Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

19 December 2024

Estimated Read time

7Mins

Interface looks back on another year of ground-breaking tech transformations and the leaders driving them. We spoke with tech leaders…

Interface looks back on another year of ground-breaking tech transformations and the leaders driving them. We spoke with tech leaders across a broad spectrum of sectors – from banking, health and telcos to insurance, consulting and government agencies. Read on for a round up of some of the biggest stories in Interface in 2024…

EY: A data-driven company

Global Chief Data Officer, Marco Vernocchi, reflects on the transformation journey at one of the world’s largest professional services organisations.

“Data is pervasive, it’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It’s not a physical asset, but it’s a part of every business activity every day. I joined EY in 2019 as the first Global Chief Data Officer. Our vision was to recognise data as a strategic competitive asset for the organisation. Through the efforts of leadership and the Data Office team, we’ve elevated it from a commodity utility to an asset. Furthermore, our formal strategy defined with clarity the purpose, scope, goals and timeline of how we manage data across EY.  Bringing it to the centre of what we do has created a competitive asset that is transforming the way we work.”

Read the full story here

Lloyds Banking Group: A technology and business strategy

Martyn Atkinson, CIO – Consumer Relationships and Mass Affluent, on Lloyds Banking Group‘s organisational missive around helping Britain prosper, which means building trusted relationships over customer lifetimes by re-imagining what a bank provides.

“We’ve made significant strides in transforming our business for the future,” he reveals. “I’m really proud of what the team have achieved with technology but there’s loads more to go after. It’s a really exciting time as we become a modern, progressive, tech-enabled business. We’ve aimed to maintain pace and an agile mindset. We want to get products and services out to our customers and colleagues and then test and learn to see if what we’re doing is actually making a meaningful difference.”

Read the full story here

USDA: The people’s agency

Arianne Gallagher-Welcher, Executive Director for the USDA Digital Service, in the Office of the OCIO, on the USDA’s tech transformation and how it serves the American people across all 50 states.

“If you’d told me after I graduated law school that I was going to be working at the intersection of talent, HR, law, regulations, and technology and bringing in technologists, AI, and driving innovation and digital delivery, I’d say you were nuts,” she says. “However, it’s been a very interesting and fulfilling journey. I’ve really enjoyed working across a lot of different cross-government agencies. USDA is the first part of my career where I’m really looking at a very specific mission-driven organisation versus cross-agency and cross-government. But I don’t think I’d be able to do that successfully without the really great cross-government experiences I’ve had.”

Read the full story here

Virgin Media O2 Business: A telco integration supporting customers

David Cornwell, Director – SMEs, on the unfolding telco integration journey at Virgin Media O2 Business delivering for Business customers

“If you’ve got the wrong culture, you can’t develop your people or navigate change…” David Cornwell is Director of Technical Services for SMEs at Virgin Media O2 Business. He reflects on the technology journey embarked upon in 2021 when two giants of the telco space merged. A new opportunity was seized to support businesses with the secure, reliable and efficient integration of new technology.

Read the full story here

The AA: Driving growth with technology

Nick Edwards, Group CDO at The AA, on the organisation’s incredible technology transformation and how these changes directly benefit customers.

“2024 has been a milestone year for the business,” explains Edwards. “It marks the completion of the first phase of the future growth strategy we’ve been focused on since the appointment of our new CEO, Jakob Pfaudler.” Revenues have grown by over 20%, allowing The AA to drive customer growth with technology. “All of this has been delivered by our refreshed management team,” he continues. “It reflects the strength of our people across the business and the broader cultural transformation of The AA in the last three years.”

Read the full story here

Publicis Sapient: Global Banking Benchmark Study

Dave Murphy, Financial Services Lead, Global at Publicis Sapient, gave us the lowdown on its third annual Global Banking Benchmark Study.

The report reveals that artificial intelligence (AI) dominates banks’ digital transformation plans, signalling that their adoption of AI is on the brink of change. “AI, machine learning and GenAI are both the focus and the fuel of banks’ digital transformation efforts,” he says. “The biggest question for executives isn’t about the potential of these technologies. It’s how best to move from experimenting with use cases in pockets of the business to implementing at scale across the enterprise. The right data is key. It’s what powers the models.”

Read the full story here

Bupa: Connected Care

Chief Information Officer Simon Birch and Chief Customer & Transformation Officer Danielle Handley discuss Bupa’s transformation journey across APAC and the positive impact of its Connected Care strategy.

“Connected Care is our primary mission. We’ve been focusing our time, investment and energy to reimagine and connect customer experiences,” says Simon. “It’s an incredibly energising place to be. Delivering our Connected Care proposition to our customers is made possible by the complete focus of the organisation and the alignment leaders and teams have to the Bupa purpose. Curiosity is encouraged with a focus on agility, collaboration and innovation. Ultimately, we are reimagining digital and physical healthcare provision to customers across the region. Furthermore, we are providing our colleagues with amazing new tools to better serve our customers throughout all of our businesses.”

Read the full story here

ServiceNow: Tech disruption delivering change

Gregg Aldana, Global Area Vice President, Creator Workflows Specialist Solution Consulting at ServiceNow, on how a disruptive approach to technology can drive innovation.

While the whole world works towards automating as many processes as possible for efficiency’s sake, businesses like ServiceNow are supporting that change evolution. ServiceNow’s platform serves over 7,700 customers across the world in their quest to eliminate manual tasks and become more streamlined. We spoke to Aldana about how it does this and the ways in which technology is evolving.

Read the full story here

Innovation Group: Enabling the future of insurance

James Coggin, Group Chief Technology Officer on digital transformation and using InsurTech to disrupt an industry.

“What we’ve achieved at Innovation Group is truly disruptive,” reflects Group Chief Technology Officer James Coggin. “Our acquisition by one of the world’s largest insurance companies validated the strategy we pursued with our Gateway platform. We put the platform at the heart of an ecosystem of insurers, service providers and their customers. It has proved to be a powerful approach.”

Read the full story here

San Francisco PD: A technology transformation

Chief Information Officer William Sanson-Mosier on the development of advanced technologies to empower emergency responders and enhance public safety

“Ultimately, my motivation stems from the relationship between individual growth and organisational success. When we invest in our people, and we empower them to innovate with technology and problem-solve, they can deliver exceptional results. In turn, the organisation thrives, solidifying its position as a leader in its field. This virtuous cycle of growth and innovation is what drives me.” CIO William Sanson-Mosier is reflecting on a journey of change for the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). Ignited by the transformative power of technology to enhance public safety and improve lives.

Read the full story here

  • Digital Strategy

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

12 December 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Read in brochure format

We say goodbye to 2024 focused on the technology innovation the new year will bring. Our cover story highlights a…

We say goodbye to 2024 focused on the technology innovation the new year will bring. Our cover story highlights a technology transformation journey change for the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD)

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Read the latest issue here!

San Francisco Police Department: A Technology Transformation

San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) CIO William ‘Will’ Sanson Mosier is ignited by the transformative power of technology to enhance public safety and improve lives. “Ultimately, my motivation stems from the relationship between individual growth and organisational success. When we invest in our people, we empower them to innovate, problem-solve, and deliver exceptional results. In turn, the organisation thrives, solidifying its position as a leader in its field. This virtuous cycle of growth and innovation is what drives me.”

OSB Group- Building the Bank of the Future

Group Chief Transformation Officer Matt Baillie talks to Interface about maintaining the soul of a FinTech with the gravitas of a FTSE business during a full stack tech transformation at OSB Group. “We’ve found the balance between making sure we maintain regulatory compliance and keeping up with customer expectations while making the required propositional changes to keep pace with markets on our existing savings and lending platforms.”

Urenco: Accuracy is Everything

We speak with the CIO of Urenco – an international supplier of enrichment services and fuel cycle products for the civil nuclear industry. Sarah Leteney talks about the ways this unique business leverages technology, and the big difference a small team can make. “We work in a high threat environment and there are many special considerations to understand. There is a rhythm to what we do to work at a pace which suits the organisation, rather than keep up with the latest trends in IT.”

Langham Hospitality Group: Technology, Strategy, Innovation

Langham Hospitality Group SVP, Sean Seah, talks hospitality informed by innovation, and falling in love with the problem, not the solution. “You’ve got to pilot something small – ideate it, then you can incubate it, and if it works you figure out how to industrialise it.”

Midcounties Co-operative: A Digital Transfomation

The Midcounties Co-operative is home to over 645,000 members and employs more than 6,200 people across multiple brands and locations, including over 230 food retail stores across the UK. We spoke with CIO Jacob Isherwood to learn about its approach to data management. “Whether you’re running a nursery, managing a natural gas pipeline, or selling tins of beans, data helps manage complexity and meet challenges from a place of understanding.”

Read the latest issue here!

  • Digital Strategy

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

20 November 2024

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Read in brochure format

This month’s cover story throws the spotlight on the ground-up technology transformation journey at Lanes Group – a leading water…

This month’s cover story throws the spotlight on the ground-up technology transformation journey at Lanes Group – a leading water and wastewater solutions and services provider in the UK.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Read the latest issue here!

Lanes Group: A Ground-Up Tech Transformation

In a world driven by transformation, it’s rare a leader gets the opportunity to deliver organisational change in its purest form… Lanes Group – the leading water and wastewater solutions services provider – has started again from the ground up with IT Director Mo Dawood at the helm.

“I’ve always focused on transformation,” he reflects. “Particularly around how we make things better, more efficient, or more effective for the business and its people. The end-user journey is crucial. So many times you see organisations thinking they can buy the best tech and systems, plug them in, and they’ve solved the problem. You have to understand the business, the technology side, and the people in equal measure. It’s core to any transformation.”

Mo’s roadmap for transformation centred on four key areas: HR and payroll, management of the group’s vehicle fleet, migrating to a new ERP system, and health and safety. “People were first,” he comments. “Getting everyone on the same HR and payroll system would enable the HR department to transition, helping us have a greater understanding of where we were as a business and providing a single point of information for who we employ and how we need to grow.”

Schneider Electric: End-to-End Supply Chain Cybersecurity

Schneider Electric provides energy and digital automation and industrial IoT solutions for customers in homes, buildings, industries, and critical infrastructure. The company serves 16 critical sectors. It has a vast digital footprint spanning the globe, presenting a complex and ever-evolving risk landscape and attack surface. Cybersecurity, product security and data protection, and a robust and protected end-to-end supply chain for software, hardware, and firmware are fundamental to its business.

“From a critical infrastructure perspective, one of the big challenges is that the defence posture of the base can vary,” says Cassie Crossley, VP, Supply Chain Security, Cybersecurity & Product Security Office.

“We believe in something called ‘secure by operations’, which is similar to a cloud shared responsibility model. Nation state and malicious actors are looking for open and available devices on networks. Operational technology and systems that are not built with defence at the core and not normally intended to be internet facing. The fact these products are out there and not behind a DMZ network to add an extra layer of security presents a big risk. It essentially means companies are accidentally exposing their networks. To mitigate this we work with the Department of Energy, CISA, other global agencies, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Through our initiative we identify customers inadvertently doing this we inform them and provide information on the risk.”

Persimmon Homes: Digital Innovation in Construction

As an experienced FTSE100 Group CIO who has enabled transformation some of the UK’s largest organisations, Persimmon Homes‘ Paul Coby knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a successful CIO. Fifty things, to be precise. Like the importance of bridging the gap between technology and business priorities, and how all IT projects must be business projects. That IT is a team sport, that communication is essential to deliver meaningful change – and that people matter more than technology. And that if you’re not scared sometimes, you’re not really understanding what being the CIO is.

“There’s no such thing as an IT strategy; instead, IT is an integral part of the business strategy”

WCDSB: Empowering learning through technology innovation

‘Tech for good’, or ‘tech with purpose’. Both liberally used phrases across numerous industries and sectors today. But few purposes are greater than providing the tools, technology, and innovations essential for guiding children on their educational journey. Meanwhile, also supporting the many people who play a crucial role in helping learners along the way. Chris Demers and his IT Services Department team at the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) have the privilege of delivering on this kind of purpose day in, day out. A mission they neatly summarise as ‘empower, innovate, and foster success’. 

“The Strategic Plan projects out five years across four areas,” Demers explains. “It addresses endpoint devices, connectivity and security as dictated by business and academic needs. We focus on infrastructure, bandwidth, backbone networks, wifi, security, network segmentation, firewall infrastructure, and cloud services. Process improvement includes areas like records retention, automated workflows, student data systems, parent portals, and administrative systems. We’re fully focused on staff development and support.”

Read the latest issue here!

  • Data & AI
  • Digital Strategy
  • People & Culture

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

15 October 2024

Estimated Read time

6Mins

Read in brochure format

Our cover story reveals the digital transformation journey at global insurance services company Innovation Group using InsurTech advances to disrupt…

Our cover story reveals the digital transformation journey at global insurance services company Innovation Group using InsurTech advances to disrupt the industry.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Read the latest issue here!

We’re excited to be publishing the biggest ever issue of Interface this month. It’s packed with insights from the cutting edge of digital technologies across a diverse range of sectors; from InsurTech to Travel via eCommerce, Banking, Manufacturing and Public Services.

Innovation Group: Enabling the Future of Insurance

“What we’ve achieved at Innovation Group is truly disruptive,” reflects Group Chief Technology Officer James Coggin.

“Our acquisition by one of the world’s largest insurance companies validated the strategy we pursued with our Gateway platform. We put the platform at the heart of an ecosystem of insurers, service providers and their customers. It has proved to be a powerful approach.”

Leeds Building Society: Tech Transformation Driven by Data

Carole Roberts, Director of Data at Leeds Building Society, on a digital transformation program driven by the mutual power of people and culture.

“We’ve made the decision to move to a composable architecture. It’s going to give us much more flexibility in the future to be able to swap in and out components rather than one big monolithic environment.”

AvePoint: Securing the Digital Future

Kevin Briggs, Vice President of Public Sector at AvePoint, discusses pioneering data security and management transformation in the global public sector.

“We ensure the security, accessibility and integrity of data for customers with missions from everything from finance and health services, through to national security, innovation, and science.”

Saudia: Taking off on a Digital Journey

Abdulgader Attiah, Chief Data & Technology Officer at Saudia, on the digital transformation program towards becoming an ‘offer and order’ airline.

“By the end of this year we will have established the maturity level for data technology, and our digital and back-office transformations. In 2025 we will begin implementing our retailing concept and the AI features that will drive it. The building blocks will be in place for next year’s initiatives where hyper personalisation for retailing is a must.”

Publicis Sapient: Global Banking Benchmark Study

Dave Murphy, Financial Services Lead, International – gives Interface the lowdown on the third annual Global Banking Benchmark Study and the key findings Publicis Sapient revealed around core modernisation, GenAI, data analytics transformation and payments.

“AI, machine learning and GenAI are both the focus and the fuel of banks’ digital transformation efforts. The biggest question for executives isn’t about the potential of these technologies. It’s how best to move from experimenting with use cases in pockets of the business to implementing at scale across the enterprise. The right data is key. It’s what powers the models.”

Habi: Unleashing liquidity in the LATAM market

Employees at Habi discuss its mission to help customers buy and sell their homes more effectively.

“At Habi, you can talk with the AI agent and you can provide information that streamlines the whole process.”

USDA FPAC: Achieving customer experience balance

Abena Apau and Kimberly Iczkowski, from USDA FPAC on the incredible work the organisation is doing to support farmers across America.

“We’ve created a new structure for ourselves, based on the fact that the digital experience is not the be all and end all, and we have to balance it with the human touch.”

Adecco Group: Digital Transformation driven by business outcomes

Geert Halsberghe, Head of IT, Benelux, at Adecco Group, talks transformation management, cultural consensus, and ensuring digital transformation starts (and stays) focused on solving business problems.

“It’s very crucial to make sure that we aren’t spending money on IT transformation for the sake of IT transformation.”

La Vie en Rose: Outcome-focused Digital Transformation

Éric Champagne, CIO of La Vie en Rose, on ensuring digital transformations are defined by communication, vision, and cultural buy-in. 

“I don’t chase after the latest technology just because it seems cool… My focus is on aligning technology with the business strategy and real needs.”

Breitling: Digital Transformation and the omnichannel experience

Rajesh Shanmugasundaram, CTO at Breitling, talks changing customer expectations, data, AI, and digitally transforming to deliver the omnichannel experience.

 “The CRM, the marketing, our e-commerce channels — they’ve all matured so much… we’re meeting our customers wherever they are or want to be.” 

Read the latest issue here!

  • Digital Strategy

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

5 September 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Read in brochure format

Our cover star, EY’s Global Chief Data Officer Marco Vernocchi, tells Interface why data is a “team sport” and reveals…

Our cover star, EY’s Global Chief Data Officer Marco Vernocchi, tells Interface why data is a “team sport” and reveals the transformation journey towards realising its potential for one of the world’s largest professional services organisations.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Read the latest issue here!

EY: A data-driven company

Global Chief Data Officer, Marco Vernocchi, reflects on the data transformation journey at one of the world’s largest professional services networks.

“Data is pervasive, it’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It’s not a physical asset, but it’s a part of every business activity every day. I joined EY in 2019 as the first Global Chief Data Officer. Our vision was to recognise data as a strategic competitive asset for the organisation. Through the efforts of leadership and the Data Office team, we’ve elevated data from a commodity utility to an asset. Our formal data strategy defined with clarity the purpose, scope, goals and timeline of how we manage data across EY.  Bringing data to the centre of what we do has created a competitive asset that is transforming the way we work.”

PivotalEdge Capital

Sid Ghatak, Founder & CEO of asset management firm PivotalEdge Capital, spoked to us about the pioneering use of “data-centric AI” for trading models capable of solving the problems of trust and cost.

“I’ve always advocated data-driven decision-making throughout my career,” says Ghatak. “I knew when I started an asset management firm that it needed to be data-centric AI from the very beginning. A few early missteps in my career taught me the importance of having a stable and reliable flow of data in production systems and that became a criterion.”

LSC Communications

Piotr Topor, Director of Information Security & Governance at LSC Communications, discusses tackling the cyber skills shortage, AI, and bringing together the business and IT to create a cyber-conscious culture at a global leader in print and digital media solutions.

Topor tells Interface: “The main challenge we’re dealing with is overcoming the disconnect between cybersecurity and business goals.”

América Televisión

Interface meets again with Jose Hernandez, Chief Digital Officer at América Televisión, who reveals how the company is embracing new business models, and maintaining market leadership in Peru.

“Launching our FAST channel represents a pivotal step in diversifying our content delivery and monetisation strategies. Furthermore, aligning us with global trends while catering to the changing viewing habits of our audience,” says Hernandez.

Also in this issue of Interface, we hear from eflow about new approaches to Regtech; get the lowdown on bridging the AI skills gap from CI&T; and GCX on the best ways to navigate changing cybersecurity regulations.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

  • Digital Strategy

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

8 August 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Read in brochure format

Our cover story this month focuses on the work of Chief Information Officer Simon Birch and Chief Customer & Transformation…

Our cover story this month focuses on the work of Chief Information Officer Simon Birch and Chief Customer & Transformation Officer Danielle Handley leading Bupa’s digital transformation journey across APAC and delivering a positive impact with its Connected Care strategy.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Read the latest issue here!

Bupa: Connected Care

“ConnectedCare is our primary mission and we’ve been spearheading time, investment and creativity to reinvent and reinvigorate customer experiences,” says APAC CIO Simon Birch. “Delivering that ConnectedCare proposition to our customers is made possible by the collegiate focus of the organisation. Ultimately, what we’re able to achieve is supporting our most important colleagues, our healthcare practitioners working across our facilities.”

Reflecting on that transformation goal, Chief Customer & Transformation Officer Danielle Handley believes that stakeholder engagement and alignment, while building relationships across the enterprise, have been key to their early success. “We’ve found the champions within the enterprise who are going to form part of the coalition of the willing to start to lead transformation here at Bupa.”

Vodafone: Personalising Embedded Insurance

Halil Teksal, Global Head of Fintech at Vodafone, discusses disruption in insurance, personalisation, and giving customers exactly what they need at the right time. “The main thing we’re aiming for is simplicity. How can we have really easy-to-use personalised solutions? At the end of the day, that’s what customers want. When they buy a smart device, they want to buy the insurance quickly from a reliable provider. It’s important that we satisfy all of those needs.”

Young businessman writing on adhesive notes on glass partition in modern office, ideas, innovation, planning, strategy

Walden Group: Advanced technology for a healthier tomorrow

Denis Connolly, CIO of Walden Group and CEO of Walden Digital, talks about the incredible work the organisation is doing to leverage data and technology for the overall improvement of the world’s health. “We’ve created all these new initiatives just in the last year or so, moving from technology being a cost centre to being an R&D and development-focused organisation.”

