Marcel.Bryar

Marcel Bryar is a founder and managing director of B&W LLC, a boutique consulting firm specializing in negotiating vendor contracts, issues and disputes. Marcel negotiates deals that deliver savings and vendor performance improvements that consistently exceed industry benchmarks. His approach involves helping vendors recognize it is in their best interest to step away from their short term transactional sales focus and embrace building a long term strategic partnership with their customers. An independent consulting firm described this sourcing methodology as “world class.”

Marcel has experience negotiating vendor contracts in both the federal and private sectors and has worked in most industries, including software and hardware, management consulting, telecommunications, outsourcing, aircraft leasing, insurance claims, real estate services and travel services.

Marcel has over 20 years of experience as both a lawyer and senior business executive. Before launching B&W, he worked at JP Morgan Chase where he managed the implementation of the largest mortgage portfolio transaction since the 2008 credit crisis.

As an executive at Fannie Mae, he was regularly called upon to transform major company initiatives in legal and business areas. Marcel led a team responsible for managing Fannie Mae’s enormous spend associated with servicing delinquent Fannie Mae mortgage loans. In his first 6 months on the job, he negotiated deals that saved the company more than $100 million. He also led a team of 600 in the implementation of President Obama’s Making Home Affordable program.

Marcel is a graduate of Yale College (summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) and Yale Law School. He is fluent in Spanish, loves to read history and economics and is a passionate soccer fan, particularly for FC Barcelona, the team that represents his family’s heritage.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of Marcel Bryar and do not necessarily represent those of IDG Communications, Inc., its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies.

Articles by Marcel.Bryar

Managing Tech Vendor Relationships

How to avoid one-sided vendor contract provisions

Don't let one-sided vendor provisions surprise you. The standard vendor template is designed to maximize how much you – the customer – pays, minimize vendor accountability for quality and results and push financial/liability risk onto you. Know what to look for – and what to negotiate out.

By Marcel Bryar December 9, 2015

Managing Tech Vendor Relationships

Software vendors — fear and loathing

America’s software industry is the most innovative in the world but an open secret clouds its success -- the industry’s customers fear and loath their software vendors, especially the most successful ones. The problem isn’t the products. Indeed, they frequently draw rave reviews. The problem is the industry’s sales model.

By Marcel Bryar October 27, 2015

Managing Tech Vendor Relationships

How NOT to use benchmark data in vendor negotiations

Benchmark data on vendor pricing and other contract terms is a useful milestone on the path to a great deal. But it's not a final destination: more often than not, buyers can do much better.

By Marcel Bryar September 23, 2015

Managing Tech Vendor Relationships

5 principles for great vendor relationships

Many companies track and report vendor performance metrics. But few metrics provide a concrete plan for driving vendor performance. Should we fire the vendor or demand improvements? If the latter, how do we ask for them effectively? The answers to those questions should be based on the vendor’s performance against 5 simple, strategic relationship principles. Vendors who fulfill those are worth the effort; the others need to go.

By Marcel Bryar August 18, 2015