Jason Busch, Contributing Analyst, Procurement Strategies

Jason Busch
One guy who we just have to have working with us is the Prince of Procurement, the Pontiff of Procure-to-pay himself, Chi-town’s own Mr Jason Busch. Jason is working closely with the Horses for Sources research team to develop a comprehensive research program covering the procurement and strategic sourcing BPO space.
Jason is Founder and Managing Director of Azul Partners, a boutique advisory firm, and a partner/affiliate of Horses For Sources. He is also Editor of the highly trafficked sourcing, trade and supply chain blog SpendMatters. He is regarded as one of the leading technology pundits and thought leaders in the trade, procurement and operations worlds, which is we we asked him to be an expert contributor to our research coverage.
His current research and interest areas include the future of global sourcing, purchase-to-pay platforms, risk management, supplier information / performance management, and the growth of communities of interest and online social networking within the procurement, trade and supply chain worlds.
Jason has extensive experience advising leading technology and solution companies on both the strategic and tactical components of marketing. Prior to launching Azul Partners, Jason directed branding and strategic marketing for FreeMarkets, a leading provider of sourcing and supply management technology and services. During his tenure at FreeMarkets, he created and spearheaded a range of marketing functions including competitive intelligence, strategic marketing, and analyst relations, while also leading FreeMarkets’ efforts to become the eminent thought leader in the supply chain arena, overseeing the publication of all marketing content to drive lead generation and sales efforts. Jason also served as Manager, Corporate Development, and was active in numerous acquisition, corporate strategy, partnership, go-to-market strategy and channel efforts, including make/buy and a range of product strategy and product management-related initiatives.
Prior to FreeMarkets, Jason served as consultant and analyst with Northeast Consulting (acquired by Nervewire), a Boston-based management consulting firm focused on the intersection of strategy and technology. At Northeast Consulting, he advised a diverse group of leading technology and services companies on corporate and product strategy. Jason served as a project manager for a range of assignments, working closely with vendors and consultancies ranging from billion-dollar vendors to small, venture-backed start-ups. In addition to working with providers on corporate and product strategies, he helped craft tactical sales tools, including strategic marketing content, ROI analyses, and market-driven launch plans. Prior to entering the technology arena, Jason worked as an analyst for a small merchant bank where he analyzed private placement convertible and fixed-income investments in the US and European markets.
Jason has authored over a thousand columns, whitepapers and op-ed pieces on supply chain, technology and economic issues (many in a private label format for his clients). On supply chain and spend management topics, he has been published in Internet Week, CPO Agenda, Industry Standard, Information Week, Electronic Buyer’s News, Communications Week, and Supply and Demand Chain Executive. Currently, he currently serves as Editor-at-Large of Surplus Record, an industrial publication with over 75,000 subscribers. Jason’s opinions have been quoted in numerous essays, articles, books, and academic papers ranging from The New York Times to the writings of Forrester Research and he has spoken at numerous industry events and conferences.
Jason holds an MA in history from the University of Pennsylvania. He also completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving a BA, cum laude, with departmental honors, in history and English literature. In addition, Jason has completed coursework at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
When not hurling forth on all things procurement, Jason enjoys cooking, running, restoring antiquarian books and spending time with his family. He is also partial to the occasional dram of the Scottish firewater (but he didn’t ask us mention that).
Phil Fersht, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Phil Fersht
Phil Fersht is Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Research Director of HfS Research, the leading global research analyst organization covering global sourcing strategies. He was named “IIAR Analyst of the Year 2010” by the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR). This is the most coveted global award for industry analysts in technology and services. His specialist coverage areas include finance, HR and supply chain BPO, and he also focuses on industry-specific issues and the convergence of BPO, SaaS and Cloud in a business utility context.
He is an acclaimed industry analyst, practitioner, advisor and strategist across Business Process Outsourcing and IT services worldwide, having worked extensively in Europe, North America and Asia. During this time, he has advised on more than 100 major outsourcing and offshoring engagements and consults regularly with senior operations and IT executives on their global sourcing strategies. At HfS Research, Phil directs and contributes to the firm’s research and social media strategy, in addition to administering the global finance operations.
During his career, Phil has worked at AMR Research (Gartner Group), leading the firm’s BPO and ITO practice. Previously, he served as market leader for Deloitte Consulting’s BPO Advisory Services, where he led numerous outsourcing and offshoring advisory engagements with Fortune 500 enterprises. He also worked for outsourcing advisor Everest Group leading the company’s BPO research practice. Phil began his career at IDC across its European and Asia/Pacific operations.
Phil is a frequent author and speaker on IT services, Finance, HR and Procurement Business Process Outsourcing trends and issues. He was named both an “FAO” and “HRO Superstar” by FAOToday and HROToday Magazines for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and was featured as the cover story for the December 2006 issue of FAOToday as one of the outsourcing industry’s most prominent advisors. He was also nominated for “Advisor of the Year” at the FAOSummit 2008. He speaks regularly at industry conferences, which have included The Conference Board, NASSCOM, IDC Directions, the Sourcing Interests Group, the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. He is also a regular columnist for several industry publications, including Global Services Media, SSON, FAOToday and Finance Director Europe.
Phil received a Bachelor of Science, with Honors in European Business & Technology from Coventry University, United Kingdom and a Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie in Business & Technology from the University of Grenoble, France.
When he’s not running this business, Phil spends his time watching Tottenham Hotspur (a mediocre British soccer team), the Boston Red Sox (less mediocre, but not by a lot), reading, running, playing chess and sampling single malt whiskies.
Phil can be reached at phil dot fersht at HfSresearch.com. He can also be found on twitter: @pfersht