This year’s Summit hosted just over 120 delegates, who descended upon Boston with the individual goals of learning the latest trends and best practice ideas and expanding their network and the collective goal of driving the procurement profession (and the role of the CPO) forward.

The fourth annual CPO Honors Gala was an opportunity to celebrate the procurement profession and recognize excellence in the field. At the dinner reception that concluded Day One, Ardent Partners presented awards for outstanding performance and execution in the last year – “The CPO Honors” – to a variety of high achievers including Chief Procurement Officers and other procurement leaders, procurement teams, and new this year: procurement solution providers and/or other experts. A new class of CPOs were also inducted into the CPO Rising Hall of Fame based upon career achievements.

Over the next few days, we will share some of the scenes from the 2019 Summit while also reminding each of you to save the dates – October 27 & 28, 2020 for CPO Rising 2020!

Linda Theisen from Hilton Supply Management accepts the 2019 Innovation Award for Anu Saxena from the CPO Honors MC for the night, Roy Anderson.

Andrea Greco (middle) CPO of CBRE, holds his 2019 Technology Excellence Award, along with CPO Rising Hall of Famer ’18 Scott Singer (left), and Roy Anderson.

The 2019 CPO of the Year, Greg Tennyson (middle) Head of Global Corporate Services at VSP Global, accepts the award from 2018 winner, Chris Chadwick (left) of Caterpillar, and Roy Anderson.

Cheers to the winners, nominees, and all who attended!

This year’s Summit hosted just over 120 delegates, who descended upon Boston with the individual goals of learning the latest trends and best practice ideas and expanding their network and the collective goal of driving the procurement profession (and the role of the CPO) forward.

The fourth annual CPO Honors Gala was an opportunity to celebrate the procurement profession and recognize excellence in the field. At the dinner reception that concluded Day One, Ardent Partners presented awards for outstanding performance and execution in the last year – “The CPO Honors” – to a variety of high achievers including Chief Procurement Officers and other procurement leaders, procurement teams, and new this year: procurement solution providers and/or other experts. A new class of CPOs were also inducted into the CPO Rising Hall of Fame based upon career achievements.

Over the next few days, we will share some of the scenes from the 2019 Summit while also reminding each of you to save the dates – October 27 & 28, 2020 for CPO Rising 2020!

Great food, drink, and networking at The CPO Honors Gala Dinner

Paola Nava Aceves accepts the Technology Excellence Award from CPO Rising Hall of Famer Scott Singer. Aceves accepts on behalf of winner Jorge Martín Torres Pérez, Strategic Procurement Director of Coca-Cola FEMSA.

Gary Foster and Gabriella DiGiacobbe accept the Best Team Performance Award for the Global Procurement and ePayables Team from Highmark Health.

Kyle Muskoff (middle) accepts the 2019 Innovative Solution Award on behalf of BuyerQuest.

Jim Polak accepts induction into the CPO Rising Hall of Fame.

Class of 2019 CPO Rising Hall of Famer, Uldis Sipols, is all smiles with Ardent Founder Andrew Bartolini.

This year’s Summit hosted just over 120 delegates, who descended upon Boston with the individual goals of learning the latest trends and best practice ideas and expanding their network and the collective goal of driving the procurement profession (and the role of the CPO) forward.

The fantastic presentations, unique setting, executive audience, and intimate environment have become the trademarks of the CPO Rising Summit. Over the next few days, we will share some of the scenes from the 2019 Summit while also reminding each of you to save the dates – October 27 & 28, 2020 for CPO Rising 2020!

Andrew Bartolini moderates the “CPO Panel: Expanding Procurement’s Value” with (from left), Shelley Stewart Jr., Managing Partner, Bottom Line Advisory and CPO Rising Hall of Fame Class of 2017, Nisreen Bagasra CPO, Veolia North America, and Dan Warn CPO, AthenaHealth

Great discussions and networking during The CPO Rising Summit

And the food is always top class!

David Kern, Head of Global Procurement at TripAdvisor Media Group, gives his “Employee Gig, Liquid, & Agile Procurement Opportunities” keynote presentation

Ardent’s Bob Cohen leads an engaging panel discussion on “Technology Trends and Innovation” along with (from left), Kristian O’Meara SVP of Global Value and Solution Engineering at Jaggaer, David Bush Chief Revenue Officer at SpendHQ, and Dr. Christian Heinrich, Ph.D. Co-Founder at scoutbee.com and Professor of Digital Transformation

This year’s Summit hosted just over 120 delegates, who descended upon Boston with the individual goals of learning the latest trends and best practice ideas and expanding their network and the collective goal of driving the procurement profession (and the role of the CPO) forward.

