Ruben Taborda

As Senior Director, Supply Chain customer solutions, Ruben is responsible for development and deployment of Supply Chain Customer Solutions to improve the customer experience with the top tier Medical Devices hospital customers in the United States (top 260 customers).  

Ruben was recently the Enterprise customer team leader for top IDNs in New York and New Jersey supporting strategic account management, innovative contracting and unique solutions.  He also held the position of Chief Procurement Officer, Medical Devices and Diagnostics, and Johnson & Johnson’s Supplier Diversity leader, Ruben is responsible for enabling value creation, innovation, risk mitigation and supplier diversity across a $15 Billion spend base across Johnson & Johnson.

Ruben originally joined Johnson & Johnson in 1984 as an engineering intern.  Throughout his distinguished 30+ year career, he has rotated 15 times across eight different J&J affiliates spanning all three company sectors -- Consumer, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device and Diagnostics.  During this span, he’s held numerous leadership positions in Procurement, Manufacturing, Planning, Distribution, Transportation, Finance, Customer Marketing and Logistics, Customer account Team leader and Sales management. 

In 2008, Ruben assumed responsibility for the Johnson & Johnson Supplier Diversity program.  Ruben brought his knowledge of the business and customers to drive increased executive sponsorship, awareness and accountability to the program.  He reached out to partners in marketing, affinity groups and to customers to demonstrate the value and criticality of including diverse suppliers in our supply chain. 

Under his leadership, Johnson & Johnson’s spend with diverse (minority and women owned) businesses grew over 20% in 2 years and in 2010 the Company’s spend passed the billion dollar mark for the first time ever.  Johnson & Johnson is now formally applying to become the first and only health care company to become a member of the Billion Dollar Round Table, a prestigious group of only 17 corporations that spend over one billion dollars annually with diverse suppliers. 

Among other many accomplishments, Ruben is a past recipient of numerous supplier diversity awards from recognized institutions such as the Long Island Hispanic Chamber, the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the American Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives.

Ruben earned his MBA from Fuqua’s Executive MBA program in 1994 and his BA in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1986.  He also holds a Masters degree in Manufacturing from the Kettering Institute in Michigan. 

He was born in Medellin, Colombia and raised in Miami, Florida.