Also in this issue, Samer Fouani, Head of Cyber Transformation & Identity Access Management at TAL discusses the cyber journey for colleagues and customers at one of Australia’s leading insurers; Mark Turner, Chief Commercial Officer at Pulsant, explores how medium-sized businesses can best leverage new developments in AI; Martin Hartley, Group Chief Commercial Officer of emagine, examined the role of artificial intelligence in personalising the customer experience for financial services and Marius Stäcker, CEO of ToolTime, shares his four top tips for successfully implementing new software and driving digital transformation.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

  • Digital Strategy

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

23 July 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Our cover story this month features a fascinating discussion with Rebecca Howard, Head of Supplier Relationship Management at Coventry Building…

Our cover story this month features a fascinating discussion with Rebecca Howard, Head of Supplier Relationship Management at Coventry Building Society who talks operational transformation, ESG, and procurement as a creator of social value and community engagement… 

Social values

The role of procurement has changed. Today, the function has become a driver of so much more than cost reduction and business continuity. In the past few years—especially since the pandemic—procurement’s potential to not only support sustainable practice, digital transformation, and supply chain resilience, but to champion the values of the business as a whole has become increasingly evident.  

Coventry Building Society touches the lives of millions of people across the UK. We help them save and borrow to support their goals and livelihoods. “We’re owned by our members and our core belief is that we put our members first,” says Rebecca Howard, Coventry Building Society’s Head of Supplier Relationship Management. “Our members want us to keep their money safe and have an impact on people’s lives. That’s why our purpose is making people better off through life.”  

Read the full story here! 

Innovation

Elsewhere, we also have an exclusive interview with Deputy Chief Procurement Officer of IDEMIA’s Smart Identity division, Mark Janssen who discusses his procurement journey with IDEMIA. It’s a role that’s putting trust at the heart of his approach to partnership, procurement, and innovation…

For governments, trust in a company like IDEMIA to deliver reliable identity solutions is vital. Vital not only to the wellbeing of their citizens and institutions, but for national security. Mark Janssen, Deputy Chief Procurement Officer of IDEMIA’s Smart Identity division, emphasises this: “If a government runs out of identification documents, it triggers an immediate crisis.” Without valid forms of ID, he continues, citizens can’t travel, buy a house, or register a newborn child. 

Read the full story here! 

Plus, we have exclusive content from Amazon Business, Tonkean and much, much more! 

Read the latest issue here! 

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Shelley Salomon, VP of Global Business at Amazon Business, discusses her company’s commitment to fostering gender diversity in procurement… Procurement’s…

Shelley Salomon, VP of Global Business at Amazon Business, discusses her company’s commitment to fostering gender diversity in procurement…

Procurement’s gender imbalance isn’t new.

Traditionally, the function was regarded as a male-dominated profession. But change is afoot, in more ways than one. While a digital transformation amidst technological innovation is well-publicised, another evolution is underway within the workforce.

Gender diversity has become an important component of many company strategies globally. While progress to encourage more women into procurement has already started. There still remains an imbalance, particularly among those holding leadership positions. With current statistics suggesting around one in four leadership positions are held by women, there is still room for improvement.

So, is progress happening quickly enough? Shelley Salomon, VP of Global Business at Amazon Business, discusses her organisation’s commitment to fostering gender diversity and how women can reach parity in procurement. 

In your opinion, where is procurement today in terms of women’s representation in 2024?

Shelley Salomon: “Women’s representation in procurement has seen progress these past few years, but there remains room for further improvement. Gartner’s data shows that women comprise 41% of the supply chain workforce. It’s encouraging to see greater gender diversity within the industry.

“While these statistics are encouraging, they also highlight ongoing challenges. Particularly at the leadership level. Only 25% of leadership roles are held by women. This disparity underscores the need for sustained efforts to promote gender diversity and support women’s ascension to senior positions within procurement.

“My perspective on this trend is one of cautious optimism. The progress we see is promising, reflecting a growing recognition of women’s unique contributions to procurement roles. Diverse perspectives and gender equity are vital for effective decision-making and problem-solving. Additionally, multiple credible studies show that companies with the greatest gender balance in the C-suite are likelier to achieve above average financial results. However, much work must be done to ensure these advancements translate into lasting change.”

While progress to encourage more women into the workforce seems to be underway, there is still a major disparity in the number of women leaders in procurement. What is the best way to go about rectifying this? 

Shelley Salomon: “I believe there’s a significant opportunity to welcome more women into procurement leadership roles. By establishing robust mentorship and sponsorship programmes, organisations can provide invaluable guidance, support, and networking opportunities. Thus empowering women to thrive in their careers and gain visibility within the organisation. Investing in inclusive leadership development programmes is essential. These initiatives focus on building inclusive skills and readiness for leadership roles, continuing to foster a more inclusive and dynamic workforce.

“In my opinion, implementing inclusive hiring practices that actively promote gender diversity, such as using diverse hiring panels and conducting blind recruitment processes, is essential to minimising biases. 

“Lastly, setting clear, measurable goals for increasing the number of women procurement leaders and regularly reporting on progress to hold leadership teams accountable can drive meaningful change. By taking these proactive steps, organisations can create a more equitable environment that supports the advancement of women into leadership roles within procurement.”

Read the full story here!


Author

Andrew Woods

Published

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Sagi Eliyahu, Co-Founder and CEO at Tonkean and Alejandro Fernandez, Head of Global Procurement at Semrush, discuss the power of…

Sagi Eliyahu, Co-Founder and CEO at Tonkean and Alejandro Fernandez, Head of Global Procurement at Semrush, discuss the power of intake orchestration and procurement’s rise to the top of the agenda in the c-suite…

In a world with almost endless possibilities, why waste time on manual or outdated processes?

Technology is an enabler in everyday and business life. It is there as a vehicle of change and a weapon of efficiency. When used correctly, AI can help people focus on higher-value and more fulfilling work – which is what an entire generation of people crave today. The problem is, technology is not leveraged as efficiently or as strategically as it could be today — especially in enterprise back-office operations, like procurement. 

This is where Tonkean comes in. Tonkean is a first-of-its-kind intake orchestration platform. Powered by AI, Tonkean helps enterprise internal service teams like procurement and legal create process experiences that transform how businesses operate. In part by changing how internal teams leverage smart technology to empower the employees they serve to do better, higher value work.

Process orchestration

Process orchestration refers to the strategy — enabled by process orchestration platforms — of coordinating automated business processes across teams and existing, integrated systems. These processes can facilitate all procurement-related activities. Importantly, they can also wrap around an organisation’s existing systems and accommodate employees’ many different working preferences and styles.

Instead of simply adding to an organisation’s existing tech stack, process orchestration allows companies to use their existing mix of people, data, and tech better together. The true promise of process orchestration is to finally put internal shared service teams like procurement in charge of the tools they deploy.

This goes a long way towards solving one of the enterprise’s most vexing operational challenges: the inefficiency of over-complexity born of too much new technology. It also allows procurement teams to truly make their technology work for them and the employees they serve. As opposed to making people work for technology. Process orchestration breaks down the silos that typically separate working environments. No longer do stakeholders have to log in to an ERP or P2P platform to submit or approve intake requests. The technology will meet them wherever they are.

All in one place

Enter Sagi Eliyahu, Co-Founder and CEO at Tonkean. He explains that over the past few years, Tonkean has focused more on procurement specifically. In part because the challenges the procurement function faces day-in and day-out represent perfect orchestration use-cases. Procurement processes touch so many different teams, tools, and departments. Poor procurement performance can often be traced back to the fact that all these moving parts otherwise aren’t able to communicate easily with each other. Tonkean was built to address exactly that problem. 

“We saw that our procurement customers were having great success with it, but the market started to heat up as well,” he reveals. “It made sense because it happened for us on the procurement and legal side. They are teams that are very central to an organisation and their process is never just siloed into their tools and department. You need that idea of orchestrating all the different moving parts for it to have high adoption, faster cycles, better quality and compliance.”

Tonkean and Semrush partnership

One of Tonkean’s biggest customers is Semrush. Semrush, in turn, understands the potential of orchestration in procurement well. As a result of Tonkean’s intake orchestration capabilities, they’ve almost halved cycle times for intake requests — from 19 days to just 10. Alejandro Fernandez, Head of Global Procurement at Semrush, works closely with Eliyahu and Tonkean and couldn’t be happier about the collaboration…

Read the full story here!

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

16 July 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Soqui Calderon, Regional Director of Sustainability for Grupo Modelo and the Middle Americas Zone, reveals how the beverage giant is tackling sustainability from a procurement and supply chain perspective

Our exclusive cover story this month is with Soqui Calderon, Regional Director of Sustainability for Grupo Modelo and the Middle Americas Zone. She reveals how the beverage giant is tackling sustainability from a procurement and supply chain perspective. 

Grupo Modelo is a giant and a leader in the production, distribution and sale of beer in Mexico. Grupo Modelo is part of the Middle America Region (of the AB InBev Group) and boasts 17 national brands. Corona Extra is the most valuable brand in Latin America. Its other brands include: Modelo Especial, Victoria, Pacífico and Negra Modelo. The company also exports eight brands and has a presence in more than 180 countries while operating 11 brewing plants in Mexico. 

Through more than nine decades, Grupo Modelo has invested and grown within – and with – Mexico. It has also generated more than 30,000 direct jobs in its breweries and vertical operations throughout the country. 

Grupo Modelo, like many forward-thinking companies, is currently focused on a drive towards establishing a truly sustainable business. This endeavour is best exemplified in the Middle Americas Zone (MAZ), where sustainability efforts have been led by for the past five years by Soqui Calderon Aranibar, Regional Sustainability and ESG Director. Ambitious targets have been established for the region, but some remarkable achievements have already been made. As Calderon says: “For our team, sustainability is not just part of our business, it IS our business.” 

Sustainability in the MAZ 

The Middle Americas Zone is made up of several countries: Mexico, Colombia, Perú, Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Panama, Guatemala + other Caribbean islands. Each territory is home to its own brands that are household names in their respective countries. However, Grupo Modelo’s Corona beer, manufactured in Mexico, is one of the top five best-selling beers globally.

Calderon’s regional role means she travels extensively throughout the territories, engaging with all their businesses and collaborating closely with their partners and suppliers. Her job? To effectively outline their sustainability goals…

Read the full story here!

Elsewhere we have some incredible names imparting expert insights from companies such as Amazon Business, Source Day, DHL and Marriott International and lots, lots more! 

Read the full issue here!

Enjoy! 

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

3 July 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

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This month’s cover story sees our sister brand Fintech Strategy reporting from Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam – a pivotal event…

This month’s cover story sees our sister brand Fintech Strategy reporting from Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam – a pivotal event in the fintech calendar, drawing over 8,000 participants from 2,300 companies worldwide.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Read the latest issue here!

In this month’s issue…

Money20/20 Europe Review

The RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre was the location for the world’s leading fintech conference. Money20/20 Europe offered a unique blend of insightful keynotes, panel discussions, and networking opportunities that underscored the transformative power of emerging technologies in financial services. We met with SC Ventures, Lloyds Banking Group, OSB Group, AirWallex, Plaid, Paymentology, Episode Six, Mettle (Nat West Group) and more to take the pulse of the latest trends across the fintech landscape.

Under the theme of ‘Human X Machine’, Money20/20 Europe explored the relationship between humans and intelligent machines, focusing on how the partnership between artificial and human intelligence will forge a new era in finance…

Publicis Sapient: Global Banking Benchmark Study

Interface was also proud to partner with Publicis Sapient at Money20/20 Europe for the launch of its third annual Global Banking Benchmark Survey. The survey draws on the insight of over 1000 senior executives in financial services across various global markets and focuses on the goals, obstacles, and drivers of digital transformation.

We spoke with Head of Financial Services Dave Murphy about its findings. “The survey focuses on how to think about solving problems end-to-end. Banks are dealing with legacy issues and taking a customer first view into solving the challenges. The practical application of AI across the banks is a significant theme as they look to automate decision-making and deliver better credit risk models.”

At the launch event for the study, Eoghan Sheehy, Associate MD, and Grace Ge, Senior Principal, highlighted that banks are primarily focused on improving existing processes rather than introducing new ones. Data Analytics and AI are identified as key priorities for digital transformation, with a focus on internal use cases and efficiency.

Eoghan and Grace also discussed the challenges faced by banks, including regulation, competition from companies like Amazon, and the need to attract talent. They emphasised the importance for financial institutions of modernising core infrastructure and building cloud infrastructure to support ongoing digital transformation. The study also notes the prevalence of the development of custom-made tools and the prioritising of internal use cases for AI implementation. Eoghan and Grace also provided examples of repeatable use cases and discussed the success factors for Data Analytics and AI.

STO Building Group: Enabling and Empowering People

Claudia Healey, Chief Human Resources Officer at STO Building Group, spoke to Interface about the HR platform empowering its people in pursuit of a strategic vision… “Culture is the number one priority in a people business like STO Building Group (STOBG). If you’re not nurturing and inspiring your folks, well, they can just vote with their feet. They don’t have to stay. Or they could do worse, they could quit and stay. And that’s something we would never want. Meeting your people where they’re at, understanding their goals and aspirations, and how you can help them reach their potential is vital. Realising how you can really see your people and truly understand what matters to them, is an incredible priority.”

Also in this issue, AI hype has previously been followed by an AI winter, we hear from Scott Zoldi, Chief Analytics Officer at FICO who asks, ‘Is the AI bubble set to burst?’ Elsewhere, we round up the top events in tech and learn how businesses can ensure their cloud storage is more sustainable in an age of rising demand for data and AI. Cloud storage without the climate cost is possible explains Fasthosts CEO Simon Yeoman.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

  • Digital Strategy

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

18 June 2024

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Our cover story this month…  Marriott International Inc: A more sustainable supply chain  With science-based targets approved, Marriott is accelerating…

Our cover story this month… 

Marriott International Inc: A more sustainable supply chain 

With science-based targets approved, Marriott is accelerating work to help make its supply chain more sustainable. We speak to Stéphane Masson, Senior Vice President, Procurement, Marriott International, Inc. – for our exclusive cover story this month – to find out how… 

“Like many global companies, Marriott recognises that serving our world helps the communities where we operate and is also good business,” Masson tells us. “This Earth Day, we announced the approval of our near-and-long-term science-based emissions reduction targets by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), with a goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by no later than 2050. Approval of these targets is bringing heightened focus on our work to embed sustainability in our operations.  

Specifically, the company has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 46.2% by 2030 from a 2019 base year. Marriott also commits to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel and energy-related activities, waste generated in operations, employee commuting, and franchises 27.5% within the same timeframe.  

Importantly for our team and the suppliers we work with across the globe, Marriott’s targets include 22% of our suppliers by emissions—covering purchased goods and services, capital goods, and upstream transportation and distribution—which will have science-based targets by 2028. 

In the longer term, Marriott also aims to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 90% by 2050 from a 2019 base year and reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions 90% within the same timeframe.  

Our Global Procurement organisation plays an important role in setting up Marriott as we work to achieve the targets within this timeline. And it will require an evolution in how we engage Marriott associates, our suppliers, and other members of the industry.” 

Read the full story here! 

Grupo Modelo: Procurement and sustainability in action! 

We speak to Soqui Calderon, Regional Director of Sustainability for Grupo Modelo and the Middle Americas Zone, to see how the beverage giant is tackling sustainability from a procurement perspective… 

Grupo Modelo is a giant. A leader in the production, distribution and sale of beer in Mexico, Grupo Modelo is part of the Middle America Region (of the AB InBev Group) and boasts 17 national brands, among which are Corona Extra, the most valuable brand in Latin America, as well as Modelo Especial, Victoria, Pacífico and Negra Modelo. The company also exports eight brands and has a presence in more than 180 countries while operating 11 brewing plants in Mexico. 

Through more than nine decades, Grupo Modelo has invested and grown within – and with – Mexico, generating more than 30,000 direct jobs in its breweries and vertical operations, located throughout the country. 

Grupo Modelo, like many forward-thinking companies, is currently focused on a drive towards establishing a truly sustainable business. This endeavour is best exemplified in the Middle Americas Zone (MAZ), where sustainability efforts have been led by for the past five years by Soqui Calderon Aranibar, Regional Sustainability and ESG Director. Ambitious targets have been established for the region, but some remarkable achievements have already been made. As Calderon says: “For our team, sustainability is not just part of our business, it IS our business.” 

Read the full story here! 

SDI International: Delivering tail spend excellence 

SDI International’s Brendan Curran and Joaquín Morales discuss empowering procurement innovation, the importance of effective tail spend management, and how its Master Vendor programme transforms the function 

In a world of greater complexity and risk, technology adoption and digitalisation, and an ever-evolving compliance and regulatory environment, procurement teams still grapple with a perennial challenge: cost reduction. Which is why tail spend management – often overlooked and unmanaged while procurement focuses its attention on strategic, high-spend categories – is so important. Indeed, for many organisations, taking effective control of costly, one-off buys and high-volume, low-value purchases involving numerous suppliers can deliver as much as 5% to 10% of cost savings, according to Boston Consulting Group. 

But tail spend, by its nature, is complicated. It requires significant focus to effectively manage high volumes of data, often has a perceived lack of strategic importance within both procurement and the wider organisation, lacks visibility, involves vast numbers of transactions, many product categories, and a largely anonymous supplier base, and can bring potential compliance risks because of poor onboarding processes or inconsistent terms and conditions.  

Tackling the problem can be daunting for procurement teams. But, according to SDI International, it doesn’t have to be. The organisation, one of the world’s largest diversity and woman-owned procurement outsourcing and technology providers, delivers industry-leading holistic tail management solutions based on a successful formula: simplify, digitalise, innovate. Its Master Vendor programme provides procurement teams looking to tackle their tail with a one-stop solution for tail spend that leverages the latest and most efficient technologies to handle supplier onboarding and on-time payment, and manage the entire tail supply chain, stakeholder servicing, and escalations. The result is a procurement department better able to drive cost saving, efficiencies, and more strategic outcomes.  

Read the full story here! 

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

8 May 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

DHL Group’s Erik-Jan Ossewaarde discusses the power of partnerships in the transition towards a green supply base, and how proactively fostering supplier relationships contributes to a more sustainable ecosystem…

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the 50-issue landmark. It’s been such an incredible journey and thank you to every single person who has helped us along the way! And our 50th issue has a suitably fitting cover story with which to mark this moment.  

Read the latest issue here!

DHL: The power of sustainable partnerships 

DHL Group’s Erik-Jan Ossewaarde discusses the power of partnerships in the transition towards a green supply base. And how proactively fostering supplier relationships contributes to a more sustainable ecosystem 

Procurement has an important role to play in applying supplier sustainability initiatives in most organisations. We all know that. But, if you want to understand what that looks like in practice and how you transform the function to deliver on that promise, you could do a lot worse than spending time with Erik-Jan Ossewaarde and his strategy, sourcing, and procurement colleagues in his global cluster, as we were lucky enough to. Their job is to play a crucial role in delivering on the near-unmatched sustainability commitments set out by world-leading logistics company DHL Group to reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.  

DHL: how proactively fostering supplier relationships contributes to a more sustainable ecosystem 

Read the full story here!

Aquila Group: Purposeful procurement in mind 

We speak to Özer Ergül, Group Head of Procurement at Aquila Group, about the way the business is leveraging its position to influence suppliers and improve ESG across the board 

Investment and asset development company, Aquila Group, is one that takes sustainability seriously. It invests in and develops clean energy and sustainable infrastructure assets, meaning a focus on ESG is baked into the business with more than 15 years’ experience focused on climate change. And for Özer Ergül, Group Head of Procurement at Aquila Group, it’s the perfect canvas for his passions and expertise to come together. 

Ergül’s background is a mixture of aerospace, automotive, and for the last two decades, energy. He started off his career as an Air Force officer and moved into the automotive world in the 1990s, just as the sector was undergoing huge and exciting changes. “Those early roles shaped my way of working, my way of thinking,” Ergül explains. “They showed me how to solve problems collaboratively, and I still use those tools and that knowledge to this day.” 

Read the full story here!

Plus, we have fascinating exclusives with procurement leaders at Amazon Business Services, HICX and many, many more. Plus, all the latest news and events affecting procurement and its practitioners. 

Here’s to the next 50 issues! 

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

23 April 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

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Publicic Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz reflects on the leadership strategies required for successful digital business transformations

The hardest part of being a business leader and CEO – especially leading through change – are the choices we make every day to move toward that will drive our future success. Often, this will mean letting go of things that made us successful in the past. We must make room for new skills, relationships, ways of working, and opportunities.

The average CEO has 30 years of business experience and makes decisions based on that accumulated experience. But think how much the world has changed in the space of five years, let alone 30. The same thinking and approach are not going to stand the test of time. The modern CEO needs to find and maintain the ability to turn preconceived ideas on their head. As a leader, I’ve always felt it’s important that I adopt the behaviours I advise for our clients. Leaders must be willing to learn, adapt and act with speed.

The Modern CEO

The modern CEO has a complicated, bordering on paradoxical, relationship with change. We dislike uncertainty and volatility, and yet we have an intense distaste for stasis. We would rather avoid geopolitical instability and macroeconomic challenges. However, changes to customer needs, shifting industry landscapes and rapid technological innovation bring opportunities to transform our companies. We must identify paths to value creation and growth, and build better, more efficient businesses. And, the reality is for today’s CEOs, you don’t get to pick one or the other. You have to be ready to lead your organisation in the context of both simultaneously. Leading through either type of change is not for the faint of heart.

In my role as CEO of Publicis Sapient – a digital business transformation company that partners with organisations globally to help them create and sustain competitive advantage – my relationship with change is amplified. I am responsible for driving growth and ensuring our business capabilities are optimised for the digital age. At the same time I’m leading a business that empowers our clients to embrace change by putting digital at the core of how they think, organise and operate. On the Executive Committee of our parent company, Publicis Groupe, I am also weighing in on how to lead on the digital business transformation of the Groupe. This has been accelerated this past year with the pace of AI.

