Rudy Abitbol
Last updated: July 2026
B2B Commerce Operator. Now consulting.
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What is Rudy Abitbol's background as a B2B operator?
Rudy Abitbol has spent 18+ years in B2B commerce, including 7+ years as a VP- and Director-level operator inside manufacturers and distributors before making consulting his full-time focus in January 2026. That operator background — budgets owned, teams led, board conversations survived — is what separates his work from typical agency advice.
From 2018 to 2022, he served as Director of Digital Channels at Lumen (part of Sonepar), one of the world's largest electrical distribution groups. Over four years he managed an $8M digital budget and a team of 8, launched mobile apps, integrated ERP, EDI, and PunchOut connectors, and made digital the default way B2B customers placed their orders across Canada.
- 18+ Years — In B2B commerce, with 7+ as a VP- and Director-level operator
- Operator-Led — VP and Director seats held before stepping into consulting
What results has Rudy Abitbol delivered as an operator?
The digital ecosystem he built at Lumen delivered four consecutive years of double-digit online B2B sales growth and made digital the default ordering channel for B2B customers. Most recently, as VP with full P&L responsibility inside a North American manufacturer-distributor, he delivered double-digit-plus B2B growth in 12 months, rolled out Akeneo PIM with AI-powered enrichment that cut time-to-market by 40%, and unified ERP, CRM, and Shopify Plus into a single commerce stack.
That experience — managing P&Ls, aligning sales teams, navigating ERP integrations nobody wanted to touch — is what he brings to every engagement. He has sat in the chair, and he knows what it takes to make transformation actually stick: the sequencing, the change management, and the honest read on what a team can absorb quarter by quarter. It is why his recommendations survive contact with real targets.
What does Rudy Abitbol do?
Rudy Abitbol helps mid-market manufacturers and distributors modernize their B2B commerce operations end to end. Since January 2026, consulting has been his full-time focus through Human After All — the practice he founded in 2018 and ran alongside his operator roles.
The work covers the full commerce ecosystem: Shopify Plus B2B storefronts, Akeneo PIM architecture, ERP and CRM integration, and the AI layer that ties it all together — including Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), the visibility layer that determines whether AI search platforms recommend your company to B2B buyers.
Most current work is strategic and fractional: embedded leadership, platform audits, roadmap design, and board-level decision support. When implementation surfaces, Human After All executes, using the B2B Protocol accelerator framework. Engagements run in English or French, from Montréal, for clients across Canada, the United States, and France.
How does Rudy Abitbol work with clients?
Rudy Abitbol works with clients in three engagement shapes — strategic advisory, fractional leadership, and implementation — depending on where the business stands: clarity before committing, an operator embedded in the team, or a build that is ready to execute.
- Strategic Advisory — For executives who need clarity before committing to a transformation. Platform selection, architecture audits, roadmap design, board-level decision support. Scoped engagements · 4 to 12 weeks · Fixed-fee.
- Fractional eCommerce Leadership — For companies that need a VP- or Director-level operator embedded in the business — not a consultant alongside it. Strategy, team development, vendor management, board reporting. Monthly retainer · Three-month minimum · Remote with onsite cadence.
- Implementation (via Human After All) — For companies ready to execute. Shopify Plus B2B, Akeneo PIM, ERP integration, delivered by his consultancy using the B2B Protocol accelerator framework. Fixed-fee · Milestone-based.
Not sure which shape fits? A 30-minute conversation settles it.
What gap does Rudy Abitbol bridge?
Most consultants come to commerce transformation from one side — agency, technology, or strategy. Rudy Abitbol comes from the operator side: he has owned the P&L, hit the targets, and faced the board when the platform didn't deliver.
That changes the conversation. Roadmaps and trade-offs instead of buzzwords — what the business needs first, what the technology supports next, and what the team can actually absorb. The work moves faster because the framing is right from the start.
It also changes what gets recommended. An operator who has lived through ERP integrations, a PIM rollout, and platform decisions under a real budget knows which shortcuts hold and which ones become phase-two rescue projects. That is the gap between advice that reads well in a deck and advice a team can actually execute against the targets of a real quarter.
