The Spend Table

Michael Shields and Justin Etkin sit down with Isa Rivera, Senior Global IT Procurement and Asset Management Manager at Coursera, to explore her unique journey from sales to becoming the first procurement hire at a major tech company. Isa shares how she built trust with engineering executives in just 3 months by providing white glove service that removed the burden of vendor management from techni...

Host Michael Shields sits down with Tropic's President and CFO Russell Lester and COO Justin Etkin to explore how finance leaders navigate budget approvals in an AI-driven world. Russell shares his evolved approach to evaluating business cases, from $50,000 software renewals to major technology investments, and reveals why he now expects AI to be embedded in every analysis that crosses his desk. T...

The conversation delves into the current state of the SaaS market, exploring the impact of AI on traditional software companies, the challenges of pricing and packaging in a changing landscape, and the evolving role of procurement in managing tech stacks. Our hosts emphasize the importance of strategic thinking and adaptability in navigating these dynamics, highlighting opportunities for growth an...

Michael Shields hosts this episode of The Spend Table with Tropic's COO Justin Etkin and CFO Russell Lester, diving deep into what they call the "Ai tax" hitting enterprise software buyers. The conversation reveals how vendors are using Ai features to justify 15 to 30% price increases, far beyond the typical 5 to 10% annual uplift. Justin explains how companies like Slack struggled to sell Ai add-...

Michael Shields sits down with Russell Lester, CFO and President at Tropic, and Justin Etkin, COO and Co-Founder, for the inaugural episode of The Spend Table. The trio dives deep into the tensions between finance and procurement during budget season, exploring why traditional budgeting processes often fail companies. Russell brings his perspective on the difference between strategy, planning, and...