Lou Arace
Chief Operating Officer
484.383.0606

A longtime leader, adviser and coach to colleagues and clients alike, Lou brings practical expertise to his work as the firm’s chief operating officer. Lou leverages his years of operational and executive experience to prepare and guide Navigate through its next phase of growth. He also leads teams on a variety of client engagements and is responsible for overseeing the success and delivery of all supply chain-related work for the firm’s largest clients.

Before joining Navigate, Lou served as chief operating officer of SmileDirectClub, the first digital, direct-to-consumer brand for straightening teeth. His work there centered on implementing changes to improve customer experience and meet growing demand, including enhanced supply chain capabilities and call center alignment. Prior to that, Lou was president and chief operating officer of Systech International, which provides product serialization and anti-counterfeiting technology for brands in a variety of industries. He led the company’s development and growth into the anti-counterfeiting space, including transformation of the company’s consulting organization, and use of Agile product development and software engineering to create two new growth-driving SaaS products.

Earlier in his career, Lou amassed deep transformation experience in business operations and held several senior executive positions at companies including Dorman Products, NutriSystem and Cardone Industries. He was also a partner at Logistics Resources International and a frequent lecturer at the Supply Chain Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech University.

Lou earned his MBA from Pennsylvania State University and his B.S. from Messiah College.

Get to Know Lou
My rules to live by
Help the next person in line; every day ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things
My favorite book
The 80/20 Principle – “80% of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20% of our efforts.”
May last meal would be
My mother-in-law’s homemade lasagna and cheesecake
When I'm not working
I'm spending time with my family
My favorite pizza
DeLorenzo's
My favorite place to visit
Italy
Where I grew up
Syracuse, NY. Go Orange!

Rob Kathol

Founder & Managing Partner

Lou Arace

Chief Operating Officer

Eileen Bartholomew

Partner

Lauren Black

Director of Talent

Amber Chubb

Principal Consultant

Melissa Dimitri

Partner

Rebecca Feinberg

Chief People Officer

Brady Halligan

Principal Consultant

Jill Heist

Principal Consultant

Gabriela Hess

Principal Consultant

Patrick Hoban

Principal Consultant

Brian Lee

Partner

Tatsiana Martynava

Controller

Margie Otto

Principal Consultant

Jeff Summer

Partner

Adam Taicher

Partner

Erin Thibault

Principal Consultant

Marc Watrous, PhD

Strategic Advisor

Heidi White

Chief Marketing Officer