The fantastic presentations, unique setting, executive audience, and intimate environment have become the trademarks of the CPO Rising Summit. Over the next few days, we will share some of the scenes from the 2019 Summit while also reminding each of you to save the dates – October 27 & 28, 2020 for CPO Rising 2020!

The CPO Rising 2019 Summit was held at the historic Harvard Club in Boston

Ardent Founder, Andrew Bartolini, kicked off the Summit on Day 1

A Day One keynote presentation from Heidi Landry, the CPO of Johnson & Johnson

Attendees of the CPO Rising Summit look on as Landry gives her presentation on “Procurement with a Purpose”

Greg Tennyson, CPO of VSP Global and the CPO Honors’ 2019 CPO of the Year, gives his keynote presentation on “Moolah’s Transformation”

This year, as in every other year that my team and I have produced this event, I was able to recruit a fantastic lineup of seasoned procurement veterans with nearly a century’s worth of combined experience leading supply chain, sourcing, and category management teams….and they did not disappoint. The 2019 Summit featured stimulating presentations and thought-provoking discussions on the role of the CPO as well as key strategies that will help bring the procurement function to the next level of performance.

But now that the 2019 Summit is in the rear view, my team and I want to quickly galvanize the enthusiasm from earlier this week and highlight the major takeaways from the event. With that said, I wanted to personally invite you to a new webinar, the Voice of the CPO Rising 2019 Summit, on November 14th at 2 PM ET, where my team and I will highlight the key speaker presentations and discussions that took place during the event.

If you have some time next month, I hope you will join us. Click here and below to register.

Webinar Details:

Voice of the CPO Webinar: Highlights from the CPO Rising 2019 Summit

Date: Thursday, November 14th 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

Presenters:

Andrew Bartolini, Chief Research Officer, Ardent Partners

Christopher J. Dwyer, VP of Research, Ardent Partners

Webinar Sponsored by: Tradeshift, Scout RRP, & Jaggaer

The CPO Honors were established to celebrate the procurement function and recognize the accomplishments of the profession’s best leaders and teams. These awards have quickly become the procurement industry’s most prestigious series of awards. CPO celebrities and prior winners played an active role in the ceremony which was hosted by Tradeshift’s CPO, Roy Anderson.

The CPO Rising Hall of Fame Class of 2019

Established in 2016, The CPO Rising Hall of Fame inducts up to three procurement leaders each year who have differentiated themselves and their organizations by a blend in leadership in innovation, executive stewardship, process excellence, and dedication to their craft. This year’s inductees are:

James L. Polak, former Director, General Purchasing, PPG Industries, Inc.

Uldis Sipols, Former CPO Gillette, Danaher, AMP, Sonoco; Executive at P&G and Ford

CPO Honors 2019: And the Winners are…

The CPO Honors were presented in 6 categories. The finalists and winners (in bold) are noted below.

The Innovation Award Finalists: This award is presented to the CPO and team that have used new and innovative strategies and approaches to overcome significant hurdles.

• WINNER: Anu Saxena, Senior Vice President and Global Head for Hilton Supply Management (HSM) and the HSM Team
• Sprint’s Procurement Team

The Technology Excellence Award Finalists: This award is presented to the CPO and team that have leveraged technology solutions to impact procurement operations and performance.

• TIE – WINNER: Andrea Greco, Chief Procurement Officer, CBRE
• TIE – WINNER: Jorge Martín Torres Pérez, Strategic Procurement Director, Coca-Cola FEMSA

Best Team Performance Award Finalists: This award is presented to the procurement department that has excelled across the full scope of procurement operations to make a significant impact on overall enterprise results.

• WINNER: Highmark Health Global Procurement & Payables Team
• Endurance’s Procurement Operations and Business Intelligence Team

The Leadership Award (CPO of the Year) Finalists: This award is presented to the CPO who has driven new performance heights as a result of their direct involvement and leadership and overall exceptional executive management.

• Kai Nowosel, Chief Procurement Officer, Accenture
• WINNER: Greg Tennyson, Head of Global Corporate Services,  VSP Global
• Mike Morsch, Vice President Global Procurement & Supply Chain, CDK Global

Innovative Solution of the Year Finalists: Presented to the solution provider who most significantly impacted the market with innovative solutions.