Change Management

The nexus of these different aspects of my CEO role is not uncommon to many of the CEO clients we work with. Like myself, they are leading their organisations and people through a period of tremendous change. Furthermore, they are tasked with making decisions daily on choices that will impact the direction and outcomes for their company.

One of the most critical choices they will make is determining the purpose of their organisation. When there is so much change and challenge surrounding you, the easy path is to react and say, ‘How do I overcome each of these challenges?’ But first you have to be clear on who you are as an organisation and the impact you want to have. Without that sense of direction, you can very easily fall into the mistake of making disconnected, reactive decisions.

Read the full story here

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

Estimated Read time

4Mins

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Welcome to the latest issue of CEOstrategy where we highlight the challenges and opportunities that come with ‘the’ leadership role

Our cover story focuses on the work of Nigel Vaz, the CEO of Publicis Sapient – a digital business transformation company that partners with organisations globally to help them create and sustain competitive advantage – and his approach to change management.

Welcome to the latest issue of CEOstrategy!

Tasked with accelerating business growth, while building the synergies across an organisation that can drive innovation to meet diverse customer needs and keep revenues on track, the modern CEO must be mentor, marshall and motivator on the journey to success.

Read the latest issue here!

Publicis Sapient: Advice for the modern CEO

“I lead Publicis Sapient with a set of principles to keep me on track, and which I offer to fellow CEOs as a guide,” says CEO Nigel Vaz. “Embrace change, and view challenges as opportunities for growth and innovation; Foster a culture of continuous learning within yourself and your organisation; Advance the organisational capabilities that will enable your company to deliver on your brand promise; Adopt a data-driven approach to decision-making, utilising analytics and advanced technologies and Stay rooted in purpose to realise your competitive advantage.”

EMCS: Leading a small fish making a big impact

“If you look after your people and you have the right people in place, the customer experience takes care of itself,” explains EMCS Industries CEO Trevor Tasker. “A lot of entrepreneurs say the same, but you don’t always see it in action. If I have to micromanage somebody, I’ve made a hiring mistake. When I’ve found the right person, all I have to do is support them and trust them. If I can’t trust them, I can’t lead them. And being trusted makes my employees so much better at their jobs. It makes choosing the customers you deal with very important as well…”

Moneypenny: People at the heart

We are consistently listed in the best places to work rankings and have created a happy and fun working environment,” says Moneypenny CEO Joanna Swash. “We strive to be authentic, and that starts at the top. If the leadership team walks the walk and talks the talk, then trust is built. Trust fosters a culture where employees are motivated, engaged and empowered with a culture of transparency and honesty…”

Bupa: Choice, care and compassion driving digital transformation

“In a fast-changing world, it’s essential that we harness the power of technology to keep improving health outcomes for our customers,” says Global & UK CEO Carlos Jaureguizar of the digital transformation journey helping Bupa become the world’s most customer-centric healthcare company. “We give our people the tools to give customers the best care, streamline the customer experience and drive innovation.”

Also in this issue, we hear from Rachel Youngman, Deputy CEO at the Institute of Physics, on how organisations can leverage ESG targets to meet the Net Zero challenge; we get the lowdown on a fintech success story from RTGS.global CEO Jarrad Hubble; discover the importance of Strategic Thinking with Institute for Management Development Professor Michael Watkins and count down ten reasons why integrity is key to business success with Serenity In Leadership CEO Thom Dennis.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

21 March 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Landry Giardina, Sanofi’s Global Head of Clinical Supply Chain Operations Innovation & Technology talks data-driven performance, resilience, agility and operational excellence within the clinical supply chain area…

It’s a packed issue this month. Here’s a roll call of just some of this month’s exclusive content…

Read the latest issue here!

Sanofi: Clinical supply chain innovation

Landry Giardina, Sanofi’s Global Head of Clinical Supply Chain Operations Innovation & Technology talks data-driven performance, resilience, agility and operational excellence within the clinical supply chain area…

Sanofi has a mission: to chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives, and sometimes that means starting over with Plan B, Plan C, or even Plan Z. To do so means to work across the most complex disciplines to solve problems, to push the boundaries and not be afraid to take smart risks, and to dedicate everything to making life better for people everywhere. None of that happens without continuous and groundbreaking R&D and clinical trials to prove the medicines and vaccines it creates are safe and efficient for millions of people around the world. Which makes Landry Giardina and his colleagues’ jobs absolutely essential. 

Read the full story here!

Werfen: Procurement and supply chain excellence through teamwork

Don Perigny, Director Supply Chain, at Werfen, a Specialised Diagnostics developer, manufacturer and distributor, reveals how a strong work culture can achieve incredible success during challenging times.

“It takes a village to raise a child,’ purports a famous African saying. It’s certainly a phrase that has struck a note with Don Perigny, Director Supply Chain at Werfen. For Perigny, the ‘village’ is Werfen’s supply-chain and procurement team, although he does extend the sentiment to Werfen’s wider network, including its suppliers and partners, who have kept the former professional sportsman busy at the company for over 21 years.

Werfen is a worldwide leader in the area Specialised Diagnostics for Hemostasis, Acute Care, Transfusion, Autoimmunity and Transplant. The Company also has an OEM division, focused on customised diagnostics. Werfen’s annual revenue exceeds $2bn with a worldwide workforce of 7,000, operating in approx. 35 countries and more than 100 territories through its network of distributors. 

We join Perigny at his office in Bedford, Massachusetts. He’s just back from a week at Werfen’s San Diego offices, where he spent some quality time with his extended (work) family. And it’s soon clear that the people, the culture and what Werfen does for the world is crucial to Perigny and the wider workforce at the company. 

Read the full story here!

Plus, we have expert-driven analysis on hot topics such as AI in supply chain, tackling global regulations and how to encourage more women into supply chain and procurement. 

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

6 March 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

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Our cover story this month focuses on the work of Arianne Gallagher-Welcher. As the Executive Director for the USDA Digital…

Our cover story this month focuses on the work of Arianne Gallagher-Welcher. As the Executive Director for the USDA Digital Service, in the Office of the OCIO, her team’s mission is to drive a tech transformation at the USDA. The goal is to better serve the American people across all of its 50 states.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Welcome to a new year of possibility where technology meets business at the interface of change…

Read the latest issue here!

USDA: The People’s Agency

“We knew that in order for us to deliver what we needed for our stakeholders, we needed to be flexible – and that has trickled down from our senior leaders.” Arianne Gallagher-Welcher, Executive Director for the USDA Digital Service reveals the strategic plan’s first goal. Above all, the aim is to deliver customer-centric IT so farmers, producers, and families can find dealing with USDA as easy as using an ATM.

BCX: Delivering insights & intelligence across the Data & AI value chain

We also sat down with Stefan Steffen, Executive Leader for Data Insights & Intelligence at BCX. He revealed how BCX is leveraging AI to strategically transform businesses and drive their growth. “Our commitment to leveraging data and AI to drive innovation harnesses the power of technology to unlock new opportunities, drive efficiency, and enhance competitiveness for our clients.”

Momentum Multiply: A culture-driven digital transformation for wellness

Multiply Inspire & Engage is a new offering from leading South African insurance provider Momentum Health Solutions. Furthermore, it is the first digital wellness rewards program in South Africa to balance mental health and physical health in pursuing holistic wellness. CIO, Ndibulele Mqoboli, discusses re-platforming, cloud migrations, and building a culture of ownership, responsibility, and continuous improvement.

Clark County: Creating collaboration for the benefit of residents

Navigating the world of local government can be a minefield of red tape, both for citizens and those working within it. Al Pitts, Deputy CIO of Clark County, talks to us about the organisation’s IT transformation. He explains why collaboration is key to support residents. “We have found our new Clark County – ‘Together for Better’ – is a great way to collaborate on new solutions.”

Also in this issue, we hear from Alibaba’s European GM Jijay Shen on why digitalisation can be a driving force for SMEs. We learn how businesses can get cybersecurity right with KnowBe4 and analyse the rise of ‘The Mobility Society’.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

  • People & Culture

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

31 January 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

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For our first cover story of 2024 we meet with Lloyds Banking Group’s CIO for Consumer Relationships & Mass Affluent,…

For our first cover story of 2024 we meet with Lloyds Banking Group’s CIO for Consumer Relationships & Mass Affluent, Martyn Atkinson, to learn how an ambitious growth agenda, combined with a people-centred culture, is driving change for customers and colleagues across the Group.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Welcome to a new year of possibility where technology meets business at the interface of change…

Read the latest issue here!

Lloyds Banking Group: A technology & business strategy

“We’ve made significant strides in transforming our business for the future,” explains Martyn Atkinson, CIO for Consumer Relationships & Mass Affluent at Lloyds Banking Group. “I’m really proud of what the team have achieved. There’s loads more to go after. It’s a really exciting time as we become a modern, progressive, tech-enabled business. We’ve aimed to maintain pace and an agile mindset. We want to get products and services out to our customers and colleagues. We’ll test and learn to see if what we’re doing is actually making a meaningful difference.”

AFRICOM: Organisational resilience through cybersecurity

We also speak with U.S. Africa Command’s (AFRICOM) CISO Ryan Larsen on developing the right culture to build cyber awareness. He is committed to driving secure and continued success for the Department of Defence. “I often think of every day working in cyberspace a lot like counterinsurgency warfare and my time in Afghanistan. You had to be on top of your game every minute of every day. The adversary only needs to get lucky one time to find you with that IED.”

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

ALIC: Creating synergy to scale at speed with Lolli

Since 2009 the Australian Lending & Investment Centre (ALIC) has been matching Australians with loans that help build their wealth. It has delivered over $8.3bn in loans to more than 22,000 leading Australian investors and businesses. Managing Director Damian Brander talks ethical lending and the challenges of a shifting financial landscape. ALIC has also built Lolli – a broker enhancement platform built by brokers, for brokers.

Sime Darby Motors: Driving digital, cultural, and business transformation together

Sime Darby Berhad is one of the oldest and most successful multinational companies in Malaysia. It has a twin focus on the Industrial and Motors sectors. The company employs more than 24,000 people, operating across 17 countries and territories. Sime Darby Motors’ Chief Digital & Information Officer Tuan Jean Tee shares how he makes sure digital, cultural, and process transformation go hand in hand throughout one of APAC’s largest automotive multinationals.

Also in this issue, we hear from Microsoft on the art of sustainable supply chain transformation, Tecnotree map the key trends set to impact the telecoms industry in 2024 and our panel of experts chart the big Fintech predictions for the year ahead.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

  • Fintech & Insurtech

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

Estimated Read time

7Mins

Timothy Woodcock, Director of Procurement at CordenPharma, discusses the new wave of change following acquisition and amid transformation

We have a bumper issue of fascinating exclusives this month!

Corden Pharma: Powering Change

Timothy Woodcock, Director of Procurement at CordenPharma, discusses the new wave of change following acquisition and amid transformation 

Change is here, get busy. Indeed, some organisations are further along a transformation journey than others.
For CordenPharma, a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) partner, they are right on track. 

CordenPharma supports biotech and pharma innovators of complex modalities in the advancement of their drug development lifecycle. Harnessing the collective expertise of the teams across its globally integrated facility network, CordenPharma provides bespoke outsourcing services spanning the complete supply chain, from early clinical-phase development to commercialisation. Recognised as a key partner to the pharma industry, CordenPharma provides state-of-the-art know-how, an integrated product offering end-to-end capabilities from early-stage development to commercial large-scale manufacturing. 

A closer look 

Timothy Woodcock has been the Director of Procurement at CordenPharma since October 2022 and is based in Basel, Switzerland. He explains that since joining over a year ago, while it was a “good start”, he admits to discovering some surprises after closer inspection. “There was a lot of information to get to grips with at the start and it was spread wide and thin,” he tells us. “But the team is certainly key and they have helped me pull it together through solid collaboration and engagement. Of course, there were a few surprises in the process realm, but that’s what makes this challenge so interesting to me.”

Read the full story here

carbmee: Carbon management for complex supply chains

Prof. Dr. Christian Heinrich, Co-Founder at carbmee, discusses his organisation’s journey to being the trusted solution provider for carbon management.

​​carbmee means carbon excellence for complex supply chains. It is the carbon management solution for automotive, manufacturing, chemical, pharmaceuticals, medtech, hi-tech, logistics, and FMCG industries. Whether to assess emissions holistically throughout the entire company, product or suppliers, carbmee EIS™ platform can create the transparency required for uncovering optimal emissions reduction potential and at the same time, stay compliant with upcoming regulations like CBAM.

carbmee’s journey

Christian Heinrich has been the Co-Founder at the organisation since January 2021. While some executives end up in procurement and supply chain by mistake, for Heinrich he affirms it was “always” the industry for him. As far as he’s concerned, collaboration is a big piece of the puzzle and Heinrich points to his diverse experience in a range of different industries and sectors which have helped him along the way to forming carbmee. 

“This was actually one of the reasons my co-founder Robin Spickers asked me to leverage my supply chain knowledge,” he says. “Robin had expertise in sustainability areas like Product LifeCycle Assessments and I had that in procurement and supply chain. We connected together and created carbmee to have scope 1, 2 and 3 solutions for carbon accounting and carbon reduction, which also combines the lifecycle analysis.”

Read the full story here!

Hemofarm: Strength through glocal procurement

 Zorana Subasic, Director SEERU & PSCoE Cluster Procurement at Hemofarm A.D. reveals how a glocal approach is transforming procurement at the pharmaceutical… 

Zorana Subasic is all about people. She heads up procurement for Hemofarm, the largest Serbian exporter of medicinal products, with a share of more than 70% of the total pharmaceutical. It sells pharmaceutical products on four continents in 34 states and, since 2006, has been part of the multi-national pharmaceutical giant STADA Group. 

Meeting the challenges

Zorana explains that her priority is focusing on people, both within her team and in the wider company, a priority that has been even more important during the last few challenging years and has impacted her leadership style.  ”These are areas that were new for me – managing people in ‘business as usual’ times is completely different to what we’ve been through in the last two or three years. It has affected people, and how it was for me to manage people in difficult times – understanding the challenges around us and making sure that people also understand the challenges.”

Read the full story here!

Elon: Procurement as a strategic partner

Onur Dogay, CPO at Elon Group, reflects on a year of procurement evolution and making the function an indispensable partner to the organisation…

A lot can happen in a year. Just ask Onur Dogay. In late summer 2022 he arrived in Sweden from his native Turkey to take the helm of a complex and evolving procurement environment at Elon Group AB, the Nordic region’s leading voluntary trade chain for home and electronic products. That he joined just a month after a significant merger that cemented the company’s market-leading position was no coincidence. Rather, Dogay was brought on board with a specific mission: use his industry experience and passion for transforming procurement to sustain the company’s market status while spearheading growth in new areas of retail and electronics. 

And he hasn’t slowed down since. In little over 12 months, Dogay has overseen a procurement evolution that includes setting a new data strategy that’s aligned with the broader company vision, shifting procurement’s role to be less transactional and more of a strategic business partner, improving communication and partnerships both internally and externally with suppliers, and overseeing the greater use of data and technology to enhance forecasting and planning capabilities. 

A seasoned procurement professional

A glance at Dogay’s CV to date leaves little surprise at his success. He is a seasoned procurement professional, with more than 20 years’ experience in procurement leadership positions working across internationally dispersed teams in Europe. “My background is particularly strong in retail, consumer electronics, telecom, and IT business units,” he explains, “including at Arcelik, one of the world’s largest manufacturing companies, and also for one of the biggest retailers in Europe, MediaMarkt. At the time of the merger in 2022 here at Elon Group, this experience, as well as the good relationships I had with many of the suppliers and brands we work with now, was the perfect match for the company.” 

Read the full story here!

Microsoft: A sustainable supply chain transformation

In the past four years, Microsoft has gained more than 80,000 productivity hours and avoided hundreds of millions in costs. Did you miss that? That’s probably because these massive improvements took place behind the scenes as the technology giant moved to turn SC management into a major force driving efficiencies, enabling growth, and bringing the company closer to its sustainability goals. 

An exciting time

Expect changes and outcomes to continue as Dhaval Desai continues to apply the learnings from the Devices Supply Chain transformation – think Xbox, Surface, VR and PC accessories and cross-industry experiences and another to the fast-growing Cloud supply chain where demand for Azure is surging. As the Principal Group Software Engineering Manager, Desai is part of the Supply Chain Engineering organisation, the global team of architects, managers, and engineers in the US, Europe, and India tasked with developing a platform and capabilities to power supply chains across Microsoft. It’s an exciting time. Desai’s staff has already quadrupled since he joined Microsoft in 2021, and it’s still growing. Within the company, he’s on the cutting edge of technology innovation testing generative AI solutions. “We are actively learning how to improve it and move forward,” he tells us. 

Read the full story here!

Click here to read the entire magazine!

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

18 January 2024

Estimated Read time

2Mins

This month’s exclusive cover story features a fascinating discussion with Dhaval Desai, Principal Group Engineering Manager at Microsoft, regarding a massive and sustainable supply chain transformation at the tech giant… 

This month’s exclusive cover story features a fascinating discussion with Dhaval Desai, Principal Group Engineering Manager at Microsoft, regarding a massive and sustainable supply chain transformation at the tech giant… 

In the past four years, Microsoft has gained more than 80,000 productivity hours and avoided hundreds of millions in costs. Did you miss that? That’s probably because these massive improvements took place behind the scenes as the technology giant moved to turn SC management into a major force driving efficiencies, enabling growth, and bringing the company closer to its sustainability goals. 

Expect changes and outcomes to continue as Dhaval Desai continues to apply the learnings from the Devices Supply Chain transformation – think Xbox, Surface, VR and PC accessories and cross-industry experiences and another to the fast-growing Cloud supply chain where demand for Azure is surging. As the Principal Group Software Engineering Manager, Desai is part of the Supply Chain Engineering organisation, the global team of architects, managers, and engineers in the US, Europe, and India tasked with developing a platform and capabilities to power supply chains across Microsoft. It’s an exciting time. Desai’s staff has already quadrupled since he joined Microsoft in 2021, and it’s still growing. Within the company, he’s on the cutting edge of technology innovation testing generative AI solutions. “We are actively learning how to improve it and move forward,” he tells us. 

Read the full story here! 

Plus, there’s more!

We also have some inspiring and informative content from supply chain leaders and experts at Schneider Electric, Smart Cube, Protokol, Red Helix and Astrocast. Plus, expert predictions for 2024 from leading supply chain leaders, as well as a round-up of the best events this year has to offer! 

Read our amazing content here!

Enjoy! 

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

20 December 2023

Estimated Read time

4Mins

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Our final cover story for 2023 explores how Deputy CIO May Cheng is accelerating a digital customer and product-centric approach…

Our final cover story for 2023 explores how Deputy CIO May Cheng is accelerating a digital customer and product-centric approach to IT management for the International Trade Administration (ITA).

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Interface showcases leaders at the forefront of innovation with digital technologies transforming myriad industries.

Read the latest issue here!

ITA: A better digital government experience

We connect once more with the tech trailblazers at the International Trade Administration. Deputy CIO May Cheng and her team are accelerating adoption of ITA’s customer and product-centric approach to IT management. In addition, their focus is on Agile, DevSecOps, Value Proposition, and Human Centred Design. “In 2023, we launched 13 products, three MVPs and saw enhancements operationalised. Moreover, the digital model has enabled a partnership between business and IT. The result is clearer lines of shared responsibility, transparency in resources, and a continuous learning culture across the agency.”

Businessman touching data analytics process system with KPI financial charts, dashboard of stock and marketing on virtual interface. With American flag in background.

Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Trust: Digitally transforming patient care

The Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is centred on bringing tomorrow’s treatments to today’s patients with a clear mission to provide excellent, specialist care to patients suffering from heart and lung disease. We hear from Andrew Raynes who took up his role as CIO in 2017. He is overseeing a digital transformation program bringing value to staff and patients. “Using the global language of interoperability… we’ll see greater efficiency in terms of use of technology and sweating our assets. Furthermore, exploiting the benefits to support seamless care by allowing standards to do the heavy lifting.”

Toronto Community Housing: Supporting tenants with tech

Toronto Community Housing houses tenants in 106 of Toronto’s 158 neighbourhoods. It ensures over 43,000 low and moderate-income families are supported in their continuously managed homes. Luisa Andrews, VP Information Technology Services tells us it’s the best role she’s had in her career. “It’s the most challenging, and where I’ve seen the most progress in a short amount of time. I’m proud of my team and what we’ve accomplished in five years. We, and our partners, have enabled the corporation, through technology, to do what it needs to do for our tenants.”

