Client Services, Industry Vertical and Business Services Leaders
Claude Marais
Partner & Managing Director, Governance Services, TPI
claude.marais@tpi.net
Mr. Marais, Partner and Managing Director, Governance Services, is a seasoned executive with deep expertise in international sourcing management, contract management, strategic relations management and information technology (IT). Drawing on extensive global experience in the manufacturing and consumer products industries, Claude assists clients with large IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) contracts. He has directed projects and initiatives in Africa, Europe, North America, the Pacific Rim and South America.
Prior to joining TPI, Claude was President of The Marais Group, LLC, an outsourcing and contract management consulting company specializing in sourcing and contract management practices. Prior to establishing his own consulting firm, he was head of Strategic Sourcing and Contract Management for the Information Systems and Services organization at General Motors. There, he had global leadership and oversight responsibility for contract management and strategic sourcing in GM's US$3 billion a year fully outsourced IT organization.
Prior to his work for General Motors, Claude was Director, Applications and Relationships, at The Coca-Cola Company. In this role, he created a global IT Sourcing Center of Expertise, aligned global IT sourcing and created a Strategic Supplier Relations practice. While managing the Application Development organization, he was directly responsible for 500 associates and a budget of US$150 million. Earlier in his career, Claude worked at Elf Atochem North America, Inc. as a Director of Processing Services and at Andersen Consulting as a manager of the firm’s manufacturing systems practice.
Claude holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He is a co-founder and past national chairperson of the Society for Information Management IT Procurement Working Groups and was a founding member of the ICEX Outsourcing Forum. He is also a Fellow and Honorary Vice Chairman of the International Association of Contract and Commercial Managers.