“Transformation is not just about how it's going to impact procurement, but about how it's going to impact the entire enterprise through the efforts that will be happening within the procurement function.” - Natasha Gurevich, Founder & CEO, Candor Procurement

Going through procurement transformation without the right approach in place and without support from the business is a bit like sailing into a storm… with a blindfolded crew. Your chances of making it to the other side in better shape than you started are slim to none. 

In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, co-hosts Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner speak with returning AOP guest Natasha Gurevich. Natasha is a former CPO of Nike and Salesforce, and she is currently the Founder and CEO at Candor Procurement. 

This wealth of procurement leadership makes Natasha the perfect mainstage guest at Art of Procurement’s upcoming live, in-person event – Catalyst LA – taking place on May 6, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.

In this episode, Natasha explains why Catalyst LA promises to be one of the most unique and value-generating procurement events she’s ever attended and what attendees can expect to take away from the event. 

Natasha also discusses:

• The difference between business-as-usual changes and full-scale transformation, and why transformation is such an urgent priority for so many procurement teams this year
• How CPOs and CFOs look at transformation differently, including ways to bridge that perception gap
• Why rethinking the current operating model is top of mind for most procurement leaders right now, and what Catalyst LA can do to help

Links:

• Catalyst LA - May 6, 2025
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube
• Leading Through Change with Former Fortune 100 CPO Natasha Gurevich
• Natasha Gurevich on LinkedIn

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

It’s been a long, winding road that has brought procurement to its current state of flawed incentive structures and measurement challenges. Rob Hills, CEO of Hills Advisory Services and former Deloitte partner, has seen it all unfold firsthand. 

But recognizing problems and how they were created is only half of the battle. 

With over three decades of procurement experience that stretches back all the way to the formative days of strategic sourcing at A.T. Kearney in the mid-1990s, Rob has seen the classic procurement dilemma play out more times than he would have liked. CPOs “plant a victory flag” on savings while CFOs fail to see procurement’s win materialize on the P&L.

In the sixth episode of “Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement,” co-hosts Rich Ham and Philip Ideson speak with Rob about this measurement gap, how it has evolved over time, and why procurement’s measurement and incentive systems have remained largely unchanged over the years, despite their obvious flaws. 

Rob also offers a unique historical perspective of the disconnect between negotiation and execution, especially as procurement grapples with balancing increasing workloads and larger portfolios of spend with shrinking resources. 

Rob, Phil, and Rich also explore potential innovative thinking about incentives, metrics, and process design that could finally address the longstanding challenges in demonstrating procurement’s full purpose, value, and impact for the business.

Links:

• Rob Hills on LinkedIn
• Rich Ham on LinkedIn
• Learn more at FineTuneUs.com

“We’re seeing data around the acceleration of procurement having to ‘do more with less’ and this is compounding year over year, so at some point, procurement’s operating model is going to break.” – Philip Ideson, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Art of Procurement

Procurement teams are facing unprecedented and compounding pressure to “do more with less,” and, because of that, it’s more important than ever for procurement’s operating model to evolve and mature to meet these growing demands.

In this episode, co-hosts Kelly Barner and Philip Ideson explore why procurement operating models have become such a top-of-mind topic in 2025 and what this reveals about process change, talent needs, and digital transformation. They examine how procurement’s organizational approach has changed over the years and the pendulum swings we’ve seen – from decentralized buying to centralized control, then from center-led and now to a kind of “invisible” procurement model.

In this episode, Phil and Kelly also discuss:

• The major trends and changes in procurement operating models and how, at each stage, this has affected procurement’s reputation and role in the business
• How to create more capacity by maturing your operating model and the different stages of operational maturity
• The CPOs role in establishing a strong operating model, including how and when to leverage orchestration platforms and AI

Links:

• Positioning Procurement for Strategic Success in 2025 w/ Samir Khushalani
• Mastering the First 100 Days as a CPO w/ Darshan Deshmukh 
• The Hackett Group's 2025 Key Issues Study: Insights on Procurement Priorities, Technology, and Operating Models w/ Chris Sawchuk

• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“We are seeing a labor-for-technology swap as organizations become much more dependent and scalable, and what's driving that scale and that productivity is technology.” – Christopher Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group

Procurement is no stranger to change. Over the last decade or more, procurement has seen significant shifts in priorities, in their role in the business, in how they are measured, and even in their daily processes and workflows. This change has brought countless new opportunities for impact, but it has also brought disruption, uncertainty, and challenges.

In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with long-time procurement colleague and regular AOP guest Christopher Sawchuck, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group. 

Chris shares key findings from The Hackett Group’s 2025 Key Issues Report, which reveals how procurement leaders are responding to today’s most pressing challenges, like balancing increased workloads with lean teams and a growing demand for technology investment.

In this episode, Phil and Chris discuss:

• The evolution of procurement in the 21st Century, from basic supply assurance to cost management and now to broader value value creation and the demands this puts on CPOs to redesign their operating models
• The critical gap between increasing workload and decrease in staffing and how procurement is leveraging technology to keep their heads above water
• The ways AI and automation will transform procurement within the next 3-5 years, driving both efficiency and effectiveness gains 

Links:

• Christopher Sawchuk on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

In this episode of “Buy: The Way… To Purposeful Procurement,” Rich Ham, Philip Ideson, and Kelly Barner reflect on what we heard from Oliver Hurrey and Brian Kyle in episodes 3 and 4 and explore how these procurement leaders find purpose and passion in their work, no matter how big or small the project is. 

Rich, Philip, and Kelly discuss what “purposeful procurement” truly means in 2025, challenging the notion that practitioners can only find purpose when they’re working for highly-mission driven organizations. With the right mindset, purpose and the potential for positive impact are within reach for any procurement professional working in any category. 

Living and working with purpose also requires trust – trust among stakeholders and colleagues, trust with your suppliers, and in many cases, trust from the end consumer. When procurement faces challenges like flawed incentive structures and outdated standardization, it ultimately makes it harder for procurement to drive meaningful impact at scale. Reflecting on these opportunities and challenges along procurement’s path to greater purpose, Rich, Philip, and Kelly also look ahead to upcoming discussions where they’ll take a deeper dive into how procurement arrived at its current state and some of the potential solutions that could help procurement reach its potential as a driver of purposeful change.    

Links:

• Rich Ham on LinkedIn
• Learn more at FineTuneUs.com

“For anybody getting into the CPO role, whether internal or external, you ultimately have to start with your own assessment of the organization and quickly come up with what your priorities are.” – Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility

The role of Chief Procurement Officer has changed significantly over the last decade, with the focus shifting primarily from cost savings to value generation. In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, Philip Ideson talks with Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility, about why CPOs need to strike the right balance between their ability to influence and their technical expertise.

Darshan has extensive experience working with procurement leaders across multiple industries, and in this episode, he lays out a structured approach newly-minted CPOs can take in their first 100 days to set themselves and their teams up for success. 

Understanding business priorities, creating strong stakeholder relationships, and aligning procurement’s initiatives and processes with organizational goals should all be top priorities. 

Philip and Darshan explore:

• How the CPO role has evolved over time, including strategic priorities and reporting and incentive structures
• How CPOs can drive positive change by balancing speed with purpose-driven change management, all while preserving critical stakeholder relationships
• The features of a practical process and organizational framework that CPOs can establish in their first 100 days

Links:

• Darshan Deshmukh on LinkedIn
• Overcoming Procurement’s Fear of AI
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.