Jeff Gragg

Established Executive Level Retail System Professional

Jeff is a Managing Partner at Columbus Consulting. He has fulfilled roles as a senior CIO, CTO & COO. He also has served as an executive who has also managed E-Commerce businesses and Inventory Planning & Fulfillment organizations. He maintains a significant record of achievement delivering large business process change and systems initiatives across organizations. Jeff has many years of experience in the Retail, Wholesale, Manufacturing and Consumer Products industries. He is a change agent and decisive leader who has implemented a long list of new approaches & systems in the following areas: Merchandise Planning, Assortment planning, Forecasting, Replenishment, Distribution, Manufacturing, Logistics, Marketing, Finance & Accounting & Transportation. In addition, Jeff is well versed as a leader of E-Commerce and has experience with the latest internet concepts and tools (Cloud Computing, SaaS, Mobile apps & devices, etc).

Experience

• Columbus Consulting – Interim CIO, CTO, COO
  • Served as Interim CIO, CTO, COO in the creation of strategic plans and roadmaps which increase the probability of success and correlation with business strategies. Implemented many ERP Projects; Participated in several M&A initiatives; Served as CTO of technology companies and Created/enhanced many IT Organizations. Hostess Brands
• Hostess Brands – CIO & SVP 
  • CIO & SVP In what Forbes Magazine called the Sweetest Business Comeback. Member of the team that took the company from bankruptcy to high profitability in under 2 years. Also assisted Hostess Brands with M&A projects.   
• Carhartt – CIO & SVP of Ecommerce & Inventory Planning
  • Developed strategies for supporting the evolution of the organization. Implemented new E-Commerce & Planning capabilities, processes & systems.  
• Hallmark Cards – IT Lead
  • Lead IT Development for a 4800 retail store company with wholesale partners such as Walmart and, Walgreens. Managed a staff of 400+ people and the Delivery of all North America projects & technologies. He implemented 160+ projects a year at 90%+ on time & on budget. Jeff also participated as a leader of several internet startup businesses including B2B, B2C, Photo and Flowers businesses.