Over the course of the coming week, large swathes of the global procurement community will congregate in London to collaborate, challenge, celebrate and learn at the World Procurement Congress.
It’s a hugely energising experience – an opportunity to inhale knowledge, grow networks, and challenge our current beliefs, approaches and trajectories.
This year’s agenda is world-class in every sense, featuring a diverse group of speakers – from a who’s who of the global CPO community to four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson.
All are focused on sharing best practice with the intention of supporting the collective impact of this profession.
Starting on an ‘AI’
We kick off with our AI Forum on Tuesday; a day of insight and collaboration dedicated to the rollout and adoption of artificial intelligence in procurement. Who better to share their story, then, than the CPO of OpenAI, Hugh Drinkwater.
Hugh will be joined by other specialists to explore roadmaps for AI and dig beneath the hype surrounding this technology.
About people, performance and purpose
Day one of the Congress itself will burst into life (believe me when I say that…) with world-class speakers from across the industry spectrum, including Dan Bartel, Procurement Leaders Advisory Board member and newly appointed CPO of American Airlines.
Dan will share a call to action and pause to reflect on just how far we’ve come as a profession. Procurement’s purpose has evolved beyond recognition over the course of the last two decades – something that Dan, Sirsij Peshin from Pfizer and DHL’s Anna Spinelli will explore.
The megatrends to watch
It would be remiss of me not to extend a big thank you to our headline partner GEP. Joining us on the morning of day one will be president and co-founder Neha Desai Shah, who will join a panel with Bayer’s Thomas Udesen and former Lloyds Bank chief economist Professor Trevor Williams. Together, they will explore the interplay of technology trends, trade flows and global supply chains.
More broadly, the whole agenda is aligned with our mission of supporting members’ individual journeys towards sustainable growth – something we are committed to doing through our Horizon 2030 framework.
Horizon 2030 focuses on the areas in which procurement can drive the most enterprise value – ESG, resilience, performance, partnerships and digitalisation – and the agenda is structured around these value-adding areas. By exploring what works and what doesn’t together as a community, we can make progress much faster.
It’s inspiring. It’s energising. And if you’re lucky enough to be joining us in London, I look forward to seeing you there.
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