Tarek Alaruri is the COO and co-founder of Fairmarkit, where his expertise in logistics has helped the company revolutionize how enterprises manage “tail spend” purchases. Tarek was honored as one of Forbes 30 under 30 in enterprise technology in 2020. In addition to sitting on Fairmarkit’s board of directors, he is a member of the advisory board for The Indiana University School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. Prior to founding Fairmarkit, Tarek was the Director of Sales Development at Turbonomic and managed contract negotiations with the Fortune 500 at Total Quality Logistics. Tarek holds a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Indiana University, where he was also a Varsity Division I wrestler.

Nico, a current partner to Coupa, formerly served as a Source to Pay digital transformation leader at Procter & Gamble. He has more than twenty years of experience in strategic sourcing, including Packaging, Contract Manufacturing, and IT, as well as leading and developing sourcing teams. He is an expert in digital procurement, change management, and technology selection. At Procter & Gamble, he implemented Coupa across all indirect spend, representing $20B in spend, 77 countries, 55,000 users and 60,000 suppliers. 

As Senior VP of Technology and Project Management at Guidant Global, Pam Beard leads the exploration of how automation, blockchain and other technology build upon the current framework of managed services and recruitment delivery. Beard focuses on the improvement of customers’ experiences and Guidant’s own operating efficiencies.

Paul Blake is the senior director of engagement at GEP and has been with the company for ten years.  He has worked in technology for over 35 years and has been involved in the development of business software solutions since before the advent of the internet.  Paul ran the development team that delivered Europe’s first B2B trading platform in the 1990s and has managed been involved procurement software since the origin on the term.  As such, he has long-term experience of the trends and developments that affect the procurement and supply chain industry.

Keith is an information technology leader with extensive experience in financial services and commodity trading.  

Keith was the first US CIO for Scotiabank, building a high functioning technology organization from the ground up, and introducing an IT Risk culture and Cybersecurity framework, to meet state and federal regulatory legislation. Over the past 20+ years, Keith has had a variety of global technology leadership roles for leading financial services institutions.

Keith is a research scholar within the Digital Financial Services Observatory at Columbia University, where he’s developing a process-based Cybersecurity Risk Management Framework for Digital Financial Services in the developing world. Keith is member of the Board of Directors for the New York Metropolitan Chapter of ISACA, and is co-chair of the Education committee. 

Keith has a BSC (Hons) degree from the University of Strathclyde, and lives in Connecticut. He is married with three children spread across, UK, USA and Canada, and is an avid sports participant and fan. 

Scott Brewer is Randstad Sourceright's SOW Services Procurement Excellence Lead and brings over 25 years of experience in the services, operations, and contingent workforce market place. For the past decade, he's specialized in Statement of Work (SOW) / Services Procurement Managed Services Provider (MSP) solutions; spanning multiple client engagements; and serving with industry leading MSP providers and Vendor Management System technology partners. He has spoken at industry conferences and led educational webinars on the topic of optimal SOW Services Procurement program management.

Stuart Brock is a Director at DoucSign where he helps lead DoucSign's financial services programs. He is a licensed attorney who practiced law at a top national firm for some 10 years before moving in-house at Bank of America. During his tenure with Bank of America. During his tenure with Bank of America, Stuart held various roles within the Legal, Compliance and Procurement organizations.

As SVP of Strategy, Analytics and Metrics, Dustin Burgess oversees marketplace BI, strategic management reporting, and business consulting solutions with a focus on comprehensive talent engagement strategies. Dustin joined PRO Unlimited in 2007 and has previous experience in public accounting and consulting services at “Big Four” firms and Fortune 500 organizations. 

Catherine is a recognized industry leader and visionary, having previously founded the pioneering Advantage Human Resourcing and served as CEO of leading contingent workforce management firms. Under Catherine’s leadership, nextSource has been transformed into a leading provider of workforce solutions to mid-market companies.  She is a passionate advocate for innovation in workforce management, having served on numerous boards and government committees to help organizations, universities and policy makers advance the strategic value of the U.S. workforce.

