Gerd Karnitschnig, Head of Software Solutions International, has for the last 30 years been responsible for IT in Eastern European country organizations for SPAR Group, the leading food retailer in Austria and neighboring countries. His career began at Online Computer/Graz as head of the software department. After that, he was project leader and product manager at Taylorix and Externa (Porsche IT subsidiaries). With the expansion of SPAR Austria into the surrounding countries, he moved to ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) in Widnau/Switzerland.

Mark Holmes brings more than 25 years of experience in consulting, manufacturing operations, and software development from such organizations as Dow Chemical, GS1 (Brussels), Aspen Technology, and CGI.

He specialises in working with manufacturers and retailers/CPG to solve their most difficult supply chain issues through digital transformation with a modern data fabric architecture. Breaking down data silos and leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to drive actionable insights throughout an organization’s global supply chain, Mark has delivered value to companies like Tyson Foods, Ferrero Roche, TJX Companies, Hard Rock Café, and Albertsons. Mark joined InterSystems in 2021 to broaden InterSystems global market in supply chain.

Holmes has been a board member for the Association for Supply Chain Management and is APICS certificated in Transportation, Logistics and Distribution (CTLD) from the same organization. He earned a BS degree in business administration from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and an MBA from Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.