Frans is the Chief Procurement Officer and Sr. Director of Procurement & Business Services at the Georgia Institute of Technology, managing Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Travel, Insurance, Assets and Logistics. After leaving the Military, he worked in Supply Chain positions across industries including, Leaf Inc. and Hershey - Food Industry, UtiliCorp United – Energy and Utilities, MA Mortenson, Construction and Dartmouth College before coming to Georgia Tech. Prior to Georgia Tech Frans was the Director of Procurement and Auxiliary Services at Dartmouth College. Across industries, he has focused on process improvement, organizational redesign and system enhancement and integrations. Over the last 15 years he has conducted ERP implementations and upgrades with PeopleSoft and Oracle, and multiple eBusiness, Imaging and travel and expense system implementations. His experience includes leadership, personnel development and change management in the office and in field. His Supply Chain experience includes Procurement, Warehousing, Manufacturing and Logistics. Additionally, he has experience in project management, organization and process design, integrated operations and team building. While at Georgia Tech he has led changes to the organizational structure and processes by implementing a range of systems including a full eBusiness Procure-to-Pay SciQuest Suite, electronic Travel and Expense system, Integrated Imaging storage and workflows, eSourcing, electronic vendor registrations and Spend Analytics. Georgia Tech achieved a rare 100% Federal Audit score on the recent Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR).

Till is responsible for the procurement of software, hardware, application programming and IT services, with a yearly spend of 1.7 billion euros. He is supporting the digitalization of Sales & Marketing, After Sales, Production & Logistics. His specialties are forward sourcing, global sourcing, supplier negotiation and project steering. Till will be a Panelist in the Crystal Ball Session ‘Emerging Technology Trends And Disruptors - Designing An Optimal IT Procurement Roadmap for 2025’ on the 6th December, as well as hosting the Roundtable ‘Sourcing The Internet of Things To Improve Your IT Supply Chain’ on the 6th December.

Michelle is a technology and outsourcing sourcing and procurement professional with over 20 years experience in industry leading, multinational companies spanning FMCG, mining, distribution and publishing sectors. She has extensive experience in the full strategic sourcing lifecycle, exceptional stakeholder management, influencing & negotiation skills to Board level, experience of global, virtual team leadership in Top 100 multinational companies and has been involved with major multi-million dollar value deals negotiated with the world's top technology and outsourcing providers. Michelle will be joining the Panel ‘Elevating Your IT Procurement To The Next Level - What Is The Business Transformation Required To Get From Good To Great?’ on the 5th December, as well as chairing Stream B on the 6th December.

Sven is based in Toulouse as Head of Information & Communication Technology Procurement for all of Airbus Group (General Procurement). His previous employments include software & consultancy companies covering several different client engagements from system implementation, business process re-engineering, Information System strategy and coordination of overall IS activities for a given aircraft program. Sven joined AIRBUS in 2001 taking responsibility for eProcurement & Supply Chain initiatives as part of major procurement business transformation programs focusing on delivering suitable and reliable Information System solutions to support and enable those processes globally. In his last role as CIO of AEROLIA his main focus was on the ‘creation’ of an innovative, cost efficient Information System supporting AEROLIA to reach its ambitious vision. Sven will be hosting the Roundtable ‘How Do You Structurally Embed Digital In Your Sourcing Organisation?’ on the 5th December.

Neal has extensive client and supplier facing commercial experience in IT and Network Services having had roles in different market sectors including Pharmaceuticals, Public Sector, Utilities, Defence and Network Service Providers. He is the global IT procurement lead for the Application Development, Maintenance and Middleware categories at AstraZeneca. Previously, Neal had global responsibility for the End User Computing category which included device and systems management, software management, and identity & access management services. Neil will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Insourcing – How to Make the Decision To Move Towards A Fully Insourced Model ‘on the 5th

Oren manages a group of Commodity Managers responsible for the EMEA sourcing activities in the IT, HR, Travel & Product Development commodities. Prior to his current role, Oren managed a global group of Contracts and Negotiation Managers, managed a procurement group of GER Emerging Markets and managed the Israeli Procurement Operations group. Prior to Intel, Oren worked on the sales side of local Israeli companies managing telemarketing and other sales activities. Oren is an instructor in Intel for negotiation, contracts and influencing courses. Oren will be leading a Negotiation Masterclass ‘Best In Class Negotiation Strategies For IT Procurement Leaders’ on the 5th December.