Jai Chinnakonda is the Founder and CEO of ENGAIZ, a technology company focused on leveraging Artificial Intelligence to help enterprises mitigate Third-Party Risks such as Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Regulatory, Financial, Performance, Resiliency, Infrastructure, Legal, Country risks through Effective Governance and Engagement. 

Through his decades of experience in managing large technology outsourcing deals, Jai brings a unique perspective and advises organizations on third party governance and risk management. He firmly believes in the Art and Science of Engagement to help build lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with third-party vendors. 

He is a Certified Third-Party Risk Management Professional (C3PRMP) and a Certified Supplier Management Professional (CSMP). Jai is a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, an opt-in research community of business professionals. He was also a contributing member to the first draft of The Standard for Program Management released by the Project Management Institute (PMI). 

As the co-founder and CEO of Catalytic, Sean leads the charge on product design and company strategy, and builds relationships with customers, channels and investors. As a lifelong technologist and true SaaS pioneer, Sean loves turning complex business problems into simple solutions.

Scott started in procurement directly out of college with Yale New haven Health Systems working as an analyst in the accounts payable department.  Scott now works for Indeed as their Global Procurement Analyst. There he handles any reporting needs for procurement, along with assisting in procurement system implementations, to strive to make the P2P end to end process as effective and efficient as can be. Scott has received his BA in Accounting from Southern Connecticut State University followed by his MBA with a concentration in Project Management.

Michaela Dempsey brings more than 15 years of enterprise experience to Workday Strategic Sourcing as the Sr. Director of Demand Generation and is responsible for driving global marketing demand. Prior to Workday, Michaela led marketing and demand for now public brands including Anaplan (PLAN) and Bill.com (BILL). Michaela is also an Executive Director at the Global Council for Advancement of Women in Procurement.

Ingrid brings more than a decade of major multinational corporate real estate and facilities management expertise to her strategic and operational leadership of SIREAS. 

She works directly with the real estate and executive leadership of SIREAS’ corporate clients in designing strategic plans and service delivery models to cost-effectively meet their business goals. She oversees and provides ongoing project guidance to SIREAS client engagement teams and develops the third-party supplier and outsourcing relationships vital to helping manage clients’ portfolios and facilities. 

She also provides clients expert guidance on facilities management and workplace transformation, the real estate implications of M&A transactions, contract negotiations and lease administration, construction, and vendor management.

As a global real estate strategist and portfolio platform builder, Ingrid brings clients deep expertise in emerging markets, from new region entry to navigating complex matrices of international law and real estate practices.

Before cofounding SIREAS, Ingrid served as Global Head of Real Estate for health products leader Covidien, There, she partnered with the executive leadership team on value-building real estate strategy, designed and led the real estate organization, developed the portfolio (transactions, lease administration and project management services) and facilities management platform, and oversaw 16 million square feet of leased and owned commercial, office, R&D, surgical training and manufacturing facilities globally. 

She generated more than $75 million in real estate savings for Covidien through strategic consolidations, market intelligence, workplace transformation, and strategic sourcing. In addition, she played a lead role in Covidien’s entry into more than 20 new markets and managed the real estate component of all M&A activity, including 30-plus acquisitions and the divestiture of Covidien’s pharmaceutical business. She developed real estate partnership networks to execute transactions in more than 140 markets worldwide.   

Previously, she integrated international real estate strategy with business unit planning internationally for Fortune 100 multinational United Technologies Corporation, whose portfolio encompassed 100 million square feet across more than 5,000 locations.

Amy Fong is a Partner leading Everest Group’s Sourcing and Vendor Management practice. In this role, she advises enterprises on maximizing value from strategic provider relationships in global services categories.  

Amy brings more than 20 years of buy-side company, consulting, and advising experience with a focus on procurement, supply chain, outsourcing, and organizational effectiveness. She has authored numerous publications and frequently speaks on source-to-pay topics and managing complex supply chain partnerships. She is focused on optimizing the services and relationships within the CPO ecosystem. 