• WINNER: BuyerQuest
• Fairmarkit

Best Technology Partnership Finalists: Presented to the best partnership between a solution provider and their procurement team customer on to a technology deployment.

• WINNER: Scout RFP and Biogen
• Ivalua and Whirlpool

Ardent Partners extends its congratulations to the CPO Honors finalists, winners, and new CPO Rising Hall of Famers! Watch for more details about those recognized last night.

About Ardent Partners

Ardent Partners is a leading research and advisory firm focused on defining and advancing the supply management strategies, processes, and technologies that drive business value and accelerate organizational transformation within the enterprise. Ardent’s analysts have decades of experience publishing primary research that help business leaders in procurement, supply management, and financial operations make smarter technology decisions and improve their performance. Ardent hosts its annual CPO Rising Summit in Boston each fall. To learn more about the company, visit www.ardentpartners.com and www.cporising.com

BOSTON, October 29 — Today, more than 140 Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and other procurement executives convene at Boston’s elegant Harvard Club to discuss best practices, learn about emerging market trends, and collaborate with like-minded peers. The fourth annual “CPO Rising” Summit and executive symposium, hosted by prominent research and advisory firm Ardent Partners, will feature an unrivaled lineup of speakers and presentations, all of which will serve to push the procurement function into a new era.

This week’s event, which will feature nearly two dozen procurement luminaries from large corporations around the globe (and across many industries), will tackle a vast array of exciting topics within the world of supply management. These executives, from Johnson & Johnson, DuPont, Rio Tinto, and many more, will speak about:

• Expanding Procurement’s Value (this year’s event theme)
• Data-driven procurement strategies
• The role of innovation in today’s procurement function
• Designing and building the optimal procurement operation (and procurement transformation)
• The Future of Work
• And much more!

“The procurement function of 2019 sits on the edge of an incredible transformation in its ultimate quest for business agility and enterprise-wide value,” says Andrew Bartolini, founder and chief research officer at Ardent Partners. “Today’s procurement executives have the power to leverage innovation, intelligence, and transformational thinking to become a truly agile business function. The CPO Rising 2019 Summit is the ideal forum for procurement professionals from around the world to learn how to achieve these goals.”

This exclusive summit is sponsored by Tradeshift, Concord Contracts, Jaggaer, Scout RFP, Guidant Global, SAP Ariba, scoutbee, Sievo, and SpendHQ. For more information on the CPO Rising 2019 Summit, please visit events.cporising.com.

About Ardent Partners:

Ardent Partners is a research and advisory firm focused on defining and advancing the supply management strategies, processes, and technologies that drive business value and accelerate organizational transformation within the enterprise. The Ardent team has decades of experience publishing primary research that help business leaders in procurement, supply management, and financial operations make smarter decisions and improve their performance. To learn more about the company, visit www.ardentpartners.com.

David Kern

Andrew Bartolini: How did you get into procurement and how did you move up into your current position today?

David Kern: I fell into procurement when I worked at Staples. I was at a point in my career where I had to decide if I wanted to work in public service (police and or fire department), or if I wanted to stay in corporate America.  While working in Staples internal audit, I had an opportunity to take on an audit of our transportation division; and at the same time I was on a path to explore becoming a police officer. I quickly found in my audit that a transportation division at Staples really needed someone to manage the transportation portfolio for its final-mile delivery, which at the time was roughly thirty million dollars in annual spend. Staples leadership offered me this unique advancement position but I turned it down and chose to stay on the path of exploring becoming a police officer.

After successfully completing the Police Academy, I was once again approached and re-offered by Staples to take over the final-mile delivery supplier oversight function.  Feeling as though I had accomplished a personal goal and could remain semi-active in helping the local community; I accepted the Staples offer and continued to volunteer as a Police officer.  Over the next nine years, I led efforts to help grow the transportation portfolio to a half a billion dollars.  It was during that course of time that I was able to recognize my own personal talents in driving value – whether it be through collaboration with vendors, or through identifying synergies to yield better service, expense, and overall healthiness for the space that I was overseeing.

AB: That’s awesome. So, it sounds like even though you were within a fairly well-established business, you really got great experience in managing a high growth business?

DK: In the span of nine years, I was able to see something later commonly known as transformation; and not even really see it – I actually lived in the middle of it.   Staples has a well-defined North American final-mile delivery footprint; as that business started to grow within North America as one of the few next-day service providers, it was critical they continuously build out network capabilities.  This included adding fleets and couriers on top of increasing the reliance on UPS/FedEx/USPS; along with other non-traditional modes of transportation. During that course of time, it was important to focus not only on domestic transportation growth, but expand into Canada and other international locations.

