Our “Procurement Experts on CPO Rising” series continues today with an excerpt from my 2021 episode of the Procurement Rising Podcast — Ian Maher, former Vice President and Head of Strategic Sourcing for Global Atlantic Financial Group (click to listen to the full interview). Note that this excerpt has been edited for readability.

This is part one of a two-part series featuring Maher’s discussion of assessing your department’s maturity as a new CPO.

Ian Maher

Andrew Bartolini: Most new CPOs are coming into an established role where there may be different perceptions of procurement. Explain your approach to conducting a review and assessment of the department’s maturity and what it needs most — especially as you’re considering your administration and what you need to get accomplished in the first 90 days.

Ian Maher: When you’re looking to make a career change, especially moving into a CPO role, use your network and the people you trust. It’s important to get input from others to ensure you’re approaching things from a CPO point of view. The research network and the industry contacts are very useful. I would advise tapping into those resources prior to engaging in interviews, particularly if you haven’t interviewed in several years. Things have changed significantly since I last interviewed nearly 12 years ago. Gain a current understanding of what is driving the business environment. And don’t assume that you understand it because you’ve been relatively successful. The world has changed. There are massively different drivers that the CPO must now contend with. It’s no longer traditional housekeeping expenses, services, and risks.

In my role, I’m engaged in building our operational model with third-party administrators (TPAs), including recruitment of senior-level people that need a mindset that takes the enterprise forward from where we’ve come — an organization of greater discipline. We recently went through a large acquisition. Thus, there’s now a parent organization in which I need to ensure there’s no conflict of interest between it and the insurance entity.

What I’ve learned from the move into the new role is to quickly establish a rapport with a broad range of colleagues from middle- to senior-management level. And you need a sales pitch to develop that rapport. However, your sales pitch is not based on the label of CPO or head of sourcing, but rather your understanding of the nature of business and how to deliver on the commitments you’re making across the organization.

And you accomplish that in two ways. First, there’s usually a 100-day plan that involves a series of meetings or interviews — a process I found valuable at Global Atlantic. Beyond that, however, you want to invest your time and harvest the knowledge of the people who understand the organization that you’re joining. You are the outsider. You know nothing about how decisions are made or where the political power resides. Gaining those insights will help you establish rapport and credibility.

An area that I took significant time understanding was how the life and annuities business operates in comparison to the property and casualty business. I wanted to talk through some of the major issues of this segment. That carried some considerable weight when issues of the day were discussed and I could offer an opinion on a particular topic. You can never know enough about the actual organization.

Second, leverage the network you have with your suppliers. The CPO or head of procurement has a significant advantage here. In my case, the vast majority of the provider base that I dealt with during my time at The Hanover Insurance Group also supported Global Atlantic. I had established relationships with the IT, credit, and underwriting data providers. I reached out to half a dozen of them and explained I was considering Global Atlantic, what did they know about the organization? The intelligence I received through that channel was priceless. The providers shared information about the supplier ecosystem and organizational insights of Global Atlantic.

If you’re thinking about making a career move, leverage the network that exists with your suppliers. They know other organizations and their various business groups. Do not overlook the importance of that network.

Next week, part two of Maher’s discussion will explore prioritizing your investments, including where to focus resources and what types of resources to bring in.

MORE CPO TOPICS

Procurement Experts on CPO Rising — Putting Your Skills to Work

Procurement Experts on CPO Rising — Planning for the Next Iteration of Source to Pay

Procurement Experts on CPO Rising — Changing Mindsets for Digital Transformation

Procurement Experts on CPO Rising – Achieving Big Returns on Spend Under Management

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