In today's dynamic and highly uncertain market, new requirements arise every day, from new regulations to new sources of risk or competition. Building a truly agile procurement function requires more than adjusting internal processes. In this session, you will gain insight on how to implement an agile approach, drawing from a mix of procurement, technology and research expertise. Learn how Fannie Mae has taken a holistic approach to enabling procurement agility, from digitizing internal processes to proactively addressing cyber security risk.

In particular, our panel will address: 

• Hear how to implement an agile strategy, including use of technology and lessons learned from an example
• What are the fundamental drivers of agile, and what does it look like in practice vs. theory
• What should managers do differently to build more agile practices and skill sets

Speakers:

Stephanie Bahr
VP & CPO
Fannie Mae

Stephanie Bahr is Fannie Mae’s Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer. Reporting to the Senior Vice President and Deputy CFO, Bahr is responsible for leading the strategy and execution of the company’s corporate procurement processes to maximize value delivery to support business objectives, mitigate third party risk and manage supplier performance. Prior to assuming her current position in July 2015, Bahr was Vice President and Chief Risk Officer for Operational Risk, with responsibility for aligning the company’s risk management framework with industry best practices.

Alex Saric
CMO
Ivalua

Alex has spent over 15 years of his career evangelizing Spend Management, shaping its evolution and working closely with hundreds of customers to support their Digital Transformation journeys. As CMO at Ivalua, Alex leads overall marketing strategy and thought leadership programs. Alex also spent 12 years at Ariba, first building and running the spend analytics business as General Manager. He then built and led Ariba’s international marketing team until successful acquisition by SAP, transitioning to lead business network marketing globally. Earlier, Alex was a founding member of Zeborg (acquired by Emptoris) where he developed vertical procurement applications. He began his career in the U.S. Cavalry, leading tank and scout platoons through 2 combat deployments. Alex holds a B.S. in Economics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an international M.B.A. from INSEAD.

Steve Hall
Director of Content and Community
Procurement Leaders™

Steve Hall is Director of Content and Community at Procurement Leaders. He is the former editor of Procurement Leaders Magazine and oversees the development of content across print and digital platforms. Steve combines a background in journalism with experience in helping build an award-winning product for a global community of procurement executives. He draws on a decade in business publishing, providing quality coverage to senior business leaders. Prior to Procurement Leaders, Steve worked in legal publishing.