Bernard Gracia’s Farewell Conference

Procurement & Supply Management Today & After

December 12 – 13 at the Movenpick Hotel, Geneva

Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime event that celebrates a legacy of learning, growth, and transformation in the world of Procurement and Supply Management. After more than four decades of shaping the careers of thousands of professionals across the globe, Bernard Gracia, Founder of EIPM, is hosting his Farewell Conference—an unmissable two-day journey through the past, present, and future of Procurement.

Why Attend?

This isn’t just a conference; it’s the culmination of over 45 years of passion, expertise, and dedication. From playing a pivotal role in launching the world’s first Master in International Purchasing (MAI) in 1976, to founding EIPM in 1990, Bernard Gracia has been a driving force behind the education and development of Procurement professionals worldwide. His career has focused on building a thriving community of experts, many of whom have gone on to become not only CPOs, but also CEOs, General Managers, Sales Leaders, and more. With a deep understanding of how this critical function has evolved, Bernard is now ready to share the ultimate lessons learned throughout his remarkable journey.

Through his insights and those of a carefully selected group of industry leaders, this conference will explore not just the current state of Procurement but also its potential as a springboard for future career growth. “Procurement & Supply Management Today & After” will challenge you to consider: What’s next for you?

Key Highlights:

  • Lessons from the Top: Hear from former Procurement professionals who have risen to the ranks of CEO, GM, and Sales Leaders, sharing the strategies and mindset shifts that helped them succeed. These leaders will also provide unique insights into how they view Purchasing today from their current roles, offering valuable perspectives on the evolving relationship between Procurement and overall business strategy.
  • Future-Proofing Procurement: Dive into pressing topics for today’s CPOs, including AI, Decarbonation, and Mergers & Acquisitions.
  • Category Manager Insights: What does it take to excel as a Category Manager in today’s dynamic landscape?
  • AI in Action: Explore cutting-edge, AI-based tools designed to support and revolutionize Procurement processes.
  • A Legacy of Learning: Celebrate Bernard’s extraordinary career through inspiring success stories from the global Procurement community he helped create.

More Than Just an Event—A Celebration

This conference is about people—those who have been mentored, trained, and inspired by Bernard Gracia. It’s a celebration of the success stories, the challenges overcome, and the shared passion for advancing Procurement as a strategic function. Beyond the thought-provoking sessions, expect to enjoy the 15th EIPM-Peter Kraljic Awards Ceremony, Gala Dinner, plenty of networking with peers and industry experts.

 

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Speakers

Virginie Vast

Global Head of Procurement I Social & Community Impact, AMAZON

Herve Legenvre

Research Director, EIPM

Salvatore Bernabei

Head of Enel Green Power and Thermal Generation, CEO of Enel Green Power

Claudia Viohl

CEO, E.ON Czech

Gianluca Colombo

CPO, DSM FIRMINICH

Elda Simonaska

Top Management Advisor, Affiliate Professor, HEC Paris

Bertrand Conqueret

CPO, President HENKEL Supply Chain, Co-Founder Together for Sustanability, Co-Founder Procurement Sustainable Pledge

Jean-Francois Baril

Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO at HMD and Founder and Managing Partner at Ginko Ventures

Heinrich Berger

VP Global Raw Materials Procurement & Global Procurement Center, ICL Group

Melanie Lehoux

Founder & CEO, ISYBUY

Philippe Roger

VP Business Development, JABIL

Alinur Mukatayev

Supply Chain Director, KATKO Orano

Lily Xu

WW Indirect Purchasing POS Category Lead, L'OREAL

Dominique Lebigot

CPO, LVMH Wines & Spirits

Suresh Balan

Global Head for Business and New Products, Life Science & Environment, MANN+HUMMEL

Karim Chaiblaine

CEO, NESMA Mobility

Dieter Lott

Director Corporate Development, RLDATIX

Xavier Sarrat

Group CPO, PANDROL

Alex Martin

Supplier Collaboration & Innovation Manager, SAP

Maxi Glas

Director Service +, SAVILLS

Shengli Zhang

Managing Director China, SEW EURODRIVE

Hani Alsaigh

Board Member, Saudi Supply Chain and Procurement Society

Roque Carmona

Group CPO, THALES

Sponsors:

