbridge Advisors helps companies minimize the risk and capitalize on opportunities presented by sustainability with an emphasis on companies operating in supply chains that are responding to commercial pressure from downstream customers.
Harry Rouse joined River Rock Advisors as an Analyst in September 2024 after completing his
M.A. in mathematics from Bowling Green State University. Before that, he graduated with a B.S.
in mathematics from Baldwin Wallace University, also studying computer science, becoming
familiar with various mathematical modeling methods, as well as Excel, MATLAB, Python, and
Java. With a deep interest in leveraging analytics in support of solving business problems,
Harry brings his “quant” skills to RRA clients.
Garrett Zabinski joined River Rock advisors in September 2024 coming from the industrial manufacturing industry. Garrett, as an Analyst at River Rock Advisors, brings a background in chemical engineering, industrial manufacturing, and entrepreneurial consulting. With his foundation in data analysis and a passion for finding sustainable solutions, Garrett leverages his expertise in MS Excel, DAX, MS Power Query, and other data tools to deliver valuable insights for RRA clients. Garrett graduated from John Carroll University in 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and graduated in 2023 from The University of Notre Dame with a Master’s in Technology Engineering and Entrepreneurship.
Pat McGrath
Pat McGrath joined River Rock Advisors in January 2024 after graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in Logistics, Materials and Supply Chain Management. He is a former RRA intern and also interned at a Sherwin-Williams in supply planning and scheduling support. His strengths in Excel, SQL, and JavaScript combined with his supply chain planning expertise positions him well for RRA’s SIOP and Planning focus.
Since joining the firm in 2018, Brian has experience in supporting clients in the Chemical Manufacturing, Automotive Lubricants, Industrial / Consumer Products, & Construction / Contracting industries as well as the U.S. Government. During his time with the firm, Brian’s support has stemmed from but is not limited to — projects with a focus in inventory target setting, inventory stocking strategies, production planning & allocation, item segmentation, SIOP/S&OP processes, master data cleanup, KPI dashboard development and value stream mapping. Brian earned his B.S. degree in Supply Chain Operations management from Miami University’s Farmer School of Business in 2017.
James joined River Rock Advisors in 2019 and has worked with a variety of clients involved in the wholesale/distribution, vehicle accessories, textile, chemical, and consumer goods industries. He has performed multiple Rapid Inventory Assessments and Distribution Network Analyses. James has also assisted in the implementation of SIOP/S&OP processes at a chemicals manufacturer, including planning for the eCommerce channel which extensively uses Fulfillment-by- Amazon (FBA). James has an MBA from Ohio University and a BS in Industrial Engineering from The Ohio State University (OSU) and worked as a Supply Chain Analyst at a silicone/ceramics manufacturer.
Craig, a River Rock Advisors affiliate, has more than 25 years of experience moving between consulting and industry roles. Craig’s deep interest in leveraging analytics to drive business performance has put him in significant SIOP/S&OP and Planning Leadership roles in industry and for advisory clients, spanning the breadth of value chain issues. Craig’s consulting work has been with CSC and Cleveland Consulting Associates. His industry work has been with companies such as Honeywell, Circuit City, Spectrum Brands and Curtiss-Wright. Beyond advisory roles for River Rock Advisors, Craig has stepped into client interim roles fitting the River Rock Advisors brand of “Insights and Analytics for Business Results.”
Daniela has more than 20 years of Supply Chain experience, including international expertise in Latin American markets. She has deep capability in Inventory Planning & Management and Continuous Improvement, having worked for companies such as Bosch, Moen, and American Eagle Outfitters. She helps companies improve efficiency strategically and reduce operating costs while increasing performance by employing quantitative analyses, leveraging best business practices, and applying strong problem-solving skills and Lean Six Sigma (LSS) techniques.
Daniela holds a bachelor’s degree in business with a master’s degree in strategy, both pursued in Colombia, and another master’s degree in operations and supply Chain from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. She also has a LSS Green Belt and a company-specific LSS Black Belt.
Dave has more than 30 years experience in corporate and consulting leadership roles. Having served in multiple business and IT capacities, Dave’s unique value is in helping clients identify, justify and deploy the right combination of process, organization and technology assets to transform their customer experience, operational performance, and financial results. He is a highly effective executive coach, facilitator, and program leader, with a pragmatic approach to accelerating the delivery of tangible business outcomes. Dave has worked for industry leaders such as Cleveland Consulting, Philips, Kimberly-Clark, DXC, Avanade and TCS. Dave has a BS in Industrial Management and an MBA in Management Information Systems from Indiana University.
Steve is a River Rock Advisors affiliate, working with the firm almost since its inception, has more than 25 years of supply chain consulting experience with a focus on being a client’s most trusted advisor and bringing value by combining functional area knowledge, IT experience and ability to drive change. As a Senior Partner for CSC, Steve led a Supply Chain Operations & Execution practice and a number of significant client accounts. Steve’s experience in global distribution network design, operations and implementation has led him across the globe, and now enables him to bring unique viewpoints to his clients.
Gary has more than 25 years of Value & Supply Chain Advisory experience, and has brought business performance value to a large array of clients. Gary’s large company consulting experience has been in both direct client serving and thought leadership roles in consultancies such as Coopers and Lybrand, Cleveland Consulting Associates and CSC. As a senior executive with those firms, he has been the developer and practitioner of the key solution offerings where River Rock Advisors focuses: Supply Chain Assessment; Value Chain Strategy; Inventory Performance Optimization; Fixed Frequency Scheduling.
Steve has been in the management consulting industry for more than 30 years with a focus on driving value through targeted client business issue resolution and business operations performance improvement. His career started with Cleveland Consulting Associates, which was acquired by CSC, where he was the National Supply Chain practice operating officer before leading the practice. He has led Gartner’s North American Consulting practice, and has held client account roles at Ernst & Young Advisory and the George Group (acquired by Accenture).