Executives of Federated and Sainsbury’s join the GlobalNetXchange board

GNX, an Internet-based sourcing and supply chain service for the retail industry, named to its board of directors Federated Department Stores vice chairman Tom Cole and Mike Coupe, director of trading for U.K.-based Sainsbury’s Supermarkets.

“Their experience and knowledge will be extremely valuable as GNX positions itself for significant growth in the retail sourcing and supply chain management markets,” said GNX chairman and CEO Joe Laughlin.

Cole, in addition to his position as corporate vice chairman of Federated, also serves as chairman and CEO of three Federated units: Federated Logistics and Operations, Federated Systems Group, and Financial, Administrative and Credit Services. Cole is also chairman of the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards Association, the group that devised and promotes the collaborative trading partner process known as collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment, or CPFR, and he chairs the policy board of the Center for Technology in Supply Chains and Merchandising at Polytechnic University.

Coupe is responsible for all procurement at Sainsbury Supermarkets and is a member of the retailer’s operating board. He joined Sainsbury’s last September from Big Food Group, where he served as managing director and board member of Iceland Food Stores.