Prior to joining Everest Group, she was an Associate Principal and Program Leader with The Hackett Group’s Procurement and P2P Advisory Programs. Before that, she held various industry and consulting roles with Hewlett Packard, Sonoco Products Company, and Archstone Consulting. Amy sits on the advisory board of the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) and the solution provider council of the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). 

Scott Fraleigh is a savvy and innovative business development expert with 20-plus years’ experience in the contingent workforce field. Prior to PRO Unlimited, he worked as President of Managed Services Provider programs and Payroll Solutions at Randstad Sourceright, where he led a team of 140-plus and facilitated the transformation of Randstad from a small regional Managed Services Provider to a global industry leader and consistently delivered double-digit revenue growth. As Vice President, Strategic Partnerships at PRO Unlimited, he provides visionary thinking and strategic solutions to accelerate business development, account management and facilitate global expansion. 

John Gallagher is a Sr. Sourcing Manager in PayPal's Global Sourcing organization where he leads the Labor procurement team.  After close to a decade in procurement and rebuilding PayPal's contingent workforce program from the ground up, he is aware of the unique challenges to managing and controlling contingent workforce spend and how to overcome them.  The program that John has built at PayPal relies on data, transparency, and controls to identify targeted savings opportunities while minimizing leakage.  John is passionate about leveraging cost models to drive negotiations and identifying creative solutions to procurement challenges.  He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife and daughter and he holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA and M.S. in Information Management from Arizona State University.

Craig Garno is Chief Technology Officer, responsible for corporate information technology, security and delivering innovative technology solutions that drive process efficiencies and savings for the company's clients. He is the principal architect for the company’s OneMarket technology platform. Prior to joining LogicSource, Craig was a co-founder and General Manager and Vice President of Technology for Cirqit. At Cirqit, he architected their industry-leading procurement technology platform. He oversaw Product Management, Software Engineering, and IT Operations. Additionally, he was instrumental in new client acquisition and partnership development. His tenure culminated in the successful acquisition of Cirqit's technology platform and client-base into LogicSource. He holds a BS degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Daryl is the GM of Global Demand and Operations at AWS. Daryl previously served as VP of Global Supplier Solutions at Coupa Software. A highly regarded executive within executive software development, global operations, sales, human resources, supply chain, risk, and procurement, Daryl is certified in Supply Chain Management, Third-Party Risk Management, and Intelligent Software Automation. Daryl is noted as one of the most influential minds in his field and was recognized as a Top COO by Cincinnati Business Courier for significant achievements for leading cutting-edge advancements in software development at ConnXus. Daryl also partnered with top procurement organizations to drive Supplier Risk, Supplier Relationship Management and Client Success. Prior to ConnXus, Daryl spent 15 years as SVP and GM at Luxottica Group, a multi-billion dollar company that controls 80% of the global eyewear industry. Daryl is also a Certified Business and Executive Coach (CEC); he is an expert in Executive Team Alignment in administering and interpreting assessment tools such as the Herrmann Whole Brain Assessment, Situational Leadership, DiSC, and others. Daryl employs his executive experience, leadership strategies, and coaching expertise to expand operational and team excellence. Among his many accomplishments, Daryl completed the CEO Academy at Wharton School of Business.

Greg Holt is the Director of Procurement Insights at Interos. For more than fifteen years he has been listening to and working with users of sourcing and procurement technologies, uncovering business challenges, identifying desired outcomes, and communicating solutions that deliver digital procurement transformation for organizations large and small. At Interos, Greg is collaborating with Chief Procurement Officers and their teams to identify new approaches to proactively identify and mitigate risks that are hidden within an organization’s extended supply network to improve operational resilience throughout the supply chain. 

