The Sourcing Hero

For most procurement professionals, the only contact they have with finance is when their savings projections are being audited or approved for internal communication. Those are hardly the circumstances under which collaborative relationships form - but that doesn’t have to be the extent of their contact.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Mark Gilham. Mark is the Vice President and Head of the Enable Advisory practice. Most of his past positions have been strategic finance and accounting roles, allowing him to develop a first hand perspective that can certainly help procurement teams today.

In this interview, Mark talks about the opportunity that exists for finance and procurement teams who can work together:

Links:

Mark Gilham on LinkedIn

Procurement is the kind of job where success is largely fueled by the strength of your relationships. Having trust and respect between procurement and the business, as well as between procurement and suppliers, can often make or break an effort. But it all starts with the team dynamic that exists within procurement.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Dr. Cindie Burkett. Cindie is the Vice President of Procurement for Specialty Dental Brands where she is busy building out her procurement team and forging relationships with suppliers for the good of the organization. 

Cindie shares her point of view on relationships, and why they are so critical to business success:

Links:

Dr. Cindie Burkett on LinkedIn

Procurement has come a long way over the last few decades, but the fact that they always want to achieve more shouldn’t lead them to discount or overlook how good they have it today. Whether that means the quality of supplier relationships, the speed of spend analytics, or the regard they enjoy from stakeholders, there is a lot to be grateful for.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes John Latham. John has a really interesting mix of experience - deep category expertise on the buy side of the procurement process, but also business development and account management roles as well.

In this interview, John shares lessons from his many years working in and around procurement:

Links:

John Latham on LinkedIn

Activewear company Under Armour unveiled a line of regenerative sportswear at Milan Fashion Week in 2025. This is their first collaboration with recent acquisition Unless Collective, a producer of zero-plastic, plant-based fashion. 

The effort to remove non-degradable textiles from landfills is admirable, but will it work?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Kris Lance, Vice President and Senior Director at Una, for a monthly conversation about current news stories. Kris has experience in multiple industries and has his finger on the pulse of the trends and topics that procurement, sourcing, and supply chain professionals need to be aware of.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about Under Armour’s decision to experiment with plant-based clothing: 

Links:

Under Armour, Unless partner on plant-based sportswear collection

Kris Lance on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Una’s Procurement Newsletter, “The Sidekick”

Episode 208: All Cracked Up - Understanding Today’s Egg Prices

Episode 204: Hot Times in the Arctic Circle

Episode 200: Fostering the Conditions That Lead to Success

Episode 196: The Best of Kris Lance in 2024

What would it feel like if all of the tasks, meetings, obligations, and pressures of work were suddenly… gone? Would it be a relief or would the stress associated with making the decision to step away from work be so strong that it ruined your newfound freedom?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Vytas Sliesoraitis. Vytas is a career procurement professional with experience at companies like Intel, Google, Epic Games, and Gilead Sciences. That said, it is the time he has spent away from the office, taking a deliberate sabbatical, that has taught him the true value of time.

In this interview, Vytas shares some of the details of his sabbatical experience:

Links:

Vytas Sliesoraitis on LinkedIn

A career is a heck of a thing to manage - especially when it is your own. You change with each phase of growth and new experience, and your job prospects change as well. The better you know yourself and what makes you happy - yes, HAPPY - at work, the more successful you will be in your next endeavor.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Gale Daikoku. In addition to having deep experience in the procurement space and the global influencer marketing space, Gale is a highly professional networker. She is constantly commenting on other people’s content and always knows someone else to pull in on the topic.

Gale shares what she has learned by managing the twists and turns of her own professional journey:

Links:

Gale Daikoku on LinkedIn

While procurement often thinks about purchase price as equal to cost, some purchases come with a longer term cost to own and maintain. Being able to understand the concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) and factor that into sourcing and award decisions will ultimately determine whether procurement’s negotiated savings reach the bottom line or evaporate into costs for waste, downtime, and maintenance.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Louis Bastone. Louis is the Senior Indirect Procurement Category Manager - Real Estate and Facilities at ASML. After holding sourcing specialist and manager roles in the pharmaceutical industry, Louis made the jump to manufacturing where he works to drive cost savings and improve strategic processes within construction, site services, and utilities categories.

Louis shares his experience with TCO management:

Links:

Louis Bastone on LinkedIn

Could how you think - about yourself - change the way you experience the world around you?

We all have past experiences that we carry with us, often for life. Those experiences and how we process them not only become a part of who we are, they influence how we process later events and circumstances.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Ryan Christensen. Ryan is a professional hypnotist specializing in peak mental focus and performance. After 23 years of experience in the intelligence community, he’s now worked with hundreds of high-achievers and neurodivergent professionals to radically transform their mindset and shift their subconscious beliefs towards inevitable success.

In this interview, Ryan talks about his own experiences dealing with emotion and how he now helps others do the same:

Links:

Ryan Christensen on LinkedIn

Hard boiled. Over medium. Scrambled. Poached. Deviled. There are lots of ways to enjoy eggs, one of the most popular and least expensive sources of healthy protein available, but lately there has been only one way to describe them: expensive.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Kris Lance, Vice President and Senior Director at Una, for a monthly conversation about current news stories. Kris has experience in multiple industries and has his finger on the pulse of the trends and topics that procurement, sourcing, and supply chain professionals need to be aware of.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about gradual rise and sudden fall of egg prices in America: 

Links:

We all know that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but it is easy to forget how intimidating those first few feet can be. Whether procurement is focused on strengthening their core skills or pushing for larger scale impact, it is essential for everyone to be aligned in their thinking, to leverage their strengths, and to know where the journey is expected to end.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Priya Kumari. Priya is a manager at Kearney where she specializes in strategic operations, sustainability, and innovation. Her experience in consulting gives her a broad perspective on the importance of performance transformation, operating model design, and change management.

Priya speaks about the many opportunities procurement has to increase their impact:

Links:

Priya Kumari on LinkedIn