Tally Thrasher, who currently serves as the executive director of purchasing services at Indiana University, has been selected as the University of Michigan’s new chief procurement officer. Her appointment will be effective March 20.
Procurement Services is part of U-M’s Finance Division, and Thrasher, who has nearly 20 years of procurement experience in higher education, was chosen for the position after an extensive national search.
As chief procurement officer, Thrasher will be responsible for all procurement operations, including strategic sourcing, the procure-to-pay platform, contract administration, procurement systems and software modules, the travel and expense program, the PCard program and several auxiliary operational services.
These auxiliary services include print/copy/mail, space analysis, property control and property disposition. In addition, Thrasher will lead an effort to develop and implement a strategic roadmap with a customer-centric approach across the university. The goals of the roadmap include increased customer satisfaction and a focus on strategic cost savings.
“While Tally has considerable experience in the procurement space, she also brings a strong commitment to building, supporting and mentoring internal teams,” said Brian Smith, associate vice president for finance.
“That commitment, along with her extensive experience in working collaboratively with customers, focus on DEI and use of enabling technology to streamline and enhance procurement processes, makes her an outstanding fit for this position and for the larger Finance and U-M communities.”
Since 2003, Thrasher has held a number of leadership positions in purchasing at Indiana University. As executive director of purchasing services, she oversees annual spending of $700 million. In that role, Thrasher led the implementation of a procure-to-pay system, worked to create opportunities for disadvantaged businesses, developed strategic sourcing teams, and created a customer-centric culture to support IU’s 20,000 employees and 91,000 students.
Previously, Thrasher was IU’s director of purchasing administration, where she developed policies, established standards for contract negotiations, management and evaluation, and served as the primary compliance officer between the Purchasing Department and various IU regulatory departments.
Thrasher also had been IU’s purchasing contract manager, where she managed and procured enterprisewide and departmental-focused software contracts, negotiated contract terms and pricing, and managed supplier relationships.
She has a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and a Master of Science degree in strategic management, both from the Kelley School of Business at IU.
“I’m looking forward to joining the Procurement Services team and helping the department continue its focus on collaborating with our diverse base of customers across the university to understand their purchasing needs and provide outstanding service,” Thrasher said.
“Our primary objective in Procurement Services is to support our customers so they can concentrate on U-M’s missions of education, research and patient care.”
