Proc-N-Roll : Your guide to practical procurement!

Why do most layoffs fail? Why is the obsession with "world-class" talent actually hurting your team? And is the advice to "learn to code" already obsolete? In this Jam Session, hosts Natasha Gurevich and Zachary Bachir sit down with Lucien Alziari, former CHRO of Prudential, Maersk, and Avon. Lucien drops masterclass insights on leadership discipline, the "He-Man" tox...

Everyone wants to talk about AI, but no one wants to talk about the mess in their data lake. In this episode of Proc & Roll, hosts Conrad Smith, Zachary Bachir, and Natasha Gurevich debate the unsexy reality of data readiness. Is your organization actually ready for predictive analytics, or are you just "tidying up your bedroom" before it gets messy again? The team dives deep into why one-off...

Why do business stakeholders roll their eyes when you talk about "cost savings"? And why does the next generation of talent treat their career path like a video game? In this episode, hosts Zachary Bachir and Natasha Gurevich sit down with Ted Baumuller, former Global Leader of Source-to-Pay at Meta (and formerly Cisco & Abbott), for a masterclass on stakeholder alignment and modern...

Will Procurement Teams Shrink in 2026? It is time for our retrospective! In this episode of Proc & Roll, hosts Conrad Smith, Natasha Gurevich, and Zachary Bachir look back at their 2025 forecasts and lay out their bold predictions for the year ahead. We even let an AI agent grade our 2025 scorecards. Did we hit the mark on the "AI Hype Cycle" crashing into the "Data Wall"?...

In this Jam Session, host Conrad Smith sits down with Jay Sklar from Hub International for a masterclass in high-velocity procurement. With Hub International acquiring an average of five companies every single month, Jay has developed a battle-tested playbook for rapid integration. He shares how he manages a massive portfolio of 700+ offices while leveraging his company's explosive growth to s...

Happy 1st Birthday to Proc & Roll! 🎂🎸 Can you believe it has been a whole year? In this special anniversary episode, hosts Conrad Smith , Natasha Gurevich , and Zach Bachir put aside the interview scripts to reminisce on the journey from episode 1 to 35+. What started as a random lunch in London turned into a community of "operators in the trenches," and we wouldn't be here without you! In t...

"We jumped off a cliff and built the plane on the way down." ✈️ That is how Arnaud, Head of Indirect Procurement at BIC, describes the massive challenge of building a non-GMO supply chain from scratch in just 18 months. In this Jam Session, Arnaud joins Conrad to explore how an industrial engineering mindset can transform procurement from a transactional function into a strategic engine...

"Don't let IT select the technology." 🛑That is just one of the hard-hitting pieces of advice from Michael Van Keulen (MVK), Chief Customer Officer at Green Cabbage and former CPO at Coupa, Lululemon, and VF Corporation. In this jam session, MVK joins the Proc & Roll team to break down the explosion of the procurement tech market. With thousands of solutions now available, how do...

Can you build a fully functional AI procurement agent in just 50 hours? In this special "Show and Tell" episode, host Zachary Bachir rolls up his sleeves to demonstrate an AI intake agent he built from scratch using N8n, a low-code automation platform. Join Conrad, Natasha, and Zach for a hands-on look at the future of agentic workflows. Zach creates a live purchase requisition via email...

"Just because you can build an AI agent in five minutes, doesn't mean you should use it for enterprise procurement." In this episode, Josh Earley joins the team for a deep dive into the often-overlooked but critical topic of AI governance. As employees start bringing their own AI tools to work, procurement faces a new wave of "shadow AI" risks—from unapproved contracts to b...

What if you could automate the most painful parts of your procurement job right now? In this hands-on "jam session," Conrad is joined by David Johnson for a practical guide to using AI in procurement. David shares his incredible "origin story" of falling through a ceiling into a procurement career, and then dives into a live demo of how he uses Google's Notebook LM to revol...

As AI and automation change the procurement landscape, what skills will you actually need to stay relevant? Natasha, Conrad, and Zach break down how the profession is evolving from a narrow focus on savings to a strategic function centered on value, speed, and customer service. They provide a practical guide on the new critical skills required for CPOs, directors, and individual contributors to th...

