COO Eli Cherkasky is the operational force behind Exiger – a fast-growing category leader that’s revolutionizing supply chain and third party risk management through artificial intelligence. As a leader, his distinctly observant, thoughtful, and measured characteristics make him uniquely good at a job that demands insight, precision, and strategic action. His vantage point, willingness to repeatedly reconsider the status quo, and commitment to results-driven rigor have allowed Cherkasky to successfully execute significant initiatives within Exiger. He brings a deliberate process to every endeavor: Surfacing innovative strategies informed by the underlying numbers, building consensus and buy-in across the organization, and finally executing.
Cherkasky leads through motivation, a shared mission, and a balanced approach to work. Always willing to applaud exceptional work and conduct, he implores his team to focus their time on the initiatives that drive the most significant ROI. He has created alignment across the Global Shared Services team, driving every stakeholder to see their work through the lens of Exiger’s customers and Exiger’s go-to-market teams. He asks his team to always “try to find a way to ‘yes,” and challenges them to consider the why behind their work, but, at the same time, empowers his people not to get bogged down in projects that don’t move the needle.
One particularly illuminating realization that has transformed Cherkasky’s approach to his role is the importance of user experience in the SaaS market. “You can have the most sophisticated software on the market,” says Cherasky, “but if it’s not intuitive and user friendly, if it doesn’t allow for easy adoption, it’s not going to go anywhere.”
Exiger’s mission is to make the world a safe and transparent place to succeed. As COO and head of Exiger’s Global Shared Services, Cherkasky tries to live out this mandate daily, individually and within his team, to serve Exiger’s business and people across IT, talent and culture, training, and even the budget. “The way I see it,” adds Cherkasky, “we all have a part to play if we want to deliver on the Exiger mission.”
Cherkasky oversees the IT team, which, for example, ensures that Exiger’s network is secure. The talent and culture team supports and fully resources Exiger’s people. The training team ensures new hires understand the mission, values, and products from day one. The budget for data and products fuels continuous assessment and investment in the highest quality data to help Exiger’s customers make critical decisions.
Exiger’s solutions have been deployed across many public and private sector customers and use cases. The organization helped a federal agency map the supply chains of 20 drugs on the FDA’s “Essential Medicines” list. Exiger helped a Fortune 100 global aerospace equipment manufacturer dramatically improve the forecasting and management of material requirements. One of OshKosh Corporation’s largest business units worked with Exiger to increase forecasting, recordkeeping, and financial risk management accuracy, improving from 60% -70% forecast vs. shipped to 75%-80%, allowing for better working capital management. Equipped with new visibility into their raw materials, a significant manufacturer was able to reduce steel plate costs by $50,000 and lower steel inventory by 50%.
Exiger has helped customers identify vendors at risk to emerging cyber vulnerabilities like Log4J and has illuminated the presence of hidden human rights abuses like Uyghur forced labor in the global cotton supply chain.
Cherkasky has led his team over the past 18 months to complete a series of operational initiatives to improve costs and efficiency. Measures such as reducing data, hosting spending, and workflow improvements have helped the business realize nearly $20 million in annual cost savings. These initiatives have been part of more extensive strategic expansion and scaling across the entire organization. Cherkasky’s contributions, alongside other key leaders and the larger Exiger workforce, have delivered incredible proof points, including an unprecedented $74.5 million first-of-its-kind government-wide supply chain management GSA contract, two significant acquisitions, and the launch of 1Exiger. This 18-month sprint culminated with Exiger being named one of Fast Company’s 2023 Brands That Matter.
Exiger is leading the investment, development, and deployment of advanced AI in supply chain and third-party risk management. The organization’s new UX, 1Exiger, will serve as the foundation upon which the company plans to continuously expand its capabilities in the market over the next decade as the supply chain, geopolitical, economic, and risk landscape evolves.
Exiger also continues to forge partnerships with NGO voices around the globe to empower the fight against human rights abuses such as child labor and modern slavery. Exiger is a member of the World Economic Forum and has partnered with the Slave-Free Alliance/ Hope for Justice, Transparency International, and the Human Trafficking Institute to amplify the missions of these incredible organizations and equip leading nonprofits with the same tools that Fortune 500 companies use to combat slavery and exploitation.