Industry Veterans Dan Luttner, Derek Cesarz Tapped for Leadership
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Dec. 3, 2020 – Plantensive, Vaco’s supply chain, retail planning and category management division, has named industry veterans Dan Luttner and Derek Cesarz managing partners to chart the future vision and growth of the company.
Plantensive Founders, Mark Brown and Grant Lock will remain in leadership roles for the company focusing on overall strategy, aligning and growing capabilities and creating growth opportunities through new market channels.
Luttner and Cesarz’s leadership will guide Plantensive’s growing market expansion as a leading-edge software, technology and supply chain innovator. In recent years, Plantensive has bolstered its position in the marketplace through enterprising new services and solutions. Last month, it launched Demand Flex, one of its newest solutions, on Blue Yonder’s partner solutions network. Other technologies include its Planogram Automation & Tactics Hub (PATH), a knowledge transfer application to communicate category tactics and merchandising strategy, and its Forecast Value Add Magnifier, a business forecasting tool that enables executives to maximize future growth plans.
Luttner joined Vaco in 2015 and became partner of Plantensive in 2018. He brings years of experience in supply chain consulting and launching and scaling businesses across multiple industries. Prior to joining Vaco, Luttner served as a business development manager for a supply chain services company. He has also served as a sales executive with AssetNation, an e-commerce supply chain startup owned by Ritchie Bros., a global heavy equipment asset management company; and business development executive with BravuraLeads, a business development, intelligence and data services firm serving the financial services and insurance industries.
“I am humbled to take the reins of a company that’s been established as a market leader for nearly 20 years,” Luttner said. “Derek and I are excited to expand the firm to provide higher value to more clients while inspiring growth opportunities for our team. We are continuing to build a culture where supply chain rock stars are enabled to make a real difference. We ‘welcome outlaws,’ a Vaco core tenet.”
Cesarz joined Plantensive as managing director, where he focused on food, consumer packaged goods and high-tech clients. He brings more than 15 years of supply chain, business development, inventory planning and consulting experience to his new role. He previously served as principal of MEBC, which was acquired by Vaco and rebranded Plantensive last year. Cesarz has also been an inventory planning analyst and supply chain buyer for VF Outlet Inc., a retail clothing chain and division of VF Corporation, a retail outlet pioneer that was founded in 1970.
“Our goal is to foster growth by fueling our team members with an entrepreneurial spirit to leverage our leading class skills and experiences,” Cesarz said. “We will strive to continually drive individual and collective team success while delivering customer value across all aspects and phases of the supply chain maturity continuum.”
Plantensive – part of the Vaco family of companies with $700 million in revenue – is a supply chain and retail planning solutions provider to many of the fortune 500 and mid-market companies across the CPG, distribution, manufacturing, and retail industries. Plantensive provides end to end supply chain solutions and proven tools to accelerate value by building, implementing and optimizing dynamic, reliable supply chain solutions aligned with business strategies. This innovative approach equips companies to efficiently meet demand and build network resiliency to adapt to business challenges, new regulations and potential marketplace disruptions. From building strategy to implementing it, Plantensive has you covered. Its global supply chain services meet you wherever you are in your journey – from your suppliers to your customers. For more information on Plantensive, visit us at www.plantensive.com.
Vaco provides boutique level service with global reach in the areas of consulting, consultative project resources, executive search, permanent placement and strategic staffing. Areas of expertise include c-suite search, accounting, finance, technology, health care IT, operations, administration and international managed services. Since its founding in 2002, Vaco has grown to serve more than 40 markets across the globe, 9,800 employees and $700 million in revenue. Vaco has been named to Inc. magazine’s list of the fastest-growing private companies for the past 14 years and was named to Forbes’ 2018 & 2019 lists of America’s Best Recruiting Firms.
