As I noted in my previous article, I believe that the leadership and managerial skills found in many of today’s Chief Procurement Officers (including those below) will provide the foundation needed for further advancement up the executive ranks during the next decade. While that promotion process begins to take hold, CPOs will continue doing impressive things in their current roles. Here is a list of 10 CPOs who will continue to rise in 2010:
- Roy Anderson, State Street Corporation: To the benefit (and delight) of everyone in our industry, Roy returned to the speaking circuit this past fall. But don’t call it comeback, Roy’s been here for years. A long-time procurement leader in the financial services sector, Roy is taking his unique perspective and progressive ideas to a relatively young procurement organization where he will surely duplicate, and likely surpass, his past achievements.
- Jean-Jacques Beaussart, KeyBank: Jean-Jacques knows people and he knows savings. I imagine one of the first meetings he had when he joined Key last fall was with his CFO to discuss strategies and goals and agree upon a definition of savings. And with past, and now present, lieutenant, Doug Blossey, on board, Shaq and LeBron won’t be the only tag-team shaking things up Cleveland. Finally, I have to note that JJ is the only person I know who includes the word “procurement” in the username of his personal email account – talk about dedication to your craft.
- Ron Carcamo, Yahoo!: I’ve previously described Ron as a new breed of CPO, for he is a seasoned business leader who came to procurement by choice at Yahoo! after great success as an international CFO earlier in his career. Ron has utilized the arrival of a new CEO who is focused on management and results to insert his team in the decision-making process (to outsource or not) and the provider selection process for all corporate outsourcing. I believe that this model can serve as a great template for other procurement teams seeking entrance into the outsourcing dialogue.
- Olivier Dumas, EADS: I can’t go into too much detail here, but Olivier is operating in one of the few sectors that has avoided the recessionary pain. This means the pressure to deliver on his aggressive plans has been of his own making. Fortunately, Olivier and his ~500-person staff have things well in-hand.
- Eric Germa, Ann Taylor: Eric is the role model for all the top strategic sourcing consultants who are wondering what path to follow if/when life on the road begins to lose its appeal (the industry would certainly benefit from more consultants leaving the ‘dark-side’ to find a permanent home as a leader within a large procurement operation ). A gifted tactician with a very strategic mind and several lifetimes worth of sourcing experience, Eric was a fantastic manager and colleague when we worked together on several large procurement transformations and later on a few complex multi-million dollar sourcing projects. Holding senior leadership roles at The Gap and HP before rising to become CPO at Ann Taylor, Eric has been developing his team and will certainly make 2010 a fashionable year for CPOs.
- Brett Howard and Lance Younger, Goldman Sachs: Okay, technically neither of these guys is a CPO, but what they are undertaking in the development of a Vendor Management Office at a financial behemoth is no less significant. These two (and the cross-functional project team they’ve assembled) are seeking to embed supply risk management processes into the fabric and culture of this 140-year old institution. This is one project/ team that I will be watching closely as success here may point a path forward for many other enterprises in need of supply risk best practices.
- Bruce Kilkowski, JCPenney: Bruce is a proverbial scholar and a gentleman, but he’s also a great procurement leader who focuses his efforts on drawing out the full capabilities of every member of his team. Among many initiatives, Bruce has invested in training and worked to make sure his team always puts its best foot forward, as they strive to find the incremental value in all of their activities and continue broadening the impact they have on the company as a whole.
- Debbie Manos-McHenry, Huntington Bancshares and Anders Lillevik, Webster Bank: Debbie and Anders don’t know each other but they have a lot in common: they were both leaders in supply management before joining a non-money center bank as the first Chief Procurement Officer in bank history. Debbie and Anders each have a great runway before them and a real opportunity to change and catalyze these two institutions.
- Neil Rogers, BT: Neil is one CPO whose department’s work reaches deep into the corporate boardroom, whether it’s his supply risk initiative or his Top 40 supplier program, BT’s board of directors and executive team are taking an active interest. And with lieutenants like Stephen Hayers driving major programs, strong results will continue this year. (UPDATE – JANUARY 24: If you’re interested in how BT approaches its services spend, you can listen to a webinar I recorded with Stephen here.)
- Richard Spoor, Merck: With healthcare reform capturing more than its fair share of headlines in 2009, Merck will once again be a company in focus in 2010. Without sharing too much detail, Richard and his team have quietly built a Best-in-Class operation that has delivered great value and by my estimate, will continue to do so.
With so many talented CPO stars, it was very difficult to limit this list to only 10, but it must suffice for now. In the days, months, and years ahead, CPO Rising hopes to detail and discuss many more stories from these and other leading rising CPOs.
