Bernardo Mendonça

Experience

Two decades inside the supply chain. Now I architect the AI that runs on it.

Over 20 years in supply chain, analytics and SAP at billion-dollar companies across Brazil, Canada and the USA. I started at the buyer's desk as an SAP key user, moved into the systems and data behind procurement, and was pulled into a divestiture, a corporate spin-off and enterprise transformation programs for my command of SAP and supply-chain data. Since October 2025, selected through a competitive internal process, I have led Analytics & Market Intelligence for the Supply Chain of TC Energy, a leading North American energy infrastructure company. In parallel, I have architected and built B1Brain: 20+ AI solutions in just over a year.

  • 20+yearsSupply chain, analytics and SAP, since 2002
  • 3countries mostly at billion-dollar companies
  • Leadanalyst teamAnalytics & Market Intelligence, led since Oct 2025 after a competitive selection
  • SAPMM certifiedSAP Certified Application Associate, Procurement (2011)
  • 20+AI solutionsArchitected and built in just over a year
  • 30peer awardsFrom 27 colleagues, 2018–2026, including 2 Gold and 3 Silver

Full history on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bm2022

Capabilities

Four areas, each backed by the work on this page

“Strong” means years of documented delivery. “Active, hands-on” means architecture I design and build myself today.

Supply chain

strong
  • Procurement and strategic sourcing
  • Long-term agreements and negotiation
  • Procure-to-pay and AP on-time pay
  • Logistics and distribution
  • Warehouse and inventory planning
  • Market intelligence and supply risk

SAP

strong
  • SAP MM certified (2011); key user since 2002
  • Supported an SAP MM implementation
  • Strategic support to the SAP S/4HANA implementation
  • Material and vendor master data
  • Functional specs, batch inputs, data extraction
  • Ad hoc reports linked to Power BI and Excel

Data analytics & BI

strong
  • Power BI dashboards and pipelines
  • KPI design (PO cycle time, OTP)
  • Spend and ABC analysis
  • Cost-benefit, TCO and value capture
  • Power Automate approval flows
  • Data governance and quality

AI architecture

active, hands-on
  • 20+ AI solutions architected and built in just over a year
  • Model gateway with spend receipts (OpenAI-compatible)
  • Agent orchestration over MCP and A2A
  • Deterministic agent memory and retrieval
  • QUBO/Ising optimization on consumer GPUs
  • Pre-registered experiments and adversarial review

Career arc

Each step built on the last

Each move went one layer deeper: from buying, to the systems and data behind buying, to analytics for the whole supply chain, to leading it and building the AI layer on top. Process first, data second, AI third: the order in which enterprise AI actually succeeds.

  1. 2002–2010

    Procurement

    Buying, contracts and negotiation at Gerdau, AmBev logistics, Vale and ThyssenKrupp CSA. SAP MM key user from day one.

  2. 2010–2020

    SAP & BI

    BI and systems coordination in Brazil, then Senior Buyer and Procure-to-Pay analyst at TC Energy in Calgary: KPIs, specs, master data and mass PO closure.

  3. 2020–2025

    Analytics lead

    Lead Supply Chain Business Analyst: digital solutions, cost-benefit and TCO, KPIs, and the SAP data trusted by enterprise transformation programs and a corporate separation.

  4. 2025–now

    Manager + AI architect

    Selected to lead the Analytics & Market Intelligence team of business analysts in Houston, while architecting and building the B1Brain AI ecosystem.

Timeline

Career by country

  1. BrazilRio de Janeiro
    GerdauAmBevThyssenKrupp CSA

    Gerdau 2002–05 · AmBev 2006–07 · Vale 2007 · ThyssenKrupp CSA 2007–15

  2. CanadaCalgary
    TC Energy · Calgary

    Vista Projects Jan–Apr 2016 · TC Energy May 2016–Sep 2023 (Calgary)

  3. USAHouston, Texas
    Houston

    TC Energy, Houston since Oct 2023; Manager since Oct 2025 (hybrid)

  4. AI architectureB1Brain (own work)
    1+ yr

    Runs alongside the day job, 2025 – now.

Solid bars come from my LinkedIn history. Moved from Calgary to Houston in October 2023.

Roles

Role by role

Scope, outcome and the work that mattered most. Each role added a layer every enterprise AI program depends on: process, data, metrics and leadership. Company figures stay private.