As co-founder of Everest Group’s research practice – and with a broad and varied career in the global services industry – Michel offers profound insights and analysis to enterprises and service providers alike. Leveraging his extensive experience identifying and understanding emerging trends, Michel helps organizations to maximize their global services efforts. Michel is particularly noted for his ability to posit clever and challenging ideas based on his fact-based insights from across business and IT processes, sourcing models, and industries. Michel also contributes to Everest Group’s topical thought leadership in the EGInsights video series, in which he and other leaders share quick takes on hot topics, fresh data, and insights derived from many of the firm’s best analysts.

Everest Group welcomed Michel back in 2017, after a successful decade serving as Chief Research Officer at The Hackett Group and Market Track. In his current incarnation, Michel is responsible for guiding the practice’s research agenda and architecture, and aligning its capabilities with the market’s disruptive changes and next-generation demands.

Michel is a current member of the IAOP Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) where he offers insights to help shape the direction of the association.

Rajeev Karmacharya is Head of the Strategic Sourcing and Category Management group in Fannie Mae.

Rajeev leads a team of category management, sourcing / contracting and supplier enablement professionals managing $4.5+ billion in external spend.

Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Rajeev was a Principal at global management consulting firm Kearney, where he was one of the leaders in their Strategic IT and Operations Practice. Rajeev holds a Master of Industrial Administration (MBA) degree in Finance and Marketing from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.

Lindsey Kirchberg joined Workday in 2019 as the Director of Procurement Operations.  While at Workday, she has overseen the implementation of Workday Strategic Sourcing, created a Supplier Programs team and led the procurement integration of the Scout acquisition. Lindsey has over 10 years of Procurement and Supply Chain experience.

Purvee Kondal is a Procurement Officer, a practitioner, and an advisory board member with Sourcing Industry Group and RampRate. She is also a National Association of Corporate Directors Directorship Certified Accelerate program participant with the NACD.DC designation, being among 30 Asian Americans and one of the pioneering Indian American women to hold this designation. She is a seasoned Procurement executive with over 15 years of experience leading transformational changes at notable organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, Capgemini, Ross Stores, Globality, and Albertsons. As a champion of diversity and inclusion, she co-chairs the Fellowship Nomination Committee at the Athena Rising Foundation as an Athena Alliance member.

Nila LaVanaway Charles is the Chief Executive Officer at Pierpont Holdings, LLC.  Nila has worked in supply chain, procurement and supply chain technology since 2004 across a wide range of industries from consumer electronics to medical devices.  She spent several years as a subject matter expert and consultant on technology adoption related to supply chain and procurement functions. In 2019 she became CEO of Pierpont Holdings which provides consulting and services related for source-to-contract optimization through process efficiencies and technology.  

Anders started his procurement career in the financial services sector in Canada in the late 90s and started his first CPO role in 2004. After being a serial CPO, for companies such as Webster Bank, Citizens Bank and Fannie Mae, Anders started Focal Point. Focal Point helps procurement functions be more effective, efficient and smarter by integrating data, processes and technology, leveraging workflow driven best in class processes. Anders has a BA and an MBA from McMaster University.

World class Supply Chain & Procurement professional whose leadership and experience results in consistently exceeding targets. Significant breadth of experience in global investment and retail banking and general management on a global basis. Expertise in governmental and regulatory affairs and processes.

Acknowledged as effective change leader and for strong collaboration with business partners, mentoring of young talent, client focus and commitment to quality. Significant International experience including integrating acquired businesses, deploying enterprise processes and technology leveraged solutions and setting up offshore software and engineering development centers.

Strong process discipline and program management skills with an exceptional track record of building strategic sourcing and risk management capabilities globally. Widely recognized for innovative approaches to problem-solving, strong analytical capabilities and exceptional communication skills.

Specialties: Supply Chain Operations, Supplier Relationship Management, Block Chain, AI, RPA, Strategic Sourcing, Negotiations, Organization Transformation, IT Sourcing Expert, Contract Management, Executive Leadership, Program Management, Mergers and Acquisitions, Finance, Outsourcing / Offshoring, Strategic Premises Management, Operations and technology management (platform conversion & consolidation, upgrades, contingency planning / business recovery) Risk management (legal, operational and regulatory compliance), Global / international leadership. 