What happens to your job when an AI agent can do 80% of your administrative work for you? In this mini jam session, hosts Conrad Smith and Zachary Bachir have a raw and forward-looking conversation sparked by the release of OpenAI's new agentic browser, Atlas. They explore how this technology will fundamentally change not just how procurement tasks are done, but what procurement professionals...

Veteran CPO Ash Hall joins us to give his practical advice for career progression and leadership in procurement. Ash gives us his playbook on how to navigate career changes, make an impact in a new role, and evolve as a leader. Learn how he used a detailed and actionable framework for his first 90-day plan to transform multiple procurement organizations. In This Episode, You Will Learn: The 90-Day...

Is the traditional RFP a "disgusting," "sloppy," and "painful" process that needs to be retired? In this passionate episode, the Proc & Roll team declares war on the traditional Request for Proposal. Join Natasha, Conrad, and Zach as they break down why the process is broken and empower procurement leaders to "take back control". In this episode, we cove...

In a tough negotiation, where do you draw the line between a strategic bluff and an unethical lie? In this episode, Natasha, Conrad, and Zach continue their in-depth exploration of procurement ethics, focusing on the practical, in-the-moment dilemmas of negotiation. The hosts share candidly about their own personal values, the pressures they've faced, and the frameworks they use to make tough...

The conversation on procurement ethics and integrity continues, and this time, the hosts have brought in a special guest: a real "proc star," Ash Hall , former head of procurement at Lincoln Electric and Mercury Systems. Join Natasha Gurevich, Conrad Smith, and their guest Ash Hall as they dive deep into the practical, "in the trenches" dilemmas of the RFP process. They share c...

Is your procurement process truly ethical, or are there hidden gray areas you haven't considered? In this episode, the Proc & Roll team tackles the critical and complex topic of ethics and integrity. Join Natasha Gurevich, Conrad Smith, and Zachary Bachir as they move beyond clear-cut issues like bribery to explore the subtle, everyday dilemmas that professionals face in negotiations, RFPs...

Procurement reports millions in savings, but does the CFO actually believe the numbers? In this follow-up to our savings discussion, the Proc & Roll team tackles the biggest challenge in procurement: credibility . Join Natasha Gurevich, Conrad Smith, and Zachary Bachir as they share candid stories and practical strategies for building unshakeable trust with your finance partners. They break do...

It's the proverbial 2 a.m. call from the CFO: "The quarter is bad, I need your team to deliver savings". Do you become the "cost police" and start squeezing suppliers, or do you step up as a strategic partner? In this episode, Natasha Gurevich, Conrad Smith, and Zach Bachir tackle the "S-word" of procurement. They share a practical playbook for generating real val...

ESG is a top priority for many companies, but are we approaching it the right way? In this episode, Zachary, Natasha, and Conrad explore the realities of procurement's role in driving Environmental, Social, and Governance initiatives. They move beyond theory to discuss how to make ESG a practical, value-driving part of your strategy, not just another corporate checkbox. Drawing on decades of e...

AI is poised to change everything, but will it fix the strained relationship between Legal and Procurement, or make it worse? In this special episode, Natasha and Conrad are joined by two legal powerhouses, Alissa Harvey Dawson and Ana Erickson, to explore the critical intersection of technology, law, and procurement. They discuss how to move beyond friction, leverage AI responsibly, and build a t...

Contracts are a fundamental part of procurement, but are we making them more complicated than they need to be? In this episode, Zachary, Natasha, and Conrad dive deep into the realities of contracting in procurement. They discuss when a contract is truly necessary, how to balance speed with risk, and why procurement and legal teams often find themselves at odds. Drawing on their combined decades o...

🎸 Automate Like a Rock Star: AI Agents in Procurement 🎸 In this episode of Proc-N-Roll , Conrad and Zach explore how procurement professionals can harness the power of AI agents and workflow automation to revolutionize contract management and beyond. Zach walks through a practical demo of building an AI-driven contract analysis tool using Zapier , OpenAI’s GPT-4 , and Google Sheets , showing how...

🎉 New Podcast Alert! | Jam Session  Hosted by Conrad, Natasha, and Zach, Jam Session brings guests from procurement leaders to changemakers to talk candidly about the challenges they face, their strategies, and how they turn complexity into opportunity. When tariffs rise and trade tensions grow, how can procurement stay ahead of the curve? In this episode of Jam Session, Natasha, Conrad, and Zach...