10 Female Influencers to Follow in Procurement and Supply Chain
By Katherine McCleery | February 22, 2021
We believe in empowering procurement.
As a brand, we say it (a lot) and as the people within said brand, we do it. That translates to several things — providing educational content, free procurement advisory, and more recently an entire podcast dedicated to elevating the voices in the sourcing industries that also believe in empowering others.
But is that enough?
Last year Sarah Scudder wrote about gender diversity in procurement citing some compelling statistics that tell us there is still more work to be done. And work is exactly what she and many others — women and men — have been doing in the name of closing the gender gap.
Over the course of 2020, I personally had the honor of connecting with countless procurement and supply chain leaders through podcast production and networking across social media. I was floored by the outpouring of support I received and saw given to women asking for help, needing introductions, and most surprisingly — when they spoke up in vulnerable positions.
So, as a brand that serves the sourcing industries, we want to do more.
As International Women’s Day fast approaches, and in conjunction with our upcoming Women Shaping Procurement series, here’s our rundown of some of the most inspiring female procurement and supply chain influencers that are empowering other women.
These are the procurement leaders you need to be following:
Stephany Lapierre
Founder & CEO, Tealbook
“As you look 12, 24, and 48 months into the future, your team needs to have the skills, data, and technologies to work towards the vision and goals you create.” – Stephany Lapierre, via the Tealbook blog
Stephany Lapierre is the Founder and CEO of Tealbook, where she has made it her mission to deliver a ‘Trusted Source of Supplier Data’ to the ever-growing eProcurement space.
A true believer in the power of collaboration, Stephany’s team stepped in to support the global procurement community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With many organizations unequipped to respond to sudden market changes and evolving business needs, Tealbook provided supplier lists (classified by geography and types of products/services) to many organizations facing pandemic-related disruption.
“We knew we had a solution that was easy for us to be able to provide to procurement and supply chain teams that were truly scrambling.”
You can hear more from Stephany in Episode 11 of The Sourcing Hero podcast or delve into some of her excellent thought leadership pieces via the Tealbook blog.
Joanna Martinez
Speaker, Advisor & Author
“The obvious sourcing heroes right now are all of the people who dropped everything – dropped their projects, dropped the plans they had, rolled up their sleeves, and figured out ways to keep their companies going.” – Joanna Martinez, Episode 6 of The Sourcing Hero podcast
Joanna Martinez is a 30-year veteran in the procurement industry, having worked as a CPO, speaker, consultant, advisor, and coach. As a highly respected global procurement and supply chain leader, she has helped a huge range of organizations transform their processes and implement “Positive Disruptions.”
You can hear from Joanna in Episode 6 of The Sourcing Hero podcast, purchase her book, A Guide To Positive Disruption on Amazon, or visit her website to enroll to her online learning program Blockchain to Bots, which explores four important disruptive technologies.
Sarah Scudder
President, Real Sourcing Network
“Sometimes you need to make a lateral career move to move up. You may not have a title or salary advancement, but you’re going to pick up skills that you really need to get you to where you want to be in your career eventually.” – Sarah Scudder, Episode 1 of The Sourcing Hero podcast
As well as being President of Real Sourcing Network, Sarah Scudder describes herself as a marketer, lead generation strategist, content creator, public speaker, event host, and community builder, specializing in marketing procurement and print services.
She believes procurement is one of the most exciting, interesting, and brag-worthy professions to be in and has lots of valuable career advice for up-and-coming professionals.
You can hear more from Sarah in Episode 1 of The Sourcing Hero podcast or join her virtual Hump Day Happy Hour – a fun and social space for procurement professionals to find community, connect, and collaborate.
Sarah Barnes-Humphrey
Supply Chain Leader
“Studies have shown that women who support women are more successful, so how much more powerful can we be if we channel the power of collaboration and share our experiences? The answer: VERY Powerful!” – Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, Let’s Talk Supply Chain
To use Sarah Barnes-Humphrey’s own words, supply chain is in her blood. When she was growing up, her family began building a shipping company, which she ultimately spent 20 years of her career helping to establish. Today, she is the co-founder and CEO of Shipz, which brings forwarders and shippers together via a collaborative platform.