When you take all that explosive growth and scale into consideration, and you then layer in the purchase of Corporate Express, a large next day office supply corporate retailer, my role within transportation and transformation became instrumental overnight.  I found my passion as a change agent focused on transforming different business operations and value add services.  My mission was clear, to focus on driving a common service offering that provided the highest level of service at the lowest sustainable price. So when I hear about transformation as the new buzz word in today’s boardrooms, I quickly smile as I had an opportunity to experience transformation very early in my career – and for that I am extremely grateful.

AB: You’ve hit upon two great things: dealing with a fast-growth environment and merging organizations.  What are some of the takeaways you have in bringing two organizations together and managing that change?

DK: When two companies merge, sometimes the assumption is that the acquired company doesn’t have the best processes; and so the acquirer may assume that what they’re doing is best in class.  Taking this mindset can be a real disadvantage. Rather, taking time to seek to understand and brainstorm as a collective group, open and honestly, will often find that you both have solid best practices and process.  It’s a matter of augmentation and tweaking to get to the best process for the combined entity going forward.

In addition to just seeking common ground and best way forward, it is critical that you approach opportunities by “looking underneath the hood with a trust-but-verify” mindset.  This applies daily to procurement as we are constantly being pitched from a variety of sales folks. Information provided needs to be validated for accuracy of what is being sold and to confirm what is being purchased solves the business requirements.   So when you start to look at bringing operations of like-minded intent and structure, you’ve got to make sure that you don’t overlook what you think or what you’re accustomed to thinking is the best process – everything we touch has opportunity for improvement.

AB: So talk about your current role and what’s happening at TripAdvisor.

DK: Awesome stuff; I started at TripAdvisor just under four years ago. It was a new role – they didn’t have a procurement team. It’s been an amazing journey, both professionally and personally, being part of such a great organization. What I probably learned the most is that companies like Trip have highly talented people who are willing to just roll up their sleeves and help do whatever they can whenever they can.  It’s just fascinating to see how quickly things evolve, and how every day there’s something new to learn. Any day you’re not learning doesn’t put you behind, but it sure makes you have to catch up the next couple of days because the world is moving fast. There’s so much to learn and plenty ways to grow professionally – I truly feel very lucky to be part of the TripAdvisor team!

AB: As you look at the industry and the profession going forward, what are some of the things you see that are emerging and interesting, or some of the things that get you excited about working in the profession?

DK:  I’m excited about the profession because it seems like it’s more of a new / growth area than an established defined function.  What I mean by that is when you hear the word “procurement,” not everyone knows what it means; and for those that think they know I often get asked “what does TripAdvisor procure?” In my opinion, Procurement is simply explained as a core group of skills and experiences for which someone leverages and represent opportunities as an agent working on your behalf.  The core focus is to secure an outcome that provide sustainable value for shareholders and or customers.

Independent of the basic efforts outlined above, Procurement is becoming not only a trusted partner but gaining valuable insights into operational aspects that not everyone within an organization can see or synergizes.  Procurement professionals have a huge opportunity to acquire operational exposure and insights.  Providing such insights to other business units that may not know internal opportunities/solutions exist can be ten times more valuable than saving a few points on a contract.  I’m super excited about what procurement is becoming and will be in the future – value creation through process improvement, operational enhancements, and supplier value creation; combined driving meaningful shareholder and customer value.

AB: As an industry leader, what is some advice you can give to other professionals.

DK: One thing I love most about Trip Advisor is that we have a great culture, and a core focus on “acting like an owner.”   This allows my team to talk with people about how procurement can drive variety of benefits and solutions.  We see the operational enhancements that people don’t necessarily know exist because they either don’t know who to talk to, internally, or they don’t necessarily know where to start. Procurement can be that gateway into some really impactful things that will be meaningful to all folks – customers, shareholders, and employees.

AB: Thank you so much David!

DK: My pleasure, Andrew. I’m passionate for this space and I appreciate the opportunity to help others find Procurement and grow within their personal journey.

Post Script: Catch David’s keynote presentation, “GIG, Liquid, Agile Employee Procurement Opportunities,” on Day 1 at CPO Rising 2019 — next week!

At the dinner reception, Ardent Partners will present awards for outstanding performance and execution in the last year – “The CPO Honors” – to a variety of high achievers including Chief Procurement Officers and other procurement leaders, procurement teams, and new this year: procurement solution providers and/or other experts. A new class of CPOs (two names will be announced next week) will also be inducted into the CPO Rising Hall of Fame based upon career achievements.

