CWT has appointed Andrew Gunnels as the company’s first chief procurement officer.

In his newly-created position, Gunnels will have responsibility over CWT’s global strategic sourcing and procurement operations and will also lead the company’s global real estate and facilities management.

Gunnels reports to Michelle Frymire, chief financial officer for CWT.

“Andrew’s extensive experience in global procurement and strategic sourcing - having come up from a core finance function before moving to strategic sourcing - have given him a holistic view and understanding of how negotiated outcomes impact performance of the company,” Frymire said.

“His new role as chief procurement officer very much aligns with CWT’s 3.0 strategy, including the transformation of the procurement function into a world-class business partner to improve competitiveness by driving efficiencies across the indirect supply base.”

Prior to joining CWT, Gunnels served as senior vice president at First Data, where he helped lead the full transformation of its global strategic sourcing function that delivered meaningful financial improvements for the firm.

Gunnels first worked in the travel industry a decade ago via Delta Air Lines where he started in the corporate finance function before heading over to the airline’s supply chain management organisation, which worked to maximise quality, delivery and cost competitiveness across its supply chain.