Marshfield Clinic Health System:

Marshfield Clinic Health System provides care at over 50 locations across the US state of Wisconsin. Chief Data & Analytics Officer Mitchell Kwiatkowski explains its tech mantra to us: “We’re trying to toe that line while examining new technologies as they come out. We’re aiming to understand what they are, how they can help, and implementing things that are mature enough and show promise. I don’t think healthcare is necessarily risk-averse; it’s a highly regulated area that doesn’t always have deep pockets for investment. However, it’s people’s health at stake, so we have to be careful…”

Also in this issue, we get the lowdown on the tech trends for 2024 from Hitachi Vantara innovation guru Bjorn Andersson. We also hear from the WatchGuard Threat Lab research team with their cybersecurity predictions for the year ahead.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

22 November 2023

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Read in brochure format

This month’s cover story charts NAB’s journey to support SMEs with customer-centric digital solutions. Welcome to the latest issue of…

This month’s cover story charts NAB’s journey to support SMEs with customer-centric digital solutions.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Interface showcases leaders at the forefront of innovation with digital technologies transforming myriad industries.

Read the latest issue here!

NAB: Reinventing Small Business Banking

A passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion and equity of opportunity, Executive GM Ana Marinkovic leads a team of 1,600+ small business experts. They lend over $1.2bn a month to Australian small businesses. National Australia Bank (NAB) plays a major role in propelling entrepreneurship across the country. Delivering better outcomes for small business owners sits at the very heart of NAB’s strategy. “Our scale and connectivity help us to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our business and the communities we operate in,” says Ana.

TUI: Making travel plans mobile

The mobile side of TUI has never been more vital. TUI’s mobile apps were officially launched in 2013 and began as something of a proof of concept. For the entire international industry, moving from web to mobile devices was a huge shift. The initial set of apps were very skeletal and only integrated for UK and Nordic customers.

One of this year’s goals is to accelerate the native journey to make all the customer journeys native. This will further improving the customer experience. After a recent UI refresh, the app look and feel is fresh and sleek, and has plenty of exciting features for customers to enjoy. “Just in the last couple of months we’ve introduced an integration with OpenAI for a travel planner that helps you choose excursions,” Donia adds. “Seeing it grow over the years is so exciting.”

TARA Energy Services: tech fuelling growth

“Continuous improvement is woven into the fabric of the culture at TARA Energy Services,” says its proud Director of IT, Paul Parzen. “Every day, we face new challenges, both operationally in the field and strategically in the boardroom. We must make sure the organisation’s IT strategy for data management, core infrastructure, network architecture, and security is ready to meet them.”

“Some people might say, ‘wow, a pension. That sounds a little boring.’ But at the end of the day, what we do is help people retire in the best way possible and that’s a pretty good place to be.”

Those are the words of Dee McGrath, CEO of Link Group’s Retirement Solutions since May 2019. The company is a global, digitally-enabled business connecting millions of people with their pension assets – safely, securely and responsibly. 

Evara Health: Technology delivering care for all

Evara Health’s mission statement is to help people become healthy and live healthy lives, and that means all people. A lot of health organisations don’t serve everybody and their treatments aren’t available under many types of insurance. However, Evara Heath doesn’t turn anybody away. It supports the underserved and the uninsured, and patients are treated regardless of whether they can afford it. Around 25% of patients have no insurance at all, and over half are covered by Medicaid, which isn’t accepted by everyone.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Read in brochure format

This month’s cover story charts NAB’s journey to support SMEs with customer-centric digital solutions. Welcome to the latest issue of…

This month’s cover story charts NAB’s journey to support SMEs with customer-centric digital solutions.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Interface showcases leaders at the forefront of innovation with digital technologies transforming myriad industries.

Read the latest issue here!

NAB: Reinventing Small Business Banking

A passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion and equity of opportunity, Executive GM Ana Marinkovic leads a team of 1,600+ small business experts. They lend over $1.2bn a month to Australian small businesses. National Australia Bank (NAB) plays a major role in propelling entrepreneurship across the country. Delivering better outcomes for small business owners sits at the very heart of NAB’s strategy. “Our scale and connectivity help us to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our business and the communities we operate in,” says Ana.

TUI: Making travel plans mobile

The mobile side of TUI has never been more vital. TUI’s mobile apps were officially launched in 2013 and began as something of a proof of concept. For the entire international industry, moving from web to mobile devices was a huge shift. The initial set of apps were very skeletal and only integrated for UK and Nordic customers.

One of this year’s goals is to accelerate the native journey to make all the customer journeys native. This will further improving the customer experience. After a recent UI refresh, the app look and feel is fresh and sleek, and has plenty of exciting features for customers to enjoy. “Just in the last couple of months we’ve introduced an integration with OpenAI for a travel planner that helps you choose excursions,” Donia adds. “Seeing it grow over the years is so exciting.”

TARA Energy Services: tech fuelling growth

“Continuous improvement is woven into the fabric of the culture at TARA Energy Services,” says its proud Director of IT, Paul Parzen. “Every day, we face new challenges, both operationally in the field and strategically in the boardroom. We must make sure the organisation’s IT strategy for data management, core infrastructure, network architecture, and security is ready to meet them.”

“Some people might say, ‘wow, a pension. That sounds a little boring.’ But at the end of the day, what we do is help people retire in the best way possible and that’s a pretty good place to be.”

Those are the words of Dee McGrath, CEO of Link Group’s Retirement Solutions since May 2019. The company is a global, digitally-enabled business connecting millions of people with their pension assets – safely, securely and responsibly. 

Evara Health: Technology delivering care for all

Evara Health’s mission statement is to help people become healthy and live healthy lives, and that means all people. A lot of health organisations don’t serve everybody and their treatments aren’t available under many types of insurance. However, Evara Heath doesn’t turn anybody away. It supports the underserved and the uninsured, and patients are treated regardless of whether they can afford it. Around 25% of patients have no insurance at all, and over half are covered by Medicaid, which isn’t accepted by everyone.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

15 November 2023

Estimated Read time

6Mins

Our exclusive cover story this month centres around Versuni, home to some of the world’s most renowned home appliance brands

Versuni: Procurement excellence to drive growth 

Our exclusive cover story this month centres around Versuni, home to some of the world’s most renowned home appliance brands. Versuni is a company with a rich history, dating back to 1891, albeit under a different name. Philips Domestic Appliances was renamed Versuni after the Netherlands-based giant sold the business to China-based global leading Private Equity company Hillhouse Capital in September 2021. And so began a process of disentanglement as Versuni embarked on its journey to becoming a successful and independent entity with a simple yet clear purpose of turning houses into homes. 

Read the new issue here!

“We refer to ourselves as a 130-year-old company with a scale-up mentality,” explains Hugo Sparidans, Chief Procurement Officer, Versuni. “We combine the legacy we have with Philips with all the goodies here in this new, agile environment where things can happen much faster and with a different mindset fully focused on growth.” 

Versuni is now operating under private equity ownership following its separation from Philips two years ago. “My boss called me and said, ‘So, we’re going to spin off Domestic Appliances. Do you have the interest to lead the transition for Procurement within that spin-off, and then potentially after?’ That was an interesting question for me,” Sparidans explains. “I’d had a great career within Philips working for a successful business, but I was now facing the idea of leaving that behind for a trip into the unknown.” 

Read the full story here!

Mars LATAM: Shaping the world of tomorrow  

Mars Pet Nutrition LATAM is changing the sustainability game within the pet food sector. Gabriel Guzman, VP Procurement LATAM, and Ana Milena Zambrano, Climate & Sustainable Sourcing Head LATAM, explain how…

Gabriel Guzman, VP Procurement LATAM, and Ana Milena Zambrano, Climate & Sustainable Sourcing Head LATAM, are leading a major ongoing evolution within Mars Pet Nutrition LATAM. Guzman has worked in some of the world’s largest organisations over 25 years, spearheading many high-profile projects during this time. Zambrano’s career spans 15 years across consumer goods and supply chains, with sustainability as a core lifelong passion. 

A focus on sustainability and the environment is nothing new for Mars – it’s part of the culture. It’s a business with firm ESG pillars and a clear concept of what sustainability means to the organisation. “We believe the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today,” says Guzman. “It is the vision at the heart of our Sustainable in a Generation Plan – one where the planet is healthy, people and their pets are thriving, and society is inclusive.”

Read the full story here!

EMCS: A small fish making a big impact 

We sit down with Trevor Tasker, CEO of EMCS, for the second time to discuss partnership, leadership, and the state of the industry 

EMCS Industries is one of the best-kept secrets in its sector. An innovator from day one, EMCS Industries invented the world’s first electrolytic marine growth protection system (MGPS). This set the basic standard for the field, to the extent that everybody else now uses the same or similar technology based on the EMCS Canadian engineered and manufactured antifouling system. Trevor Tasker is the CEO of the company, and he’s not only passionate about what EMCS does, but his rich background in leadership puts him in excellent stead as head of an industry-leading company. 

Tasker’s first job at the age of 16 was as a self-employed wedding DJ. Since then, he has honed his entrepreneurial spirit on an international scale in industries such as financial, large scale digital signage, steel manufacturing, and others. He has experience in both building his own businesses, and being an employee, giving him a good foundation of what it means to both lead and be led. 

“It allows you to get a good mix of what you like, what you don’t like, how you’d like to be treated, and how that shapes the way you treat others as you move through your career,” says Tasker. He’s worked across a variety of industries but the common denominator has been that he’s always either been in a leadership position within a company or running his own company. He’s conducted business all over the world and collected the tools he’s needed to be the best leader he can. 

Read the full story here!

AlphaSense: Making procurement a priority 

Joaquin Rivamonte, Director of Procurement at AlphaSense, talks about how he’s bringing scalability to the organisation, and the benefits of procurement working hand-in-hand with the wider business 

Joaquin Rivamonte has enjoyed a rich and varied career, one which taught him numerous lessons in preparation for his role with market intelligence platform, AlphaSense. He cut his teeth in the financial service sector; he was the Director of Procurement for some medium-sized investment banking companies in San Francisco, helping support Silicon Valley before the businesses he worked for were bought by bigger banks. One was acquired by JP Morgan Chase, where Rivamonte became VP of Procurement. He was then asked to move to New York, just as Silicon Valley was experiencing the dotcom boom.  

Office photos at AlphaSense, 24 Union Square East in New York City.

Rivamonte’s background in building procurement departments from the ground up continued, and eventually, Microsoft took him on. He moved to Seattle to be part of the Microsoft team in 2005, and this was the beginning of his education in how very large procurement departments work. “I did have experience in large groups of people reporting to me already,” Rivamonte says, “but at Microsoft, I had $2-3bn dollars of category responsibility under me. 

“I was responsible for putting together the consulting category, which was almost $1bn, and the outsourcing category of about $1.2bn, plus the web development category and a lot of different IT contracts.” 

Read the full story here!

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

17 October 2023

Estimated Read time

4Mins

This month’s cover story features Fiona Adams, Director of Client Value Realization at ProcurementIQ, to hear how the market leader in providing sourcing intelligence is changing the very face of procurement…

It’s a bumper issue this month. Click here to access the latest issue!

And below are just some of this month’s exclusives…

ProcurementIQ: Smart sourcing through people power 

We speak to Fiona Adams, Director of Client Value Realization at ProcurementIQ, to hear how the market leader in providing sourcing intelligence is changing the very face of procurement… 

The industry leader in emboldening procurement practitioners in making intelligent purchases is ProcurementIQ. ProcurementIQ provides its clients with pricing data, supplier intelligence and contract strategies right at their fingertips. Its users are working smarter and more swiftly with trustworthy market intelligence on more than 1,000 categories globally.  

Fiona Adams joined ProcurementIQ in August this year as its Director of Client Value Realization. Out of all the companies vying for her attention, it was ProcurementIQ’s focus on ‘people power’ that attracted her, coupled with her positive experience utilising the platform during her time as a consultant.

Although ProcurementIQ remains on the cutting edge of technology, it is a platform driven by the expertise and passion of its people and this appealed greatly to Adams. “I want to expand my own reach and I’m excited to be problem-solving for corporate America across industries, clients and procurement organizations and teams (internal & external). I know ProcurementIQ can make a difference combined with my approach and experience. Because that passion and that drive, powered by knowledge, is where the real magic happens,” she tells us.  

To read more click here!

ASM Global: Putting people first in change management   

Ama F. Erbynn, Vice President of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at ASM Global, discusses her mission for driving a people-centric approach to change management in procurement…

Ripping up the carpet and starting again when entering a new organisation isn’t a sure-fire way for success. 

Effective change management takes time and careful planning. It requires evaluating current processes and questioning why things are done in a certain way. Indeed, not everything needs to be changed, especially not for the sake of it, and employees used to operating in a familiar workflow or silo will naturally be fearful of disruptions to their methods. However, if done in the correct way and with a people-centric mindset, delivering change that drives significant value could hold the key to unleashing transformation. 

Ama F. Erbynn, Vice President of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at ASM Global, aligns herself with that mantra. Her mentality of being agile and responsive to change has proven to be an advantage during a turbulent past few years. For Erbynn, she thrives on leading transformations and leveraging new tools to deliver even better results. “I love change because it allows you to think outside the box,” she discusses. “I have a son and before COVID I used to hear him say, ‘I don’t want to go to school.’ He stayed home for a year and now he begs to go to school, so we adapt and it makes us stronger. COVID was a unique situation but there’s always been adversity and disruptions within supply chain and procurement, so I try and see the silver lining in things.”

To read more click here!

SpendHQ: Realising the possible in spend management software 

Pierre Laprée, Chief Product Officer at SpendHQ, discusses how customers can benefit from leveraging spend management technology to bring tangible value in procurement today…

Turning vision and strategy into highly effective action. This mantra is behind everything SpendHQ does to empower procurement teams.  

The organisation is a leading best-in-class provider of enterprise Spend Intelligence (SI) and Procurement Performance Management (PPM) solutions. These products fill an important gap that has left strategic procurement out of the solution landscape. Through these solutions, customers get actionable spend insights that drive new initiatives, goals, and clear measurements of procurement’s overall value. SpendHQ exists to ultimately help procurement generate and demonstrate better financial and non-financial outcomes. 

Spearheading this strategic vision is Pierre Laprée, long-time procurement veteran and SpendHQ’s Chief Product Officer since July 2022. However, despite his deep understanding of procurement teams’ needs, he wasn’t always a procurement professional. Like many in the space, his path into the industry was a complete surprise.  

To read more click here!

But that’s not all… Earlier this month, we travelled to the Netherlands to cover the first HICX Supplier Experience Live, as well as DPW Amsterdam 2023. Featured inside is our exclusive overview from each event, alongside this edition’s big question – does procurement need a rebrand? Plus, we feature a fascinating interview with Georg Rosch, Vice President Direct Procurement Strategy at JAGGAER, who discusses his organisation’s approach amid significant transformation and evolution.

Enjoy!

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

12 October 2023

Estimated Read time

2Mins

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Nigel Greatorex, Global Industry Manager at ABB, on how digital technologies can support decarbonisation and net zero goals

Nigel Greatorex is the Global Industry Manager for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) at ABB Energy Industries. He explains how digital technologies can play a critical role in the transition to a low carbon world by enabling global emissions reductions. Furthermore, he highlights the role of CCS and how challenges can be overcome through digitalisation.

Meeting our global decarbonisation goals is arguably the most pressing challenge facing humanity. Moreover, solving this requires concerted global action. However, there is no silver bullet to the global warming crisis. The solution requires a mix of investment, legislation and, importantly, innovative digital technologies.

Decarbonisation digital technologies

It’s widely recognised decarbonisation is essential to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Decarbonisation technology is becoming an increasingly important, rapidly growing market. It is especially relevant for heavy industries – such as chemicals, cement and steel. These account for 70 percent of industrial CO2 emissions; equal to approximately six billion tons annually.

CCS digital technologies are increasingly seen as key to helping industries decarbonise their operations. Reaching our net zero targets requires industry uptake of CCS to grow 120-fold by 2050, according to analysis from McKinsey & Company. Indeed, if successful, it could be responsible for reducing CO2 emissions from the industrial sector by 45 percent.

A Digital Twin solution

ABB and Pace CCS joined forces to deliver a digital twin solution. It reduces the cost of integrating CCS into new and existing industrial operations. Simulating the design stage and test scenarios to deliver proof of concept gives customers peace of mind. Indeed, system designs need to be fit for purpose. Also, it demonstrates the smooth transition into CCS operations. Additionally, the digital twin models the full value chain of a CCS system.

Read the full story here

  • Sustainability Technology

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

Estimated Read time

4Mins

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Cybersecurity leader Shinesa Cambric on Microsoft’s innovation journey to identify, detect, protect, and respond to emerging threats against identity and access

This month’s cover story highlights a cybersecurity program protecting billions of users.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Interface showcases leaders at the forefront of innovation with digital technologies transforming myriad industries.

Read the latest issue here!

Microsoft: Innovation in Cybersecurity

Shinesa Cambric is on a mission to drive innovation for cybersecurity at Microsoft. Moreover, by embracing diversity and opening all channels towards collaboration her team tackles anti-abuse and delivers fraud-defence. Continuous Improvement doesn’t just play into her role, it defines it…

“In the fraud and abuse space, attackers are constantly trying to identify ways to look like a legitimate user,” warns Shinesa. “And this means my team, and our partners, have to continuously adapt. We identify new patterns and behaviours to detect fraudsters. At the same time, we must do it in such a way we don’t impact our truly ‘good’ and legitimate users. Microsoft is a global consumer business and any time you add friction or an unpleasant experience for a consumer, you risk losing them, their business and potentially their trust. My team’s work sits on the very edge of the account sign up and sign in process. We are essentially the first touch within the customer funnel for Microsoft – a multi-billion dollar company.”

ABB: Digital Technolgies contributing towards Net Zero

Nigel Greatorex, Global Industry Manager for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) at ABB Energy Industries, explains how digital technologies can play a critical role in the transition to a low carbon world. He highlights the role of CCS in enabling global emissions reductions and how challenges can be overcome through digitalisation…

“It is widely recognised decarbonisation is essential to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Therefore, it’s not surprising that emerging decarbonisation technology is becoming an increasingly important, and rapidly growing market.”

CSI: How can your IT estate improve its sustainability?

Andy Dunn, Chief Revenue Officer at IT solutions specialist CSI, reveals how digital technologies can contribute to ESG obligations: “Sustainability is a now seen as a strategic business imperative, so much so that 74% of companies consider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors to be very important to the value of their company. Additionally, we know almost three in four organisations have set a net zero goal. With an average target date of 2044, 50% of organisations are seeking more energy efficient products and services.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsDaZiSO1ho

“Optimising energy use and consolidating servers and storage infrastructure form a strong basis for shaping a more environmentally friendly and efficient IT estate. It no longer needs to be the Achilles Heel of an ESG policy. “

Mia Platform: Sustainable Cloud Computing

Davide Bianchi, Senior Technical Lead at Mia Platform, explores the silver lining of sustainable cloud computing. He reveals how it can help us reduce our digital carbon thumbprint with collaboration, efficient use of applications, containerisation of apps, microservices and green partnerships.

“We’re already on an important technological path toward ubiquitous cloud computing. Correspondingly, this brings incredible long-term benefits too. These include greater scalability, improved data storage, and quicker application deployment, to name a few.”

Also in this issue, we hear from Doug Laney, Innovation Fellow at West Monroe and author of Infonomics and Data Juice. Also, we learn how companies can measure, manage and monetise to realise the potential of their data. And, Deputy CIO Melvin Brown discusses the people-centric approach to IT supporting America’s civil service at The Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

  • Infrastructure & Cloud

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

12 September 2023

Estimated Read time

4Mins

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Welcome to issue 43 of CPOstrategy!

Our exclusive cover story this month features a fascinating discussion with UK Procurement Director, CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS), Catriona Calder to find out how procurement is helping the leader in worldwide real estate achieve its ambitious goals within ESG.

As a worldwide leader in commercial real estate, it’s clear why CBRE GWS has a strong focus on continuous improvement in its procurement department. A business which prides itself on its ability to create bespoke solutions for clients of any size and sector has to be flexible. Delivering the superior client outcomes CBRE GWS has become known for requires an extremely well-oiled supply chain, and Catriona Calder, its UK Procurement Director, is leading the charge. 

Procurement at CBRE had already seen some great successes before Calder came on board in 2022. She joined a team of passionate and capable procurement professionals, with a number of award-winning supply chain initiatives already in place.

With a sturdy foundation already embedded, when Calder stepped in, her personal aim focused on implementing a long-term procurement strategy and supporting the global team on its journey to world class procurement…

Read the full story here!

Adam Brown: The new wave of digital procurement 

We grab some time with Adam Brown who leads the Technology Platform for Procurement at A.P. Moller-Maersk, the global logistics giant. And when he joined, a little over a year ago, he was instantly struck by a dramatic change in culture… 

Read the full story here!

Government of Jersey: A procurement transformation journey 

 Maria Huggon, Former Group Director of Commercial Services at the Government of Jersey, discusses how her organisation’s procurement function has transformed with the aim of achieving a ‘flourishing’ status by 2025…

Read the full article here!

Government of Jersey

Corio: A new force in offshore wind 

The procurement team at Corio on bringing the wind of change to the offshore energy space. Founded less than two years ago, Corio Generation already packs quite the punch. Corio has built one of the world’s largest offshore wind development pipelines with projects in a diverse line-up of locations including the UK, South Korea and Brazil among others.  

The company is a specialist offshore wind developer dedicated to harnessing renewable energy and helps countries transform their economies with clean, green and reliable offshore wind energy. Corio works in established and emerging markets, with innovative floating and fixed-bottom technologies. Its projects support local economies while meeting the energy needs of communities and customers sustainably, reliably, safely and responsibly.  