Joseph is also a SIG certified CSP, C3PRMP and SIG Super Nova Hall of Fame Recipient.

Erin McGraw is currently the Procurement CoE Manager for Digital Innovation and has been with Navistar for 9 years. Altogether, she has worked within Procurement for just over 3 years and she also worked in various roles at Navistar in Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, and at the Melrose Park Testing Facility. Erin is currently the SME for any systems that Procurement uses, including Ivalua. She majored in Industrial Engineering at Bradley University and received her MBA from Benedictine University.

Thom Mead is Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for Turtle Peak, a specialty provider of 100% US based, revenue generating Contact Center & BPO services.  Thom is recognized globally as a thought leader in the Outsourcing & Professional Services community.  Accomplished in Strategy, Marketing and Sales, Thom has served in a variety of senior executive / C-level roles for startups, small companies and F500 alike. Thom was recognized as “Best in the Industry” twice in his business career.  Thom has also served more than 13 years in the United States Marine Corps, rising through the ranks from Private to Captain. 

Mr. Mordue is an accomplished procurement executive with more than 20 years of experience using exceptional communication and leadership skills to coach, manage and motivate procurement managers to negotiate and deliver real strategic value. He is experienced in large complex customer bids and regulated environments resulting in more profitable customer accounts and robust governance. His specialties include strategic sourcing, negotiation, vendor management, category management, strategic planning, employee development.

Mike is the Vice President of Procurement & Supply Chain at CDK Global, a $2B technology services company, where he is responsible for leading the global procurement, supply chain and operations functions.   At CDK, Mike led a digital transformation of global procurement and supply chain and was recognized by the Everest Group and Supply Chain World magazine for these efforts.  Mike also was a key leader in the CDK business transformation and robotic process automation programs, driving strategic benefit in cost, quality, responsiveness and continuity.

Before joining CDK Mike was the Vice President of IT for North America at Ipsos and held multiple senior leadership positions at Motorola.    Mike is a member of the Sourcing Industry Group Supernova Hall of Fame and a member of the Institute for Supply Management Thought Leadership Council.  Mike has been a featured speaker at events including the SIG, ISM, Gartner, Oracle Open World, Zycus Horizon, ProcureCon and the AITP.

Al Moss, Jr. is a Senior Executive with over 20 years’ leadership experience, with particular expertise in supply chain management across a wide variety of industries. 

Al’s early career at Procter & Gamble and General Mills provided a foundation of production, operations, and change management. From there, he moved to MillerCoors, where he made progressive, record-breaking efficiency improvements, delivering on all Safety, People, Quality, Service, and Cost metrics. At BP and Coty, his continuous improvement skills saved millions of dollars by decreasing defects, operational inefficiencies, and inefficient logistics resource utilization. 

Al has diverse experience in both publicly traded corporations and private companies, and what really sets him apart from other industry leaders is his strong educational background. With two master’s degrees and an ImpactEd/DiverseForce certification under his belt, Al is currently pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration degree in Supply Chain Management while working full time as the Global Vice President of Supply Chain and Strategic Sourcing for PCI Pharma Services. 

Since joining PCI Pharma Services, Al has been responsible for over 900 employees, overseeing supply chain functions in 25 GMP manufacturing sites across 6 continents. He led the implementation of a supply chain practice, encompassing global alignment of planning, procurement, and sourcing process across all production facilities, delivering over $25M in EBITDA enhancements in three years while developing a digitally integrated supply chain. 

Al has many other career accomplishments. Some of those specific achievements include the following:

• Reduced YOY TIR from 1.16 to 0.5 through improved employee engagement and implementation of behavioral observed safety (BOS) program.
• Achieved 60% YOY reduction in PPM defects using 6 sigma, lean, 5-Y, and other CI methodologies.
• Delivered 15% productivity increase ($2M cost savings) by developing and implementing planning and scheduling strategy, maximizing operational resources while minimizing format change losses.
• Saved nearly $90M in costs by working with offshore assets to create a performance review process for logistics resource use. 
• Effectively manages 18K pallet positions and inventory valued at $5B. 

