Scott Friend Joins SignalDemand’s Board of Directors
Co-Founder of ProfitLogic to Help Drive Growth and Adoption of SignalDemand’s Pricing and Promotion Optimization solutionsSan Francisco, CA, April 17, 2006 – SignalDemand, a leading provider of pricing and promotion optimization solutions for commodity food processors and branded consumer goods manufacturers, announced today that Scott Friend will join the company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Friend spent the last seven years building ProfitLogic, a retail pricing optimization company, and helped grow the company from a four-person boutique analytical consulting firm to a successful 250 person enterprise software company that was acquired by Oracle in July 2005.
“Scott brings a wealth of experience in applying science and analytics to solve complex business problems, which is the exact nature of our business.” said Michael Neal, President and Chief Executive Officer of SignalDemand. “As we continue to grow SignalDemand, Scott’s help and perspective will be invaluable. We are very excited to have him as a member of our team.”
SignalDemand helps commodity food processors and branded CPG companies improve sales and margins by applying science and analytics to critical pricing and promotion decisions. Small, incremental changes to prices and deal terms can yield dramatic results. A typical $1 billion manufacturer can improve gross margins by as much as $30 million through the creation of a more proactive pricing process.
“When evaluating the potential of a new business, I look for a solution with an industry changing value proposition, a non-intrusive implementation methodology that can ensure quick results, a management team with a proven track record, and a large market without a lot of competition.” said Scott Friend. “SignalDemand has every one of these characteristics and is poised for explosive growth.”
Mr. Friend brings to this role more than 20 years of experience building and delivering analytical solutions. Mr. Friend was the President and co-founder of ProfitLogic, a company focused on helping retailers improve merchandising decision-making by better understanding customer demand. Prior to ProfitLogic, he served as a principal at The Parthenon Group, a strategy consulting and private equity firm, where he focused on helping high tech firms implement successful growth strategies. He began his career in the retail industry unit of IBM, where he leveraged cutting-edge information technology to improve the retail operations of large-scale retail companies.
Mr. Friend received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and economics from Brown University and a master's degree from Harvard Business School. He is also a member of the National Retail Federation's Associate Member Advisory Board. In 2005, Friend was named a winner of the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 Award" and in 2003, he was honored with Chain Store Age's "Top Retail Executives under 40 Award."
Mr. Friend joins existing SignalDemand board members: Douglas Hickey of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners; John Simon of General Catalyst Partners; and Jed Smith of Catamount Ventures.
About SignalDemand
SignalDemand’s solutions helps manufacturers tune demand and supply, leading to dramatic improvement in their financial performance. Commodity food processors and branded consumer goods manufacturers use SignalDemand solutions to optimize a wide range of pricing and promotion decisions while understanding the impact on supply costs and inventory. SignalDemand uses patent pending econometric models, optimization algorithms and activity based costing (ABC) techniques. Customers include Cargill Meat Solutions, National Frozen Foods, and Ventura Foods. To learn more or to request information, visit www.signaldemand.com.
Contact: Bernard Gutierrez
415-356-0800


