William (Bill) Forster, Executive Vice President and one of the founding executives of Maine Pointe, has been appointed Chief Consulting Officer effective January 17.
In his new role, Forster will be responsible for the firm’s three practice areas – Operations Excellence, Strategic Procurement and Logistics – developing, promoting, and executing a differentiated client services delivery strategy that continues to successfully evolve Maine Pointe as a leader in sustainable global supply chain transformation. Forster will also oversee innovation initiatives around client tools, the data acquisition function, knowledge management in the field, and consulting team recruiting. He will report to Maine Pointe’s new President, Anthony (Tony) Prosser, who joined the firm in October.
A highly-seasoned senior executive and entrepreneur, Bill Forster has enjoyed a thirty-year career comprised of successful leadership posts focused on growing revenue, improving profitability, and redesigning operating systems for manufacturing and service-related businesses.
Prior to Maine Pointe, he built and acquired businesses on five continents – including founding and serving as CEO of Entirety Management Services and RSA Wines. Forster’s expertise is characterized by deep exposure to, and knowledge of, the entire value chain in a number of global industries – from food manufacturing and processing, quick service restaurants/casual dining, and hospitality to chemical, pharmaceutical, and oil and gas.
His diverse consulting experience includes a representative list of the top leaders in key industries Maine Pointe operates in: Chemical – Albemarle, Cytec, Flexsys and Solutia; Pharmaceutical – Bioscrip and Novartis; Food and Beverage – McDonald’s, Domino’s, Smithfield, Pizza Hut, Potash, Wendy’s, Lacca, Cadbury Schweppes and Checkers/Rally’s; and Oil and Gas – Suncor, Canadian Natural Resources, and Irving Oil.
"Bill Forster has been intimately involved in the evolution of Maine Pointe from day one, working with me and the original team that established the firm with our first client," notes Maine Pointe Founder and CEO Steven Bowen. "His contribution to our growth over the past decade, and particularly our maturity as a formidable player in the highly-competitive operations management and supply chain consulting field, is invaluable. This new role combines all of his talents into a singular focus on what he has always done exceedingly well – the delivery of exceptional value for our clients."
In addition to the Forster appointment, Steven Bowen has also promoted Maine Pointe veterans Rex Clothier and Les Vandagriff to newly created positions as Senior Team Leader in Procurement and Logistics, respectively. They will join the Practice Leaders and Forster in deepening the leadership capabilities required to drive quality services delivery, renewed engagements, practice innovation and development, and sales support. MP