Simon has been the Head of IT Procurement at The Co-operative Group since March 2016. Previously, he held a variety of purchasing roles at Crown Commercial Service, Astrazeneca, Marconi, United Utilities and ICL Fujitsu. Simon will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Managing IT Tail Spend To Achieve Significant Savings’ on the 6th December.

Abel is an experienced procurement leader with deep functional experience within Indirect and IT Procurement in various global roles, at Takeda since January 2016 and previously with Maersk Group. Abel is focused on Sourcing and Vendor Management, managing complex projects across multi-organisational and multinational teams, leading negotiations and managing senior stakeholders, leading and managing teams, Cost Management and Optimization, and IT Asset Management and Purchasing. Abel will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Planning for the End: How To Transition Out and Unwind Supplier Agreements’ on the 5th December.

Eric is a member of the Aegon Global IT Procurement team. He provides overall direction and leadership for the development and execution of global IT procurement programs. He manages and owns the development, implementation and support of global procurement technology and sourcing to payment processes. Eric will be hosting the Case Study Revolution ‘How to Create A More Collaborative Culture Across Country And Business Units’ on the 5th December.

Michael joined KPN in 1998 as a Process Engineer and took on increasingly senior roles until 2008 when he joined the commercial innovations department of Telfort, another leading Dutch telecommunications business. Over the next 8 years he moved between KPN and BASE, always focusing on innovation projects, until taking his current role as Head of Corporate Procurement for IT, in which he is responsible for group-wide IT hardware, software and services procurement. Michael will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Creating An IT Procurement Category Management Strategy That Fits Your Needs’ on the 5th December.

Philip is responsible for the management and development of the Bank's Sourcing team. His focus is on ensuring that the Sourcing team are helping the business through multiple strategic change projects and evolving the Sourcing team's operating model. His specialties are stakeholder management, negotiations, marketing & IT procurement, outsourcing and offshoring. Philip will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Next Generation Outsourcing – Where Is Investment Going?’ on the 6th December.

When Florian joined Bombardier Transportation in 2006, he already had almost 10 years’ experience in global Sourcing and Procurement business working in various countries, mainly in the IT area. In his current role, Florian is heading the global IS/ IT Sourcing & Vendor Management organization, which he established and developed as part of an organizational transformation, by bringing Procurement and IT skills working together in a collaborative way. Florian is driving the implementation of the new sourcing strategy from a sourcing and supplier management perspective which includes the transition from the single outsourcing contract towards a selective sourcing model. Florian will be participating in the Panel Discussion ‘How Can You Exploit IT Procurement’s Role in Ensuring Data Security And Reducing Cyber Risk?’ on the 6th December, as well as hosting the Roundtable ‘How To Prepare For the General Data Protection Legislation (GPDR) Coming Into Force in 2018’ on the 6th December.

Since May 2016 Søren has been the Head of Procurement Innovation at Danske Bank, focused on creating top line growth and customer experiences based on procurement methodologies, networks and practices. Previously Søren was responsible for establishing Category Management for the IT and Banking category within the Danske Bank Group. Including 23 employees as part of a global procurement team mainly based in the Nordics and Baltics, and categories such as IT (SW, HW, Services/Consultants and Telco) and Banking (market - and credit data, financial infrastructure, payments and cards). He realized significant savings and developed skills, competencies and execution capabilities amongst the entire team, including disciplines like Category Management, Contract Management and Vendor Management. Soren is on the ProcureCon IT Europe 2016 Advisory Board and is hosting a Roundtable on ‘How To Develop The Right KPIs To Foster Stronger Collaboration Across Your Vendors’ on the 6th December, as well as joining the Panel ‘Identifying and Managing Smaller Niche Vendors - How To Balance Risk Against The Need To Innovate’ on the 5th December.

Anders is a Sourcing Manager with a history in Sales, whose entire professional life has been spent in the IT industry. The last few years he has mostly been occupied with Software related projects and negotiations, and he has an in depth understanding of contracts, risks and legal aspects. Anders will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Major Software Negotiations - Who Do You Really Need At The Table?’ on the 6th December.

