EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
“ Have fun with it ! Procurement is an incredibly diverse field ”
Q . DO YOU FEEL YOUR CAREER WAS BUILDING UP TO YOUR ROLE AT NIKE ?
» I do . I felt ready and I ’ m really glad I paid my dues in all the ranks . I didn ’ t cut any corners and at no point did I feel that I didn ’ t belong . I didn ’ t have imposter syndrome for the last 15 years of my career . I always felt that I was ready – a little bit stretched , but I had been exploring procurement from so many different angles that it felt right .
Q . HOW WOULD YOU EVOLVE AN ORGANISATION ’ S STRATEGY TO BECOME MORE STRATEGIC AND GENERATE MORE VALUE ?
» I have a nickname of being a transformation junkie because I like to leave things better than I found them . Whenever you come to an environment , you have to respect the past . You must understand why the organisation exists in its current state and identify what needs to be done to improve it . I believe that people are inherently good ; they only work around processes if those processes are too cumbersome . You need to chart the future vision and explain it to people , walking them through the change . While people don ’ t like change , what they fear the most is becoming irrelevant .
Q . HOW DO YOU FOSTER A COLLABORATIVE AND CREATIVE CULTURE ?
» First , you lead by example . I love coming up with unconventional solutions and I encourage brainstorming sessions to stimulate creativity . Category strategies are crucial because they stimulate procurement professionals to learn their field . During COVID , we organised virtual coffees to maintain
36 November 2024