Duncan Scott, Sr VP of Strategic Sourcing & Quality at New Balance, manages sourcing and quality for a company that introduces thousands of new footwear and apparel products annually, each requiring specialized manufacturing capabilities that generic suppliers cannot provide. His approach rejects commoditization in favor of deep category expertise and multi-decade supplier partnerships. The athletic … EP 32 – New Balance’s Duncan Scott on How Marketing Decisions Reshape Supply Chains

Freya Hurwitz, Director of Procurement at TripAdvisor, manages procurement for TripAdvisor’s 3,500 employees across four global brands with just one and half people on her team. Rather than trying to control every transaction, she built scalable systems that empower stakeholders to handle their own procurement while her team focuses on high-impact negotiations. Freya discusses how … EP 31 – TripAdvisor’s Freya Hurwitz on Cross-Functional Experience vs Category Expertise

Cost avoidance delivers the same strategic value as cost savings, but CFOs often miss this reality when evaluating procurement performance. At JLL, Senior Director, Group Sourcing Lead Brent Kellett has cracked the code on demonstrating total cost of ownership value through cross-functional partnerships that quantify operational efficiencies, energy savings, and service reliability improvements that don’t … EP 30 – JLL’s Brent Kellett on Elevating Procurement Through Trust and Early Engagement

Mark Vierling, Procurement & Supply Chain Leader, makes a simple observation: while fractional COOs, CEOs, and CFOs are common, virtually no one was providing fractional Chief Procurement Officer services to companies that desperately needed them. His embedded approach, which he shares with John, differs from traditional consulting by making fractional leaders part of the client … EP 29 – Procurement & Supply Chain Leader Mark Vierling on the Three P’s of Supply Chain Science

How do you centralize procurement across a $1+ billion health system while maintaining 24/7 operations that literally keep people alive? Dawn Watkins, Director of Strategic Sourcing at UF Health, gives John her blueprint for transforming independent hospitals into an integrated clinical enterprise. Her team of 25 is expanding to 50+ as they merge previously independent … EP 28 – UF Health’s Dawn Watkins on Building Mutual Incentive Partnerships With Suppliers

When Aramark acquired Avenger International—the GPO consortium built by Marriott, Hilton, and other major hotel chains—they weren’t just buying a customer list. They were executing a 15-year strategic plan to close competitive gaps while creating unprecedented scale for premium hospitality products. Autumn Bayles, SVP Global Supply Chain & GPOs at Aramark, reveals how this acquisition … EP 27 – Aramark’s Autumn Bayles on Global Procurement and Spend Harmonization

Arvind Nathan, SVP of Private Brands & Sourcing at The Michaels Companies, Inc., didn’t plan to revolutionize how global teams think about private brand sourcing, but his mathematical approach to procurement has transformed operations in both his current role and his previous one at Walmart. Managing 220 people across Asia and the US taught him … EP 26 – Michaels’ Arvind Nathan on Why Private Brands Carry Retailer Reputation Risk

David Pennino, CEO & Founder, built LogicSource by recognizing that indirect procurement represents the largest untapped opportunity for most enterprises. His conversation with John highlights how a company processing $150 billion in spend data approaches categories that consume 20% of revenue but receive minimal professional attention. David’s methodology challenges traditional consulting models through comprehensive free … EP 25 – LogicSource’s David Pennino on Finding Gold in Indirect Procurement

Sean Park, VP of Procurement and Transformation at Arm, didn’t set out to revolutionize procurement at Arm, but when you’re scaling a $4 billion semiconductor company at 20% year-over-year growth without adding procurement headcount, revolution becomes necessity. Sean offers John a peek at how Arm achieved nearly 20% savings on an 8-figure server deal using … EP 24 – Arm’s Sean Park on Making Transformation a SPORT

Managing 8+ billion products annually across 180+ countries while reducing logistics footprint by 27% requires more than traditional supply chain thinking. Steeve Yammine, Global SVP of Supply Chain at BIC, has orchestrated this complex operation by fundamentally reimagining how global companies approach contingency planning, regionalization, and talent development. He tells John his journey from brewery … EP 23 – BIC’s Steeve Yammine on Their Regionalization Strategy for Global Resilience