Michael currently serves as Head of SI&IT Sourcing Western and Central Europe for Ericsson AB. In addition to this Michael is responsible for all Sourcing activities in the newly formed Industry and Society Business Unit and oversees Sourcing activities in the area of Partnering and M&A in Western and Central Europe for Ericsson AB. Prior to these appointments, Michael served as Head of Sourcing Germany and Switzerland at Ericsson AB after having joined the company in 2011. This is following his career at Nokia Siemens Networks Oy, where he had a Global Category Management IT Solutions position. Michael will be hosting the Leadership Boardroom ‘How To Be A ‘Commercial Consultant’ And Have A Seat At The Top Table’ on the 5th December as well as taking part in the Panel Discussion ‘It’s All About The ‘Cloud’ - How Do You Seize The Opportunities But Avoid The Risks?’ on the 6th December.

Claire has 16 years purchasing experience in the Aerospace & Defence industry, and specialises in using creativity and innovation to deliver business results in challenging supply chain conditions. She has held a number of direct and indirect purchasing roles including strategic commodity leadership, total lifecycle cost management and operational leadership of multi-functional teams. Claire previously supported the CPO in creating the long term vision, strategy and road map for the Purchasing organisation including the delivery of the global Purchasing shared services organisation. In May 2014 she took her current role to lead IT procurement globally. Claire is on the ProcureCon IT Europe 2016 Advisory Board and will be hosting the Women In Procurement breakfast on the 6th December, as well as joining the Panel ‘Identifying and Managing Smaller Niche Vendors - How To Balance Risk Against The Need To Innovate’ on the 5th December.

Henri is passionate about IT infrastructures and software, and for 10 years has built his expertise on both Hardware (Servers, Storage, Backup, Network and Security) and Software topics. He is currently undertaking a new challenge at Capgemini as a Global Category Manager Software, where he is focusing on creating a match between stakeholders’ concerns and major IT vendors’ business models. Henri will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Audit Management - War Stories In The Costly Audit Battleground’ on the 6th December.

Dimitri is in charge of procurement optimisation across all business units in continental Europe for the RELX Group: Legal publishing (LexisNexis); Health publishing (Elsevier); and Show organisation (Reed Exhibition). He holds procurement responsibility for the categories of IT/Telecom/E-marketing, Facilities and Procurement process within Europe. His procurement leverage is focused around process optimisation, global contracts, local negotiations and risk mitigations. Dimitri is currently focusing on Telecom, website for shows, and software optimization. He has recently organized a global Procurement European IT Event with the CIO in Europe and the Global Procurement Category Leads to make the link between global deals and local needs. Dimitri will be participating in the Panel ‘Optimising Your IT Asset Management Programme – How Can You Effectively Use ITAM To Position Your Company For Success?’ on the 5th December. 

Gavin is responsible for 3rd party software procurement for the Royal Dutch Shell group of companies, with a focus on enterprise applications that span the group and also software requirements from its global functions (IT, Finance, HR, Legal and Real Estate) be that for ‘traditional’ on-premise software procurement and Software-as-a-service requirements. Gavin has 15 years procurement experience with a strong focus on IT procurement throughout (hardware, software, telecoms) but also a number of other indirect categories such as HR, Marketing and Facilities. The last 7 years have been at Shell with an initial focus on IT Professional Services including Systems Integration and Application Managed Services, moving to software 3 years ago. Gavin will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Consumption Based ‘As A Service’ IT – Where Are We On An Industry Standard?’ on the 5th December.

Prior to joining Swarovski two years ago, Stephan worked in the Chemical Industry for 7 years as well as in the Financial Industry for 1, mainly in the field of Indirect Procurement. At Swarovski Stephan, together with his team, manages the global Procurement of Consulting & HR Services, Logistics Services, IT (Software, Hardware and Services), Travel and Office Supplies as well as Retail Real Estate. Furthermore, he is responsible for the concept of supplier management for Indirect Procurement. Stephan’s most recent projects have been the selection as well as the 3rd party implementation of Workday for Corporate HR as well as establishing a VMS for contingent workforce. Stephan will be hosting the Roundtable “Contingent Workforce Challenges - How Do You Find The Right Talent To Ensure IT Category Management Success?” on the 6th December.

Samantha is responsible for IT Procurement for all categories, with a focus on the alignment of procurement objectives with Global and local IT initiatives, as well as supporting global procurement processes and system deployment. She has spent 15 years in a procurement role managing multiple contracts, several over £20M per supplier, with total addressable spend up to £100M per client. Samantha has experience in contract drafting, negotiations, contract analysis and renewal strategy. Samantha will be hosting the Roundtable ‘Agile Contracts – What Are The Fundamental Differences From Traditional Contracts, And How Can You Seize The Opportunities?’ on the 6th December and taking part in the Panel Discussion ‘It’s All About The ‘Cloud’ - How Do You Seize The Opportunities But Avoid The Risks?’ on the 6th December.