Read the full article here!

Becker Stahl: Green steel for Europe 

Felix Schmitz, Head of Investor Relations & Head of Strategic Sustainability at Klöckner & Co SE explores how German company Becker Stahl-Service is leading the way towards a more sustainable steel industry with Nexigen® by Klöckner & Co. 

Read the full article here!

And there’s so much more!

Enjoy!

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

11 September 2023

Estimated Read time

5Mins

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Doug Laney is Innovation Fellow at West Monroe and a leading Data & Analytics strategist. We caught up with the author of Infonomics and Data Juice to talk tech and how companies can measure, manage and monetise to realise the potential of their data

Our cover story explores the rise of data and information as an asset.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Interface showcases leaders aiming to take advantage of data, particularly in a new world of AI technologies where it is the fuel…

Read the latest issue here!

How to monetise, manage and measure data as an asset

Our cover star is pretty big in the world of analytics… We meet the guy who defined Big Data. Doug Laney is Innovation Fellow at West Monroe and a leading Data & Analytics strategist. We caught up with the author of Infonomics and Data Juice to talk tech and learn how companies can measure, manage and monetise to realise the potential of their information. In his first book Laney advised companies to stop being fixated on hindsight-oriented analytics. “It doesn’t actually move the needle on the business. In the stories I’ve compiled over the last decade, 98% have more to do with organisations using data to diagnose, predict, prescribe or automate something. It’s not about asking questions about what happened in the past.”

Canvas Worldwide: A data-driven media business

Continuing this month’s data theme, we also spoke with Alisa Ben, SVP, Head of Analytics at full-service media agency Canvas Worldwide. Data has transformed the organisation, and what its clients do. “We look holistically at the client’s business and sometimes the tools we have might be right for them, sometimes not. It’s more about helping our clients achieve their business outcomes.”

TUI Musement: from digital transformation to digital pioneer

At travel giant TUI, handling data effectively is paramount when communicating consistently and meaningfully with up to 25 million customers annually. David Garcia, CIO for TUI Musement, talks about the tech evolution driving the travel giant’s provision of experiences, transfers and tours. It’s a big part of its operational shift from local to global. “As a CIO, I’ve always been interested in how the tech innovations we drive can support the business and add value.”

Hiscox: making cybersecurity more accessible

Liz Banbury, CISO at Hiscox and president of (ISC)² London Chapter, talks to us about how cybersecurity can become a more accessible, realistic career path for almost anybody. “When I was at school, topics like computer science didn’t even exist,” Banbury explains. “In one of my first jobs, over in Hong Kong, we were still using a typewriter! A lot has changed. My key point here is that there’s a lot of cybersecurity professionals who are really good at their job. They are inspiring, and have come from all walks of life. Crucially, they don’t have a maths, computer science, or technological background at all. But they still make great cybersecurity professionals.

Portland Community College: Risk vs Speed in Cybersecurity

Reet Kaur, former Chief Information Security Officer at Portland Community College, discusses the organisation’s transition to the cloud amid a digital transformation journey. “I don’t want to work with people who just say yes all the time. I want my ideas challenged to help forge the excellence in the security programmes I help build.”

DBHDS: Cybersecurity in healthcare

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) exists to create ‘a life of possibilities for all Virginians’ and transform behavioural health. Its focus is on supporting people across the entire commonwealth. It helps them get the support they need in order to take wellness and recovery into their own hands. In an area like healthcare, sensitive information is all over the place, meaning cybersecurity is a priority – and this is where Glendon Schmitz, CISO at DBHDS, comes in. “The security team exists to help the wider organisation achieve its objectives with data. We’re there to protect the business, not the other way around.”

Also in this issue, we schedule the can’t miss tech events and get the lowdown on IoT security from the Mobile Ecosystem Forum.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Sean Galea-Pace

Published

1 August 2023

Estimated Read time

2Mins

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Welcome to issue 42 of CPOstrategy!

This month’s cover story sees us speak with Brad Veech, Head of Technology Procurement at Discover Financial Services.

CPOstrategy - Procurement Magazine

Having been a leader in procurement for more than 25 years, he has been responsible for over $2 billion in spend every year, negotiating software deals ranging from $75 to over $1.5 billion on a single deal. Don’t miss his exclusive insights where he tells us all about the vital importance of expertly procuring software and highlights the hidden pitfalls associated.

“A lot of companies don’t have the resources to have technology procurement experts on staff,” Brad tells us. “I think as time goes on people and companies will realise that the technology portfolio and the spend in that portfolio is increasing so rapidly they have to find a way to manage it. Find a project that doesn’t have software in it. Everything has software embedded within it, so you’re going to have to have procurement experts that understand the unique contracts and negotiation tactics of technology.” 

There are also features which include insights from the likes of Jake Kiernan, Manager at KPMG, Ashifa Jumani, Director of Procurement at TELUS and Shaz Khan, CEO and Co-Founder at Vroozi. 

Enjoy the issue! 

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

23 June 2023

Estimated Read time

2Mins

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Welcome to issue 41 of CPOstrategy!

This month’s exclusive cover story features a fascinating insight into the procurement function at lighting giant, Signify.

A forward-thinking enterprise constantly reevaluating and adapting its operations against an ever-changing landscape, Signify has recently transformed its procurement function. And so we join Luc Broussaud, Global Head of Procurement/CPO and Arnold Chatelain, Transformation Program Director for Signify’s Procurement Organization to see why, and how, they have evolved procurement at the company.

Signify is a global organisation spread over all continents and Luc heads up the procurement function. According to Luc, he and his team no longer engage in traditional transactional procurement, but instead leverage digitalisation to deliver competitive prices as well as what they call ‘concept saving’, “Which is how we redesign or improve our product; leveraging the knowledge of our suppliers to make it cheaper, more efficient, easier to manufacture and install, and more sustainable for the planet.”

CPOstrategy - Issue 41

Luc joined Signify in 2018, after being the CPO of Nokia (based in Shanghai) and has always been working within procurement. He joined Signify with a broad skillset and a wealth of experience. “I joined because the people I talked to, from the COO to the CEO and CFO were all incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about procurement,” he reveals. Read the full story here!

Not only that, but we also have some incredible insights from procurement leaders at Heijmans, Datadog, HICX, DPW, ProcureCon Asia and SourcingHaus Research! Plus, the very best procurement events of 2023.

Enjoy the issue!

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

22 June 2023

Estimated Read time

5Mins

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Amit Thawani, CIO for Consumer Data & Engagement Platforms at Wells Fargo, on the journey towards becoming a customer-centric company

This month’s cover story reveals how a customer-centric approach to technology is helping Wells Fargo deliver stable, secure, scalable, and innovative services.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

It’s our biggest issue yet! The common theme this month is the focus on the creation of customer-centric technologies that offer reliable, secure and helpful user journeys from travel and banking to health and business.

Interface dives deep for insights on understanding, planning, implementing and communicating change across industries.

Read the latest issue here!

Customer-centric banking with Wells Fargo

Amit Thawani, Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Consumer Data & Engagement Platforms (CDEP) on the technology journey at Wells Fargo: “All tech employees at Wells Fargo are tasked with working towards delivering stable, secure, scalable, and innovative services at speed that delight and satisfy our customers while unleashing the skills potential of our employees.”

TUI: Developing a technology ecosystem

Kristof Caekebeke, CIO for Product & Engagement, is a member of the leadership team that is driving the transformation of the TUI technical ecosystem which has seen Master Domain Owners taking different blocks of the ecosystem under their control to roll out across the organisation.

TUI Group

Responsible for product and engagement, Caekebeke’s focus is on building products out of the thousands of hotels, flights, experiences and cruises TUI is offering. “I’m responsible for every contact point between the customer and TUI. The websites, the mobile apps, the retail systems – any contact point we have between the customer and TUI. It’s a large team of 1,100 tech people.

A digital bank transformation journey with Banco PAN

“Until 2018 Banco PAN was very much an analogue company reliant on legacy paper processes,” recalls Leandro Marçal. Joining the bank in December 2020, to become Technology & Operations Director (CIO/COO), Marçal was tasked with accelerating a digital transformation journey.

“Banco PAN invested in innovation before I arrived,” says Marçal. “It is my team’s job to formalise the path towards becoming a digital bank. Our legacy operation was digitalising. It was an opportunity to improve the customer experience with our checking account and credit card systems.”

Pohlad Companies: The power of people

A pillar of the community in Minneapolis, Pohlad Companies is well known to Minnesotans for its influence, its charity work, and the opportunities it has created for people since the 1950s.

Alongside significant commercial real estate investments, Pohlad Companies owns a custom engineering and robotics company, a group of automotive dealerships specialising in luxury vehicles, a film production studio, and many more businesses. Famously, the Pohlad family also owns the Minnesota Twins, a Major League Baseball team.

This variety is part of what makes Rachel Lockett’s job so exciting. She’s Pohlad Companies’ CIO and has spent a decade in her current role. Lockett began her career as a programmer over 25 years ago and quickly moved into IT leadership management.

Coalfire: Embracing change in cybersecurity

If you wait for something to happen, then it’s often too late. The art of having a finger on the pulse is an essential ingredient to success. Failure to manage change and implement cybersecurity protocols could mean leaving an organisation vulnerable to hackers. 

Sreeveni Kancharla, Coalfire’s first Chief Information Officer, is leading the company’s digital transformation with unwavering determination. As a cybersecurity advisor, Coalfire assists private and public sector organisations in managing threats, closing gaps, and mitigating risks. Kancharla ensures that her team stays up-to-date with the latest technologies to guard against zero-day attacks.

Uni of Kansas Health: Cybersecurity at the heart

Speed versus safety. The two topics are intrinsically linked and vital in their own individual way. But can you have both in healthcare when the risks are so great? Ultimately, there is no higher stake than saving people’s lives – it goes above everything and is why cybersecurity is so vital.

Protecting the healthcare system

“There’s nothing more important to me than patient care,” affirms Michael Meis, Associate Chief Information Security Officer at The University of Kansas Health System. “It is one of the highest callings you can imagine, to be able to help people. While the cybersecurity team and me, individually, do not directly care for patients, we enable a lot of that patient care to continue and to be able to achieve some of the goals that the health system has set to provide that healing, research, and innovation within the healthcare space.”

Also in this issue, we ask ChatGPT what the future holds for AI and learn from Zoom how businesses can leverage analytics for insights from their hybrid events.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

3 May 2023

Estimated Read time

2Mins

STADA graces the cover of CPOstrategy this month!

Our exclusive cover story this month features Alan Rankin, Chief Procurement Officer at STADA, who discusses his company’s journey to offering a best-in-class procurement function.

Few industries can say that statement with certainty. But for the pharmaceutical industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding a solution quickly was non-negotiable.  

Indeed, Alan Rankin, Chief Procurement Officer at STADA, acknowledges the role his sector played in helping to combat one of the biggest health crises of all time. He says the COVID-19 period made him “extremely proud” to be part of the industry. “The pharmaceutical industry worked hard to come up with a solution during a time when governments struggled to cope with what happened,” he recalls. “The industry had a real impact on the world being able to handle the situation and not going into financial meltdown. That alone makes me so proud to be in this space.” 

Read the latest issue here!

Today, STADA stands as a renowned manufacturer of high-quality pharmaceuticals. The firm operates with a three-pillar strategy consisting of consumer healthcare products, generics and specialty pharmaceuticals. Its consumer healthcare brands such as Hedrin, Nizoral, Grippostad and Zoflora are among the top sellers in their respective product categories…

Not only that but we also have fascinating discussions involving all the hot topics around the procurement function at the moment, with George Schutter, Former Chief Procurement Officer at the District of Columbia, Noemie Chetty, Director of Procurement of the Seychelles’ Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) and Trevor Tasker, CEO at EMCS Industries. Plus, Bob Booth Senior Partner, Finance & Supply Chain Transformation at IBM Consulting details how AI could affect the procurement function. “We are now witnessing a tipping point in the application of AI at real scale, and CPOs are wondering how this impacts them and their colleagues. This article aims to equip CPOs and their teams with some ideas to consider and some pointers on applying AI in a professional capacity to their company,” he reveals.

All this and lots, lots more!

Enjoy!

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

28 April 2023

Estimated Read time

6Mins

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Diane Lightfoot, CEO of Business Disability Forum, on changing the narrative around diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Disability is still often parked in the “too difficult” box when it comes to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Employers are often afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing and as a result, do or say nothing.

As a CEO, the stakes feel (and often are) higher. That high profile platform can feel daunting at the best of times; when tackling an unfamiliar topic, it can feel positively overwhelming.

Talking about Disability

What we do and say as senior leaders has a huge impact. Indeed, it is critical in driving change. In 2020, we published our global research report, ‘Towards a Disability-Smart world: Global disability inclusion strategy’ . Conducted with our Partner, Shell, the research found that 91 per cent of respondents across multi-national businesses agreed that identifying a senior global disability champion is essential. Talking about disability and diversity – normalising the conversation so it becomes business as usual, has a massive role to play in creating a culture of “psychological safety” in organisations; one in which employees feel safe to share a difference and to ask for the support they need.

As senior leaders, it is easy to forget our privilege and that the environment we inhabit, and how we think the culture feels, may look very different to others. I often quote a research study by our partner Accenture which showed a marked gap (of around 20% across the board) between senior executives’ perception of how “safe” their employees would feel to raise a sensitive topic (including talking about a disability) and how safe they actually felt.

Changing the narrative

So, what can CEOs do to change the narrative? At Business Disability Forum (BDF), we see time and time again that CEOs or senior leaders who have a personal knowledge of and interest in disability issues – perhaps because of their own experience or that of a close family member – are champions in driving change. Senior leaders are less likely to publicly identify as being disabled – the Valuable 500 campaign often quotes the stat that 1 in 7 C suite leaders have a disability, but 4 out of 5 are hiding it. Yet if you as a senior leader are willing to talk about a disability or long-term condition it is hugely powerful in enabling others to do the same.

Storytelling and sharing personal stories can have a huge impact – for good or for bad! The good: A high profile CEO we work with talks openly about his disabled adult children and the moral imperative that he believes that large businesses have in breaking down barriers and opening up opportunities to people who face greater barriers to employment. The bad: I vividly recall being in a meeting with an organisation (not a BDF member!) to plan a possible disability awareness campaign. At the end of the meeting, the CEO then told an anecdote about having had an operation in the past year and being back at work the next day – unlike one of their counterparts who had taken two weeks off to recover. What message does that send? I’ll warrant that those who overheard that story were less likely, not more, to talk about a disability as a result.

Being a disability ally

But you don’t need to have your own lived experience to be an ally. For many businesses, the pandemic brought many senior leaders “up close and personal” with their disabled employees for the first time. In a survey we carried out to find how out how BDF Members and Partners were responding to Covid19, we found that in 83 per cent of organisations the general response to Covid-19 – including arranging internal communications, home working, and ensuring staff have the adjustments they need – was being led by the Chief Operating Officer or Chief Executive.

Whilst the figure for responsibility for ensuring staff with disabilities and long-term conditions specifically can move to home working was much lower – 31 per cent said this was the direct responsibility of the COO or CEO as compared to 69 per cent for HR – this is still encouraging in giving senior leaders much greater insight into the issues facing their disabled employees. Too often we “don’t know what we don’t know” – but once we do, we can call it out.

I was very heartened by a discussion with one of our members who was planning an office relocation in which the senior champion leading the project told me that he had vetoed one possible option because it had cobbled paving directly outside – inaccessible to wheelchair users and difficult for anyone with a mobility or visual impairment.

Role Modelling

Leadership is also critical in modelling adjustments and different ways of working. As a CEO, you probably have the freedom to quietly get on with making the adjustments you need, whether that is working from home one day a week (and it’s worth remembering that pre-COVID-19 home working was the most frequently requested workplace adjustment), different/flexible working times or buying some ergonomic equipment. You don’t need to go through a process or to ask HR – but if you share a different way of working with the wider team again it can be hugely powerful in making it ok for others to ask for the support they need. And again, people are often afraid to ask for even simple adjustments that could transform the quality of their working life.

Our Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2019 found that 28 per cent of those with adjustments and 34 per cent of those without adjustments (but who would have benefited from them) said they did not make requests because they were worried their employer might treat them differently. Again, actions speak louder than words. If the boss doesn’t take a lunch break, the rest of their team is unlikely to.

I hope that one positive legacy of COVID-19 will be a kinder and more human style of leadership. During the pandemic, we were forced to be more human in the way we worked; viewed in our home setting without the “trappings of office” or our workplace “armour” in terms of a formal dress code. The intimacy of letting people into our homes (albeit via our video camera) was a powerful thing. The blurring of lines between work and home has its downsides but has positives too as we started to see the “whole people” in our teams; ironically, since the pandemic began, many of us have got to know our colleagues better than we did before.

Culture Change

Of course, culture needs to be backed up by practical action. Make sure you equip people managers throughout your business with the tools and knowledge they need to have a conversation about disability, to identify any barriers people may be facing and to know where and how to get practical support. Our free Disability Essentials resources is a good place to start.

As Peter Drucker famously said: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Like it or not, what you do as a CEO not only matters but has a disproportionate impact. Why not use that for the good?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-TRCm1dv6o

Read more insightful features like this in the latest issue of CEOstrategy

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

27 April 2023

Estimated Read time

3Mins

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Welcome to the launch issue of CEOstrategy where we highlight the challenges and opportunities that come with ‘the’ leadership role

Our first cover story explores how Vodafone is leveraging strong leadership to drive the collaborations enabling businesses to champion change management and better use technology.

Welcome to the launch issue of CEOstrategy!

Tasked with accelerating business growth, while building the synergies across an organisation that can drive innovation to meet diverse customer needs and keep revenues on track, the modern CEO must be mentor, marshall and motivator on the journey to success.

Read the launch issue here!

Leadership with purpose at Vodafone

“Leadership is purpose, it’s why do you do the things you do…”

Our cover story throws the spotlight on Vodafone US CEO David Joosten; also Director for Americas & Partners Markets at Vodafone Business, he talks to CEOstrategy about leading from the front and setting the standards to deliver growth while keeping employees and customers happy.

“People follow leaders that are honest about themselves. If you can reflect on what you’ve done well, but also where you need to improve it can inspire others to do the same.”

EMCS Industries Ltd: How a CEO can navigate change management

“Why hire talent and then tell them what do? You have so much to learn from the great people you hire. Micromanaging is not management, and it’s certainly not leadership. Let your people thrive!”

Read our interview with EMCS Industries Ltd CEO Trevor Tasker for more thought-provoking insights on leadership from the shifting tides of the marine industry in this maiden issue.

How to be an authentic leader

“At the most basic human level, everyone knows what it’s like to feel heard by another person, and how that changes our behaviour. It can help anger and sadness subside and enable us to start seeing things differently. So, when employees are being listened to by their leaders, it can only help how an organisation operates.”

Dr Andrew White, director of the Advanced Management and Leadership Programme at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and host of the Leadership 2050 podcast series, explores transformative approaches to leadership for the modern CEO.

How can CEOs drive forward culture change around diversity and inclusion?

Diane Lightfoot, CEO of Business Disability Forum, explores the changing the narrative around diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

“Disability is still often parked in the “too difficult” box when it comes to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Employers are often afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing and as a result, do or say nothing. As a CEO, the stakes feel (and often are) higher. That high profile platform can feel daunting at the best of times; when tackling an unfamiliar topic, it can feel positively overwhelming. But what we do and say as senior leaders has a huge impact. Indeed, it is critical in driving change.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-TRCm1dv6o

Also in this launch issue, we get the lowdown on agile ways of working from Kubair Shirazee, CEO of Agile transformation specialists Agilitea. Elsewhere, we speak with Nirav Patel, CEO of the consultancy firm, Bristlecone – a subsidiary of Mahindra Group and a leading provider of AI powered application transformation services for the connected supply chain – who discusses the challenges facing CPOs and supply chain leaders in our uncertain times. And we analyse the latest insights for CEOs from McKinsey and Gartner.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

20 April 2023

Estimated Read time

3Mins

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Standard Bank CIO Bessy Mahopo on the challenges of operating in a fractured market and how the company overcomes them

This month’s cover story highlights how technology is helping Standard Bank overcome the challenges of a fractured market to both drive business growth and improve services for customers.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

“Time may change me, but I can’t trace time…” sang David Bowie. Changes can be challenging to manage with the path to positive disruption not always a smooth change management journey.

Interface dives deep for insights on understanding, planning, implementing and communicating change across industries.

Read the latest issue here!

Standard Bank: driving Africa’s growth

Standard Bank CIO (CIB – Transactional Banking) Bessy Mahopo explains how one of South Africa’s largest banks is using its own digital transformation successes as a template to support the country’s ongoing technological evolution by overhauling IT from the inside out. “I believe that once we start moving the curve to fifth and sixth generation technology, we’re going to become even more of a value-producer.”

The art of change management with SAP

Maria Villar, Head of Enterprise Data Strategy and Transformation at SAP, talks about the importance of driving change in the technology space and helping businesses thrive with data from the perspective of one of the world’s leading enterprise resource planning software vendors. “My job is about finding out what a good data strategy looks like and continuing to spend time with customers to look ahead…”

Talent transformation journeys with TUI

We caught up with Cerstin Lang, Director for HR Group IT at TUI. She reveals how it’s global For:ward program is driving digital transformation as the travel giant works with training partner Udacity to upskill IT talent. “Our IT goals are focused on developing a structure that supports new ways of working with the right balance to innovate and grow in the future.”