Sarah’s vibrant digital community Let’s Talk Supply Chain includes the Blended Podcast, which sparks engaging conversations with fresh perspectives to create value for the supply chain community. She endeavors to raise awareness and pass the mic to underrepresented voices in the industry including the LGBTQIA+ community, people of color, and those with disabilities. Her work also includes a fantastic series on Women in Supply Chain.
You can get involved with the Let’s Talk Supply Chain community here.
Jill Robbins
President, Business Fierce
“You don’t get what you don’t ask for…” – Jill Robins, Business Fierce
Jill Robbins is the President of Business Fierce, which seeks to bridge the gap between sales professionals and procurement organizations.
A successful entrepreneur, fierce negotiator, and passionate teacher, Jill has leveraged her unique skillset and expertise to train her corporate counterparts in sales on how to “sell to and negotiate with procurement.”
You can learn more about the training services Jill provides and check out her blog posts via the Business Fierce site.
Kelly Barner
Owner & Managing Director, Buyers Meeting Point
“We have a responsibility to self-promote and self-advocate. We need to make our non-quantitative contributions visible – undeniable even.” – Kelly Barner, Art of Procurement blog
Kelly Barner is the Owner and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point, a procurement and supply chain influencer and writer, and General Manager at The Art of Procurement.
Following a 15-year procurement career and the co-authoring of three books, Kelly now provides the procurement industry with an events calendar, blog, and active social media network via Buyers Meeting Point and produces the number one weekly procurement podcast in partnership with Philip Ideson on the Art of Procurement.
You can check out her blogs on Art of Procurement and listen to the podcast here.
Tania Seary
Founder, Procurious
“My mission is to change the face of procurement to more accurately reflect the dynamic and critical role the profession plays in business today.” – Tania Seary, taniaseary.com
Tania Seary is the founder of three companies specializing in the development of the procurement profession – The Faculty, The Source, and Procurious. She is passionately committed to elevating procurement’s role and connecting professionals across the globe.
Check out Tania’s website for more insights or connect with her (and 35,000+ others) via Procurious – the world’s largest community of procurement and supply chain professionals.
Procurious offers a wealth of free resources including thought leadership blogs, videos, webinars, podcasts, and discussion boards to help bolster your procurement career.
Susan Walsh
The Classification Guru
“Get it right now and you’re saving yourself some more time down the line.” – Susan Walsh, TalentDrive
Susan Walsh, aka the Classification Guru, has almost a decade of experience in fixing dirty data and is an expert in spend data classification, supplier normalization, and taxonomy customization.
If you want to understand more about data classification, the importance of maintaining data, or determine just how dirty your data is, Susan is your go-to person.
You can find out more about Susan’s services, read her blogs, and access her video tutorials via the Classification Guru website.
Madison Mobley
Enterprise Sales Director, Fairmarkit
“If and/or when you find yourself with your back against the wall, suffocating in professional spaces too simple to receive you, let it go like Elsa, take your talents to South Beach like Lebron, and refuse to surrender your soul.” – Madison Mobley, LinkedIn
Madison Mobley is Enterprise Sales Director at Fairmarkit, a sourcing platform that empowers organizations to more efficiently purchase the goods and services they need. She also serves as an ambassador for The Sustainable Procurement Pledge and is the Founder and CEO of Kickstart Your Humanitarianism Incorporated.
Madison is a keen advocate for supplier diversity programs and women in procurement and women in tech initiatives.
Follow Madison on Twitter and check out her discussion on why procurement needs to embrace tech via the World of Procurement podcast.
Amanda Prochaska
Founder, Wonder Services
“When you approach your life with whimsy and curiosity and always put people first, grand adventures ensue.” – Amanda Prochaska, LinkedIn
Amanda Prochaska describes herself as a procurement fanatic, author, and speaker. She is the Founder of Wonder Services, which is a full-service, engagement advisory firm offering leaders and companies a simple but powerful way to achieve more from their relationships.
She is also the Chief Shimmer Officer at Global Women Procurement Professionals, which focuses on attracting, retaining, and growing women in their current and future roles within procurement.
Find out more about the work Amanda does with Global Women Procurement Professionals here and read more about Wonder Services here.
Are there other female procurement superstars we should add to this list? Let us know on LinkedIn and register to hear from some of these fantastic women during Una’s Women Shaping Procurement live panel sessions!
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