The story behind TRU North Partners.
Experience across aerospace, heavy equipment, and manufacturing.
Leadership and project experience spans manufacturers including:
Rolls-Royce
Komatsu
Club Car
FN America
Not a consultant who studied procurement.
25 years on the plant floor, at the negotiating table, and inside the data — across every size of manufacturer supply chain.
I've built two procurement teams from scratch. Here's what forced me to get it right both times.
25+
Years
$500M+
Spend Managed
Teams Led
Up to 22 People
Global
Sourcing
The Director's Challenge
“Chris, you talk a lot in concepts — but a great leader can convert them to coaching, action, and high performance.”
That challenge sent me to Chapter 2 of Good to Great and launched a three-year transformation. It became the foundation of how I build teams — and how I teach procurement professionals to convert ideas into results. I stopped talking about what good looked like and started building the systems that made it measurable. That discipline followed me across every company after.
The Partner's Challenge
“Chris — I don't want you to come back in 5 years and say What if.”
In 2013, my wife said something I have never forgotten. I heard it as the clearest possible instruction: stop planning and start. That conversation is framed and hanging in my home office. It is the reason TRU North exists. Paula did not let me wait until conditions were perfect. She held me to the standard I had always held my teams to — and I have never been more grateful for it.
The Launch
On April 1, 2026 I stepped away from what I officially counted as TRU North Partners LLC — a consulting firm built on the idea that manufacturers deserve senior-level procurement expertise without the Big 4 price tag or the software dependency. Everything I have built in the last 25 years was preparation for this. TRU North is where it becomes yours.
The Question Behind TRU North
What if manufacturers could gain senior procurement leadership without hiring a large firm, replacing their systems, or becoming permanently dependent on outside support? What if buyers and managers were given the expectations, tools, and development required to become stronger business partners? TRU North Partners was created to answer those questions.
The Career Arc & Credentials
The $2.5M reduction and $250K recovery happened in the last 12 months — evidence I'm still doing the work, not just describing it.
Career Arc
Operations Foundation
LTL logistics pricing, early exposure to cost structures and carrier accountability.
Executive Quality
Supplier quality leadership across automotive and defense — the origin of the accountability framework.
Global Sourcing & Leadership
Rolls-Royce, Komatsu, Club Car, FN America. $500M+ in managed spend. Teams of 2 to 22.
Credentials
MBA, Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina — Business Analytics concentration
Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving & Decision Making
SCOTWORKS Negotiation
Karrass Negotiation
Lean Manufacturing — Rolls-Royce certification
A3 Problem Solving
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