Elliott Rodgers is named Chief People Officer, Jennifer Coyne is appointed General Counsel, and Andy Grygiel returns as Chief Brand Officer
CHICAGO, Dec. 2, 2021 — project44, the leading supply chain visibility platform, today announced three key hires. Elliott Rodgers, a project44 Executive Advisory Board Member, has been named Chief People Officer, tasked with advancing the company’s high-performance culture in support of the mission and vision. Jennifer Coyne joins project44 as General Counsel, responsible for building a world-class legal team that can support rapid growth. Andy Grygiel returns to project44 as Chief Brand Officer and will lead the development of project44’s global, strategic brand narrative. Rodgers, Coyne and Grygiel will enable project44 to achieve strategic objectives in talent acquisition and international expansion.
“We are thrilled to welcome Elliott, Jennifer and Andy aboard during this momentous year,” said Jett McCandless, CEO of project44. “We look to their leadership in growing a diverse, talented team and truly multinational business. They bring experience we need to achieve our most ambitious goals.”
Rodgers joins project44 with multifaceted experience as a senior executive. Most recently, he served as Chief Information Officer at Ulta Beauty after having held the role of Chief Supply Chain Officer. Previously, Rodgers held operational leadership roles at Target, Citibank, and the United States Army.
Currently, Rodgers serves on the Board of Directors at Levi Strauss & Co. and After School Matters, a nonprofit that provides after-school and summer programming for Chicago teens. Rodgers earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
“I’m passionate about developing people and leading teams to achieve their full potential,” said Rodgers. “As an advisor to project44 for three years, I have been inspired by their outstanding team and ambitious vision. I look forward to building upon a culture that has enabled phenomenal growth.”
An experienced General Counsel, Coyne joins project44 with a track record of enhancing decision-making, strategy, and risk mitigation in the transportation industry. She most recently served as General Counsel at Transdev, a France-based transportation provider with over 15,000 employees in the US and Canada. Earlier in her career, Coyne held a senior role at United Airlines.
Outside of work, Jennifer gives back to her community as the co-chair of The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, the umbrella domestic violence organization in Chicago. She earned her JD at the University of Chicago and her BS from the University of Iowa.
“After years working for global companies in the transportation space, I recognized the extraordinary potential at project44,” said Coyne. “My goal as General Counsel is to build a legal team that can support project44’s international growth strategy. I’m excited to join this dynamic, hard-charging team.”
Andy Grygiel returns to project44 as Chief Brand Officer. As project44’s Chief Marketing Officer from July 2018 to March 2021, he was instrumental in building project44’s brand, go-to-market strategies and leadership position in the supply chain visibility category. Over his decades of experience designing, developing and marketing enterprise SaaS software, Grygiel has completed ten successful exits, including two IPOs, as an executive and operator.
Earlier in his career, Grygiel held senior marketing and product strategy roles at Uptake, Informatica, Oracle, EMC, Documentum and Hewlett Packard. He is currently an advisor at Koko.ai, a tech-based nonprofit bringing mental health and well-being to young adults through social media platforms.
“I am thrilled for this opportunity to be back at project44,” said Grygiel. “For me, it was a no-brainer. We have a huge market opportunity in front of us, amazing team and great company that is a leader in the category it helped to create. I am so excited to work with the team and build upon their tremendous success.”