Welcome to Columbia University Purchasing

Purchasing Office Welcomes New Additions

May 15, 2006

Several commodity managers and buyers have joined the Purchasing Office over the past months, providing added support and service to Columbia University and the Medical Center. These recent actions include the following:

• Jennifer Weiner recently joined the Purchasing management team as Director of Business Services, filling the position vacated by Hugh Horowitz on his promotion to Executive Director for Purchasing Operations. Jennifer manages relationships with suppliers from a variety of industries, including hotels, car rentals, and mobile phones.
• John Cueto recently joined the Purchasing Office as a Buyer, responsible for several business services commodities, including appliances, furniture, and office supplies. 212-854-7326, jc2780@columbia.edu.
• Allan Howell, a Sr. Contracts Officer who has been managing leasing awards and assisting with consultant contracts, has recently joined Purchasing's medical and scientific commodity team while continuing to support leasing. In this capacity, he will work closely with Michael Reich on strategic sourcing initiatives in support of the CUMC and other medical and scientific departments. As in the past, Allan can be reached at 212-854-3664, or ash72@columbia.edu.
• Dominique Joseph recently joined the Purchasing Office as P-Card Training Coordinator. Nic can be reached at 212-854-7551, or nj2151@columbia.edu.
• Melody Thelwell, Senior Contracts Officer, recently joined Purchasing to manage consultant agreement review and award. She can be reached at 212-854-2331, or mt2356@columbia.edu.

We are pleased that these new, talented staff members have joined our collective efforts to assist all University departments with their purchasing requirements, helping them save time and money when selecting and negotiating with vendors to supply goods and services.

The Purchasing website provides a number of ways to identify and reach the appropriate staff member for each commodity. See www.columbia.edu/purchasing/about.html for an interactive, commodity based staff directory; a staff listing; and our organization chart. If you aren't sure whom to contact, feel free to email us at purchasing@columbia.edu or call 212-854-4179 for assistance.