Al’s splits his time between Florida and Pennsylvania. He is married with three kids, has a brown belt in Jiu jitsu, and enjoys lifting weights. He is also an active community member. 

George Nico is based out of OPTIS’ New York, NY office and was the Project Lead on Navistar’s Ivalua implementation in 2020. Over the last 4 years, George has helped with source-to-pay transformation projects across many industries in the Public and Private sector including Manufacturing, Healthcare, Financial Services, Aviation, and more. 

Erika Novak is a seasoned Contingent Workforce thought leader and practitioner with 14 years of experience. She has built and evolved Enterprise Contingent Workforce programs during her time at eBay and LinkedIn, consulted Fortune 500 companies while at Brightfield, and has now moved into building products with Utmost as their Head of Client Services.

Mike is an accomplished enterprise executive with procurement, strategic management and technology expertise. Mike has a proven track record of architecting and executing large scale commercial and transformative programs to bring efficiencies and innovation in the Energy and Financial Services sectors. As the head of ContractAI, Mike helps define the product roadmap, improve customer experience and support business development efforts. Prior to joining App Orchid Mike was the Global Head of IT Procurement at BP where he led a global team managing spend in excess of $2B annually.  Prior to joining BP, Mike served as the Chief Procurement Officer for Aviva North America, a large global insurance company based in the UK. Mike has also held several senior roles at ABN AMRO including Head of Infrastructure for the Americas.  

Nikesh (Niki) Parekh is the co-founder and CEO of Suplari and GM of Spend Insights at Microsoft. Suplari, a Microsoft company, is an enterprise software company focused on leveraging advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to help enterprises make better purchasing and financial decisions. Niki was previously an executive at Internet real estate company Zillow and has also worked in the venture capital, private equity and investment banking industries. Nikesh earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his BA in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College.

Bob is the Director of Property Services for National Grid and his forward-thinking strategies and leadership has been instrumental in creating value in property management through driving thought leadership, expertise and best practices within the organization. 

Experience 

Prior to joining National Grid, Bob was the Vice President and head of Global Facilities Services at CA Technologies where he played a key role in leading the implementation of a world-wide Integrated Facilities Management and implementing a best practice supplier governance program. These initiatives provided enterprise  wide efficiencies, standardized operating practices, predictive analytics and automation and enhanced risk management globally. 

Education and Affiliations

Bob did his graduate studies at Long Island University and BA from Iona College.  He has served as Vice President and Board of Directors of CoreNet; Long Island, and been a long time member other industry affiliations; The Uptime Institute, Knowledge Connect, and Utility Industry collaborative benchmarking.

Nicholas Ponzo is head of procurement operations for Panasonic North America leading the global procurement strategy for business and consumer electronics. His diverse experience managing both upstream and downstream operations supports his constant focus on optimizing global processes for the evolving supply chain. Previously a global procurement analyst and supply chain specialist for International Flavors & Fragrances, he holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from The College of New Jersey. 

In October 2019 I joined BT Group Procurement and a team of highly talented, passionate and successful people with a strong record of delivery. BT is an amazing company and it's a hugely exciting time to be part of its transformation, in which digitization is a driving force to deliver long term growth value and outstanding customer experiences. Prior to joining BT, I was Chief Procurement Officer respectively at Sprint (US) and Saudi Telecom (STC). Before joining STC, I garnered 15 years' experience in Europe's telecom industry, last serving as Senior Vice President of Procurement Excellence at Buyin, (the procurement joint-venture of Deutsche Telekom and Orange). I also held senior leadership positions with Orange in France and the UK.

John Powell is a Senior eSourcing Executive at Scanmarket. John has 21 years of sales and sales management experience with companies both large and small, but most recently with SIG (Sourcing Industry Group) where he served as the VP of Membership Development for over 5 years. He brings specific expertise in the financial services and mortgage industries with the past 6 years focused on procurement solutions and innovation. Prior to SIG, John managed a team of 30+ Account Executives for Citibank. John has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Edinboro University. 

