Supply chain operations
10 direct materials sourcing experts
These ten professionals have led sourcing of direct materials such as raw materials, resins, chemicals, metals and castings in director and manager roles. A reader can learn how sourcing teams set category strategy, choose and develop suppliers and keep the materials that production depends on flowing.
Professionals to explore
01—10Christopher Engel
LinkedInExperience: Global Director Direct Materials · Quaker Houghton
Global Director Direct Materials at Quaker Houghton since 2024; his profile describes him as Quaker Houghton's Global Director of Direct Material Procurement. At The Lubrizol Corporation he was Director Lubrizol Advanced Materials Strategic Procurement (2022–2024), Director- Global Category (2022) and Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager (2018–2022).
Layne Pitzer
LinkedInExperience: Director, Global Production Materials, Strategic Sourcing · 3M
Director, Global Production Materials, Strategic Sourcing at 3M (2021–2022) and Director, Global Papers & Liners, Cloth & Fibers, Packaging & Packaging Engineering at 3M (2022–2023), with an earlier 3M role as Senior Manager, Global Sourcing Team (2016–2021). Layne Pitzer was Head of Procurement - Americas at Nilfisk (2023–2025) and has been Sr Sourcing Manager - Metals at nVent since December 2025.
Luis Velez
LinkedInExperience: Strategic Sourcing Director - Welding Group · ITW
Strategic Sourcing Director - Welding Group at ITW since 2013 and Strategic Sourcing & Supply Chain Director at ITW since 2017. He was Director, Global Strategic Sourcing at Whirlpool Corporation (2010–2013), and Director, Global Lighting Purchasing (2007–2009) and Director, Purchasing Electronics (2006–2007) at Visteon Corporation. His profile describes purchasing across engineering raw materials, plastics, metals and electronics components and systems.
Matthew Miles
LinkedInExperience: Director of Sourcing - Nylons · Celanese
Director of Sourcing - Nylons at Celanese since January 2026; his profile says he led a global team of category managers for key raw materials for the Zytel brand of nylons. He was also Director of Alternative Sourcing at Celanese (2024–2026), responsible for buy, sell or trade deals, and Site Sourcing Manager at Celanese (2016–2018).
Petri Riihinen
LinkedInExperience: Sourcing Director, Paper Chemicals and Minerals · UPM
Sourcing Director, Paper Chemicals and Packaging at UPM since 2024, after serving as Sourcing Director, Paper Chemicals and Minerals (2022–2024) and Category Director, Chemicals Sourcing (2016–2022) at UPM. His profile describes experience across operations and sourcing roles including supply chain management, quality, logistics and operations planning.
Raquel Rio Branco
LinkedInExperience: Global Director Supply Chain Raw Materials · Ford Motor Company
Global Director Supply Chain Raw Materials at Ford Motor Company (2024–2026) and Global Director - Supply Chain Operations at Ford (2021–2023); since May 2026 she has been Global Director - Strategy & Cost Excellence at Bose Corporation. Her profile cites expertise in raw materials, global sourcing, risk mitigation and supplier strategy, overseeing a US$6.1B global spend and leading teams of up to 47 professionals.
Roberto Rico
LinkedInExperience: Director of Strategic Sourcing Electronic Materials & Chemicals · Honeywell Technologies
Director of Strategic Sourcing Electronic Materials & Chemicals at Honeywell Technologies, a role listed as current since 2022, alongside Procurement Director Advanced Industrial Solutions (AIS) at Honeywell since 2024 and Procurement Manager Metals Electronic Chemicals at Honeywell since 2020. Since October 2025 he has also been Director Strategic Sourcing at Solstice Advanced Materials, which his profile describes as a specialty materials company.
Rohit Singh
LinkedInExperience: Global sourcing Director · Cummins Inc.
Global sourcing Director at Cummins Inc. since August 2025; his profile says that as Global Sourcing Director for the Castings category he leads a USD 1 billion global portfolio, driving strategic sourcing and supplier development across multiple regions. His other Cummins roles include Sourcing Director (2021–2024) and Procurement Leader-Power Systems I Engine Business-Exports I India Region (2024–2025).
Steven van den Biggelaar
LinkedInExperience: Global Sourcing Director Resins & CCS (all AN's tail spend) & Powder BU Procurement Director · AkzoNobel
Global Sourcing Director Resins & CCS (all AN's tail spend) & Powder BU Procurement Director at AkzoNobel since 2022; his profile says he defines and executes the sourcing strategy for all purchased resins and tail spend at AkzoNobel, with a global team of more than 25 FTE. He was also Global Director Resins (2020–2022) and Director Purchasing Excellence (2019–2020) at AkzoNobel, and CPO, Chief Procurement Officer at allnex (2012–2016).
Travis Nickels
LinkedInExperience: Global Category Sourcing Manager - Raw Materials, Castings & Forgings · SPX FLOW, now ITT Flow Technologies
Global Category Sourcing Manager - Raw Materials, Castings & Forgings at SPX FLOW, now ITT Flow Technologies (2021–2023), and Global Commodity Manager - Steel, Regional Commodity Manager - Chain at Rexnord Corporation (2019–2021). Global Sourcing Director at West Bend Company since 2023, where his profile says he leads a 14-person cross-functional organization spanning sourcing, logistics and quality, responsible for supplier performance and material continuity.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's material categories to yours, since sourcing resins or chemicals raises different questions from sourcing castings, metals or engineered components. Check whether the relevant role is current before asking about today's supplier markets, pricing or tariffs.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How did you segment your direct materials spend into categories, and how did that shape your sourcing strategy for each one?
- 02What steps did you take to reduce single-source exposure on a critical raw material or component without losing cost advantages?
- 03How did you work with engineering, quality and planning teams when qualifying a new supplier for a production material?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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