A couple of weeks ago I hosted a CPO Connect call during which we spoke to Sandro Scharlibbe, the former CPO of tier-1 automotive supplier Brose and the newly appointed CEO of Küster Holding.
Sandro will be well known to many in the Procurement Leaders community – not least for the many awards he and his team picked up during his time as CPO – but also the work he championed on supplier-enabled innovation, which helped inspire many activities we hosted back in the pre-Covid days.
We invited Sandro to support a community conversation on life after procurement – what might a CPO use his or her skills and experience for in the next stage of their career.
Of course, some CPOs will have no intention of moving out of the function unless to retire or to embark on a portfolio career. Others will have a desire to move into another function or, as Sandro has, to lead a business.
In fact, we asked our CPO community this very question in 2021 ahead of that year’s Ovation, and the results were illuminating. Just over half of respondents said they wanted to remain in procurement, 15% said they aspired to lead a business, 13% planned to move into another function, while the remainder were split between wanting to become an entrepreneur, pursue a portfolio career or move into consultancy.
One thing I’m convinced of, however, is that a prolonged stint as chief procurement officer of a global organisation provides experience and knowledge that can and should be put to use in a variety of scenarios.
One of the CPOs on the call shared that invitations to join independent boards have increased over the last couple of years, another told the group he acts as an adviser for a small number of technology startups, while another revealed she was about to embark on the next stage of her professional life, having handed over the CPO reins to pursue a PhD.
Our very own Bob Murphy, former CPO of IBM and until recently the chairman of the Procurement Leaders Advisory Board, has also taken on a suite of non-executive and advisory roles for technology startups since retiring from corporate life.
CPOs perform extremely important, value-adding work during their time in the hot seat. It’s worth thinking hard and thinking deliberately about what the later stages of a career might look like, and how that knowledge will be put to best use.
Speaking to a couple of current CPOs at Ovation last month, one book that could help with your thinking on this topic is Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks’ From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life.
Make it your summer reading project. At some point, busy executives need to plan their own descent from the pinnacle of a career. That descent should not be seen as a decline.
Monitoring sustainability progress
As businesses continue their preparations for the coming year, our colleagues at Sustainability Leaders are busy gathering responses to help power the findings for their Sustainability Planning Guide 2025.
With the relationship between procurement and sustainability growing ever closer – not to mention an increasing number of CPOs assuming responsibility for sustainability – CPOs are able to bring a uniquely valuable perspective. Please take a few minutes to participate in the survey and help enable the community to deliver on their ESG goals.
To receive weekly insights from the Procurement Leaders community, sign up to the CPO Crunch newsletter using the link at the top of this page.
Monitoring sustainability progress
As businesses continue their preparations for the coming year, our colleagues at Sustainability Leaders are busy gathering responses to help power the findings for their Sustainability Planning Guide 2025.
With the relationship between procurement and sustainability growing ever closer – not to mention an increasing number of CPOs assuming responsibility for sustainability – CPOs are able to bring a uniquely valuable perspective. Please take a few minutes to participate in the survey and help enable the community to deliver on their ESG goals.
To receive weekly insights from the Procurement Leaders community, sign up to the CPO Crunch newsletter using the link at the top of this page.