Emily is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of EcoVadis, the world’s most trusted business sustainability ratings company.  She brings over 25 years’ experience in sourcing and procurement solutions to the role, having previously spent many years in global marketing and demand management with both SAP and Ariba. Emily has also worked in leadership roles at Ellucian, A.T. Kearney Procurement Solutions, Creative Good, and A.T. Kearney Consulting managing marketing functions and consulting engagements for clients in the high technology, banking and energy industries.  Emily holds an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University.

David Rickard, Vice President at Everest Group, advises senior executives of global services on their strategic mandates and initiatives. David’s responsibilities include leading Everest Group’s sourcing and vendor management and customer experience management services offerings for EMEA clients as well as select global accounts.

Prior to joining Everest Group, David held outsourcing and customer experience leadership roles. Most recently, he led the outsourcing practice for a CX consultancy, and before that, he was a Senior Procurement Director for Microsoft, where he was responsible for contact center outsourcing on a global basis. During his seventeen year-long career at Microsoft, David became a key member of the leadership team that successfully delivered one of the largest Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) RFP’s in recent history and exceeded its business goals of savings and supplier reductions. Then in 2015, David won the prestigious IAOP Global Excellence in Outsourcing Best Practice Award.

Additionally, David enjoys spending time as a volunteer mentor with EBP South, an organization that inspires and prepares local young people for the world of work, and he also volunteers with the Brain Tumour Research organization, assisting in collections and fundraising activities.

Erin is the Director of Information, Analytics & Systems for Procurement Services at the University of California system. Erin has more than 15 years of analytics and systems experience within private and public sector supply chain organizations. Since joining UC in late 2011, Erin has been designing and delivering systemwide solutions including spend analytics, sourcing and contracting technology, eProcurement process and content enhancements, and a robust savings calculation and reporting program. Erin is a key member of the leadership team responsible for transforming systemwide Procurement to deliver over $340M in savings last fiscal year and architected an historical partnership between the University of California system and California State University system to share one instance and administration of a suite of Procurement software.

Bernard Ross is Interim Vice President, Global Strategic Sourcing and Real Estate Services at CAE Inc., the global leader in civil aviation, defense and security, and healthcare training. Bernard a global strategic sourcing executive with over 20 years’ experience in direct and indirect procurement including leadership in the aerospace, manufacturing and distribution industries in Europe and North America. Bernard is a transformational leader, driving digital roadmaps within supply chain organizations to leverage savings, reduce risk and enhance processes that drive business performance and build quality partnerships within the supplier community.

Jo is responsible for the vision, strategy and operational execution for all shared services, technology and client-site teams to ensure cross-functional service delivery for all of LogicSource's current and prospective clients. Jo has over 20 years' experience in strategy and operations consulting, business transformation, technology solutioning and change management across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, the UK and Europe. Jo has successfully delivered numerous outsourcing, technology and business services solutions with global, regional and market-specific objectives to some of the world's largest and most recognized brands. Jo has a BA Hons. in Psychology from the University of Reading in the UK.

Amanda Slevar is a Director,  Solution Advisory, Services Procurement & External Workforce for SAP Fieldglass. She brings over 15 years of contingent labor management and services procurement expertise to prospective customers to designs solutions to fit their current needs, and build toward an innovative future program. She also has experience in management consultation, team building, professional development, strategic implementation, and company collaboration. Amanda holds an MBA from Canisius College, and spends her free time chasing her three year old son! 

Danny Thompson is Senior Vice President of Market and Product Strategy at apexanalytix and is responsible for defining, communicating and leading our company’s software product strategy and roadmap. He works closely with our customers to ensure that each solution helps them meet their business objectives. Danny has a proven track record in the procure-to-pay arena, with a strong background in ERP implementation, process automation and financial shared services. He previously was VP of Product Management at Tungsten Network, a global business-to-business e-invoicing firm. He also is a former global process driver for Invoice-to-Pay at Pfizer.