Christiaan oversees all software spend within CGI. He has experience in a wide variety of software category management work: managing strategic global software suppliers, negotiating complex software licensing agreements, resolving disputes with software vendors, carrying out in depth analysis on software spend, building savings roadmaps, risk analysis on the software content within new outsourcing deals, managing software sourcing projects and advising business stakeholders on software technology. Having worked in software procurement for over eight years in extremely complex outsourced IT environments, he has become a recognised subject matter expert on software procurement matters. When his busy work schedule allows, he tries to blog and podcast at http://www.softwarespend.com/. Christian will be participating in the Panel Discussion ‘It’s All About The ‘Cloud’ - How Do You Seize The Opportunities But Avoid The Risks?’ on the 6th December.

Kjeld has worked in his current role at Novo Nordisk for the last five years, where he heads up most large IT sourcing-projects. He has also redesigned the entire IT procurement process. At Novo Nordisk, he is recognized as a definer of IT sourcing and has headed sourcing projects delivering more than 50% of all IT savings in Novo Nordisk each year. Before joining Novo Nordisk, he headed up the software wholesaler Norsoft for 7 years, the leading software wholesaler in Denmark and Iceland for Microsoft, Symantec, Adobe, IBM and a number of other vendors. In addition to his extensive experience with software negotiations and contracting, he also holds a M.Sc. in macroeconomics and a MBA. He is currently working on increasing tender frequency for spend related to running IT systems. Kjeld will be hosting the Pharma Sector Roundtable on the 6th December.

Sara has been working in the technology sector since her first graduate assignment as a C Programmer over 20 years ago and has been fortunate enough to have had two careers, the first in commercial support and the second in procurement. She has managed bids, large negotiations and significant accounts in the public and private sectors in the UK in her commercial career. In her procurement roles, she's worked out of Paris and New York, managed people and teams based in most major countries in the world and bought everything from coffee machines to artificial intelligence software. Currently based out of Luxembourg with a team of over 60 people based there and in the UK, Hungary, Germany and APAC, Sara is responsible for IT & Enterprise spend at Vodafone, looking after Vodafone's third party engagements in new business, new products and throughout the procurement lifecycle for established IT categories. Sara will be co-presenting with her IT colleague Pablo Jejcic for the session ‘In Conversation: Creating Optimal Synergies Between Procurement And IT To Uncover Real Savings And Unlock Value’ on the 5th December, as well as taking part in the Crystal Ball Panel Discussion ‘Emerging Technology Trends And Disruptors - Designing An Optimal IT Procurement Roadmap for 2025’ on the 6th December.

Den Howlett has been involved with enterprise software since 1973, starting in a variety of finance related roles, continuing as both buyer and implementer of software systems for both in-house and client use. The last 20 years have been spent consulting on enterprise software topics, providing both counsel and public commentary aimed at helping buyers make the right technology choices. He is widely considered to be one of Europe's leading experts on finance and business intelligence solutions. As our guest speaker on the 6th December, hear from Dennis about ‘Going Digital in the Real World: If Software Is Eating The World, Who's Writing The Menus?’.

Cian is a Global Category Manager with responsibility for professional services (HR, finance, legal, consultancy) and IT spend categories. His primary responsibilities are both supporting the central functions with their business transformation journeys, plus development and implementation of complimentary category solutions through a local procurement operations network. He has recent experience with sourcing CRM and HR cloud systems, associated system integration, category strategy and establishment of preferred supplier lists for consultancy and system integration and separate projects covering first generation global HR, finance and IT infrastructure outsourcing. A key multi-country procurement driven success this year has been with European mobile telecoms. Cian’s current focus is finance planning and reporting tools, global wide area network and supporting the IT function with the next phase of their transformation journey (outsource vs retain decision) and the subsequent sourcing requirements that the implementation of the category strategy may generate for application development, support and management. Cian will be hosting the Roundtable ‘How To Attract, Retain And Nurture Best in Class IT Procurement Talent’ on the 6th December.

Marc has over 12 years experience in multiple industries such as FMCG, Retail, Manufacturing and Life Sciences. At UCB he is involved in strategic sourcing activities in the area of Information Technology, coupled with co-creation of innovative solutions focused on delivering superior value to patients affected by severe diseases. Marc will be joining the Pharma Sector Roundtable on the 6th December.

