Baan, Bensman, Happel and Wylie Form Rootstock ERP Executive Council

Industry Heavyweights to Provide Advice and Counsel to Rootstock Leadership Team

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – March 24, 2014 – Rootstock Software®, the leader in cloud manufacturing and supply chain applications, today announced the formation of the Rootstock ERP Executive Council. Its founding members are Jan Baan, former chairman and CEO of Baan Software, Jim Bensman, former president of SAP North America, Bill Happel, former vice president of General Motors and Lee Wylie, former CIO of Gartner and creator of the ERP concept. This high-powered group collectively brings many decades of both top IT as well as manufacturing executive experience, and will provide immediate value to Rootstock’s product and business development activities.

“We are honored to have earned the respect of this collection of industry giants who will help us shape our products to meet the demanding requirements for manufacturers today and in the future,” emphasizes Pat Garrehy, founder and CEO of Rootstock Software. “2013 was an outstanding year for Rootstock. Our cloud-based manufacturing ERP software has been recognized as having the ability to tackle the requirements of complex manufacturing operations. Rootstock customers run the gamut of manufacturing companies representing industries from furniture, steel, beverages, fashion, chip fabrication, wire and cable, power converters, automated distribution, solar energy, promotional products, aerospace, and custom lighting. Our customers include the 2012 Inc. magazine’s second fastest growing company.”

“The Cloud will continue to provide opportunities for Rootstock to constantly innovate the ERP solution,” adds Wylie. “The ERP Executive Council will assist Rootstock in identifying those opportunities and provide their customers with unparalleled tools to effectively manage their manufacturing enterprise.”

ERP Industry Executive Council Members:

Jan Baan is the former chairman and CEO of Baan Software. Jan’s vision led Baan to an industry leadership position in the ERP market and, ultimately, a Fortune 500 company. Baan was co-founder of Cordys which focused on solving IT implementation and change issues challenging today’s extended enterprises. Baan currently directs the Vanenburg Group whose focus is on high tech innovative companies. He was an early investor in WebEx, acquired by Cisco Systems, and Top Tier, acquired by SAP.

Jim Bensman is the former president of SAP America responsible for creating SAP’s American operations. He was the founder of Western Data Systems, an enterprise software company that was acquired by Manugistics. Bensman’s other leadership positions include CEO of Geotrain Corporation and CEO of Eventra Corporation. In addition, Bensman served on the boards of Spectra Securities Software, Changepoint Corporation, Probaris Technology and Longview Solutions. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Bill Happel is the former vice president of General Motors and general manager of the GM Locomotive Group. Bill worked in various disciplines at General Motors Corporation including manufacturing, engineering, information technology, sales, college relations and general management. He worked in several divisions of GM including automotive components, power train, sheet metal fabrication, railroad locomotives and defense products. He earned a BS Industrial Engineering from Penn State, an MS Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan and the Senior Executive program at the Sloan Business School of MIT.

Lee Wylie is the former CIO of Gartner and the creator of the ERP concept. He held manufacturing and engineering leadership roles in General Motors and IBM. Wylie led the team that designed and developed the plant floor systems for GM’s Saturn startup. He currently is the Executive in Residence for Maker Capital and is a member of Rootstock’s product advisor board. Mr. Wylie will be the chairman of the ERP Executive Vision Council for Rootstock. He holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Penn State and an MBA from the University of Detroit.