TC Energy · 10 yrs 6 mos · Calgary, then Houston

Manager, Analytics & Market Intelligence

TC Energy · Houston, Texas, USA · hybridOct 2025 – now
Scope
Appointed after a competitive internal selection. I lead a team of business analysts that gives the Supply Chain organization of a leading North American energy infrastructure company data-driven insight, market intelligence and risk analysis for strategic decisions. I set direction and priorities, and manage budgets, forecasts and resource allocation.
Outcome
A trusted advisor to senior leadership on data-backed decisions. Gold award from direct leadership in 2026 for a view of enterprise spend Supply Chain had never reported before.
Key contributions
  • Built a market-intelligence capability that tracks global supply trends, risks and opportunities, and feeds sourcing strategy and risk mitigation across Supply Chain, functional and business-unit teams.
  • Delivered a first-ever enterprise spend view on a tight timeline, working through the data's limitations. Recognized with a Gold award.
  • Own data governance, quality and consistency across reporting platforms, and the dashboards and KPIs leadership runs on: the trusted data foundation any AI initiative has to stand on.
  • Bring advanced analytics, automation and digital tools into the team's daily work, and coach analysts on technical and leadership skills.
  • Further recognized for a demand-planning Power BI dashboard, a supplier spend-baseline working group and catching a privacy risk in a dashboard review.
Tools
  • Power BI
  • SAP ECC
  • Excel
  • Market intelligence
  • Team leadership

Lead Supply Chain Business Analyst

TC Energy · Calgary, then Houston (from Oct 2023)Dec 2020 – Sep 2025
Scope
Translated Supply Chain business needs into data, systems and metrics, including on several enterprise-wide programs. Defined digital solutions with technology teams, led end-to-end supply-chain projects and mentored junior staff.
Outcome
The person leaders called for SAP and supply-chain data, described by a colleague as “a true SAP guru.” Gold, Silver and Bronze peer recognitions, 2021–2025.
Key contributions
  • Delivered critical visibility of the invoice backlog to leaders across all business units.
  • Trusted to supply the SAP data for enterprise transformation programs and a corporate separation.
  • Built the business case behind digital solutions: cost-benefit analysis, TCO estimates and value-capture projections.
  • Set KPIs with supply-chain leaders and advised on forecasting, inventory, procurement, logistics and distribution.
  • Wrote functional specs, user stories, process flows and data models, and led change management through communication and training.
  • Created an SAP contract-ceiling report used in assurance.
  • Restored a failing Power BI purchase-order pipeline.
Tools
  • SAP ECC
  • Power BI
  • Excel
  • Specs & data models
  • TCO / cost-benefit

Supply Chain Procure-to-Pay (Canada) Business Analyst

TC Energy · Calgary, Alberta, CanadaJan 2020 – Nov 2020
Scope
Procure-to-pay analytics and SAP data for Purchasing Canada and Accounts Payable: the core ERP process where data quality, controls and automation meet.
Outcome
Gave leadership a process it could measure and trust, with the data and survey feedback to improve its KPIs and decisions: exactly the groundwork automation and AI agents need. Read the procure-to-pay case study →
Key contributions
  • Delivered Canada's first SAP mass purchase-order closure: 56k POs with more than 100k lines, closed with zero business impact.
  • Led business requirements as the main point of contact on a PO-closure automation project, and built the purchasing approval flow in Microsoft Power Automate.
  • Created a new, client-focused view of the PO cycle-time KPI, and ran the first performance-measurement survey for the Canadian purchasing team.
  • Produced an Accounts Payable on-time-pay (OTP) history covering 2014–2020, plus OTP analyses on request.
  • Provided data for a plant maintenance and inventory project, and analysis that helped the team move to home office during COVID-19.
Tools
  • SAP ECC
  • Power Automate
  • Excel
  • KPI design

Senior Buyer

TC Energy · Calgary, Alberta, CanadaMay 2016 – Dec 2019
Scope
High-volume purchasing, supplier management and master data for operations and capital projects, for Supply Chain Purchasing Canada.
Outcome
Nine peer recognitions in two years (2018–2019) for speed, attention to detail and SAP knowledge.
Key contributions
  • Cleaned up material and vendor master data, removing inactive materials and vendors: clean master data is where every automation starts.
  • Focused vendor reviews with a PO volume and frequency report and ABC analysis, and found improvement areas through a spend analysis of print-services agreements.
  • Reviewed the Canadian purchasing KPIs and supported the external audit team in SAP.
  • Analyzed the eCommerce implementation and proposed improvements; put controls on access to confidential information.
  • Recognized for fast PO execution on a critical-spares program, converting a large batch of project requisitions to POs, and reducing invoice exceptions.
Tools
  • SAP MM
  • Excel
  • ABC analysis
  • Master data

ThyssenKrupp CSA · 7 yrs 6 mos · Rio de Janeiro

System & Business Intelligence Coordinator

ThyssenKrupp CSA · Rio de Janeiro, BrazilNov 2010 – May 2015
Scope
Procurement BI and SAP systems coordination for a steel company in the ThyssenKrupp Group, and Supply Chain's point of contact for internal and external audits.
Outcome
Recognized in February 2015 by the Legal Vice-President for outstanding performance during a crucial internal audit.
Key contributions
  • Consolidated procurement performance, spending and savings data into the reports and KPIs used for strategic planning.
  • Reworked procedures so that around 20% of open requests could use a reduced-lead-time process.
  • Built cost/benefit cases for process and system improvements, aligned with the strategic plan.
  • Led long-range warehouse development planning across the ThyssenKrupp Group: receiving, QA, on-time shipping, accuracy, productivity and cost.
  • Specified an Asset Management report and its extensions (warranty, repair control, budget maintenance); delivered SAP projects for raw-material inventory control with tax benefits and a warehouse inventory data collector.
Tools
  • SAP
  • BI & KPIs
  • Functional specs
  • Audit support