AI-native Contract Lifecycle Management platform

Sirion is the world’s leading AI-native CLM platform, pioneering the application of generative AI to help enterprises transform the way they store, create, and manage contracts. The platform’s extraction, conversational search, and AI-enhanced negotiation capabilities have revolutionized contracting across enterprise teams – from legal and procurement to sales and finance. The world’s most valuable brands trust Sirion to manage 7M+ contracts worth nearly $800B and relationships with 1M+ suppliers and customers in 100+ languages. Leading analysts such as Gartner, IDC, and Spend Matters have consistently recognized Sirion as a leader in CLM for its focus on category-leading innovation.

Akiro (Category Management Software)

Akirolabs offers an AI-powered category management SaaS platform that transforms procurement from a tactical role into a strategic value creator.Empowers procurement teams to generate 4-5 times more business value than traditional procurement methods.Enables the creation, execution, and monitoring of procurement strategies aligned with overarching business objectives.

Moves procurement beyond cost-saving goals to deliver multifaceted value by connecting procurement efforts with organizational priorities. Offers a user-friendly, guided methodology and a highly innovative and collaborative toolkit that redefines category management practices. Harnesses AI to enhance strategic decision-making and close capability gaps within procurement.

25th EIPM Annual Purchasing Conference – ONLINE

One World, One Vision: A shared leadership

As purchasing professionals, we are facing a wide array of challenges and expectations. Daily we keep the business running. Yearly, many of our projects create the future competitive advantage of the business. And for the many years ahead we will be part of the fight to preserve the habitability of our planet.

More than ever, from all over the world, we can share experience and broaden our vision of how procurement teams can strive in the world that comes.

This year EIPM conference is about diversity and leadership. We bring together people from different parts of the worlds to share views on their leadership agenda and what helps them to be successful. Starting in Japan, we intend to finish the day either in Africa or South America.

We also intend to create conversations across different generations. We expect seasoned leaders to share advice with the people that follow their steps. And we expect rising leaders to share their views about what they expect from leaders and role models.

We also intend to share inspiring experience. We will wonder how start-ups who sell electronic and connected products manage their supply chains; how open-source ecosystems create technologies that end up in our supply chains.

Our 2022 conference will be a learning journey from East to West, a journey of exchanges across continents and generations, a global discussion about what procurement leadership is.

Join Us!

Speakers

Florian Simmendinger

Founder & CEO, Soundbrenner

Mirela Senica

Head of Client relations and Sourcing for EMEA, IBM

Giuseppe Mora

Director of Purchasing America, Barilla Group

Lily Xu

North Asia- Sr. Indirect Category Manager-Retail & Promo, L’Oréal

Osamu Uehara

Professor Emeritus EIPM Japon, Founder of Institute for Supply Management Japan, Inc.

Neema K. Lugangira

Member of Parliament, Tanzania

Özlem Düzyatan

Purchasing Director DYO Boya

Steve Helvie

VP of Channel for the Open Compute Project (OCP)

Xavier Sarrat

Associate VP Global Procurement Associate VP Global Procurement, Agilent Technologies

Chen-Grace Wang

Head Of Indirect Procurement, Dyson China

Andressa Reis

Global Category Buyer Data and Technology and Professional Services, Heineken

Talal S. Algharabi

Applications Solutions Category Director – Technology Procurement, STC

Svetlana Lukashevich

Regional Procurement for Russia & CA, MiddleEast & Turkey Imperial Brands

Suresh Balan

Global Head for Business and New Products, Life Science and Environment Global, MANN+HUMMEL

Alain Lejeune

Chief Operating Officer, HMD Global

Heimo Trampitsch

Senior Vice President, Flex

Jean-Francois Baril

Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, HMD Global

Aparna Goyal

Purchasing Manager at Applied Micro Electronics “AME” B.V.

Malak Marai

Procurement Digital Transformation Consultant

Melani Flores

Senior advisor to procurement executives. Procurement SME

Partners