Since the early 1980s, I have been in the business world and have had the opportunity to meet many people—more virtually today than in the past—many of them strong, intelligent women.
Some of the women who come to mind include Kate Vitasek, Kelly Barner, Anna McGovern, Susan Walsh, Joselina Peralta, Sarah Scudder, Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, Elvire Regnier, Amanda Prochaska, Sally Guyer and many, many more.
However, what excites me as I approach my 65th year on planet Earth is the fact that there are still so many other great people to meet. Talking with my wife Jennifer the other day, it is the excitement of never-ending curiosity and the desire to continue to learn and meet new people that makes me feel like I am in my 30s again.
One Person I Have Never Met
While doing some research on some of the companies about whom I have written, I came across the profile of Anna Barej.
Currently, Anna is Vice President of Procurement at Best Buy. However, she has an impressive career dating back to 1992 when she joined Procter & Gamble in Warsaw, Poland. Responsible for the supply of products into Eastern Europe for the Laundry & Cleaning, and Cosmetics Categories, she achieved the following:
- Created a replenishment strategy for the introduction of Cover Girl product lines to Central Europe
- Participated in the establishment of the first Procurement Department for P&G in Central Europe
- Implemented new-to-the-region supply chain strategies and processes
Her achievements reminded me of the challenges outlined in An Unimaginable Journey: How Pepsi Beat The Odds In Romania. During my interview with the book’s author, Aviad Meitar, I appreciated Anna’s challenges in breaking new ground with a new product in a new market.
Anna then spent the next 11 years with Kraft Foods, now The Heinz Kraft Company. She then moved on to McDonald’s for five years before starting in her current position as VP at Best Buy.
As a side note, I have had the opportunity to cover each of the above organizations, e.g., Peter Smith’s upside-down Heinz ketchup bottle story, my interview with the head of Ronald McDonald House in Canada, and meeting with Best Buy executives in Minneapolis in 2005 to assess their vendor rationalization strategy. Of course, those are all stories for another day.
What’s The Point(s)?
There are several reasons for my writing today’s post.
As stated earlier, there are many great things to do and people to meet in our industry. That thought is energizing.
Second, you should never stop meeting new people in person or via social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
Third, Anna’s impressive career is proof that women have and will always make a significant contribution to the procurement industry and profession. Getting political for a moment, let’s “stop talking pay equity” and finally “start doing pay equity.”
So, what remarkable person in procurement have you yet to meet?
30
Procurement Insights
The Best Procurement Professionals I Have Never Met
Posted on March 18, 2024
0
Since the early 1980s, I have been in the business world and have had the opportunity to meet many people—more virtually today than in the past—many of them strong, intelligent women.
Some of the women who come to mind include Kate Vitasek, Kelly Barner, Anna McGovern, Susan Walsh, Joselina Peralta, Sarah Scudder, Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, Elvire Regnier, Amanda Prochaska, Sally Guyer and many, many more.
However, what excites me as I approach my 65th year on planet Earth is the fact that there are still so many other great people to meet. Talking with my wife Jennifer the other day, it is the excitement of never-ending curiosity and the desire to continue to learn and meet new people that makes me feel like I am in my 30s again.
One Person I Have Never Met
While doing some research on some of the companies about whom I have written, I came across the profile of Anna Barej.
Currently, Anna is Vice President of Procurement at Best Buy. However, she has an impressive career dating back to 1992 when she joined Procter & Gamble in Warsaw, Poland. Responsible for the supply of products into Eastern Europe for the Laundry & Cleaning, and Cosmetics Categories, she achieved the following:
Her achievements reminded me of the challenges outlined in An Unimaginable Journey: How Pepsi Beat The Odds In Romania. During my interview with the book’s author, Aviad Meitar, I appreciated Anna’s challenges in breaking new ground with a new product in a new market.
Anna then spent the next 11 years with Kraft Foods, now The Heinz Kraft Company. She then moved on to McDonald’s for five years before starting in her current position as VP at Best Buy.
As a side note, I have had the opportunity to cover each of the above organizations, e.g., Peter Smith’s upside-down Heinz ketchup bottle story, my interview with the head of Ronald McDonald House in Canada, and meeting with Best Buy executives in Minneapolis in 2005 to assess their vendor rationalization strategy. Of course, those are all stories for another day.
What’s The Point(s)?
There are several reasons for my writing today’s post.
As stated earlier, there are many great things to do and people to meet in our industry. That thought is energizing.
Second, you should never stop meeting new people in person or via social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
Third, Anna’s impressive career is proof that women have and will always make a significant contribution to the procurement industry and profession. Getting political for a moment, let’s “stop talking pay equity” and finally “start doing pay equity.”
So, what remarkable person in procurement have you yet to meet?
30
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