How TransUnion is enabling consumer trust

Alejandro Reskala, CIO Canada, LATAM, Caribbean at TransUnion, about technology transformation at a leading consumer credit reporting agency, its dedication to people, and how it makes trust possible. “TransUnion has always blazed a trail to use technology and data to generate insights that help support financial inclusion.”

Also in this issue, we ask what the birth of ChatGPT means for businesses leveraging tech and learn from Rivery why organisations need to rethink their data strategy with robust operational analytics.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

5 April 2023

Estimated Read time

2Mins

CPOstrategy catches up with Sam de Frates, who has been leading procurement transformation at Mars, Incorporated, to discover how one of the world’s largest enterprises has put people at the heart of its plans…

Our exclusive cover story this month, sees us catching up with Sam de Frates, Vice President, Commercial – Europe, CIS & Turkey at Mars, Incorporated, and the leader of procurement transformation at the company, to discover how one of the world’s largest enterprises has put people at the heart of its plans…

Read the latest issue here!

CPOstrategy Magazine cover - Issue 39

Talk of technological change and digital transformations often excludes the most vital tools in delivering meaningful value within an enterprise: the people. Because new tools, processes and capabilities only truly maximise their value if they are shaped by the very people that require their services. The adoption of technology without the human touch can be an expensive opportunity missed.

An experienced procurement leader who has worked at some of the largest companies on earth, de Frates joins us for a chat from his London office to discuss how digital procurement at Mars has evolved under his guidance, whilst the company undergoes cross functional changes at scale – a hugely significant transformation with Mars Associates and its suppliers at its heart…

Elsewhere, we also we discuss the hottest topics within the procurement function, with Paul Howard, Chief Commercial Officer at New Zealand Defence Force and Manuele Burdese, Sr Director, Head of Business Insights & Analytics Strategic Sourcing & Procurement, Bristol Myers Squibb. Plus, we have some incredible insights from Efficio, Ivalua and Hilton Supply Management.

Enjoy the issue!

Andrew Woods

Author

Sean Galea-Pace

Published

28 March 2023

Estimated Read time

6Mins

How Minted is leveraging digital technology to make investment in precious metals, accessible, affordable and simple

Shahid Munir, co-founder of Minted, discusses how his firm is competing with larger banks for a spot at the top table of investment in fintech.

Few industries have boomed like the fintech space over the past few years. With a plethora of new technology at consumer fingertips like never before, banks are being properly challenged by upcoming startups offering an alternative solution. Among these is Minted, aiming to make the buying, selling, transferring and delivery of physical precious metals simple through flexible monthly plans and one-time purchases. The company was founded in 2018 by three close friends – Shahid Munir, Hamzah Almasyabi and Haroon Siddiq – with a shared passion for entrepreneurship, technology and the opportunities the financial industry presented. Their combined drive led to the creation of Minted.

Shahir Munir, Co-Founder, Minted

The rise of Minted

Munir, co-founder of Minted, admits the journey has been a “rollercoaster” since the trio decided to launch their venture. “It’s certainly been exciting,” he explains. “It’s been a great learning curve and was a case of taking an industry where so many people were so used to doing it one way and offering something new. This has been challenging because we have a great product, but no one understood it. We’ve had to go out and educate people first in what has been a journey of growth, but it’s a constant journey.”

A decade ago, financial technology was considered by many as ring-fenced by bigger banks. But Munir stresses he has tried to change that narrative and offer competition which provides tremendous value. “Previously, a bank was the only way you could provide financial products,” he says. “Technology has allowed more innovative and creative solutions to launch and test the bigger banks and what they became bad at which was the customer experience. Now you see bigger banks adopt a lot of the technology and some of the practices used by challenger banks which can only be a good thing. Being in London has also helped because it is one of the leading hubs for fintechs and really supports the financial technology industry.”

Armed with different skillsets, the three co-founders complement each other with a diverse range of experience. With Almasyabi bringing an operations background and Siddiq bringing business strategy, Munir completes the line-up with finance and technology know-how. “I think it’s what sets us apart and makes us different,” he says. “Our backgrounds mean we’re not tunnel visioned and can see clearly when things aren’t working. We have a great thinktank within the business which helps us come up with ideas.”

Making precious metals accessible, affordable and simple

“I recall seeing a meme about how the price of a Freddo chocolate had changed over the years, no longer being its trademark 10p, it was now 200% more expensive and also smaller in size. This led me down rabbit-hole of trying to understand why most items go up in price as years pass and rarely come back down again. I became fascinated with how the government increases the money supply and the concept of inflation – my money buys me less in the future than it does today.

“I met with the other two founders that same night and the thoughts extended from my mind into an intense conversation about quantitative easing, Brexit, cost of living – snacks were being consumed faster than the rate of government borrowing. Where could we park our money, what was better than money? That was when the penny-dropped (pardon the pun). Hamzah proclaimed: ‘What about gold, guys?’”

Digital disruption

Through Minted, customers will have full legal ownership over their gold and can also request to have their gold delivered to a verified address. The gold and silver are stored in a grade 10 vault in the UK with the highest level of security possible. The products are fully insured by Lloyds of London at the current value while in vaulted storage as well as when being transported.

As a digital disrupter, one of the biggest challenges Minted continues to face is a lack of understanding. Customer assurance is an important priority, and the organisation has established several initiatives to gain trust. Minted is registered and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which means the firm operates to the highest financial standards and guidelines as determined by the FCA. “I feel like we need to go that extra mile,” stresses Munir. “What I think we underestimated at first was the extent to which people needed to ask questions until we launched a live chat facility on the website. This function helps build our knowledge base and allows us to hold the customer’s hand throughout the process. We’ve also found success when we’ve attended face to face exhibition events and had one-on-one interactions. It’s been brilliant to see first-hand the customer perception and look at what we can do better to meet their needs.”

Munir says he has noticed a trend of people starting with a “flutter” to test the water and check out the process. “I think it’s important that people build their confidence and recognise the value in what we offer,” he explains. “Once this is done, we often see those same customers make larger transactions. We know our difference can be a challenge for some people to accept which is why education is such an important topic to us. We have to keep doing explainer videos, use social media and hold community sessions to be there for customers.”

Scaling up

Minted recently launched its own app which offers customers an even easier way to manage their gold and silver, as well as introducing a tool to partner with businesses called Minted Connect. Munir believes the move has helped showcase an advanced, modern way for people to own physical items. “I love the app as it just makes things so much easier for customers via the platform,” he explains. “It’s been fantastic, a one-stop solution that helps stores the precious metals for free and allows them to be delivered at any time. In a world where everything is so digitally enabled it is nice to offer something physical – people don’t even buy cars anymore. Hopefully via customer feedback we can make improvements to the app that will help us develop new features.”

Munir believes gold is increasingly being seen as an alternative for savings and affirms global pressures like the threat of inflation amid economic uncertainty has helped people to realise the full potential of Minted’s offering. “In the past if you wanted to save money, you simply open a saver account and start adding money but with gold it was often a little trickier,” he says. “But with Minted we’ve simplified the process and tried to make it as automated as possible. Gold is a great alternative which has stood the test of time.”

Looking ahead, Minted is showing no signs of slowing down and is expanding into different territories. Munir remains positive for the next few years and what comes next for his organisation. “We’re working towards expanding the team because I feel like we’re at the stage now where each of our departments needs its own team of people to run each department,” he explains. “We’re scaling up and branching into new markets such as Turkey, and focusing in on developing the business to business side too.”

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

Estimated Read time

5Mins

“Disruption should drive digitalisation and cloud uptake rather than hindering it.”

Sal Laher, Chief Digital & Information Officer at global enterprise software provider IFS, reveals how a single strategy for cloud and digitalisation helps businesses maximise the rewards of growth.

Digitalisation equals transformation

Digitalisation and the business transformation projects that enable it are again on the radar for many businesses, particularly given the current macro-economics and potential recession being predicted. According to recent data from Research and Markets, The Global Digital Transformation Market size is expected to reach $1,302.9bn by 2027, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.8% in the period 2021-2027.

This renewed focus on digitalisation is aligned to businesses accelerating cloud migration, including readily available SaaS solutions. The Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report finds 92% of enterprises have a multi-cloud strategy and 80% have a hybrid cloud strategy.

Sal Laher, Chief Digital & Information Officer, IFS

Both trends will go hand in hand as digitalisation and cloud migration continue to drive business efficiencies, process change and consumer service demands. Most organisations are aware of the potential rewards both business models can bring. This is because it is not the first time they are being talked about– this major transformational shift has already been in place for a decade. But some, wary of the disruptive impact of recent global events are holding back from implementing them. However, it is the wrong approach.

Disruption should drive digitalisation and cloud uptake rather than hindering it. Even in isolation, either moving to the cloud, or undertaking digitalisation, will enable faster decision-making, supported by greater compute power and more agile processes, generating faster output and enhancing customer service. Yet, to drive competitive edge, organisations need to combine cloud migration with business transformation and look to maximise those benefits. To do this, they must develop a single strategy covering both elements and move forward with a common approach.

Migrating to the cloud for business transformation

By digitalising, organisations have an opportunity to benefit from faster time to insight, enhanced business and customer connectivity, and operational efficiencies. It allows them to more easily collect and analyse data that they can later turn into actionable, revenue-generating insights.

Over time, they can go further and start to tap into the benefits of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). But it is the additional compute power and scalability of the cloud that helps them to maximise these benefits and fulfil the potential of digital technologies.

Cloud migration also includes adopting evergreen application (business process) solutions in the cloud with the many SaaS solutions that are available today. That’s why it is important that they adopt a single plan to migrate to the cloud and drive business transformation all in one. This tandem approach also avoids unnecessary customisation, making a business much more agile to change based on actionable data insights.

Adopting a single plan will, in itself, drive up efficiencies and drive down costs. But critically, the two must be linked to ensure that businesses maximise the benefits of the migration process.

It is cloud, after all, that helps businesses adapt to the new digital world, enabling them, for instance, to leverage out of the box business applications, digital analytics tools and low code platforms that deliver informed decision-making and reduce costs. But cloud doesn’t just maximise the benefits for businesses, it also accelerates them. Cloud has become the fulcrum of digital transformation, mainly due to its ability to enable innovation at scale and allow businesses that have digitalised to rapidly launch enterprise-ready products.

Without cloud, businesses will struggle to drive through timely updates to systems and processes. The costs of stakeholder management may ramp up. Moreover, moving to the cloud without doing it within the step-by-step structure of digital transformation risks mistakes being made, increasing the likelihood of data loss and security breaches through misconfigurations.

Optimising the benefits of digital transformation in the cloud

We have seen how important it is to adopt a single strategy for cloud migration and digitalisation and to execute them in tandem. But organisations also need to maximise the benefits of the combined approach. So how can they best do this?

First, they need to avoid procrastination and delay. The benefits of digitalisation and cloud migration working together are compelling – and senior leaders need to seize the initiative and kickstart the transformation. To get the ball rolling, they need to conduct a benchmarking exercise to better understand where their business stands in terms of its capabilities or gaps. This will help to decide where efforts and resources should be focused.

They then need to align their business processes with IT. That’s key as modern business models increasingly emphasise the digitalisation of processes.

Cloud computing and network security concept, 3d rendering,conceptual image.

They should begin by determining their goals and the systems, technologies, and processes currently in use to achieve them. Next, they need to brainstorm and document core business objectives before developing a cloud and digitalisation migration roadmap to guide their implementation. Measuring performance will also be crucial to optimising results. In choosing which metrics to analyse, organisations should concentrate on those that will most positively impact their bottom line or user experience.

Ensuring employees buy into the process of cloud-based digitalisation will also be key. Organisations should use cloud-based digitalisation as an opportunity to strengthen business processes and help employees switch to new ways of working which maximise the potential of the new technology.

Digital readiness

Given all this, it is vital businesses don’t delay on their journey to digital and the cloud. Unfortunately, CIOs often struggle to know where to start with a cloud and digital migration strategy.

Before they begin, they often look to put a complete strategy in place up front. The truth is that it is not necessary. Instead, they need to get going and prioritise what’s most important. Pick one area, settle on a use case, digitalise, and move it to the cloud, demonstrate results – and then repeat incrementally. That will enable the business to showcase value and create momentum. Over time also, this single coordinated approach, will allow it to tap into a wide range of cloud and digitalisation related benefits – and ultimately to maximise the rewards.

For more cutting edge insights read the latest issue of Interface magazine here

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

21 March 2023

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Ian Povey, CIO – Head of Payments Services & Technology, on the strategic transformation taking place at NatWest benefitting both the bank and its customers

This month’s cover story reveals how innovation is at the core of change for payments processes at NatWest.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Charles Darwin famously said: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.” Technology is helping us to evolve. And that evolution is being driven by innovation.

Read the latest issue here!

Payments transformation at NatWest

“It may be a cliché, but a transformation journey really has no end… If you fixate on a constant end state without ‘checking in’ you can, and likely will, fail in your objectives.” A wise outlook from a CIO with three decades of change management experience across banking’s payments panorama.

Ian Povey, CIO – Head of Payments Services & Technology, discusses the strategic transformation taking place at NatWest and how that journey of change and innovation is benefitting both the bank and its customers as it evolves to become a relationship bank for a digital world. “Our environment is always changing – we must be on the back of the ‘Change Dragon’ and steering/influencing as a leader and always learning from our teams for new ideas.”

Customer-Centric transformation at FedEx

We also check in with logistics leader FedEx… Custom Critical CIO Cheryl Bevelle-Orange reveals a “technology-forward yet flexible company” embracing innovation and “paving the way for customers to get more relevant information faster about their packages while delivering with excellence”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galaZZlrEn0

Continuous Improvement in IT at Mazars

Mazars CIO David Marcelino explains his approach to innovation and leading on a successful IT transformation program at one of the world’s largest audit and advisory firms aiming to improve the digital experience for all its stakeholders. “Change Management, adoption, training and awareness are at the core of every single business technology project we deliver.”

Tech innovation at speed with the US Air Force

We also caught up with George Forbes, Director of Digital Operations Directorate at the United States Air Force, who outlines the importance of innovation within the federal government.

Digital Transformation in healthcare at Avellino

Nancy Selph, Global Head of IT at Avellino Lab, discusses how technology is creating new opportunities to improve health outcomes and the importance of leadership in the industry.

Also in this issue, we round up the key tech events and conferences across the globe; we learn how Minted are making it easy for everyone to invest in gold; and we feature the latest on cloud digitalisation from IFS.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

25 January 2023

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Our exclusive cover story this month features Sangram Bhosale, CPO at Xcel Energy.

Our exclusive cover story this month features Sangram Bhosale, Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Xcel Energy. Sangram Bhosale is a highly experienced CPO with an impressive track record of delivering procurement excellence within the energy sector for some of its biggest names.

When the former TransAlta and Husky Energy CPO joined Xcel Energy as Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) in 2020, he wasted no time devising a procurement transformation plan to advance the function to the top quartile. One that would capacitate the rest of the organization to meet and overcome the many technical and tactical challenges to meet current and future needs.

Read the latest issue now!

What attracted Bhosale to Xcel Energy was its visionary leadership team and an opportunity to catalyze the profound shift in how energy is generated and consumed.

“One of the things that I love, and a big part of why I joined Xcel Energy, is that we are a purpose-driven organization with a bold vision of being an industry leader in clean energy. The fast-evolving and innovation-driven utility industry also attracted me,” he tells us from his Denver office.

“Today, utilities are no longer the stodgy beast of yesteryears where not much had changed for decades. New technology is being explored and adopted, with billions invested in grid expansion and strengthening to meet reliable, cleaner, and increased energy demand. To be at the forefront of and lead that clean energy transition aligns closely with my values and beliefs and makes my role at Xcel Energy very exciting.”

Elsewhere, we also feature exclusive interviews with Vice President of Procurement, Anna Barej, and Director, Procurement Center of Excellence, Shawn Calabrase from Best Buy, Alessandro Gaiati, CPO at Fedrigoni, Norian Wasch, Director Procurement at EuroFiber, David Latten, Head of Global Indirect Procurement at Logitech, as well as Heath Nunnemacher, VP Global Electronics Sourcing, TTI and Mark Brady, Global Supply Chain Director at McPherson’s. It’s a bumper issue!

Enjoy!

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

24 January 2023

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Todd Salmon, Executive Advisor for Strategic Services at GuidePoint Security, on the cybersecurity challenge of keeping up with the pace of the ever-changing digital world

This month’s cover story explores how GuidePoint Security, an elite team of highly trained and certified experts, cut through cybersecurity chaos and confusion to put control back in customers’ hands.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Interface welcomes in 2023 with a need-to-know list of what we can expect from technology this year and how it can allow enterprises to gain a competitive edge in a disruptive and increasingly digital world. Faced with everything from process mining and AI to quantum-readiness and the metaverse we cut through the hype to bring you the facts.

Read the latest issue here!

GuidePoint Security: digital transformation in cybersecurity

“Cybersecurity is in such a reactive mode because of the sheer volume of risks and vulnerabilities an organisation faces,” says Todd Salmon, Executive Advisor for Strategic Services at GuidePoint Security. “We see a lot of copycats and repeat attacks happen, but at the end of the day it’s all about creating solutions to help combat those problems.”

GuidePoint’s elite team of highly trained and certified experts, cut through cybersecurity chaos and confusion to put control back in customers’ hands. Helping them make the smartest, most informed cyber risk decisions, and choose and integrate the best-fit solutions to build the most effective cybersecurity program, Salmon discusses the challenge of keeping up with the pace of the ever-changing digital world.

bp: a strategic reinvention

“We are investing in digital to drive process efficiency and improve insights; but also to develop our people with the skills we need for now, and the future at bp. This means we are playing to win while caring for our people through investing in their personal development,” says Head of Strategic Transformation Nick Hales.

“After setting the right foundations through various remediation and compliance initiatives, we embarked on our digital transformation journey,” adds Strategy & Transformation Manager Emmanouela Vlachantoni. “There was a clear opportunity to standardise and streamline our controls environment to reduce complexity and increase insight.”

Fairfax County: winning the IT war with cybersecurity

Meanwhile, across the pond, we learn how Fairfax County in the State of Virginia is reaping the rewards of a cybersecurity program enabling government services and keeping citizens safe. “My role is to educate our leadership to ensure they understand the business value of cybersecurity as it relates to government services. Being accountable for the security of their systems and data is a key factor in developing a successful cyber program,” explains CISO Michael Dent.

Also in this issue, we round up the key tech events and conferences across the globe and, with the help of the experts at Fasthosts, take a deep dive into the metaverse… Can virtual reality become our reality? Read on to find out.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

11 November 2022

Estimated Read time

2Mins

CPOstrategy speaks exclusively to Kathy Golding, Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services Leader at EY Global Services Limited, to see how a range of transformative initiatives have evolved the functions at the Big Four organization.

CPOstrategy speaks exclusively to Kathy Golding, Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services Leader at EY Global Services Limited.

This month’s cover story sees us speaking exclusively to Kathy Golding, Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services Leader at EY Global Services Limited, to see how a range of transformative initiatives have evolved the functions at the Big Four organisation, in a bid to benefit its operational excellence, its people experience, and the wider global community.

Read the latest issue here!

The global EY organization has over 350,000 employees across many countries, providing consultancy, assurance, tax and transactional services that “help solve EY clients’ toughest challenges and build a better working world for all.”

Kathy Golding is the Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services Leader at EY Global Services Limited and has been with the company for over 10 years, having spent her entire EY career in Supply Chain Services. Working under the guidance and leadership of Larry Phelan, Chief Supply Chain Officer at EY Global Services Limited and recognized by Procurement Magazine at no. 7 in the Top 100 Leaders in Procurement 2022, Golding helps manage the procurement and supplier relationship management of the Talent, Technology, and Brand, Marketing & Communications (BMC) categories across EY Global, with approximately US$5 billion annual spend. Golding is a highly experienced force at EY, and we were delighted to meet her at the company’s Canary Wharf office to discuss how procurement is evolving at one of the biggest enterprises on earth.

Kathy Golding, Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services Leader at EY Global Services Limited
Kathy Golding, Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services Leader at EY Global Services Limited

Not only that, but we also catch up with Vodafone NZ’s Rajat Sarna to see how procurement is being transformed at the telco through a start-up mentality.

And… there’s lots, lots more…

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

2 November 2022

Estimated Read time

4Mins

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John MClure, CISO at Sinclair Group – a diversified media company and America’s leading provider of local sports and news – talks about the evolution of cybersecurity and the cultural shift placing it at the forefront of business change

This month’s cover story explores how Sinclair Broadcast Group is embracing the evolution of cybersecurity and placing the role of the CISO at the forefront of business transformation.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Communication, secure and at speed, is a vital component of the transformation journey for both the modern enterprise and its relationship with stakeholders, be they customers or partners. Putting the right building blocks in place to deliver successful change management is at the heart of the inspiring stories in the latest issue of Interface.

Read the latest issue here!