How does Rudy Abitbol use AI in B2B commerce?
Rudy Abitbol has worked with AI in eCommerce since 2018, when he published his first piece on the topic for Forbes — and he has deployed it in production for real business outcomes, not proofs of concept. In a recent VP seat with full P&L responsibility, he deployed Akeneo PIM with AI-powered enrichment and cut time-to-market by 40%.
Today he uses generative AI for product data enrichment, content optimization, demand forecasting, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — the layer that determines whether B2B buyers find you through AI search platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. He also builds with AI-native development tools daily, using agentic coding to deliver implementations faster than traditional agencies can — the same approach behind the free AI Visibility Check on this site, which scores what each engine says about your company.
What is Rudy Abitbol's consulting approach?
Rudy Abitbol's consulting approach rests on three commitments, and all three come from having operated — not observed — B2B commerce businesses.
- Operator-Led Decisions — He doesn't recommend what he hasn't done. Every recommendation comes from having owned the P&L, the team, and the platform decisions inside a real B2B business.
- Embedded, Not Alongside — For fractional engagements, he works as a member of the leadership team, not an external advisor sending decks. The team gets a VP, not a consultant.
- Board-Room Language — Platform and integration decisions get translated into the language executives actually use: margin impact, cash flow, customer retention, time-to-revenue. No jargon, no marketing fluff.
The result is a plan the CFO, the CIO, and the sales VP can each defend — which is what keeps a transformation funded past its first hard quarter.
Which clients has Rudy Abitbol worked with?
Rudy Abitbol's current and recent engagements span strategic advisory, in-house operator roles, and implementation work — from a national development bank to global manufacturers and Quebec-based retailers and distributors.
- BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada) — Strategic advisory on B2B commerce transformation. Strategic Advisory.
- Lumen (part of Sonepar) — Led four years of double-digit online B2B sales growth as Director of Digital Channels. In-House Operator (2018–2022).
- Goodyear — Enterprise Akeneo PIM implementation across North America, integrating with SAP and Salesforce Commerce Cloud (via Publicis Sapient). Implementation.
- Tapestry (Kate Spade, Coach) — Digital readiness assessment and marketplace expansion strategy (via Publicis Sapient). Strategic Advisory.
- Husky Boutique — B2B commerce platform on Shopify Plus with ERP integration and self-serve ordering. Implementation.
- Quilicot Bicycles — eCommerce and PIM stack modernization with GEO advisory for AI search visibility. Implementation.
What are Rudy Abitbol's credentials?
Rudy Abitbol's credentials cover the strategy, platform, and speaking sides of B2B commerce:
- MasterB2B Nexus Executive Advisor — advisory seat in the MasterB2B executive community
- Forbes Agency Council Member — publishing on AI and commerce since his first Forbes article in 2018
- Shopify Plus Partner — the platform behind implementations like Husky Boutique
- Akeneo Product Experience Advisor — the PIM certification behind enterprise work like Goodyear's North American rollout
- HubSpot Certified Expert
- Speaker — B2B Online, NRF Retail's Big Show Europe, RDV eCommerce Montréal, Master B2B Summit — 15+ stages in 24 months, in English and French
Together they map to the full stack of a B2B commerce mandate: platform (Shopify Plus), product data (Akeneo PIM), go-to-market (HubSpot), and the executive-level strategy work recognized by MasterB2B and Forbes — credentials earned alongside operator seats, not instead of them.
Where does Rudy Abitbol work — and how do you start?
Rudy Abitbol works from Montreal and Miami, serving clients across Canada, the United States, and France. Engagements are remote-first, with onsite cadence for fractional engagements and regular travel for advisory work. He delivers in English and in French — a practical requirement for the Quebec manufacturers and distributors he serves alongside U.S. and European clients.
Starting is simple: a 30-minute conversation to see whether there is a fit for strategic advisory, fractional leadership, or implementation. The conversation covers your stack, your data, your operating model, and which engagement shape fits — no pitch deck, no obligation, and a straight answer on fit. If you would rather see a diagnostic first, the free AI Visibility Check shows in about 90 seconds what Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini tell B2B buyers about your company today.