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

Welcome to another episode of Proc n Roll! Today, Conrad sits down with Peter Teresi, founder and CEO of Certificial, to explore what it really takes to build the mindset of an innovator. Peter shares his journey from the early days of MSNBC to revolutionizing data standards in the insurance industry. The two founders also dive deep into the power of intrapreneurship. Peter highlights how a side p...

Welcome to a milestone Episode 50 of Proc & Roll! Conrad, Natasha, and Zachary follow up on our previous high-level discussion to give you a practical, step-by-step guide to building your procurement operating model. https://open.spotify.com/episode/4lpDVChcoaCLtbsVWxYJsE?si=ijC9umgZSMuOFuawyzRtEw We kick things off with our real-world AI agent experiments—including Conrad’s AI Chief of Staff,...

In this Jam Session, Natasha Gurevich and Zachary Bachir are joined by Jason Busch, founder of Spend Matters, host of the Algo Ego podcast , and a highly provocative thinker in the procurement and supply chain space. Jason explores several critical topics reshaping the industry. We dive into the evolution of AI across different operational tiers, examine the shifting shelf-life and relevance of le...

Are you an architect of your procurement future, or are you waiting to be replaced by it? In this week's episode of Proc & Roll, Conrad and Zachary are joined by Tomas Wiemer (former Head of Procurement at Juniper Networks) to break down exactly how AI and agentic automation are completely rewriting the procurement operating model. From the death of the 100-page process map to building a T...

In this episode of Proc & Roll, hosts Conrad Smith and Zach Bachir are joined by Kasey Smith for a deep dive into OpenClaw, a groundbreaking agentic AI tool that is set to disrupt the procurement technology stack. The team moves beyond the hype to show how accessible this technology is, even for those without a technical background. Kasey shares his journey of setting up an OpenClaw agent on a...

Do you ever feel like you are operating on an island inside your own company? You aren't alone. In this episode of Proc & Roll, Conrad Smith sits down with Shunit Kainy to discuss the transformative power of professional networking and knowledge sharing. Shunit, who playfully describes herself as the "black sheep" of her art-focused family for going into high-tech sourcing, share...

In this episode of Proc & Roll , hosts Conrad Smith, Natasha Gurevich, and Zachary Bachir dive into Phase Two of Stakeholder Management while confronting the breaking disruption of AI agents. The episode kicks off with a look at shifting global tariffs and the sudden rise of "Clawdbot", an AI agent capable of operating independently across your computer and files. The team debates a...

"I had to learn the hard way that people's feelings really matter." That was Zachary Bachir’s candid admission about his journey from a logical "robot" to an EQ expert. It serves as the foundation for today’s deep dive into Brain Science and the "Fluff" that actually drives multi-million dollar business results. In this week's Proc & Roll, hosts Conrad Smi...

That was the response Natasha Gurevich’s CPO gave to a stakeholder who said, "Don't worry, we got it." It is the ultimate definition of fiduciary duty, and the perfect example of the Enterprise Mindset we discuss in today’s episode. In this week's Proc & Roll, hosts Conrad Smith, Natasha Gurevich, and Zachary Bachir revisit a key prediction for 2026: The shift from "func...

Why Your SRM Program is Useless Theater? Why has Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) progressed so little in the last 20 years? And what can procurement leaders learn from the messy "divorce" between Amazon and UPS? In this episode of Proc & Roll, hosts Conrad Smith, Natasha Gurevich, and Zachary Bachir tackle the stagnation of supplier management. They debate why most QBRs are ju...

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...