Navis hires GT Nexus co-founder

Supply chain technology provider Navis LLC has appointed transportation industry veteran Guy Rey-Herme to lead its XVELA division, which builds cloud-based collaboration platforms for ocean carriers and terminal operators, Navis said Monday.

Rey-Herme had previously served as co-founder and COO of GT Nexus, which also makes cloud-based supply chain software and was acquired in 2015 by the business software giant Infor for $675 million.

Oakland, Calif.-based Navis says XVELA can provide better collaboration for the ocean shipping industry by helping terminals and carriers to see the full stowage picture, realize operational efficiencies, and capture savings across the ocean supply chain.

"Complex challenges and systemic inefficiencies across the ocean supply chain are making it difficult for terminal operators and ocean carriers to operate profitably," Navis President Benoit de la Tour said in a release. One solution is to offer cloud-based platforms using software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology to offer greater access to business analytics software tools, the company says.

"SaaS technologies are recognized for their ability to transform industries into collaborative business networks," Rey-Herme said in the release. "I am convinced that XVELA is uniquely positioned to deliver a transformative SaaS platform enabling unprecedented visibility and many-to-many collaboration across the ocean supply chain. Starting with stowage planning and quickly expanding to shipping execution, XVELA's success will be based on providing value to the industry that no individual stakeholder could achieve alone."

The news of Rey-Herme's departure comes in a busy week for GT Nexus' parent company, Infor, which announced on Feb. 21 that it had landed a $2 billion investment by Koch Equity Development LLC, the investment arm of Wichita, Kan.-based multinational consumer products giant Koch Industries Inc.

Originally announced in November 2016, the deal allows Koch to buy a portion of Infor, joining previous shareholders Golden Gate Capital and Summit Partners. Infor said it plans to use the additional capital to accelerate innovation, expand distribution, and seize a greater share of the enterprise applications industry.