Press Kit

Joseph Shamir is the CEO of ToolsGroup, which he co-founded with Eugenio Cornacchia in 1993. Joseph (Joe) commercialized SO99+, the industry’s first service-driven supply chain planning software tool based on advanced algorithms and probabilistic forecasting methods. Over the decades, Joe has directed major strategic and logistics projects in countless multinational companies. Before founding ToolsGroup, Joe held various senior management positions with ITP Group’s Automation division, including Director of Sales and COO. It was at this industrial automation and logistics group where Joe met co-founder Eugenio Cornacchia and delivered the first ''factory of the future'' systems for large manufacturers including Olivetti and Electrolux. These systems were to pave the way for today’s global Factory (or Industry) 4.0 movement. Joe’s supply chain career began at his family business in spare parts production and distribution after graduating from Tel Aviv University with a degree in solid-state physics. He later worked as an engineer for Swiss shipping company Norasia (now CSAV Norasia), responsible for optimizing container lines and logistics. Today Joe is one of the foremost industry experts in the area of service-driven supply chain planning and automation, with articles published in Supply Chain Quarterly, Supply Chain Brain and Forbes, among many others.

Eugenio Cornacchia is Chief Scientist and co-founder of ToolsGroup, which he started with Joseph Shamir in 1993. Credited with its original design and development, Eugenio leads all R&D for SO99+, the industry’s first service-driven supply chain planning tool. Prior to ToolsGroup, Eugenio was an early stage executive at ITP, a firm specializing in industrial automation and logistics. At ITP, Eugenio met Joseph Shamir, where the two delivered early ‘factory of the future’ systems that paved the way for modern IoT and Factory (or Industry) 4.0 systems. Before ITP, Eugenio was at Draper Laboratories in Cambridge, MA, where he led a ground-breaking project to redesign Fiat’s global spare parts logistics information system. At its heart was new inventory modeling and optimization technology that overcame the limitations and inaccuracy of current systems by applying probabilistic, or ‘stochastic’ methods. The technology, upon which SO99+ is based, transformed Fiat by raising its service levels roughly 30 percentage points while lowering inventory levels and associated costs. Mr. Cornacchia holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Genoa University in Italy, a post-graduate diploma in Operations Research from E. Mattei School, Milan, Italy, and an MS degree in Operations Management from the Sloan School at MIT, Boston, MA.

Enric Parera is the Strategic Initiatives Officer. In this role, Enric sponsors and leads strategy formulation, communication, implementation and fine tuning, transforming the organization and processes in a rapidly growing environment. Prior to assuming this new role, Enric was the Managing Director of Southern Europe and played key roles in transitioning ToolsGroup to a SaaS business model and developing the company’s business process outsourcing (BPO) practice. He has a degree in industrial engineering from Universitat Politècnica of Catalonia and is a graduate of the IESE Business School.

Mauro Adorno is managing director Europe, based in Munich. He has more than 15 years of experience in consumer-oriented businesses, internet retailing, communication and advertising, automotive manufacturing, telecommunications and finance. Prior to joining ToolsGroup in 2014, Mauro worked for Telecom Italia Group, Fiat Group Automobiles and Seat Pagine Gialle Group in global executive roles across customer operations, sales and marketing, IT and business development. Mauro has published several articles in German on supply chain topics including 3D printing in spare parts planning, digital twin modeling and machine learning. He has a degree in Management Engineering from Politecnico di Torino and a Master in Business Administration from Politecnico di Torino.

David Barton is general manager for North America, based in Boston. David is responsible for all operations, including sales, professional services, customer success and administration. David’s focus on positive outcomes and growth for customers in complex markets is demonstrated in the number of large scale technology solutions he has facilitated at the executive level. He brings over 20 years of executive leadership experience including 10 years leading high-growth SaaS solution teams in the supply chain and procurement industries. Prior to ToolsGroup David was VP of process industry sales at E2open. David also served as chief revenue officer at RapidRatings, where he drove the entire start-up go-to-market plan; and spent six years with Ariba driving North American revenue. David holds a BS degree from Middlebury College in Vermont.

Francesco Stolfo is vice president of business development with the responsibility of managing the global partnership with Microsoft. He is part of the original founding team since its inception in 1993. Francesco has been responsible for leading commercial teams from ToolsGroup’s Milan office in the role of sales director. His role includes defining the global business development strategy, coordinating sales teams and execution, and initiating and managing strategic partnerships, including with Microsoft. Through the latter, Francesco played a key role in the initiative to introduce machine learning in ToolsGroup early in 2011. Before ToolsGroup, he worked for ITP’s Automation group, implementing supply chain systems in steel and chemical industries and developing HVAC systems at Foster Wheeler Italiana. Francesco is the author of several articles focused on supply chain automation, machine learning, and he has given different talks on these topics at international events and numerous press interviews. He has a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Genoa, Italy.

Jennifer is senior director of marketing and communications for ToolsGroup, where she interfaces with industry analysts, media, and customers. With nearly 20 years of supply chain technology marketing experience, Jennifer has a passion for listening and learning from industry influencers and buyers in order to create and share relevant and compelling messaging and content. Prior to ToolsGroup Jennifer held supply chain product marketing leadership positions with LLamasoft and HighJump Software. Jennifer holds a B.A. in Communications and International Business from Concordia College and a Masters in Organizational Communication from The College of St. Scholastica.

Bobby Miller is Sr. Director of Customer Success at ToolsGroup, where he works with customers to maximize their results and progress in their supply chain planning maturity. Prior to his role at ToolsGroup, Bobby held various product management, supply chain, and sales and marketing leadership positions with LLamasoft, ORTEC, Georgia-Pacific, and Kraft. Bobby holds a B.S. in Information Systems from Chicago State University.

Robert Kaufholz is Director of Solution Design at ToolsGroup, where he leads advanced analytics, solution development, and data engineering services for customers. Prior to his role at ToolsGroup, Robert held various analytics, supply chain, and solution development leadership positions with Crocs, Convergys, IBM, PwC Consulting, and ArcelorMittal. Robert holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, and is actively pursuing a M.S. in Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology with a specialization in machine learning.