Dawn Tiura, CEO and President of SIG, SIG University and Future of Sourcing digital publication, has more than 26 years of leadership experience, with the past 22 years focused on the sourcing and outsourcing industry. In 2007, Dawn joined SIG as CEO, but has been active in SIG as a speaker and trusted advisor since 1999, bringing the latest developments in sourcing and outsourcing to SIG members. Prior to joining SIG, Dawn held leadership positions as CEO of Denali Group and before that as a partner in a CPA firm. Dawn is actively involved on a number of boards promoting civic, health and children's issues in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Dawn is a licensed CPA and has a BA from the University of Michigan and an MS in taxation from Golden Gate University. Dawn brings to SIG a culture of brainstorming and internal innovation.

For over twenty years, Paula Varner, C.P.M., has been a noteworthy leader in strategic sourcing in highly regulated industries.  Currently a Senior Director of Global Strategic Sourcing for PPD Development, a contract research organization providing integrated drug development, laboratory and lifecycle management services.  Since joining PPD in February 2015 Paula has been credited with building strong stakeholder partnerships, creating a collaborative strategic sourcing team and exceeded industry ROI benchmarks.  While at PPD she has had oversight of numerous categories including technology, corporate services, laboratories, logistics, and clinical services.

Prior to PPD, Paula served in various strategic sourcing and vendor management related positions at the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and New York.  During her six plus years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond she was a founding member of the then newly formed National Procurement Office.  In 2010 she moved to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to head up the Technology Services Group, Vendor Management Office.

Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Paula worked as a technology buyer with Media General.  She came to Media General from Virginia Commonwealth University where, after graduation, she worked in a number of department and budget management roles.

Paula received a B.S. Business from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1993 and has obtained her lifetime C.P.M. certification. 

Jean-François Vezina is the Executive Vice President for Randstad Sourceright, where he oversees the Canadian operations and works to help organizations restructure, develop and expand their talent procurement practices. With more than 12 years of experience in the staffing and HR solutions industry, Jean-François specializes in total talent management and integrated talent solutions that empower organizations to implement and achieve a holistic view of their talent strategy for both their permanent and contingent workforces.  

Josh has been a part of the BuyerQuest team for the last 7+ years now and brings a wealth of procurement knowledge in the areas of implementation, support, and sales. Most recently, Josh has settled into the role of Senior Solution Consultant where he spends most of his time demonstrating the power of BuyerQuest to procurement leaders across the globe. 

Jess has spent the last 15 years managing consultant workforce programs at companies such as Sage Therapeutics, CVS Health, Genzyme, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme and Bose.  She has experience which spans across a number of areas: Corporate Recruiting, Total Workforce Solutions, VMS Oversight, MSP Oversight and Recruitment Process Outsourcing Management. This experience lends itself to a well-rounded understanding of the industry. 

After an extensive career in the retail sector purchasing soft and hard goods from manufacturers and wholesalers, managing logistics, and working with technology providers, Michele switched to the financial industry ten years ago. Upon joining, she found herself managing a very different type of supplier in a very different environment. With the aftermath of the financial crisis in full swing, and regulators ramping up their third-party regulations, Michele faced the challenge of aligning the internal practices for third party due diligence and risk mitigation as a top priority. Interestingly, Michele observed that the art of procurement didn't change one bit from industry to industry. The commodities and services purchased change dramatically every year, and most of the people she encountered didn't understand procurement practices, offering her an interesting and fun challenge! 

Today, Michele leads the Vendor Management Office accountable for TD Bank's Commercial Platforms, which includes Canadian Banking, Wealth, TD Securities, Insurance, Data & Corporate. In addition, Michele leads the Technology Vendor Management Enablement Team, who develop best practices and tools to streamline work effort. This aligns with her passion to create an environment where Vendor Managers can work smarter rather than harder.