JDA Picks Up Midrange Veteran Ferrere

Published: July 23, 2007

by Alex Woodie

JDA Software, a developer of i5/OS- and Windows-based enterprise software for retailers, has hired midrange veteran Larry Ferrere to be its new senior vice president of product management and chief marketing officer, the company announced recently.

Ferrere's resume includes stints at two well-respected OS/400 ISVs: J.D. Edwards (now part of Oracle) from 1992 to 1997, and Manhattan Associates, where he was CMO and vice president of sales operations, from 2004 through 2006. Along the way, Ferrere worked at several other tech firms, including Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) from 1981 to 1992; Vastera, an ERP software company, from 1997 to 2001; and InterimOne, an executive management and strategy advisory firm that he founded in 2001 and left for Manhattan Associates in 2004.

Now with JDA, Ferrere will be tasked with growing the company's business in supply chain software, which has been bolstered with the acquisition of Manugistics in 2006 and E3 Software years earlier. "JDA has a rich heritage and over the past year has done an incredible job of transforming itself into the leading enterprise demand and supply chain software company," Ferrere says. "I'm very impressed with the team and the customer base, which is one of the deepest in the industry."

JDA is in a transition of sorts as it seeks to move to the Microsoft development and server platform. Many of its core customers continue to rely on its original i5/OS-based merchandise management software, which the company has committed to supporting through 2016. But the company faces a challenge as it seeks to sell additional software and services, such as supply chain planning, to its core customer base. Ferrere could be instrumental in connecting with these customers.

In other news, JDA will report its quarterly financial results tomorrow.

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