Fast 15: Christine Tan

SupplyPike develops a suite of applications that helps consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies manage their supply chain and retail analytics. It was launched in 2017 as a division of CaseStack, a cloud-based supply chain management business based in Fayetteville.

That same year, CaseStack CEO Dan Sanker hired Christine Tan as a SupplyPike project manager. She was the division’s first business-related hire, joining a group of engineers, designers and data scientists who focused on research and development.

SupplyPike spun off as its own company in late 2018, and Tan’s aptitude has been evident. She’s now a member of the company’s leadership team, with wide-ranging responsibilities that include establishing policies and procedures for the startup, which grew revenue 80% in the past year. She has oversight of product development, human resources, marketing and customer development. More recently, the company gave Tan oversight of the company’s finances, responsible for $15 million in budgetary spending.

Tan says she is grateful to play such a critical role in a startup company.

“We’re a young company,” she said. “It’s rare to get this sort of opportunity so early in your career to learn and be involved in so many different things.”

T.J. Sangam, Supply Pike’s president and CTO, said Tan’s strength is being able to switch seamlessly from high-level strategic planning to granular details.

“She was able to plan and corral a team to execute a multi-team, multi-month long initiative, which resulted in sales increasing by 20%,” he said.

Tan earned business degrees in management and supply chain from the University of Arkansas in 2017. Upon graduation, the UA recognized her as one of 71 “Seniors of Significance” based on her academic achievements, leadership skills and extracurricular activities.

Tan’s knack for organization and mobilization extends to her community endeavors. Even at Fayetteville High School, she put together events that helped raise thousands of dollars for area nonprofits like the American Cancer Society and Habit for Humanity.

In 2018, she was the lead organizer of the Nowhere Developers Conference, which attracted 200 software developers from around the country to the region.

Earlier this year, she planned and volunteered for a charity fundraiser that raised $4,000 for Rogers nonprofit Open Avenues.

As a female minority Millennial, Tan says having a culture of inclusion at SupplyPike is a belief she takes to heart.