This week, a vast swathe of the Procurement Leaders community will congregate in person, break bread, raise a glass, celebrate, congratulate and learn from one another in London at the World Procurement Congress 2025.
The Congress is the highlight of the procurement year, an opportunity for intensely busy professionals to come together and take precious time to hear from CPOs and others who are at the top of their game and who continue to drive the function forward.
From digital pioneers to commodity experts to visionaries who are laying the foundations for next-generation procurement, the Intercontinental O2 will be transformed into a playground for those passionate and inspired by the impact we can have.
With an event theme focused on how procurement must amplify productivity while fuelling growth, there is a rich agenda of content sessions designed to support organisations to do just that while also getting to grips with the current business climate.
I’m fortunate to be talking to Jabil’s Chief Supply Chain and Procurement Officer Frank McKay and Etihad’s VP Procurement & Supply Chain Cassie Mackie on the morning of day one.
The focus of the conversation? How CPOs are navigating a new era of global business, and how they are having to do it right now. It will be a fascinating framing conversation before we get into case studies from the CPOs of Starbucks, AstraZeneca and Ferrero, as well as the CEO of Save the Children Italy. And all of that is early on the first morning of the Congress.
What will follow is a festival of content and collaboration, with CPOs from across the world mixing with former ambassadors, Michelin-starred chefs, technologists, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and provocateurs.
It’s big, it’s bold and it’s a wonderful opportunity to fuel the inspiration battery. If you are attending the event, I look forward to seeing you there.
Three highlights among many
Collaborative advantage: AstraZeneca CPO Nataša Vidmar and VP Finance for R&D Judith Wright discuss building alliances to deliver sustainable growth.
Digitalisation: Cisco Systems CPO Alexandra Lopez explores the transformative power of AI to elevate business value.
Sustainability: Haleon CPO Richard Crane on incentivising decarbonisation through smart procurement.
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