With a record number of nominations this year, the competition for the CPO Honors 2019 awards was extremely competitive. Making it to this far should be considered a huge achievement, in and of itself.

So, without further ado…

The CPO HONORS 2019 Finalists are:

The Innovation Award Finalists: This award is presented to the CPO and team that have used new and innovative strategies and approaches to overcome significant hurdles.

• Anu Saxena, Senior Vice President and Global Head for Hilton Supply Management (HSM) and the HSM Team
• Sprint’s Procurement Team

The Technology Excellence Award Finalists: This award is presented to the CPO and team that have leveraged technology solutions to impact procurement operations and performance.

• Andrea Greco, Chief Procurement Officer, CBRE
• Jorge Martín Torres Pérez, Strategic Procurement Director, Coca-Cola FEMSA

Best Team Performance Award Finalists: This award is presented to the procurement department that has excelled across the full scope of procurement operations to make a significant impact on overall enterprise results.

• Highmark Health Global Procurement & Payables Team
• Endurance’s Procurement Operations and Business Intelligence Team

The Leadership Award (CPO of the Year) Finalists: This award is presented to the CPO who has driven new performance heights as a result of their direct involvement and leadership and overall exceptional executive management.

• Kai Nowosel, Chief Procurement Officer, Accenture
• Greg Tennyson, Head of Global Corporate Services,  VSP Global
• Mike Morsch, Vice President Global Procurement & Supply Chain, CDK Global

Innovative Solution of the Year Finalists: Presented to the solution provider who most significantly impacted the market with innovative solutions.

• BuyerQuest
• Fairmarkit

Best Technology Partnership Finalists: Presented to the best partnership between a solution provider and their procurement team customer on to a technology deployment.

• ScoutRFP and Biogen
• Ivalua and Whirlpool

Our congratulations to all of the finalists!  We will see you soon!

Nisreen Bagasra

Nisreen will participate in the CPO Panel Discussion on Day 1 of CPO Rising 2019. I had the chance to catch up with Nisreen ahead of the event and learn more about her, her role, and what excites her about procurement.

Matthew York: Tell us a bit about your background – education and early career. How did you get started in procurement?

Nisreen Bagasra: I grew up in Mumbai, India, and came to the United States to pursue an MBA at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. Upon graduating, I took a position as a consultant at Coopers & Lybrand and then joined Thermal Electron, where I developed a passion for procurement as an E-Sourcing Manager, running online reverse auctions and generating double digit savings for the company. Last year, I joined Veolia North America as Chief Procurement Officer — the first woman ever to hold the position within the company. In my role, I lead VNA’s procurement organization to maximize value and mitigate risk across the company’s supply base. My team manages national suppliers, strategic sourcing, contract negotiations and compliance of purchasing policies and processes. We are also responsible for VNA’s travel, fleet and purchasing card programs.

MY: What are you and your team focused on over the next 12-18 months?

NB: Veolia North America is at a pivotal point in its procurement journey. As a company, we have a solid foundation in place, and now we are in the process of building up the rest of the house. We are building a centralized team of sourcing experts in MRO, Chemicals, Waste Disposal, Temp Labor, Fleet, Facilities, and Technical products that can be leveraged across our 3 lines of business – Water, Waste, and Energy. Our focus is on simplifying processes and using technology to make it easy for our stakeholders to acquire the products and services needed to run their business efficiently, consistently, and competitively. We want to create an Amazon like experience for our diverse and widespread locations, for all their supply needs.

MY: What are some of the major changes that you’ve witnessed in the profession?

NB: One of the biggest changes I have seen within the profession is the increasing importance that company leaders are placing on procurement. Organizations no longer look at us as simply responsible for compliance functions and for putting controls in place, but also for delivering greater value through innovative and operational synergies. Chief Procurement Officers increasingly have a seat at the executive table. Ten years ago, you didn’t see that so much.

MY: What gets you excited about the future of procurement?

NB: What makes me excited about the future of procurement is the ability we have to make more happen with less by automating transactional purchasing using technology (Artificial intelligence and business intelligence) and leveraging data to provide us with greater insights into the supply chain. We are becoming much more pro-active in engaging early with our stakeholders in the capacity of a trusted advisor, and as the technologies continue to evolve, it’s going to be a big game-changer for our profession.

MY: That’s awesome, Nisreen — thanks so much and looking forward to seeing you later this month.

NB: Likewise, Matthew.