Chris Penny
A graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management, Chris Penny has been in the group purchasing industry for 18 years, working primarily in the U.S. with an organization that had 300 suppliers doing 3.5 billion in volume. His success caught the attention of Canadian suppliers, and after conducting due diligence, in 2017, he founded Kinetic GPO in Cambridge, Ontario. Realizing he couldn’t simply mirror how he did business in the States because of different contractual laws, compliance regulations, and trade agreements, Chris started slow and steady, and it paid off. Customer feedback has been positive, and since 2020, the company’s sales volume has more than tripled. Furthermore, the number of members has quadrupled during the same time frame.
Kinetic GPO generates savings and efficiencies for clients by locking the power of nationally aggregated strategic purchasing and managing contracts on behalf of municipalities, schools, universities, and hospitals. As CEO, Chris works alongside his team, is involved in every aspect of the business, from finances to recruiting, and places a big emphasis on compliance. He also executes strategies with external stakeholders, ensures the public sector is aware of compliance, and helps position their business accordingly. Additionally, he works with third-party organizations and industry thought leaders, leads trainings and certifications, and helps develop new initiatives.
Staying connected in the industry has enabled Chris to compile a team of well-respected professionals who have helped him take Kinetic GPO to a highly valued national organization that has grown exponentially. They are the only Canadian-based group purchasing company that covers the entire nation and the broader public sector spectrum. “I truly feel we have made a difference,” he said. “It’s neat when a public entity saves money through the contracts that we’ve helped them attain and can then spend their resources on more critical needs, whether it’s a new building, helping a first responder, or hiring a new teacher. It is a trickle-down effect, and I love the impact it makes.”
Chris is also the founder of Broker Crayons, a nonprofit in Africa that has helped 39 impoverished women start businesses, obtain health insurance, and more. In addition, he and his daughters have won a Guinness World Record for a community project they undertook during the pandemic.
Chris Penny
CEO — Kinetic GPO
Website: www.kineticgpo.ca
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-penny-464775a/?originalSubdomain=ca