Sinclair Broadcast Group: a cyber transformation

Our cover star John McClure progressed from a career in the military and work as a consultant in the intelligence industry to fight a new kind of foe… As CISO for Sinclair Broadcast Group, a diversified media company and America’s leading provider of local sports and news, he talks about the evolution of cybersecurity, the battle to meet the rising velocity and sophistication of cyber-attacks and the cultural shift of the role of CISO placing it at the forefront of business change.

“Sinclair is unique in terms of its different business units and how it operates. It’s my job as CISO leading our cyber team not to be an obstacle for the business; we’re here to help it move faster to keep up with market forces, and to move safely. We’re here to engineer solutions that work for the enterprise but also help us maintain a positive security posture.”

State of Florida: digital government services

We also hear from CIO Jamie Grant who is leading the State of Florida’s Digital Service (FL[DS]) on its charge to transform and modernise the way government is accessed and consumed. He is building a team of talented, goal-oriented and customer-obsessed individuals to drive a digital transformation with innovation at its heart. “Leadership is really about developing the team and investing in the people. And it turns out that when you get their backs, they appreciate it and then you can achieve anything.”

ResultsCX: putting people first

Jamie Vernon, SVP for IT & Infrastructure at AI-powered customer experience solution specialist ResultsCX, discusses what drives customer care in the 21st century, and the part technology has to play.

“We are the custodians of our customers’ customers,” says Vernon. “In this increasingly tenuous relationship with their customers, they trust us. My leadership takes that responsibility very seriously, and charges each of us with doing everything we can to provide a perfect call, or email, or chat, every time, thousands of times a minute, around the clock and around the calendar.”

Jamie Vernon, SVP for IT & Infrastructure at AI-powered customer experience solution specialist ResultsCX, discusses what drives customer care in the 21st century, and the part technology has to play.

“We are the custodians of our customers’ customers,” says Vernon. “In this increasingly tenuous relationship with their customers, they trust us. My leadership takes that responsibility very seriously, and charges each of us with doing everything we can to provide a perfect call, or email, or chat, every time, thousands of times a minute, around the clock and around the calendar.”

Also this month, Sarita Singh, Regional Head & Managing Director for Stripe in Southeast Asia, talks about how the fast-growing payments platform is driving financial inclusion across Asia and supporting SMEs with end-to-end services putting users first, and we get expert advice for the modern CEO from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

12 September 2022

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Read in brochure format

CPOstrategy’s cover star this month is procurement transformation expert, and CEO and Co-Founder of Tropic, David Campbell…

Right now, procurement excellence is blooming. Experts determined to create change are coming to the fore and aligning procurement with SaaS to bring an end to the do-it-yourself way of working that decimates technology budgets. Tropic is one such game-changer, providing the tools to navigate software procurement’s complexities for competitive advantage.

Read the latest issue here!

The CEO and Co-Founder of Tropic is David Campbell, a born entrepreneur. He grew up on a cattle ranch in California and has always had at least one side-hustle on the go. Even as a child, he was running some form of money-making venture at any one time – but he didn’t necessarily consider that entrepreneurial pursuits were his calling until later.

CEO and Co-Founder of Tropic, David Campbell
CEO and Co-Founder of Tropic, David Campbell

Campbell studied English at UC Berkeley, and on graduating assumed he’d go into the arts. He’s a lifelong musician and writer, and he moved to a cabin in the woods to write the ‘next great American novel’. This venture, while it didn’t have the exact results he had hoped for, planted the seed in his mind that perhaps entrepreneurialism was for him because he loved setting his own hours and vision, creating a strategy, and executing that…

Elsewhere, we have exclusive interviews with supply chain and procurement leaders at the City of Edmonton and QSC, as well as the results of our first Sustainable Procurement Champions Index. We also have some exciting news from DPW too, ahead of its conference later this month.

Enjoy the issue!

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

6 September 2022

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Read in brochure format

Our cover story this month investigates how Fleur Twohig, Executive Vice President, leading Personalisation & Experimentation across Consumer Data & Engagement Platforms, and her team are executing Wells Fargo’s strategy to promote personalised customer engagement across all consumer banking channels

This month’s cover story follows Wells Fargo’s journey to deliver personalised customer engagement across all its consumer banking channels.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Partnerships of all kinds are a key ingredient for organisations intent on achieving their goals… Whether that’s with customers, internal stakeholders or strategic allies across a crowded marketplace, Interface explores the route to success these relationships can help navigate.

Read the latest issue here!

Wells Fargo: customer-centric banking

Fleur Twohig, Wells Fargo

Our cover story this month investigates the strategy behind Wells Fargo’s ongoing drive to promote personalised customer engagement across all consumer banking channels.

Fleur Twohig, Executive Vice President, leading Personalisation & Experimentation across the bank’s Consumer Data & Engagement Platforms, explains her commitment to creating a holistic approach to engaging customers in personalised one-to-one conversations that support them on their financial journeys.

“We need to be there for everyone across the spectrum – for both the good and the challenging times. Reaching that goal is a key opportunity for Wells Fargo and I have the pleasure of partnering with our cross-functional teams to help determine the strategic path forward…”

IBM: consolidating growth to drive value

We hear from Kate Woolley, General Manager of IBM Ecosystem, who reveals how the tech leader is making it easier for partners and clients to do business with IBM and succeed. “Honing our corporate strategy around open hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) and connecting partners to the technical training resources they need to co-create and drive more wins, we are transforming the IBM Ecosystem to be a growth engine for the company and its partners.”

Kate Woolley, IBM
Kate Woolley, IBM

America Televisión: bringing audiences together across platforms

Jose Hernandez, Chief Digital Officer at America Televisión, explains how Peru’s leading TV network is aggregating services to bring audiences together for omni-channel opportunities across its platforms. “Time is the currency with which our audiences pay us, so we need to be constantly improving our offering both through content and user experiences.”

Portland Public Schools: levelling the playing field through technology

Derrick Brown and Don Wolf, tech leaders at Portland Public Schools, talk about modernising the classroom, dismantling systemic racism and the power of teamwork.

Also in this issue, we hear from Lenovo on how high-performance computing (HPC) is driving AI research and report again from London Tech Week where an expert panel examined how tech, fuelled by data, is playing a critical role in solving some of the world’s hardest hitting issues, ranging from supply chain disruptions through to cybersecurity fears.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

11 April 2022

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Read in brochure format

Our cover story reveals a massive procurement transformation programme at Zendesk

Procurement transformation is the hot topic this month as we speak to Rendi Miller, VP of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at Zendesk. Miller is a procurement evangelist and transformational leader who is clearly energised as she delivers meaningful change to the function at Zendesk.

“What I’ve always enjoyed about procurement is the visibility into what the entire company is buying, from Marketing creative services to IT and Engineering technology to office furniture and everything in between.”

“Procurement has insight to trends before they become mainstream that gives us the ability to research new partners, technologies and solutions to start addressing the needs of the business early on. Being in procurement offers an awareness to nearly every aspect of the company.”

Read the latest issue here!

According to Miller, trust is absolutely critical to success because without that, “there is no reliability, there’s no confidence and there’s no relationship”, says Miller. “That’s something I emphasise with my team. Trust must be earned, but trust is also given. I empower them to be the leaders that I’ve hired them to be…”

Elsewhere, we sit down with Procurement Excellence Lead at Antofagasta Minerals, Christophe Le Flech, to discuss the state of procurement in the South America mining industry, and the work he’s doing to make a difference. We also talk to Convex Insurance’s Head of Procurement & Tactical Change, Vivek Pai… and discuss diversity in the workplace with Silvia Simon, LATAM Procurement Senior Manager at Mercedes-Benz Brazil. Plus, we look at 10 ways to optimise your digital procurement scouting approach with ProcureTech.

Enjoy the issue!

Andrew Woods

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

7 February 2022

Estimated Read time

2Mins

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Procurement transformation is at the heart of our chat with Tod Cooper, Director Procurement at the Department of Corrections in New Zealand

This month’s exclusive cover story features Tod Cooper, Director Procurement at the Department of Corrections in New Zealand, who reveals all regarding the strategic restructure of the procurement function.

Read the latest issue here!

Procurement transformation is at the heart of our chat with Tod Cooper, Director Procurement at the Department of Corrections in New Zealand
Procurement transformation is at the heart of our chat with Tod Cooper, Director Procurement at the Department of Corrections in New Zealand

Most of us like to think that if we were presented with the chance to do something positive and societally significant for our country and its indigenous people, in particular, we would.

And that’s exactly the opportunity Tod Cooper, Director Procurement at the Department of Corrections in New Zealand, has grasped with both hands, with the department’s dedication to supporting Māori. 

Business transformation through leadership has been a major part of Cooper’s working life, preparing him for the challenges he’s faced at the Department of Corrections.

“It’s a big personal passion for me,” he says. “I’m not a guy who likes to sit still. Continuous improvement is a big thing. I’m always asking myself how we can make things better, looking at new ways of re-engineering, and getting good people around me who can enact my vision of things.

I’m a typical extrovert who’s easily distracted by the next thing, so it’s really important to have a good leadership team around me that understands the vision and can pull me back in.”

Elsewhere, we also speak with Dean Bennett, VP of Procurement, and Mike Cowling, VP of Global IT at BeiGene, about the benefits of a strong collaboration between procurement and technology, and what makes the company so special. Plus, we have an exclusive ‘provenance in the supply chain piece’ from IBM’s Blockchain Leader, Winston Yong.

Enjoy the issue!

Andrew Woods, Editorial Director

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

11 January 2022

Estimated Read time

2Mins

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Welcome to the first CPOstrategy of 2022! We decided to kick off the new year in style with our best…

Welcome to the first CPOstrategy of 2022!

We decided to kick off the new year in style with our best issue yet!

Our exclusive cover story features a fascinating discussion with Sean Park, CPO of software organisation Splunk, talks us through transforming the procurement function from one that was deliberately immature, to the powerhouse of efficiency it’s now becoming.

Read the latest issue here!

When Splunk brought Park in to join the team, he knew it was time to make a change and get serious about the bottom line. The decision was made to put in place a more centralised procurement and sourcing function; Splunk was rapidly growing, and it didn’t want friction, but rather controls and guardrails in place to scale the company. It was very much a natural evolution for the business – a pattern Park has watched occur before. This put him in an ideal position to push the new vision forward.

“The first step was to undertake an assessment of the function,” he says. “What are our strategic objectives? How does that fit in with the corporate objectives, or those of the finance team? What are our processes and policies? How are we resourcing the organisational structure? How do we source? Do we want a category management structure or a business unit focus?”

Elsewhere, we have an incredible rollcall of equally fascinating articles on Atotech, Beeline, Delivery Hero, plus an engrossing selection of Procurement Leaders’ procurement transformation success stories. Plus, much, much more.

Enjoy the issue!

Andrew Woods, Editorial Director

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

15 December 2021

Estimated Read time

2Mins

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Our exclusive cover story this month explores how IAG Firemark Ventures is disrupting insurance to reimagine the customer journey today…

Our exclusive cover story this month explores how IAG Firemark Ventures is disrupting insurance to reimagine the customer journey today

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Technology with the capacity to enhance customer journeys and evolve in line with our changing needs is the holy grail that the companies featured in this packed issue of Interface are on a quest to deliver…

Read the latest issue here!

Our cover star Scott Gunther, General Partner at IAG Firemark Ventures, embodies that pioneer spirit. Leading the investment arm of Australia and New Zealand’s largest insurer to think like a startup and drive innovation in the FinTech & InsurTech space, Gunther’s vision is being realised… “We not only provide staple financial services but the solutions that can make the world a safer place by reacting to everything from natural disasters to life-changing events.”

Trusted by 95% of Fortune 500 companies, Microsoft Azure is delivering transformative cloud journeys for organisations at all levels. Laurent Pierre Jr, General Manager for Azure Customer Experience Engineering Support (CXP), reveals how by creating a high trust environment, the speed at which you and your team can execute and perform becomes a force multiplier.

Keeping with the theme of transformative tech, BSI talk us through the innovation behind the extraordinary world of immersive auditing, outlining its advantages and the potential for a continuous wave of disruption set to provide deeper client value and change the dynamics of assurance forever.

Also in this issue, we hear from Lockton Re on how its global reinsurance business is benefiting from the deployment of smart solutions that leverage new technologies; speak with the CIO at the Office of Inspector General (a part of the US Department of Health & Human Services); discover advances in the digital approach to identity validation with Okta and get the lowdown from Vodafone on how blockchain has the potential to disrupt telcos.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

25 November 2021

Estimated Read time

2Mins

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Our exclusive cover story this month takes a drive down the information superhighway with Auto Club Group and the Automobile…

Our exclusive cover story this month takes a drive down the information superhighway with Auto Club Group and the Automobile Association of America.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

A customer centric approach to the creation and deployment of digital services is something that unites the business transformation journeys we explore in this issue of Interface.

Read the latest issue here!

Our cover story examines how one of the oldest organisations in the US – the Automobile Association of America (AAA) – and Auto Club Group, among its largest affiliates, are building trust in technology through cybersecurity to support more than 14 million members with a range of digital services. Chief Information Security Officer, Gopal Padinjaruveetil, explains: “Cybersecurity can be the brake in the information vehicle so a business doesn’t have to slow down, enabling it to accelerate change with confidence without putting the organisation, and its members, at risk.”

Elsewhere, we discover how insurance giant Generali is leveraging analytics and AI on a global scale for a structured approach to insurance services delivering long term security and peace of mind for its customers as a lifetime partner.

Delivering innovation on a global scale, SAP’s customer-centric business technology platform currently serves 91% of the organisations making up the Forbes Global 2000, while a staggering 70% of all global transactions touch an SAP system. We find out more…

Also in this issue, we hear from Insider on why Apple’s iOS15 update will impact ecommerce and data gathering; we get the lowdown from EY on the four key steps organisation should take to accelerate their digital transformation and learn from Pulsant how to identify and achieve your business transformation goals.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

30 September 2021

Estimated Read time

2Mins

A major recent step for Philips has been casting aside traditional indirect procurement and implementing a new-and-exciting approach under the umbrella of Spend Management. We take an exclusive look behind the scenes…

Our exclusive cover story this month takes an in-depth look inside the procurement function at Philips; the leading Netherlands-based health technology company, which is improving people’s health and well-being through meaningful innovation.

Read the latest issue here!

To achieve the company’s aim to improve 2.5 billion lives per year by 2030, Philips has been through a major transformation in the past decade. Besides overhauling the business, the functions – including indirect procurement – also needed to adapt.

A major recent step for Philips has been casting aside traditional indirect procurement and implementing a new-and-exciting approach under the umbrella of Spend Management. Alexander Visser is the Leader of Spend Management, and the architect of this change and he takes us through this incredible transformation…

Plus, we speak exclusively to CPO of Ooredoo Algeria, Saber Chrigui, who describes how he took the branch from struggling to a shining example for the entire group, through managing waste and costs, and dramatically repositioning procurement. We also catch up with Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, Procurement Manager at Vodafone Iceland, about how being based on a tiny island is no barrier to procurement excellence and keeping a finger on the pulse of technological advancement…

And another great exclusive this month, focuses on RHI Magnesita (RHIM); the global leader in refractories – its refractory products are used in all the world’s high-temperature industrial processes. The creation of RHI Magnesita (following the merger of RHI and Magnesita in 2017) saw the continuing transformation of procurement from a cost-saving function into a strategic business partner gather pace. We speak to RHI’s Michael Leitner, VP Procurement Europe & CIS & Turkey…

Enjoy the issue!

Andrew Woods

Author

Ben Nicklen

Published

12 September 2021

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Ben Nicklen – chief operating officer for workplace data analytics firm Tiger – explores the range of comms channels that are available and shares when there’s a need to ‘start video’

Transformation has accelerated on a global scale for organisations throughout 2020. Many businesses and employees who hadn’t previously adopted the latest collaboration technology, are now doing so – and swiftly.

The numbers tell a significant story. For example, Cisco WebEx and Google Meet have seen 100 million meeting participants in a single day, 200 million recorded for Microsoft Teams, and a staggering 300 million for Zoom.

So, while we might feel lucky to have access to all this technology, some of these working practices are maybe taking their toll on individuals that are experiencing ‘Zoom fatigue’.

There has never been a greater requirement for organisations to stay connected. At this moment in time, millions of businesses across the globe will be logging into meetings, answering calls, checking instant messages and clearing inboxes.

With a range of collaborative tools now firmly at a modern-day company’s disposal, it’s no surprise that there has been a rise in certain intuitive technology as colleagues speak to one another while working remotely. For the enterprises that are used to operating from an office, they will have experienced many more video calls compared to pre-pandemic times.

But are some teams prioritising video, when a traditional call might do? Especially when this method can drive conversations to be wrapped up swiftly and ensure urgent matters are handled there and then.

There has, in fact, been a significant shift in traditional telephony throughout 2020. Organisations have also used it as a central component to newly rolled-out customer schemes that are based upon keeping in touch. And for companies that have had to shut physical stores, diverting their phones can mean many are still able to trade. 

How communication continues to evolve 

Thinking about productive business calls pre-pandemic, these were typically made in their car or on public transport when travelling between meetings. So, when employees who are so used to communicating on the move, are suddenly told to stay put in their home and adopt a more video-friendly approach, it’s no wonder that several may have struggled to transition.

For workforces relatively new to Teams, Zoom and Google Meet calls can bring a sense of apprehension. Colleagues might be worried about Wi-Fi speeds, the flow of the conversation, how they act on screen and what impression their background makes.

There’s a certain level of trust attached to video too, with many employees perhaps feeling as though they always have to be based in an office-style setting when firing up their cameras. And none of these concerns would enter their minds when making an audio call.

However, this isn’t a case for pitting the phone against video – or choosing one over the other. In fact, it’s about understanding the critical role both play in a company’s entire suite of collaborative technology.

To truly know which comms method is required, a good place to start is to consider why a call has to be made in the first place. Is there something visual that’s required? Or does an employee want to replicate those ‘water cooler’ moments to feel better connected and less isolated? If these resonate, then perhaps video is the best course of action.

Once that’s been decided, add an agenda so that individuals know the reasons behind the meeting and where they’re required. For the longer calls, a good tip is to include regular breaks, so employees don’t get distracted or lose focus. Having simple guidelines in place – and communicating them effectively – can help to underline why video is preferred over a quick-fire phone call or less urgent email.

Why more organisations must revisit their suite of comms software

Throughout 2020, there has understandably been a dramatic increase in collaborative tools. It’s anticipated that enterprises have experienced 10 years of remote working transformation – within six months. So, there is a real need to provide an all-around communicative approach to ensure that customer and colleague comms remain of the highest quality.

With human integration and social interaction now a huge priority for teams working in isolation, video is here to stay. And business leaders must utilise a combination of intuitive tech in the right way – understanding how each one positively impacts their workforce’s productivity and well-being, alongside the organisation’s overall bottom line.

That’s where workplace analytics plays a pivotal role. Not only does it support ambitious firms to remain agile and be able to adapt swiftly to economic flux, but it helps their managers to gain visibility of employees’ activities – providing the vital data to make business-critical decisions that truly enhance the colleague and customer experience in both the short and longer-term.

Learn more about emerging trends across the tech panorama in the latest issue of Interface

Author

Oliver Goodman

Published

10 September 2021

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Oliver Goodman, Head of Engineering at Telehouse, explains the impact AI is having on data centre security and energy efficiency

Demand for data centre (DC) services has been steadily rising every year, but since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, that demand has skyrocketed with people and businesses more reliant on them than ever before. Despite some operators scrambling to overcome capacity shortages, the sector has coped well with the increased demand and has even achieved greater recognition with the UK government giving the sector a voice on COVID-related matters and DC workers being given key worker status.

Relying on human monitoring and intervention can be problematic when trying to stay on top of three of a DC’s biggest challenges – energy efficiency, electricity costs and cybersecurity – when demand is rapidly rising. This is where AI can help. 

Maximising energy efficiency and minimising cost

It’s no secret that DC facilities are power hungry, so it would be easy to assume the sector has a negative environmental impact. However, this simply isn’t the case. A recent survey of UK commercial operators revealed that 76.5% of the electricity they purchased is 100% renewable – 6.5% is between 0 and 50% renewable, 7% is between 50% and 99% renewable and 10% is purchased according to customer demand. But that doesn’t mean DC operators aren’t going further to improve energy efficiency, and this is one area where AI can help.  

The load (the amount of energy consumed by servers and network equipment in server halls) can vary at given time depending on the network demand and accommodating the load efficiently is challenging without the intervention of AI. For example, if the load suddenly goes up in one server hall, additional chilling is required to keep the servers cool and running efficiently. Energy efficiency gains can be made by knowing exactly when to switch that additional chiller on and when to switch it off. 

By collecting, aggregating and analysing operational data, AI can set certain trigger points and execute actions – such as switching the chiller on or off – at exactly the right moment. Machine Learning can also by deployed to understand load patterns and predict when fluctuations in load will occur, allowing DC operations to react efficiently. In an uninterruptable power supply (UPS), AI can switch between efficiency modes automatically in response to changing load levels, ensuring the system runs as close to the optimum efficiency for the load at any given time. 

This can also be applied to reducing electricity overheads. Balancing energy efficiency with the cost of electricity is a constant struggle for DC operators. With loads increasing every year, operators are faced with growing electricity bills. Attempts to keep electricity costs low can impede upon the energy efficiency of the facility. For example, running chillers at 10% of their capacity is one way to minimize electricity costs but this means the chillers will run inefficiently. 