Senior Procurement Analyst

ThyssenKrupp CSA · Rio de Janeiro, BrazilDec 2007 – Oct 2010
Scope
Purchasing for more than 15,000 items: on-time, cost-optimized delivery of goods, services and components.
Outcome
Long-term agreements that cut procurement lead time and covered more than 15% of materials purchases in their first year.
Key contributions
  • Set up the first purchasing KPIs and long-term contracts.
  • Negotiated vendor buying agreements.
  • Supported the SAP ERP Materials Management (MM) implementation.
Tools
  • SAP MM
  • Negotiation
  • Long-term agreements
  • KPIs

Earlier roles · Gerdau, AmBev, Vale, Vista Projects

Buyer

Vista Projects · Calgary, Alberta, CanadaJan 2016 – Apr 2016
Context
My first role in Canada.
What I did
Buyer.

Senior Purchase Analyst (outsourced)

Vale · Rio de Janeiro, BrazilSep 2007 – Nov 2007
Context
Outsourced to Vale through a supply-chain consultancy, supporting the purchase of machinery for a rail-maintenance project.
What I did
Analyzed, equalized and negotiated commercial bids and contracts from international suppliers.

Logistics Analyst

AmBev · Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJul 2006 – Sep 2007
Context
Beverage distribution: getting products to customers on time.
What I did
Motivated a 60-person distribution team. Managed the package-loss budget and the movement of assets between the factory and the distribution center.

Purchase Analyst

Gerdau S.A. · Rio de Janeiro, BrazilMar 2002 – Jul 2005
Context
Purchasing at Gerdau, a steel producer.
What I did
Negotiated and supported materials contracts. Key user of SAP MM, supporting end users and system improvements. Partnered with internal teams to remove bottlenecks in purchasing.

AI architecture

B1Brain: an ecosystem of 20+ AI solutions, architected in just over a year

I designed it the way an enterprise platform should be designed: clear layers, open standards, governed spend, and components that state their own limits. It runs on a private six-machine AI lab I built and operate. It is the kind of platform I would design for your organization, and I have already built it.

2025 – now

AI systems architect & builder, B1Brain (own work)

Independent

Scope
About two dozen repositories, organized in five layers and connected through open standards (MCP, OpenAI-compatible APIs, A2A). I own the architecture, the design decisions and the code.
Key contributions
  • Architected a model gateway, agent orchestration, deterministic agent memory, a repository-evidence engine, a knowledge catalog, an optimization engine and an engineering-calculation vertical, as one coherent system rather than separate experiments.
  • Connected the optimization engine to a real supply-chain problem: a pre-registered warehouse-slotting exhibit on public retail order data.
  • Built governance in from the start: spend receipts on every model call, deterministic components where reproducibility matters more than fluency, and repeated external adversarial review of the optimization engine, with every known defect tracked in a register.
  • Gateway & governanceConnect: one front door for every model, with spend receipts
  • Agent orchestrationClaw agent OS · Framework protocols · Cortex · Code
  • MemoryAgentMemory (deterministic, compliance-grade) + Memory (LLM-assisted)
  • Optimization & knowledgeTurboAccuracy · DaVinci evidence engine · Wiki: 33,000+ repositories, 1B+ lines of code analyzed
  • Industry verticalsAEC engineering calculations · Foresight research · WebsiteFactory

Explore the B1Brain ecosystem → See the private AI lab →

Recognition

Nine consecutive years of peer recognition

30 peer recognitions from 27 colleagues, 2018–2026, including two Gold and three Silver awards, plus a promotion to Manager through a competitive selection. The themes repeat: ownership and collaboration, spend and AP analytics, BI and reporting, SAP and supply-chain data, and enterprise initiatives. It is the same mix an enterprise AI program needs from its architect.

  • Ownership & collaboration17
  • Spend & AP analytics11
  • Analytics, BI & reporting9
  • SAP & supply-chain data7
  • Procurement & PO execution6
  • Enterprise initiatives6

Counts by theme; one recognition can cover several. Colleagues are never named.

Education

Education & certification

SAP Certified Application Associate – Procurement with SAP ERP 6.0 EHP4

SAP · issued Nov 2011

Business Intelligence

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)

Bachelor in Business Administration

Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro

Hiring an AI Solution Architect?

Paste the role description and get an honest read on whether I fit: evidence, gaps and a recommendation. That includes "not a fit" when it's true.

See if I fit your role →

Contact

Let's talk about your AI roadmap

I'm open to AI Solution Architect roles where business process, enterprise data and AI meet.

Email
acmbernie@gmail.com
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/bm2022
GitHub
github.com/bernie-b1stAI
Location
Houston, Texas, United States