Ritt Carrano, CEO, Purchasing Power

Richard (“Ritt”) Carrano is Chief Executive Officer of Purchasing Power, LLC. He joined the company in 2001 within its first six months of operation. Ritt was promoted from Chief Financial Officer to President in 2007, and in 2011 became the CEO. Within his tenure, he has guided the company to achieve consistent, annual double-digit revenue growth, 95% client retention and more than $2.5 billion in processed orders. Initial results for Carrano’s leadership underscore the remarkable corporate culture he has built and advocated at Purchasing Power. Powering People to a Better LifeTM has become both a company tagline and corporate internal philosophy. Prior to launching Purchasing Power, he co-founded and served as CFO for eTour, Inc., an early consumer internet website discovery service that was acquired by Ask Jeeves in 2001. Ritt previously was a management research fellow assigned to new business development at SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline) and began his career with Deloitte & Touche in Washington, D.C. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (cum laude) in accounting from the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business. Ritt also earned an MBA in finance from Emory University’s renowned Goizueta Business School in Atlanta. Among his accolades, Carrano was named the Atlanta Business Chronicle's CFO of the Year award for private, midsized businesses in 2008; and GeorgiaTrend magazine’s “40 Under 40: Georgia’s Best and Brightest.” An active volunteer within the community, Carrano serves numerous roles with Junior Achievement of Georgia, which inspires and prepares young people to succeed in a global economy. He also is heavily involved with Inter Atlanta FC (IAFC), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and enhancing the culture of soccer in Atlanta. Additionally, Ritt serves on the Board of Advisors and the Economic Development Council for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (MAC), the Board of Councilors for The Carter Center and the Board of Directors for FinTech Atlanta. As a champion of corporate social responsibility efforts, Carrano empowers his employees to invest more than 3,300 combined volunteer hours annually to Non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Children’s Restoration Network, Families First, Partnership Against Domestic Violence, Open Hand, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) and Safehouse Outreach.