CPO Crunch: Probably the best job in the world

Being a chief procurement officer might be the best job in the world.

That’s quite the statement but, writing this from the grounds of Chateau St. Gerlach near Maastricht as Procurement Leaders’ annual CPO retreat Ovation reaches its conclusion, I’m left in no doubt that it’s one based on reality.

Why? That becomes clearer when you take a moment to step back and consider the sphere of influence and scope of impact that procurement has. And Ovation provides a wonderful opportunity to do just that.

Representing some of the world’s best-known and influential brands, the Ovation CPO community is committed to driving impact across the entire business ecosystem – financial impact, environmental impact, social impact. Our time together offered an opportunity to accelerate that impact, together.

We heard from world-renowned economist and author Kjell A Nordstr?m about the irreversible trends society faces – urbanisation, deglobalisation and the shift to five or six trading blocks, stagnating population growth – and what this means for GDP growth, the shift to knowledge as a service…

Next up, nuclear chemist Dr Tim Gregory discussed net-zero and told CPOs in attendance that if we are to reach the ambitious goals we have set ourselves, nuclear energy will have to be part of the mix. The room sat up, fascinated – CPOs of global organisations genuinely driven to feed back to their organisations how nuclear energy should be back on their corporate radar.

Alex Edmans , a professor of finance whose concept of rational sustainability I discussed last week, provoked the room as he explained his ideas in more depth. When opponents of ESG in New Hampshire are attempting to implement legislation that would ban investment in funds that consider environmental, social and governance factors, we know that headwinds exist. Again, CPOs stood firm, shared best practice and recommitted themselves to driving impact in sustainability.

Finally, Rio Tinto board member, Ngaire Woods closed the event with a conversation on the evolving role of corporations and company executives, and the blurring lines between government and corporates as political pressures influence business strategies. Procurement and supply chain is fundamental to those blurring lines as companies reassess their supply chains and where they source goods from.

By the end, there was no doubt – if there ever was any – that the best, most interesting, most challenging job in the world is reserved for CPOs.

You’ll never walk alone

Before we kicked off the content at Ovation, there was the small matter of the England v Netherlands semifinal of Euro 2024.

As CPOs from Brazil, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, the US and, yes, England and the Netherlands, gathered around a TV to watch the drama unfold, it again illustrated the truly global nature of the procurement community.

Our sporting loyalties may differ, but we remain united in our ambitions to progress the function and tackle shared challenges. Truly the best teammates you could ask for.