Hendrik is a 25 year veteran of the IT industry. He started his career working in the SNA-TCP/IP and EDI space, notably with Sterling Commerce and 10 years ago he entered the new field of independent maintenance working with TomorrowNow (an SAP company) and then subsequently with Rimini Street. Hendrik has been helping SAP and Oracle clients make dramatic savings on their operational costs during that time. He will be presenting the session ‘Industry Insight: Uncover Real Savings from Ongoing Operations And Drive Innovation Agility’ on the 5th December.

As Cloud Solutions Manager, Ron closely monitors developments in his market area. He is passionate about developing new services that match market trends and are in the best interest of his clients. Having been active in the world of system integrators for ten years, Ron has gained substantive knowledge of the available solutions and implementations, which are a very valuable advantage while supporting companies in their journey to the cloud as it helps him identify the right approach for the transitional process. Through inspirational sessions, workshops and adoption plans he conveys his knowledge, while remaining truthful about the things you shouldn’t do. If you are interested in a cloud inspiration workshop, his team is at your disposal. Ron is hosting the Roundtable ‘Controlling The Cloud: Negotiation, Licensing And Contracting Tactics For Cloud Based Solutions’ on the 5th December.

Tania is the Founding Chairman of three companies specialising in the development of the procurement profession - The Faculty, The Source and Procurious. The Faculty is recognised as one of Australia’s leading advisors on procurement development. Established twelve years ago, The Faculty works with leading organisations to transform and elevate the role of procurement, build high performance procurement teams and create professional knowledge networks. Four years ago, Tania founded The Source, a specialist recruitment firm for the procurement profession. In 2013 she moved to London and founded Procurious, the world’s first online community for procurement professionals to connect, share and learn. Since its launch in May 2014, Procurious has already attracted more than 8000 members from more than 125 countries worldwide. Tania’s fascination and commitment to procurement development started around fifteen years ago in the United States. After finishing her MBA at Pennsylvania State University, Tania became one of Alcoa’s first global commodity managers. Prior to moving to the USA, Tania’s career was focused on marketing roles within Alcoa and Rowland in Australia, and the Walt Disney Company in the UK. Tania will be chairing both days of the conference.

David is an international purchasing project manager with over 12 years experience in all aspects of strategic purchasing and supplier management. He provides purchasing expertise to business teams working in operations and IT banking. His main areas are IT software, hardware and services, and more recently facility management. David will be involved in the Case Study Revolution ‘How To Mitigate Disruption By Implementing a Comprehensive Supplier Risk Management Program’ on the 6th December.

Howard Daws is Flexera Software’s Software Licensing Optimisation evangelist working on solutions and strategies. Since joining Flexera Software in 2014, he has led partner enablement, services and delivery parties within the EMEA region. Prior to Flexera Software, Howard was a Director at Deloitte, leading their UK software asset management and licensing practice. He has also worked at KPMG where he was the original architect for IBM’s software compliance programme

Andy has been involved in the invention, design and introduction of products to make data easier to use with companies like Prime Computer (networked administration), VMARK, Ascential (data integration), Story Street Partners and Thomson Financial (data integration and collation).

Sumin has many years of experience in building successful early stage technology firms, such as Computer Controls (building control systems), Eliza (telephony-based voice recognition technology), ProcessTech (dynamic modeling software) and Adaptive Networks (networking over AC power lines). Sumin has a B.S.E.E. from Cornell University and an M.S. Management from M.I.T.

Brian Skiba is a general manager of SAP products at Snow Software. Prior to his company being acquired by Snow, Mr. Skiba was a co-founder and CEO of Intelligent Licensing Corporation, the President and Chairman of MaxID Corporation, and a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank. Mr. Skiba holds an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College, a Masters in Software Engineering from Boston University, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Quantitative Methods from School of Management at Boston University.

Cuong is responsible for the procurement of Hardware, Software, IT Services, IT Consultants, Network and Telco across Danske Bank Group. He will be joining the Panel ‘Crystal Ball Session: Emerging Technology Trends And Disruptors - Designing An Optimal IT Procurement Roadmap for 2025’ on the 6th December.

Alex Li is the Principal Standards Analyst from Microsoft. He is responsible for enabling global regulatory consistency, business growth, and customer trust by leveraging international standards. His experience in the technology industry was concentrated in developing international standard and influencing government policies. He has been with Microsoft for seven years and SAP for ten years prior. Alex earned his MBA from Georgetown University and BS from University of Michigan.