IT Programmer Working in Data Center Syst
IT Programmer Working in Data Center System Control Room.

AI can be used very effectively in control systems to help operators balance cost and efficiency. This is improving over time but there is an onus on the manufacturers to make these developments faster so that operators can build greater levels of automation on top of those systems to help strike the right balance.

Robust cyber security measures

Increasing cyber security in DCs largely comes down to understanding behavioural patterns in the IT infrastructure and reacting immediately when a typical pattern is disrupted by an atypical behavioural event. This is very similar to the way cyber security works in a conventional office-based business. Each company device will have its typical usage pattern and AI can understand how individual devices typically interact with the network. A device logging on to the network outside of regular working hours and extracting data from the system would be an unusual behavioural event and AI can recognise this then disable the device’s network access and notify the business of a possible attempted security breach. 

In the context of a DC, AI will monitor the behavioural pattern of every server and will react accordingly to any event that diverges from the typical pattern. These AI capabilities can be leveraged at an extremely granular level to further enhance security. For example, if a server’s behaviour suddenly changes after somebody has been present in its server hall. This kind of granularity offers huge potential for DCs from a cyber security perspective and will continue to improve security as demand for their services grows.

Where humans would typically struggle to make data-informed split-second decisions that could improve energy cost and efficiency or stop a data breach, AI is helping the DC sector to evolve. It’s an exciting time for the sector and we can expect to see decision-making becoming more intelligent and autonomous as AI-driven solutions continue to evolve. 

Learn more about emerging trends across the tech panorama in the latest issue of Interface

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

9 September 2021

Estimated Read time

6Mins

Martin Riley, Bridewell Consulting’s Director of Managed Services, explains why a cyber security strategy can future proof your business and provide the platform for a successful digital transformation

Regardless of sector, digital transformation has become a business necessity for organisations in 2021. Described as the most important trend in business today, 65% of the globe’s GDP is expected to be digitalised by the end of 2022. And with promised benefits including improved operational efficiency, agility and employee productivity, it’s no surprise that businesses are going digital.

However, while there’s no denying the importance of digital transformation, different levels of organisational maturity can lead to different approaches and this is particularly apparent when it comes to security. Many organisations often take a reactive approach, whereby business and technology transformation are the priority and security is only considered afterwards. However, the risks from putting security on the backburner can be numerous, including higher costs and extended timelines to retrofit crucial security fixes.

Martin Riley
Martin Riley

More mature companies have a different approach – one that puts security transformation first, ahead of digital transformation, to ensure the best possible future-proofed outcome. Their success is now providing a valuable proven blueprint for other firms to follow. So, to reap the benefits of this approach where should you start?

Shift your mindset

Before embarking on any transformation, it’s imperative to get your strategy right. Move away from thinking purely about digital transformation and cyber security as separate strategies and instead develop a cyber security transformation strategy. This will ensure that you can reduce risk and improve your cyber resilience, even as your attack surface grows.

It may be that security transformation becomes the driver of your digital transformation. For example, if you have identified vulnerabilities within your legacy IT infrastructure that necessitates a need to move critical data to the cloud.

Take critical national infrastructure as an example… The convergence of IT and Operational Technology (OT) as well as increased legislative requirements, such as the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulation, is driving a clear need for cyber security transformation. Organisations need to adapt to gain a holistic view of cyber security across physical OT and cloud systems before transformation can take place.

Understand your risks

Digitalising your business ultimately introduces new risks. For example, new digital channels can broaden your attack service, while poorly configured cloud-based infrastructure can pose easy targets for cyber attackers. There’s also risks from the internet of Things (IoT) which increases sensitive data proliferation (and by association, vulnerabilities), as well as authentication and access risks posed by remote working and connected supply chains. Before embarking on a transformation plan, you need to understand the security implications of any changes.

Assume zero-trust

In order to ensure that security is front of mind in your transformation you need to adopt a philosophy of a zero trust, where no individual or device is trusted. This involves verification by authenticating and authorising based on all available data points, utilising just-in-time and just-enough-access to limit user access and using analytics to drive threat detection. Not only does this help businesses to be prepared for cyber threats, but also articulates the value of security transformation to other departments.

Embed security from the outset

It can be tempting to simply keep investing in a growing number of security technology tools as and when your transformation takes place. However, all too often there is little integration, overlap and there are gaps in the coverage these tools offer. And while a well-configured set of security tools can provide coverage, many drive threat alerts that are false positives or benign positives, leading to fatigue and alert blindness. Instead, ensuring security is a critical part of the initial design of your transformation strategy.

Use security intelligence to your advantage

Move away from a focus on prevention to response and make security intrinsic throughout the business by implementing proactive measures such as Managed Detection and Response (MDR). By combining human analysis, artificial intelligence and automation to rapidly detect, analyse, investigate and actively respond to threats, MDR can encourage alignment of security transformation with digital transformation.

Cyber Technology Security Protection Monitoring

An adaptive and customisable security model, MDR can be deployed rapidly and cost-effectively as a fully outsourced service or via a hybrid SOC. It helps develop a reference security architecture that enables you to safeguard on-premise and legacy systems, cloud-based infrastructure applications and SaaS solutions, whilst also protecting and responding to new security and user identity threats as well as reducing cyber risk and the dwell time of breaches.

Engage third party support

Finally, don’t neglect to seek help from outside your organisation. By engaging a security architect early on in your project lifecycle, you can benefit from robust and detailed analysis and expertise to ensure the correct decisions are made, tracked and traced from beginning to end. They can also help you understand the interdependencies across your IT estate, identify risks and suggest best practice, as well as legal and regulatory obligations to ensure you continue to be able to withstand a range of cyber attacks throughout your transformation.

Reaping the rewards of cyber security transformation

Every business is on a digital transformation journey, regardless of size or objectives. However, as organisations transform, so do technology and cyber threats. Those that fail to adopt a more proactive and efficient system for mitigating risks and handling, responding, detecting and learning from cyber security attacks will find themselves falling behind and the security function unable to keep up.

Ultimately, cyber and digital security should be thought of as inseparable – and those that can plan and integrate both into their transformation projects from the very beginning will be in the strongest position to succeed and future-proof their business.

By implementing a robust cyber security transformation process and proactive security measures, such as MDR that can support secure digital transformation, you can reap the benefits of a stronger, structured system for managing, isolating and reducing threats and continue to pivot, transition and serve in the new digital economy without leaving security on the side-lines.

Bridewell Consulting

Bridewell Consulting is a specialist cyber security and data privacy consultancy. NCSC Certified and CREST accredited, it provides reliable, high-quality security and risk consulting services; helping its customers protect not just their data, but their reputation, customer trust and bottom line. Providing four core service areas: cyber security, data privacy, penetration testing/red team assessments and managed security services, Bridewell’s expert team of professionals possess specialist industry experience and proven capabilities. They can deliver effective cyber security and data privacy services across financial services, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, technology, retail, media, government, aviation and 24×7 critical services. As a vendor agnostic business, Bridewell is able to effectively and honestly engage with business executives and provide advice, guidance and services in a way that is most appropriate for each organisation, ensuring that proposed solutions are aligned with its clients’ strategy, business objectives and the wider IT architecture.

Learn more about emerging trends across the tech panorama in the latest issue of Interface

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

Estimated Read time

6Mins

we.CONECT offer a virtual and hybrid approach to live events planning delivering tomorrow’s business engineering today

we.CONECT was founded in 2011 by two self-confessed “passionate event industry geeks” with an entrepreneurial spirit. Henry Fuchs and Daniel Wolter saw an opportunity to meet the need for change within the event industry with a new approach to b2b-conferences within the innovation, enterprise and tech sectors.

Henry Fuchs

“We have grown by more than 50% yearly ever since,” reveals Henry. “Today, we serve engineering and manufacturing, automotive, digital transformation and the IT sectors across DACH, Europe and the US market. Our focus has always been on interactions and creating forums and platforms for meetings and connections. This allows decision-makers to interact and network with their peers and get the latest ideas and industry trends. In our environment, they will be given opportunities to grow their businesses and skill sets.”

A diverse network

we.CONECT boasts a 50,000+ strong network, taking pride in having companies as clients rather than simply defining their attendees as the audience. “Our ambition is to fuel them with new ideas, new connections and new inspiration,” pledges Daniel. “We attract everyone from specialists and strategists to management newbies, geniuses and visionaries to help the world’s biggest brands, most innovative companies, and the most promising start-ups, shape tomorrow´s business.”

Daniel Wolter

The rollcall of clients is impressive… Adidas, Adobe, Amazon, BASF, BMW, Coca-Cola, Daimler, Google, Paypal, Nasa, Tesla, Apple are all part of we.CONECT’s network of business partners enjoying unique event experiences alongside the likes of Bosch, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia, Samsung, Siemens and SAP.

The 1.5 million business users in we.CONECT’s ecosystem demand excellent networking and learning opportunities. “Our events are packed with more than 30 session formats covering different interactivity levels – strongly geared to our customers’ needs,” says Henry. “The problem solving and discussion focused world café-sessions and our ‘Live Tech Take’ are two great examples of formats our clients greatly appreciate.” 

Digital ‘managed’ events

we.CONECT’s Digital Managed Event (DME) offering is for exhibitors that don’t want to share their leads with others. “They bring the content and the crowd; we assist with the hosting, event infrastructure and marketing of the event,” explains Daniel. “With a DME, exhibitors have an opportunity to tailor-make an event relevant to their product and solution; it’s a chance to invest in your own exclusive and customised format.”

Hybrid connections

we.CONECT’s hybrid business event portfolio offers business leaders from all over the world exclusive content, leads and an opportunity to be a part of evolving business communities to gather information, share knowledge, network with peers and find solutions for business-critical challenges. “We believe it’s imperative to be part of a new world of networking with other global players and niche businesses both live and fully digital in an ever-changing world,” asserts Henry. “The hybrid format delivers in that regard. It offers total flexibility, is COVID-compliant and enables both the audience and the exhibitors a chance to make the most of their experience.”

hubs101

Daniel and Henry began innovating with the digital transformation of events back in 2016 through the development of their own event app platform and in 2018 with their own first digital events – long before Covid became an issue.

“When the pandemic hit, we were able to react with agility and digitalise our entire event portfolio in 2020,” recalls Daniel. “One of the key enablers was our own virtual event platform, hubs101. It’s a complete platform, built on our event insights and know-how with the latest technology in focus. We’ve gradually developed it over the years, like the company itself, with constant tweaks and improvements. hubs101 has now been road-tested by more than 10,000 customers and hosted over 500 events, which is just the beginning…” 

The we.CONECT team continually add new functions to improve usability based on the feedback received from each event. These invaluable insights contribute to the continued innovation of 30 different session formats that inspire attendees to interact and learn from each other’s experiences.

The timing of the public release of hubs101 with the pandemic was a coincidence but the team felt the platform had reached a stage where it could be beneficial for others. “Before Covid, we’d launched the platform to host 12 online events,” remember Henry. “When the lockdowns started, we identified the potential for virtual events and were able to scale up the platform to host most of the used-to-be on-premises events, working on over a hundred in 2020.”

AI matchmaking

hubs101 users can enter their event interests, business goals, and expectations on the platform; that data is sorted and matched with other participants’ entries. The AI matchmaking function enables hubs101 attendees to find the business partners they’re looking for and connect with them immediately. This saves time and avoids the uncertainty to connect with the right person on an on-premises event, and thus helps businesses reach their ROI more quickly. 

Germany, Berlin, 18.09.2019 – Industry Of Things conference in Berlin 2019. Marcel Wogram for WeConect.

“Our goal is to provide event attendees with the best event experience,” adds Daniel. “Therefore, we’re constantly searching for ways to take the current online event experience on hubs101 to the next level. Right now, users can attend a virtual event smoothly and find the right business partners with an AI matchmaking function. And we aim to expand that function to include not only attendee matching but also interest matching. In the future, hubs101 users can expect to meet the right person and get suggestions for the right event, based on their own goals and expectations they provide to the platform.”

The pandemic has accelerated the process of event digitalisation. Henry and Daniel have embraced the challenge and are determined to continuously help define the future of the event industry, and to transform as many events as possible to a full-scale hybrid experience. “In these times when marketers worldwide rank virtual events as a top three method to generate leads, boost revenue and improve brand impact, we.CONECT and hubs101 can help shape and improve any company’s future strategy and tactics for events and meetings.”

Learn more about emerging trends across the tech panorama in the latest issue of Interface

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

7 September 2021

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Read in brochure format

This month’s exclusive cover story focuses on how global digital agency Valtech is on a mission to inspire organisations to…

This month’s exclusive cover story focuses on how global digital agency Valtech is on a mission to inspire organisations to embrace inclusivity, supporting everyone to succeed in tech…

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Technology and its ability to transform the human experience for all the stakeholders of any business, from customers to employees to partners, is the defining theme of this issue of Interface.

Read the latest issue here!

At the heart of this line of inquiry, our cover story reinforces why technology should be for everyone. Valtech, a global digital agency focused on business transformation, is on a mission to encourage organisations to embrace inclusivity, “inspiring everybody to have an authentic voice” by supporting women and people of all walks of life to succeed in tech-based careers. Our interviewee, Sheree Atcheson, Global Director of Diversity & Inclusion, pledges: “We are trying to do something that leaves the world better than we found it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W25hWRdDMA

Elsewhere in this issue, we explore the rise of AI in banking and learn how solutions are being deployed by UnionBank of the Philippines. Dr. David Hardoon, Senior Advisor for Data & AI, explains how the bank is better leveraging data to drive financial inclusion with the delivery of services to the underserved and unbanked. We also speak with Alexandre Kozlov, Head of International IT at Kelly Services, and discover how the staffing giant is embracing business relevant IT with tech that puts people – clients, candidates and recruiters – first.

Also in this issue, we.CONECT tell us how they are using technology to bring people together for virtual live events; we explore AI’s influence on data centre management, and discover why security can future-proof your digital transformation journey.

Enjoy the issue!

Dan Brightmore, Editor

Author

Dale Benton

Published

5 July 2021

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Welcome to another bumper issue of CPOstrategy magazine…

Our cover star this issue, Willem Mutsaerts, is both the CPO and CSO of Givaudan, a global industry leader creating game-changing innovation in food and beverages, and inspiring creations in the world of scent and beauty. The duality of his role is quite unique and makes for a fascinating discussion as to how procurement makes all the difference for Givaudan’s sustainable ambition. It’s a revealing insight…

Read the latest issue here!

Will also dive deep into Procurement Leaders’ latest report Procurement as a Growth Engine (partnered by Ivalua), which explores how procurement can bring new opportunities for growth, as forward-thinking business leaders become increasingly aware of the huge potential that exists in the upstream supply base.

Elsewhere, we move away from what procurement can do in the private sector to what it can do for the local communities of the world, specifically, procurement in West Mercia Police. We peek behind the curtain of a major procurement transformation that will see the local UK police force empower its officers to protect and serve their local communities.

There are also fascinating insights from Lance Younger, Dr Elouise Epstein and many many more..

Enjoy the issue!

Dale Benton

Author

Dale Benton

Published

2 June 2021

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Issue 23 of CPOstrategy is now live!

Procurement transformation is very often the name of the game in the pages of CPOstrategy, but what happens when that transformation acts as more of an enabler towards greater sustainability in the supply chain?

What does sustainability really mean to an organisation and how can procurement accelerate the conversation? Well, Renee Leong, CPO of Engie NA. says it’s a question of how we actually measure the value of procurement that’s important before looking at how it can help a company significantly improve its impact on the environment around it. We caught up with Renee as she discussed procurement and the company’s ongoing move away from fossil fuels.

“We have the power to actually influence how the product is being made and how the services are being offered to us so we can really help drive positive change to society,” she says.

We also caught up with Mahmoud Al Alawi, HCT Director of Procurement & Contracts, two years after launching a significant procurement transformation to see how the organisation continues to take procurement to new heights even during the challenging COVID19 pandemic. 

And finally, we speak with Douglas Klimak, CPO of Banco Bradesco, as he walks us through a procurement journey that will see an institute of Brazillian banking define a new age of procurement maturity. 

Enjoy the issue below

https://b2e.media/magazines/cpostrategy-issue-23

Author

Dale Benton

Published

9 April 2021

Estimated Read time

5Mins

What does it mean to be a leader?

How important is it, when undergoing a transformation journey, to focus on your role as a leader of people in order to deliver meaningful change? 

It’s certainly a key question for any procurement professional and in issue 22 of CPOstrategy, Rachel Lemos, Director, Procurement, Canadian Western Bank, tells us how she has spent the best part of her career looking to answer it. She sits down to tell us how procurement leaders are often guilty of losing sight of what we really need or what we are trying to solve in transformation.

“We’re looking to ride that wave of procurement transformation and say ‘Let’s do something about it!’, which ends up with us just breaking things that were working instead of solving problems,” she says. 

Stephany Lapierre, CEO of Tealbook, walks us through the 2021 Supplier Information Study, produced by Tealbook and Wakefield Research. After surveying 200 Procurement and Sourcing Executives (Director-level or higher), we have a clear picture of the current procurement and supplier data landscape.

Lance Younger, CEO and Founder of ProcureTech, joins us to explore where we are on the procurement technology maturity curve and what we can be doing to push the needle further. Hint: it includes the way we work with tech vendors! There’s also part two of our discussion with Michael Pleuger and Detlef Schultz, and insight into how the control tower is one of the most effective ways to achieve resilience, visibility, and agility in the supply chain.

Enjoy the issue!

Author

Dale Benton

Published

1 March 2021

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Supplier data matters. But you knew that already…

The question is, does high-quality supplier data matter now more than ever before? Stephany Lapierre, CEO of Tealbook, joins us this month to give it to us straight; in 2021 we have absolutely no reason to be working with messy vendor masters. 

“Your e-procurement technology stack is only as good as what you feed it,” she says. So it’s time to start rethinking about your supplier data. 

Elsewhere, Abe Saxionis, CPO of Keolis North America, lifts the lid on a major procurement transformation journey that will see the transportation services provider collaborate better with each and every part of its ecosystem under a vision of One Keolis. 

“As a company starts out and we begin to grow organically, we all are working more like independent businesses. It gets to a point where, in order to continue to expand and take advantage of the value the company brings to the table when dealing with customers or suppliers, we need to be more united. That’s the concept behind One Keolis.”

In an enthralling discussion, the gloves were off as I sat down with Michael Pleuger and Detlef Schultz – two powerhouse names in procurement. From an over reliance on consultants, to Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy on legacy, we tackle some of the key issues that procurement professionals are (and aren’t) addressing in 2021. 

You definitely don’t want to miss this issue. 

Author

Dale Benton

Published

8 February 2021

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Featuring Claro Brazil, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and more!

Issue 20 of CPOstrategy is here!

We have a fantastic issue for you this month, as we take a closer look at how procurement can be a true competitive advantage…for the sporting industry!

Exploring this with us, is Nour-Eddine Boufertala, Head of Procurement at England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) the national governing body for all cricket in England and Wales. ECB is working to promote the game of cricket as widely as possible and as part of its Inspiring Generation Strategy for the national game, the ECB will look to put a bat and ball into more and more hands and introduce more people to the power of cricket over the next five years.  

And procurement is the key to doing exactly that.

“We want everyone to enjoy playing cricket and to enjoy the game. What we have is not a complicated network, but a lot of people are included in the process and the procurement plays a key part in all of this,” explains Boufertala.

Elsewhere, Ivan da Mata, CPO of Claro Brasil, is tasked with delivering a major procurement transformation journey for the telecommunications giant. Running alongside a significant digital transformation, his goal is to create a fast, business oriented and best in class procurement function.

“Quite simply,” starts da Mata. “Procurement was not keeping up with Claro’s businesses’ fast pace transformation and so we laid out a roadmap that would see us achieve Procurement 4.0 for Claro Brazil by 2021-2022 and beyond.”

We also look at supply chain resilience with Annie Li of Movado Group, Rod Robinson of COUPA talks about connecting minority owned enterprises with larger businesses through procurement and we detail five trends set to hit the healthcare industry in 2021.

Author

Andrew Woods

Published

3 April 2020

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Welcome to a packed issue of Interface Magazine, full of exclusive content!

This month’s cover story is an illuminating interview with Sarah Golley, VP of Digital Transformation of Virgin Media who reveals how digital transformation has meant getting comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Read it here, NOW!

 “How customers want to engage with us has changed and is continuing to change at a fast pace, driven by the rapid adoption of technology. Customers of today are less likely to be brand-loyal and will leave if they don’t get what they want and need. We want our customers to find us easy to do business with, and we want them to stay,” explains Golley.

“Customers these days typically want information to be simple to find and instantly available. They want to have the option to have everything online, they want to self-serve if they have issues, they want to shop or deal with issues at a time that suits them. We are now speaking to multiple types of people, from silver surfers and baby boomers all the way down to millennials and Gen Z. We need to provide solutions for everyone.”

Elsewhere, we travel to Denmark to speak to Group CPO of Danish Crown Lars Feldskou regarding procurement transformation and catch up with Rob Galbraith dubbed ‘the most interesting man in insurance’. Plus, we assess the impact of a massive digital transformation at UnionBank and list 5 Influential Women in IT.

Enjoy the issue!